ace43

I run my tires at 30 psi and am thinking about going lower than that just to get a smoother ride. I'm still getting mpg between 40 and 43 with that setup, although I might do better if I pumped them up a bit. For years I had a Ford pickup that never had anything in the bed, so I ran the tires at 25 front and 20 back. It made a big difference in ride. I'm sure that tire wear in such a case was inferior, but I was willing to put up with that for the better ride. When I took delivery on my FFH, the tires were at 35 front and rear. I like the ride of the FFH, but it can be a bit jarring over tar strips, etc. Lowering the pressures to 30 front and back made a difference. I'm not recommending such a procedure unless ride is more important than tire wear.

Yeah, and his writing ain't none too good neither.

Agreed! You can improve on the cruise control, especially in hilly terrains, by accelerating downhill and using that increased speed to get you up the next hill without having to use as much gas.

I dropped the pressure in my tires from 35 to 30 when I first got it home. I find the ride pretty darn good, although it is a bit jarring riding over tar strips and the like. I still get 40 mpg, and the ride is noticeably softer, but the jarring over bumps is still there. It really doesn't bother me, and I find it a decent trade-off for the accurate handling.

Same experience in Central Virginia. Temps had been in the 20s and 30s, now over 50 today. My long term had dropped into the 37s and today's trip netted a 41. It will be interesting to see what happens when the temps get back into the 70s. My FFH has only rarely seen those.

I am pleased with the ride smoothness of my FFH in all but one area, just the one you mention. It is quite firm and hard in its reaction to tar strips and the like. I traded in a Mercedes for the FFH and the reaction to the tar strips was a bit of a surprise, but then the Mercedes did have an air suspension. In all other respects, the FFH is totally acceptable and is actually quieter going down the road than was the Mercedes. My roads where I live are generally quite smooth so I can live with the occasional surprising jolt.

I've only had mine two months and 1500 miles, and so far not even a hiccup. Maybe taking it back to the dealer will change all that, eh? Regarding getting good mileage, and even hypermiling techniques, I can't see how such efforts would cause problems unless taken to extremes. As regards the dealer saying something like "just take it out and drive it", that seems to me just the typical irresponsible position dealers can take to redirect issues back at the customer. Driving passively, using EV mode judiciously, and attempting to increase mileage can't be a problem for a hybrid automobile unless there is a design flaw in the system.

When the cold temperatures started here in Virginia, my mpg seemed to decline. However, it has only dropped 2 or 3 mpg, and on a trip yesterday, I still managed 40 mpg on a 50 mile trip. I did turn the heater off as the heated seats seemed to be enough. The outside temperature never got over 32. My overall mileage has only dropped from 39.7 to 38.2. Now I'm starting to wonder if the Spring and Summer might not bring much better mileage because I only picked up the FFH in November, and it hasn't been in temperatures over 70 yet. We'll see.

I dropped my air pressure to 30 psi when I got the FFH home, primarily to soften the ride a bit. I know it might cost me in the mpg department a bit, not to mention possibly in tire wear as well, but the improved ride seems to be worth it.

So, you're suggesting that there is additional mileage to be gained from going from Empower mode to Engage? As soon as I can get my FFH out of the garage, which could run up to a week, I'll give it a shot. My intuition tells me that if this is an artifact of the different displays, it certainly has to be unintentional on Ford's part. However, it certainly is worth exploring and tracking. Thanks!

I can't even compare my situation with the different displays until I can get mine back on the road. I'm snowed in totally, the FFH is in the garage, and I can't even get to the cars I have outside yet.

Sounds like you need a hug, dude. At the risk of getting into an argument, I'm going to play Ford apologist for a little bit. First, regarding the mixed up computer-made appointment, I don't know where you took your FFH for service, but in my neck of the Central VA woods, we have 22 inches of snow, schools and offices are closed, and everything is screwed up. I can't even get to my own mailbox yet. Maybe their "Internet Manager" is in a ditch somewhere or digging out of his own driveway. It's a pretty trying time around here. But, second, what problem are you going in for? That wasn't clear to me. Did your battery meter turn red?

