11/17/2012

Taking delivery of the C-MAX at the Ford dealer.

Picked up the C-MAX at the local Ford dealer on the 17th of November.  A surprisingly pleasant experience at the dealership. We negotiated the purchase online, then spent only 20 minutes in the business office filling out paperwork.

The best part, no effort was made to sell us a lot of unnecessary upgrades such as Glass Protection – lately dealerships in the area have been pushing “hydrophobic water” protection.  These products supposedly cause water to roll off the windshield so quickly that the windshield wipers are hardly necessary.  The cost for this protection is generally in the $300-$400 dollar range.  I suggest a bottle of Rain-X which generally sells for less than $10.00.

In the first three weeks of driving we averaged 38 miles per gallon, a distinct drop from the EPA estimate of 47 city, 47 highway.  Still, Ford states very clearly in the C-MAX owners manual that the C-MAX will not achieve the estimated miles per gallon until after the 1000 mile engine break-in period.  We’ll see.

Overall the C-MAX is a joy to drive.  The only drawback is the SYNC voice activated control system.  It definitely takes a some getting used to.