Goodbye FFE :(

[jmueller065]

Today is a bittersweet day for me: Turned in the FFE...
https://spareelectrons.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/goodbye-ffe/

Of all the cars I've driven/owned/leased it is/was by far my favorite. There are a few items that prevented me from ordering another one (as mentioned in the blog post).

Not sure how much I'll stick around here. Not sure if I'll sign up on the C-Max forum or not...time will tell. The blog will live on though.

 

[campfamily]

Sorry to see you go, you definitely were a contributor to the quality of this forum. We'll miss you.

Keith

 

[hybridbear]

Enjoy the C-Max Energi. My parents have one too. Thanks for all your great contributions over the years.

 

[EastWestBrothers]

Sorry to hear about your time with the FFE but glad to see you stayed in the family. I had considered the C-Max Energi for a second before getting the FFE, but was disappointed to find that the cargo space was actually not much different from the FFE even though the all electric range is significantly less.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience with the PHEV.

 

[jmueller065]

Sorry to hear about your time with the FFE

Hmm not sure how you've interpreted this:

Of all the cars I've driven/owned/leased it is/was by far my favorite.

 

[michael]

I'm assuming he means sorry to hear your time with FFE is ending.

 

[jmueller065]

LOL! True...what for a missing word or two!

 

[JTCalif]

Sorry to see you go, you definitely were a contributor to the quality of this forum. We'll miss you.

Keith

I truly agree with Keith. You are one of the people who have added both substance and interest to this forum,
and you help keep up the spirit of good quality and comradeship. When I see a reply from you, can bet it will be informed and relatively upbeat.

 

[damania]

are u getting a volt?

 

[jmueller065]

are u getting a volt?

Nope, I wish: The new Volt's aren't available in MI yet--at least I don't think they are and according to GM they aren't, but I've seen a few driving around with normal Michigan license plates though.

I picked up the C-Max Energi pictured above.

 

[francishsu]

My FFE lease will be ending in a few months and I am thinking C-Max Energi as well for many of the same reasons (Not enough range to run the heater during the winter in Michigan). In addition, with my kids growing up I want more legroom in back. Lease incentives are looking good for the C-max Energi as well.

I'll probably test drive the Volt for kicks, but I'm guessing it's going to be too small/cramped for my family.

 

[francishsu]

Unfortunately things didn't work out in finding plug-in hybrid. I wanted something with CarPlay support and the 2016 C-Max and Fusion don't have Sync 3, so no CarPlay. Then looked into the Sonata Plug-in Hybrid, which looked very promising, but found out it's not for sale in Michigan.

So I ended up with a 2016 Honda Civic gas. While I do like it, handing in the Focus Electric certainly felt bittersweet. Leasing the Civic, so that leaves the door open to get a long range electric when the lease is up.

Favorite aspects
no gas station
no emissions
looks
Sync/MyFord Touch, while quirky and a bit slow, worked pretty well
mobile app.. even left my garage door opener in the car when I turned it and the key fobs in to the dealer.. but I went back to the lot after hours and used the app to unlock the doors and retrieve the opener

Negatives
range during winters in Michigan.. on the order of 20-25% less range compared to other seasons, could not use climate control much on drives home from work
handling in snow.. thought it would be better with the extra weight of the battery, but I had problems going from a dead stop in the snow. Maybe it's just because I was used to a full size sedan before that

 

[jmueller065]

I wanted something with CarPlay support and the 2016 C-Max and Fusion don't have Sync 3, so no CarPlay.

News to me as my 2016 C-Max Energi has Sync 3 in it. It doesn't have CarPlay yet as the update for that hasn't been released yet.

Blog post about Sync 3 in the C-Max.

 

[francishsu]

I wanted something with CarPlay support and the 2016 C-Max and Fusion don't have Sync 3, so no CarPlay.

News to me as my 2016 C-Max Energi has Sync 3 in it. It doesn't have CarPlay yet as the update for that hasn't been released yet.

Blog post about Sync 3 in the C-Max.

You're right.. thanks for correcting that misinformation that I had. I kinda simplified my explanation. So I went to our Ford dealer with the intention of trying out the C-Max Energi, but my wife wanted to make sure the car we got had more legroom in the back now that our kids are grown up more. (If the rear legroom were not an issue, then I really wanted the new Volt.) While the C-Max does have more rear legroom than the Focus, when we put our kids in back, my wife felt it wasn't enough. So we ended up not test driving the C-Max at all. We then turned to the Fusion Energi, which had more rear legroom, and test drove that car. But the Fusion I think did not seem Sync 3.. and when I raised the point to the dealer, he didn't dispute that I wouldn't be able to get CarPlay for it. In the test drive itself of the Fusion Energi, I thought it was OK. Not as fun as the Civic, but not bad and I would still be able to use my L2 charger. So lack of CarPlay became a tipping point in my decision not to go with the Fusion Energi. (And in my simplified explanation, I made the mistake of assuming that the C-Max Energi was using the same version of Sync as the Fusion). With the Civic, it's a bit funny that the specs show the rear legroom to be only one inch more than the C-Max, but with the kids seated in the back of the Civic it looked good to my wife.

 

[Elektra]

So I ended up with a 2016 Honda Civic gas. While I do like it, handing in the Focus Electric certainly felt bittersweet. Leasing the Civic, so that leaves the door open to get a long range electric when the lease is up.

Which engine did you get? 2.0L or 1.5L Turbo? Does it have Honda Sensing? Did you look at the Accord?

I want to replace my Kizashi with something that has adaptive cruise control. I'm deciding between the Accord, Civic, Golf Sportwagen, and Passat.

 

[francishsu]

So I ended up with a 2016 Honda Civic gas. While I do like it, handing in the Focus Electric certainly felt bittersweet. Leasing the Civic, so that leaves the door open to get a long range electric when the lease is up.

Which engine did you get? 2.0L or 1.5L Turbo? Does it have Honda Sensing? Did you look at the Accord?

I want to replace my Kizashi with something that has adaptive cruise control. I'm deciding between the Accord, Civic, Golf Sportwagen, and Passat.

Sent you a PM response to avoid going off topic.