Back in 2011 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, I amongst many others was witness to the unveiling of Ford’s smaller, but environmentally friendly C-Max to the North American market. Ford presented the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and the C-Max Hybrid indicating their vision of bringing a little bit of Europe across the pond.

The C-Max might be new to North America, but it’s been selling in Europe since 2003, commonly known as the Ford Focus C-Max. The C-Max is a subcompact hatch that seems to be the fuel efficient norm in Europe unlike the North American SUV craze. However, with no sight of a decline on gas prices, fuel efficiency has become the number one talking point amongst manufacturers. In bringing the C-Max duo to North America, Ford has initiated a plan to become a leader in the hybrid department and a competitor for the Toyota Prius.

The C-Max is offered in two trims, the base SE that starts at $27,199 and the SEL that finds itself a smidge over $30K at $30,199. This review will focus only on the C-Max Hybrid SE, as I took it for a week-long test around the city of Toronto.

Initial Glance

When first looking at the C-Max Hybrid, it’s hard to tell whether it’s a hatch or minivan from its unique in-between shape. Its quirkiness grows on you throughout the week and it’s distinguished as a Ford immediately with its Aston Martin-type trapezoid grille found on many of the latest Ford vehicles. The stimulating grille is accompanied by sleek halogen headlamps and for the SEL trim fog lights creating a striking sculpted look.

The C-Max is close to the same size as the Ford Focus that it’s based on, but you will see some differences in height and length. It’s a foot taller than the Focus, which is really noticeable in the headroom you have in the front and rear seats. In its length, it’s slightly smaller than the Focus hatch as it spans 173.6 inches.

A Look Inside

The cabin is exceptional for a green vehicle. The one thing I can’t stand about the Prius is the interior. It’s almost as if Toyota purposely planned their green machine to be dull and boring for their customers to only focus on the mileage and money saved while driving. The C-Max is modern and filled with technology and has reminiscent touches from Ford’s Escape, Fusion and Focus vehicles. The front seats are comfortable as you nestle in for your drive with seat heaters at your disposal, if you so choose. Call me crazy, but one of the best features I enjoyed were the interior chrome door handles. They really allow you to pull and grip, which seem to be lacking in most vehicle. For some reason, the door handles intrigued me – maybe I like to slam doors shut, who knows?

Naturally with all Ford products, the C-Max has the MyFord Touch entertainment screen with two LCD screens on each side of the speedometer to easily adjust whatever you like while driving eliminating any distraction. And for all you people like me who enjoy the feel of knobs and buttons – the C-Max has audio and climate adjustments below the MyFord Touch system. The perfect combination of touchscreens and knobs that will appease most customers.

The C-Max Hybrid might seem small, but if need be, it has 52.6 cu. ft. of cargo space when you fold the rear seats flat. Even with the rear seats up right, you still get 24.5 cu. ft. of room.

Under the Hood

The C-Max Hybrid SE is fitted with a 2-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine paired with an AC-synchronous 88-kW electric traction motor. This combination along with a lithium-ion battery pack produces 188 horsepower and 129 lb.-ft. of gas engine torque. The numbers might seem low, but the C-Max definitely has some pep in its step. 

The Atkinson technology used by the C-Max allows it to run on pure battery for a longer time similar to the Prius. You really don’t notice much of a change at all as it transitions from pure EV mode to gas. The smooth transitions seem to really highlight the C-Max’s capabilities.

On the Road

When you start up the C-Max it feels like you’re saving money and the environment instantly with no engine sound whatsoever. It’s a nice little package to drive as well, as I flung it around throughout the week. The C-Max isn’t the vehicle you go full throttle with, but if you want to get adventurous it corners quite well. The steering feel is perfect and has a nice fat part at the nine and three points of the steering wheel to help you direct the C-Max all over the place. It just turns on a dime with no oversteer or understeer at all, as well as very little body roll. I didn’t expect this much responsiveness with the C-Max heading into this test, so I was very impressed with the way it moved and cornered.

If you want to drive normally, as the C-Max was intended, it drives effortlessly as you cruise the city or go run some errands while saving you money at the pump. And if you’re a driver, with parallel parking issues – the C-Max can fit easily into many spaces. If you’re still nervous about parking, the upper-tier SEL trim offers Ford’s Active Park Assist at an additional $2,500 charge.  

Now to the most important feature of the C-Max – the fuel economy numbers. There has been many reports that Ford’s numbers of 4.0L/100 km in the city and 4.1L/100 km on the highway are out of whack with reality. I can tell you that out of whack is a stretch, but the numbers are indeed higher. In the week of mostly city driving, I combined to reach 6.0L/100 km – a solid number, but not at the level of the Toyota Prius v (their hatch version).

In Summary

It’s nice to see that Ford is tackling the environment effort between their C-Max duo, as well as the Ford Fusion Hybrid and EcoBoost engines throughout their lineup. There’s definitely a place for the C-Max Hybrid in Canada and it’s a nice rival for the Toyota Prius v. The Prius does do a better a job in the fuel economy department, but the C-Max makes up for it in both interior and exterior style, space, power and most importantly to some, price. It looks like Ford might have to adjust their fuel economy numbers, but to me 6.0L/100 km is still respectable and will most likely improve next year. Keep an eye out for the C-Max Hybrid, because it’s a nice alternative to the banal-looking Prius.