[User3657]

As someone who bought a C-Max grill cover from Paul, I'd like to point out that internal shutters can have substantial benefits which are nonetheless smaller than the benefits of a smooth front end with minimal air infiltration. Paul tested it, so his MPG improvement claim has data behind it. In the Northeast US, I never had a cooling issue, and I always had water temperature displayed in My View.

Take a close look at Paul's car... the grill block is just the start.

• front grill blocks, upper and lower.
• wheel disc covers
• rear wheel fairing
• (Paul, you still using vortex generators?)

For what it's worth, Saturday we got a 70F day, and I got to drive my old commuter route, round trip, for take-out Mexican. 56 going, 64 MPG coming back on the warm start. My C-Max ran in a similar range at that temperature, over that route, with increased tire pressures and grill blocks.. The Escape is 100% stock, save for 91E0; not even tire pressures (which are up a little with warmer weather... remember, these are P-metric, so max. is 41 psi.)

Stay well,
Frank

How far are those routes? And how fast? You can get that milage day and night? ThAts really good...

 

[User3657]

NORMAL mode coasting requires a little throttle. In ECO, it needs a lot more throttle

Wouldnt this be bad? Im understanding this as in eco mode you need to apply throttle while coasting to maintain speed. On flat ground wouldnt you want to coast as long as possible? I can see it aiding when coming to a complete stop, but overall i see more throttle=lower mpg. Pick up the hybrid on fri!

 

[User3657]

So your trying to charge the battery with the most power in the quickest time? And eco does that because you need to give it more power, and since it's running ice anyway that energy is better used charging the battery quicker?

 

[User3657]

You'll understand once you drive the car.

Off-throttle rolling will show 5-30Kw of REGEN braking, depending on speed, mode (NORMAL/ECO/etc.) and use of the "hill assist" feature (menu enabled).

"Coasting" is defined as rolling without applied power or brakes. To coast, you'll need your foot on the gas to reduce REGEN braking to zero.

If you've ever driven a lawn tractor with hydrostatic drive, it's a little like that: your right foot controls both drive and braking.

So I ended up taking a test drive and the first thing I did was put it in eco mode. It wasn't till the way home I found eco coach and "chased blue". I was like wth are they talking about chasing blue hah. Then traffic behind me did not exist and i was determined to stay in ev mode!
I kept it in eco mode and I noticed how it did slow down soon as you got off the brake like a lawnmower. I'm not sure that's good for my style of driving. Maybe for a city like NYC. It wouldn't really coast you needed to keep some gas to coast so you ended up using some battery. I'll have to try it in normal mode. I'm looking for a nice slow down with no acceleration needed. I'm good at judging and maybe that's why I can get 35-40mpg in the 1.5 so easily around town. I want the hybrid but sometimes I wonder if I would be kicking myself and end up getting worst mpg. On the highway I can get 45mpg easily doing 50mph(speed limit 55). That's using the cars calculator so I'm assuming -5mpg real world.

It's usually just me and I don't tend to blast the ac so I wonder if the hybrid is taking a step back in MPG for me..you can't really beat it. 4500 off MSRP and I would just owe $500 for the trade in.

Oh, I believe I got 💯 brake scores every time except once!

 

[User3657]

Here’s my observation. I am not an expert but I turn off dual climate zone mode to get better gas mileage. I think the dual climate mode is just needed to reduce the number of driver/ passenger arguments. The cabin is so small and one person chooses 80F while the other chooses 76F, the net result is about 78F. No need to run two zones rather use the electricity to drive the wheels.

Good observation. Anything that prevents the ICE from running will improve mileage. I try to park with climate off so the engine stays off when I start. Below 32F, climate state doesn't seem to matter, engine's on right away. We'll see if 0F brings ICE-only operation. (Li-ion batteries can't charge below 32F, or discharge below 0F.) Maybe next week?

Any other tips?

Also do I understand that the AC can be run by EV while the heat is only ICE? Wont be running much heat this winter!

 

[User3657]

NORMAL and ECO are the same in this regard. The mode differences are a throttle recalibration and a more-gentle cruise control. The throttle recalibration move the 0-point, but I can't tell any other difference. It's possible ECO charges harder, but I see no evidence of it.

I've attached my mileage summary above...

And your summary is using the escapes mpg calculation?

 

[User3657]

I'm currently at 54mpg with 300miles. Does mileage improve as these break in?

 

[User3657]

Can you please explain Regen braking? I understand what it is, but if I'm hitting the brake pedal and keep the brake coach bar happy, am I using for friction brakes? If I hit the brakes hard and the brake coach goes too high is that when I use friction brakes? Trying to understand if braking and making brake coach happy is the same as slowing down to a stop in eco mode.