New Hybrid - First Hybrid

[pdiehm]

First hybrid purchase was this weekend. Little back story here though. Last week, I was contacted by a local ford dealership about a 2015 Ford Fusion Titanium Energi they just got. Went and looked at it, and fell in love. Magnetic with soft ceramic leather interior. 12,500 miles for $25,800. Told the guy, I would be taking off on Friday to buy the car. 5 minutes from the dealership on Friday, guy calls me and tells me he sold the car Thursday night. Needless to say I was PISSED.

 

Saturday morning I expanded my search, and while the energi is a very very nice car, it was outside of my price window. I was looking at the Fusion Hybrid SE with leather, and the sport wheels and spoiler. No one, and I mean no one had that combination in stock. Search went to Baltimore, and found a BUNCH of Titanium Hybrids at Koons' Ford at very good prices. Made the trip down there (about 75 minutes) and looked at one. Just had to decide on the Color.

 

Choice was Energi with Soft Ceramic leather, or the Tri-White with Charcoal Leather. Wife, daughter, father in law, sister in law all liked the white better. Bought it, and drove it home.

 

One thing that struck my attention was how that car used almost a half tank of gas to drive about 100 miles on I-95. Didn't expect that...at all.

 

Now, I'm looking for an app to keep track of my mileage similar to the one Ford has for the Energi. Not sure if there is such an animal. Getting home tonight from a quick trip to the store, we're at 32.7mpg, 268 miles to empty.

 

Edited November 23, 2015 by pdiehm

[corncobs]

Welcome to the FFH forum (we also welcome FFE ;) )and congrats on your new ride.

 

The first deal sounded pretty good to bad that it was sold before you had a chance. Maybe I ask what miles, year, price you bought the car for?

[mwr]

One thing that struck my attention was how that car used almost a half tank of gas to drive about 100 miles on I-95. Didn't expect that...at all.

How fast were you driving?

[md13ffhguy]

Congrats on the new car! I purchased both of mine from Koons. Don't let the performance over one trip bug you. It will take some time to adjust to this car. That said, that particular route will not usually be good, economy-wise. You were probably doing 65+, no? Also, were you alone, or did you have the family members you mentioned with you? A full car will also compromise your MPGs significantly. Also, since we've entered the colder months, fuel economy will be at its lowest for a while. You may not see great numbers until it warms, but you can make up for that come spring. Some of us use Fuelly to track MPGs. It's just an electronic way to keep a manual log.

[pdiehm]

I was cruising at 65. Wife and 5 year old with me. That part of 95 isn't overly flat though.

 

My cruising score so far isn't good but acceleration and braking are very high. I have it in ecoMode which I assume increases fuel effiency. Not quite sure if I should drive around with that on or just use it on the highway.

[murphy]

ECO mode reduces the acceleration, it takes longer to get up to speed,. It will slightly improve gas mileage.

[mwr]

I was cruising at 65. Wife and 5 year old with me. That part of 95 isn't overly flat though.

32 mpg displayed for that doesn't sound right. I mostly cruise at 70 mph (normal cruise control, not eco) on freeways with lots of hills and usually get 43 mpg (displayed). Of course, a strong headwind will seriously drop mph.

[pdiehm]

Having said that, I didn't think to reset the stuff prior to leaving the lot. I will reset it upon my first fill up. My trip mpg so far every time I shut off is over 43.5mpg

[hybridbear]

ECO mode reduces the acceleration, it takes longer to get up to speed,. It will slightly improve gas mileage.

What Eco mode? Did Ford add an Eco mode button to the Fusion?

 

Edit: it just occurred to me that you may be referring to EcoCruise, is that what you mean?

Edited November 23, 2015 by hybridbear

[murphy]

What Eco mode? Did Ford add an Eco mode button to the Fusion?

 

Edit: it just occurred to me that you may be referring to EcoCruise, is that what you mean?

Yes.

[pdiehm]

I'm having a difficult time keeping the car in EV mode. Seems like once I hit 50, it automatically shifts to gas. Taking off and keeping the car in ev mode is almost impossible at least at this juncture.

 

My last few trips, must be doing things right.

 

19.8 miles (9.7 miles EV) = 43.9 mpg

13.8 miles (6.7 miles EV) = 43.7 mpg

13.8 miles (7.3 miles EV) = 47.7mpg

 

I really regret not resetting the figures prior to leaving the dealership. My gauge shows 35.3 avg mpg, but that includes all the test drives that people did prior to my purchase. Will reset it when I fill up this weekend. Also don't think the dealership really gave me a full tank of gas, as I have half a tank and 203 miles to empty.

[pdiehm]

Also, I see a 30 minute MPG chart on the right side, with an AVG mpg. I have my left display in MyView, Empower, EV, and whatnot.

 

WHen I reset it, do I reset the trip on the left side, or should I reset the one on the right...I'm thinking the left side since that will roll over at 1,000 miles, and use the right side for the lifetime mpg of the car.

[hybridbear]

Also, I see a 30 minute MPG chart on the right side, with an AVG mpg. I have my left display in MyView, Empower, EV, and whatnot.

 

WHen I reset it, do I reset the trip on the left side, or should I reset the one on the right...I'm thinking the left side since that will roll over at 1,000 miles, and use the right side for the lifetime mpg of the car.