I don't think you're crazy, but that's a strange one. By the way, where in South Central VA are you? I promise I won't stalk you. I'm north of Charlottesville. If the different settings had any effect on the way the FFH functions, wouldn't it have been untoward of Ford not to mention that in the manual? I can see how the different options might affect driving styles, but I haven't noticed a difference in the way the car itself behaves. Still, it's a worthy topic, and it will be interesting to see what others find in their cars and experiences.

Good point about the car bringing out latent obsessive compulsive behavior, not that that would apply to me or anything. I have averaged 38 mpg by working hard at it all the time, maximizing every "hypermiling" technique I can think of. If I drove it like I used to drive my cars, I wouldn't be surprised to see an average of 31. It's not a chore to drive that way, except maybe for those behind me, it's a challenge.

I think the correct answer is "both". I find the FFH to be quite a good driver and a fun challenge in terms of achieving high mileage as well. So we can have our cake and eat it too.

I have to wonder whether the bounce is in fact the result of "running them on too high a setting when it's sprinkling". If the Rain-X makes the windshield less resistant to the friction of the wiper blade, this could account for the bounce. I wonder also why someone is using Rain-X and using their wiper blades at a high or even moderate speed. I thought the point of Rain-X usage was to minimize and, for me anyway, eliminate wiper usage. If I ever do use the wipers, it is only for a single swipe and that eliminates any chance of bounce. If you put on multiple coats of Rain-X, you can pretty much do without your wipers. As for seeing the little spots of rain on the glass, even that is better than the smears you get without Rain-X, and we're supposed to be focusing on the road, not the windshield, anyway. It's like looking outside through a screen door. It's just a matter of focus.

Interesting! I've used Rain-X for over 20 years on everything from Corvettes to my Suburban and have never experienced wiper bounce. I'm not saying it can't happen or that Rain-X can't be the cause of it, just that I've never seen it. I put Rain-X on my FFH in three coats the minute I got it home. I've got 1200 miles on it so far and have yet to use the wipers at all. I have almost 100,000 miles on my Suburban and have yet to replace the wipers, mainly because I have just about no need for them. If I do use them and get wiper bounce, I'll try backing off on the wiper speed. I can see where the Rain-X might allow for faster wiper speeds, but if that is the case I can just back the speed down. If I run into problems with Rain-X, I will announce it here, but, for now, I'm still a Rain-X fan.

Interesting information, although everyone else I've read seems to feel that the system as a whole functions better when kept out of neutral. Regarding OCD, you have additional options. While CDO is more alphabetical, there is always DOC for the paperwork and computer minded and COD for the vegetarians out there and lovers of things fishy. There are additional options as well, using other permutations and even distinct formats, but it's not like I'm obsessed with this stuff or anything. I don't feel compelled to get into this stuff at all actually. I think I'll just take the FFH out, run through town a couple circuits, and see what I can do in terms of mileage. I think I'd better take my meds first.

I've seen trips recently where my mileage wasn't affected negatively by hills at all, a result, I think, of planning for them and managing the throttle carefully to prepare for them. Today, however, I went over a 3000 foot mountain, up and down twice, and as careful as I was I seemed to lose more going up than I was able to gain on the way down. However, even with the changes in grades and comparatively cold temperatures (25 F), my long term mileage only degraded from 39.4 mpg to 38.7 mpg on a 175 mile trip.

