New or used FFH?

[wmmallette]

What is the benefit of having the front sensors GrySql?

 

Does either of these have a type of cruise control that is beneficial hybrid driving?

[GrySql]

What is the benefit of having the front sensors GrySql?

 

Knowing how close your front bumper is to an immovable object can be beneficial when parking the car. I tend to park too far back to avoid hearing that crunching sound. ;)

[machoman1337]

What is the benefit of having the front sensors GrySql?

 

Does either of these have a type of cruise control that is beneficial hybrid driving?

 

Helps you avoid hitting small objects in the front that you may not be able to see directly. Also, if you're backing out and forget to look in the front as you swing the car to the side, the sensors could alert you :P

[hybridbear]

What were the early issues on the 2015's?

 

I am definitely getting the 2015 Wednesday morning. Only reason I ask is that the 2015 VIN I posted earlier in this thread has Navigation - (I could care less) my iPhone Navigation is just fine, lol.

 

They have another 2015 that's same color and everything the same except instead of Navigation, it has Active Park Assist and Intelligent Access and it would be a few hundred dollars cheaper because of a $500 bonus cash offer on cars invoiced before Januray 1st. The car with the Navigation was invoiced this year and isn't eligible for the extra $500 off. VIN on this car is: 3FA6P0LU1FR167437

 

Thoughts on the feature difference?

 

-Mickey

I notice that the one with APA also has California emissions. That is interesting considering that you're in Mississippi. How many miles does each car have? I'd get the one with Active Park Assist & Intelligent Access/PBS. That feature is super useful when parking in a garage or in a parking lot. And letting the car parallel park itself is really cool! Push button start & intelligent access are also awesome features. I don't ever want a car where I need to take the key out of my pocket again.

Edited June 15, 2015 by hybridbear

[wmmallette]

Is having California emissions a good or bad thing? Does it help or hurt MPG? Or anything else for that matter.

 

I am in Mississippi and the car is in the Baltimore/DC area.

[jeff_h]

I notice that the one with APA also has California emissions. That is interesting considering that you're in Mississippi. How many miles does each car have? I'd get the one with Active Park Assist & Intelligent Access/PBS. That feature is super useful when parking in a garage or in a parking lot. And letting the car parallel park itself is really cool! Push button start & intelligent access are also awesome features. I don't ever want a car where I need to take the key out of my pocket again.

 

Is having California emissions a good or bad thing? Does it help or hurt MPG? Or anything else for that matter.

 

I am in Mississippi and the car is in the Baltimore/DC area.

 

The car was originally delivered to a dealer in MD - see the 'MD' on top left of the window sticker. MD is one of the about 10 states that have similar (don't know if exactly the same) emissions requirements as CA.

[wmmallette]

Do the CA emissions affect gas mileage?

[machoman1337]

2015 models and later have the ability to raise the front passenger seat.

 

On 2013-2014 models it only slides forward/back and reclines. A few people commented that it's too low in the 2013.

[wmmallette]

choosing the 2015 with the active park assist and the intelligent access. will get there wednesday. y'all think good thoughts that all goes well to get the deal done quickly and exactly as promised.

 

thanks everyone for all the helpful information and suggestions. this forum has been a great guide in my buyng process. Now if yall will just tell me how to drive it to get the most mpg mos of the time, then i will be good. :shift: :)

[machoman1337]

Congrats on your purchase. May this awesome car bring you much joy :)

 

Tips for max mpg:

- Don't be hard on the gas pedal or the brakes. It takes practice if you're not used to it yet. Eventually you'll learn how to control your braking to maximize the energy returned.

- On cold days, don't blast the heating. Set the temperature to the lowest possible that doesn't result in cold air blowing out the vents. Use the seat heaters to warm your body - it's FAR more energy efficient that way.

- On a road trip on a clear freeway, just set the cruise control to the posted speed limit and let the hybrid system handle the rest of the job for you.

- On hot days, roll down the windows and drive around for maybe 5 minutes before using the A/C. If you're already used to driving with the windows down vs using A/C, then you're good to go. I personally dislike driving with the windows down unless I have to, because I don't want sediments from outside blowing into my car, and I also want to play my music without annoying other drivers.

Edited June 16, 2015 by machoman1337

[mwr]

Now if yall will just tell me how to drive it to get the most mpg mos of the time, then i will be good.

You'll get lots of different opinions and approaches here. Mine is to pretty much just drive like i want to drive and let the gas mileage take care of itself which it does a very good job of. I really don't care if I could eke out another 2 mpg by driving lilke I don't want to drive.

[hybridbear]

CA emissions should not impact MPG. I'm not even sure what, if any, the physical difference is on the car.

[wmmallette]

Just got home from the DC/Baltimore area with my new FFH! Happy with the car and the price I got.

