With all the hype on the increased fuel efficiency of vehicles being released these days, it’s good to see that they are living up to the high expectations drivers have come to acquire.
Unfortunately, sometimes it turns out to be just that, hype. In light of recent federal investigations of manufacturers overestimating their fuel economy, as in the case of Hyundai and Kia, it is especially disappointing to hear that Ford’s hybrids don’t seem to be living up to the fuel economy claims.
“Your mileage may vary” is a common response to “My fuel economy isn’t the same as on the sticker,” and to be certain, real-world fuel economy and lab-tested fuel economy are rarely similar, but it seems that a number of Ford hybrid owners aren’t satisfied with their purchases, especially considering that they’ve laid down perhaps thousands of dollars extra for those extra miles per gallon.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Ford C-MAX hybrid are both rated at 47 mpg, but it turns out that on the EPA’s website, customers are only averaging 40 mpg and 37 mpg fuel economy, respectively. This is certainly a far cry from 47 mpg, but independent testers have managed to squeeze 45 mpg out of some of theirs. Still, one can’t dispute the numbers being returned by actual drivers.