I don't think that your 33.6 mpg is indicative of a "defective car". There is no question that colder temperatures will have some effect, and when you get down to the temperatures you have described that effect can and probably should be considerable. Under the conditions you have described, 33.6 mpg is probably pretty good. Two other considerations: First, I'm guessing that colder temperature effects will be worse on shorter trips. I'm thinking that on longer cruises the engine will be able to maintain a proper operating temperature and reward you with better mpg. I'm just guessing about that but will put it to the test when I take a long drive this Friday. Secondly, you will probably find that the preponderance of mileage reports in this thread will come from people who are both working at getting high mileage and are proud of their achievement. There will be a few from those who are concerned about what they feel might be mileage that is too low. Many who don't get good mileage, or who either don't work at it or don't care about it, just won't be posting here. If that is true, it means that the mileage figures we find here are skewed toward the high end of the spectrum. For my part, I've averaged 39.4 over 900 miles. But every one of those miles was driven with the intent of getting the best mpg I could. That meant planning better routes for higher mileage, thinking ahead about hills and upcoming terrain, using the EV mode as much as possible, and applying a lighter foot to the accelerator pedal than I ever have in the past. If I hadn't done that, I would probably be in the 34 mpg range and probably happy about it. I think your mpg, under your conditions, is probably to be expected and not at all a problem.

I agree. I certainly didn't go to the FFH for ecological reasons. I did it for two reasons. First, I did want to save money on gasoline, but secondly I wanted an automobile that would be interesting to drive, had lots of features to keep me interested in the driving experience, and a car that drove and rode well. The minute I drove the FFH I was hooked. It rode as well as the car I was giving up, and it was SO much more entertaining and fun to drive. I look forward to every drive in the thing.

I agree totally how much fun the FFH is to drive, especially because of the SmartGauge readouts. I traded in a 2005 Mercedes E55 AMG for the FFH and actually like driving the FFH more. It won't do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, and it won't turn a 12.4 quarter mile, but the actual driving of it is more engaging and entertaining. The seats are better, as are the audio system and NAV. The E55 absolutely could not be used to its potential, but the FFH can be everyday. It's also quieter and nicer for long drives.

Cold weather will have its effects, but even those will be better in the FFH than in conventional automobiles, as someone else here has pointed out. While the FFH will run in EV mode below 47 mph, that doesn't necessarily mean it should always be used alone to accelerate. I've gotten better results, and avoided ticking off those behind me, by accelerating slowly in ICE to cruising speed, then backing off on the throttle to get back into EV mode and use that as much as possible to increase mileage. It does work better on downhills and flat terrain, but for every uphill there will eventually be a downhill. When it comes, go into EV mode and use it to your and your wallet's benefit.

I think it is possible to get to 47 mph in EV mode only in the FFH. It probably doesn't make any sense to try to do that, plus it will take a long time and drive you and the people behind you nuts. But, for example, driving through small towns you can keep the car below 47 mph and use the EV mode to gain speed on flat runs or downhill runs and use that accumulated speed and momentum to get you up a hill you might be approaching. The advertising about the EV "up to 47 mph" is a little misleading. The tendency is to think that you can use the EV mode alone to get to 47 mph and that is really not practical in real-world conditions. But being able to go into EV mode alone under 47 mph is very valuable because the ICE is off during those conditions and your mileage rate does increase markedly. It does increase battery drain, but the regenerative feature of the braking system compensates for a lot of that loss and the ICE does also. The battery serves to dynamically interrelate the EV and ICE power components. The system works quite nicely. Where the FFH really seems to shine, in my limited experience with it, is on roads with a 45 mph limit where you can keep the car in the EV green zone and maximize mileage. The SmartGauge cluster allows the driver to make a game of it and make getting better mileage enjoyable and challenging. It really can seem like driving a video game except the results in terms of better mpg are quite real.

It is possible to accelerate from 0 to 47 in EV mode, but it requires perfect conditions. I have done it on downhill stretches through small towns where gravity and coasting were helping perhaps as much as the electric motor. The advertising is correct that you CAN use the EV up to 47 mph, but that is a bit misleading. The point is that you CAN use the EV mode up to speeds of 47 mph, but not that you should consider it practicable to do so. It takes a loooooong time and can be done only under the kids of conditions I described above. Still, the fact that you can "pulse" to 40-45 mph and then use the EV mode to power the vehicle from there accounts for its great city mpg.