I drove from Baltimore to Hickory, NC and spent the night with a buddy from college. Got up today and drove home to Mississippi. I logged 1022 miles. Left Baltimore with a full tank, filled up once during the trip and once 10 miles from my house so I have a full tank in it right now in the garage. I used 23.2 gallons, which averages out to 44.05 MPG. Very happy about that! I set the cruise on 79 for half the trip and on 65 for the other half. Seemed to be about 10 - 11 MPG in cruising at the different speeds. My daily work commute will give me no reason to ever set my cruise over 65 and usually around 55, so I think my MPG will work out well. I drive about 35 miles each way everyday and no big freeways. All 4-lane highways with a 65 mph speed limit, so I am content driving 55 - 65 at any given time. There's never any traffic and about 10 -12 miles of the drive is hilly, but not too extreme.

 

My MPG calculations are based on my odometer and the number of gallons put in the car at the end of each trip. The dash numbers didn't show the same numbers. Dash numbers were around 41 MPG for the whole trip, but I can't see how that's right over logging the miles I drove and knowing how much fuel I put in each time. I just basically set the gas pump at the middle notch to let it fuel without me holding it. Then when it cut off I put another half gallon or so until it seemed like the pump wouldn't run more than a second or two without cutting off. Used 12 gallons the first fill up and 11.2 the second, which is pretty much filling it up from empty each time. By the dash estimation, I had 11 miles to go until "Empty" once and 30 miles to go until Empty at the time of of the other fill up.

 

What's your experience with the accuracy of the dash calculations on MPG versus the way I am figuring it?

 

Happy to be an official FFH owner now!

[lolder]

The dash calculations are very precise and repeatable and the accuracy error is constant. Measuring the mpg by two fill-ups is not. There's too much variation in when pumps shut off. You have confirmed other observations that the mpg speed penalty is about 6 mpg per 10 mph.

[wmmallette]

Gotcha lolder, I was just reading other threads about different pumps, locations, etc.

 

Luckily, now that I'm home, I can get into a routine of same pump, same station most all the time except non-work out of town trips. Consistency seems to be the key and over the long haul, it will average out pretty close to correct. All I know is I travelled 1022 miles starting with a full tank and only filled up twice during the trip and still have a full tank. I am super excited to start that way. The dash info is a good constant reminder to watch how I drive and how that affects mpg. Just being conscious of it more often will make me a more economical driver long-term. That, in addition to having a more fuel efficient car will help the amount of money I spend on gas each month, which will mean that my monthly work gas reimbursement will help pay a portion of my car payment. They pay me at a set rate per mile travelled regardless of the fuel efficiency of what I am driving, so that's more $$ in my pocket to pay for the shiny new car.

[md13ffhguy]

Congrats!! What dealer did you buy from in Baltimore?

[wmmallette]

Koons. I hope you aren't going to tell me that they have a terrible local reputation for tipping people off. Hahahaha

[jeff_h]

Koons. I hope you aren't going to tell me that they have a terrible local reputation for tipping people off. Hahahaha

Koons is a large chain in the area that sells many brands -- I've had a few email and PM exchanges from those looking around for just the right car (such as your case) and in a couple of those cases they ended up getting a better deal by a few hundred at Koons, so it's likely you did pretty well.

[wmmallette]

I don't mind sharing. I got my tri-platinum colored, Hybrid SE with 502A Luxury Package with heated leather seats, MyFord Touch Package, Active Park Assist and Intelligent Access for $23,695 (plus tax, tag and title) for an out the door price of $26,195. It cost me $60 in airfare to DC Dulles airport, a $30 Amtrak ticket to Baltimore and me willing to put 1000 miles on the car coming home instead of paying he $800 transport fee to have it shipped.

[Sleddog]

Congrats!

[md13ffhguy]

Koons. I hope you aren't going to tell me that they have a terrible local reputation for tipping people off. Hahahaha

I bought both my 2013 and my wife's 2014 from Koons. I can't complain about how they conduct business. Staff was always professional. Had to remove that crown sticker, though! ;)

[wmmallette]

Mine is already gone. Hahaha

[hybridbear]

That, in addition to having a more fuel efficient car will help the amount of money I spend on gas each month, which will mean that my monthly work gas reimbursement will help pay a portion of my car payment. They pay me at a set rate per mile travelled regardless of the fuel efficiency of what I am driving, so that's more $$ in my pocket to pay for the shiny new car.

I love it when I get mileage reimbursement. One of our manufacturing plants is 41 miles away. I can barely make the trip in the Focus Electric. I like taking the Focus because one trip down there nets enough money in mileage reimbursement to pay an entire month's electricity for the Focus & Fusion Energi!

[corncobs]

I love it when I get mileage reimbursement. One of our manufacturing plants is 41 miles away. I can barely make the trip in the Focus Electric. I like taking the Focus because one trip down there nets enough money in mileage reimbursement to pay an entire month's electricity for the Focus & Fusion Energi!

Lucky you!

I "only" get reimbursed for the actual gas used on business trips (I have a car allowance otherwise ;-) )

 

That makes it really cheap for my company when I'm driving somewhere. When we drove to HQ in April the round trip of about 1600 miles was only $145 which is only about 1/3 of a cheap airplane ticket.

[wmmallette]

I can't lie, the reimbursement is great. They are paying me $0.57 cents a mile for the mileage I drive to work and back. I put in about 1600 miles a month this way.