I usually use Trip 1 for each tank of gas & Trip 2 for each month (reset on the 1st of every month). The MPG displayed on Empower, Engage & the MPG graph over time is all 1 MPG display in the 2013. Resetting it on any one of those screens will reset it on the others since they're all displaying the same number.

 

The graph interval can be changed as well, try pressing the right directional pad when on that screen to view those options.

[pdiehm]

is it all 1 mpg display in the 2016?

 

I guess using Fuelly will maintain the lifetime mpg fairly well.

[Cobra348]

is it all 1 mpg display in the 2016?

 

I guess using Fuelly will maintain the lifetime mpg fairly well.

I have a '15. There is a lifetime MPG (effectively combined) displayed in Engage and Empower at least. When resetting Trip 1 and/or 2, this does not get reset. However it is my understanding it will get nailed during certain operations on the car ... like LVB (low-voltage battery) disconnect, etc.

 

I reset both trips each tank, unless I am tracking something specific, then I use Trip 2 for that. I have found that the displayed lifetime MPG is fairly accurate after about 2000 miles - as compared to gas receipts - if one is very diligent about effective battery usage. Right now for about 19.4K miles, the car reading for llifetime MPG is about 1 over what gas receipts calculate out to. Not too bad.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Cobra348

[md13ffhguy]

I'm having a difficult time keeping the car in EV mode. Seems like once I hit 50, it automatically shifts to gas. Taking off and keeping the car in ev mode is almost impossible at least at this juncture.

 

Trying to keep it in EV mode is not necessarily a good thing. The car is designed to go back and forth at fairly optimal intervals, so just let it do its thing for now. Besides, where do you think all that energy in the battery comes from? The answer is gasoline. Just drive gently, and you'll get great results. Pushing the accelerator and/or the brake too hard just makes any car less efficient.

[Texasota]

I have a '15. There is a lifetime MPG (effectively combined) displayed in Engage and Empower at least. When resetting Trip 1 and/or 2, this does not get reset. However it is my understanding it will get nailed during certain operations on the car ... like LVB (low-voltage battery) disconnect, etc.

You can view the MPG displayed in Engage/Empower as a lifetime display if you never reset it. But when Engage/Empower is displayed, simply holding the OK button on the left side steering wheel controls will reset that Engage/Empower MPG. I do that on a daily basis so that I can easily monitor my MPG score for the days errands.

[Cobra348]

You can view the MPG displayed in Engage/Empower as a lifetime display if you never reset it. But when Engage/Empower is displayed, simply holding the OK button on the left side steering wheel controls will reset that Engage/Empower MPG. I do that on a daily basis so that I can easily monitor my MPG score for the days errands.

Huh. Did not know that. I find it interesting to see the aggregate MPG in my face, sort of. It helps me to keep my foot out of it somewhat. Not always, mind ... just somewhat.

[pdiehm]

Ok, so here's the plan:

 

This weekend, I'll fill up and reset everything. After that, will just reset the trip 1 screen with each fill up. Will also use Fuelly to track the information as well. I do know that each of my drives have averaged over 43 mpg. The average mileage on the car dash is like 36 at this point (Up from 23.7 when I bought the car).

[Texasota]

Ok, so here's the plan:

 

This weekend, I'll fill up and reset everything. After that, will just reset the trip 1 screen with each fill up. Will also use Fuelly to track the information as well. I do know that each of my drives have averaged over 43 mpg. The average mileage on the car dash is like 36 at this point (Up from 23.7 when I bought the car).

That sounds like a good plan. Keep in mind that most of us on this forum experience 2.0-2.5 MPG inflation from the trip computers as compared to hand calculations (or Fuelly in your case). You are also entering low temperatures of winter which reduces your hybrid's MPG significantly.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Texasota

[pdiehm]

filled up tonight. the fuelly mpg actally matched the car mpg. 486 some miles on that tank of gas.

[pdiehm]

Ok, have had the car for almost 5 months. Since the weather got warmer, so has my gas mileage. Back to back 515 mile tanks.

 

Question, on my car, I have an ECo-Mode button near my shifter. I've been doing normal driving with this engaged. Causes sluggish starts, but doesn't overly bother me. Should I only be using that while in cruise control, and take it off during normal driving operations? I have found it's easier to keep the electric engaged with this mode on, but since I have been getting 44.5 or so, haven't really been tempted to turn it off.

[lolder]

The ECO mode in most cars just changes the throttle response curve to help "lead foot" drivers. You get less power response from a given pedal movement. If you "floor it" in ECO you will still get max power. There may also be some other factors in the hybrid.

[storksb]

Ok, have had the car for almost 5 months. Since the weather got warmer, so has my gas mileage. Back to back 515 mile tanks.

 

Question, on my car, I have an ECo-Mode button near my shifter. I've been doing normal driving with this engaged. Causes sluggish starts, but doesn't overly bother me. Should I only be using that while in cruise control, and take it off during normal driving operations? I have found it's easier to keep the electric engaged with this mode on, but since I have been getting 44.5 or so, haven't really been tempted to turn it off.

 

What "Eco-Mode" button are you referring to?

[ElectricFan69]

 

What "Eco-Mode" button are you referring to?

The '16 has an 'eco' mode button to the right of the shifter - kind of matches the parking brake switch, but on the right side. Signals the ECU to maximize FE by being a bit 'lazier' on climate control and throttle response. May do other things - but those are the most noticeable.