The C-MAX Energi: Ford's High-Tech Prius Killer - Forbes

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The Prius has long-reigned as the fuel-economy king and Toyota is aggressively expanding its hybrid franchise with a slew of new versions of the car, including an urban runabout, a station wagon and a plug-in electric hybrid.

Now comes along Ford with its first plug-in electric hybrid, the C-MAX Energi, and it should give the hypermiling set pause if my test drive Monday in San Francisco is any indication.

Essentially a supersized version of the Ford Focus compact hatchback, the C-MAX Energi takes aim at the ugly duckling station wagon-like Prius V and the Prius Plug-In.  With a base price of $32,950 versus $32,000 for the Prius Plug-In, the C-MAX Energi carries a lithium ion battery pack allows the car to operate in pure electric mode for up to 21 miles versus about 13 miles for the Toyota. The C-MAX Energi has an EPA rating of 100 miles per gallon equivalent for combined city and highway driving versus 95 MPGe for the Prius Plug-In.

But it’s Ford’s Big Data approach to managing that range that lets C-MAX drivers max out their carbon-free driving. Ford engineers Ken Frederick and Matt Smith have written a set of algorithms called EV+ that tap the car’s GPS to learn your driving habits and then modify battery usage so the vehicle stays in electric mode as long as possible.

For instance, if EV+ recognizes that you’re en route to your home, office or another location where you usually plug in, it will keep tapping the battery to power the car rather than switch to the gasoline engine to conserve electrons.

“Talk about a smart car,” says John Davis, the C-MAX chief engineer, who noted that drivers can turn EV+ off and erase their driving data if they wish. Drivers can also manually switch between electric and gasoline modes.

As with the Ford Focus Electric, drivers can remotely monitor the car’s battery charge via a smartphone app that also lets them schedule charging times when electricity rates are low.

When it comes to style and fun, the C-MAX, which also is available as a standard hybrid starting at $25,200, is the hands down winner compared to the Prius. Like the smaller but much sportier Focus, the C-MAX, which as an overall range of 620 miles, handles well and I nimbly and silently zipped around downtown San Francisco traffic. A price is paid, though, in the loss of storage space taken up by the battery back. Unlike the plasticky materials used in the Prius, the C-MAX’s interior is well appointed and feels more like an entry-level European luxury car than a people mover.

I expect to see more Fords on the streets of my town of Berkeley, Calif., where one out of every five cars currently sold is a Prius.

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