Ford C-Max set to best the MPG of Prius v

[waltermlee]

Originally Posted by diamondlarry

It depends on how you look at it. I have not driven a GenIII Prius yet but, here is what I've heard about the comparison between GenII and GenIII: The Gen III will get better mpg than the GenII for those people who can't/won't be troubled with driving the car to take advantage of the car's features and capabilities. If you are going to do some hardcore hypermiling and throw every trick you have at it, the GenII will eat the GenIII's lunch and pop the bag.

Beyond the extra weight, GenIII have more aerodynamic surface than the GenII to overcome.
The GenIII onboard computer tries to modulate the throttle to save gas in Eco mode which helps most nonhypermilers achieve higher fuel efficient but this interference can get in the way of an expert hypermiler who can modulate the throttle more precisely with a scangaugeII - this can be somewhat mitigated by switching the GenIII to Normal or Power Mode.

[waltermlee]

The Lithium Ion batteries should give Ford C-Max hybrids a performance edge over the NiMh Prius V hybrids but it will make them more costly to make - hopefully not too much more expensive. The other design trade off will be whether Ford will focus on extending the Lithium Ion battery lifespan and increase its reliability by restricting the battery SoC levels or allow for longer all electric range with a shorter battery lifespan ( and make money replacing the batteries after a couple of years).

[herm]

with proper cooling (active) and SOC control they can get 15 years out of a lithium battery.. thats plenty. You need to keep long term storage and bricking in mind.

Does the Sonata Hybrid use air cooling or AC on the batteries?

[chilimac02]

Originally Posted by herm

4k lbs for the Energi, where do they put the extra batteries?

dang that's heavy for a little bitty car - my Big Blue Pilot is "only" 4400lbs.

[xcel]

Hi Herm:

The Sonata Hybrid uses air cooling with its Li-Po solution as the chemistry is inherently a low heat generating storage solution. Not sure what the new C-MAX and Fuson Hybrids will use regarding cooling.

Wayne

[50 mpg by 2012]

Originally Posted by aca2983
The hands free liftgate has to be the smartest thing in ages. All cars should have that.

Question ... does this function distinguish between the fob being in the vehicle versus by the tailgate?

IF NOT ... wouldn't this reduce occupant security inside a "locked" stationary vehicle?

Just curious ...

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

Too bad we don't get the Grand C-Max with 3 rows.

Agreed.

[brick]

Originally Posted by 50 mpg by 2012

Question ... does this function distinguish between the fob being in the vehicle versus by the tailgate?

IF NOT ... wouldn't this reduce occupant security inside a "locked" stationary vehicle?

Just curious ...



Agreed.

Toyota's smartkey can distinguish between a key that is inside the car and a key that's outside, so there is no reason why Ford's shouldn't be able to do it.

[50 mpg by 2012]

Thanks....