The 2013 Ford C-Max is a five-door hatchback available as a hybrid and just released plug-in hybrid Energi the manufacturer hopes will infiltrate the dominance of the Toyota Prius in the green car market.
Ford touts the C-Max as the most “car-like” of three top green car offerings the carmaker compared during a recent media briefing and brief drive in San Francisco.
John Davis, a Ford spokesman, said during the debut presentation: “We want to people to feel like they are driving a normal car.”
Davis compared the C-Max to the Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt with specifics — the vehicles’ cost prior to and after government rebates. (In California, the C-Max is also eligible for an additional rebate.)
The respective bases prices of the three cars prior to and after national rebates: Ford C-Max, $33,745/29,995; Toyota Prius, $32,760-30,260; Chevrolet Volt, $39,995-$32,495.
The C-Max features a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a combined 188 horsepower and a touted 620-mile range. It also offers 52 cubic feet of load space with the 60/40 split rear seats folded down. With the rear seat up, cargo volume is 25 cubic feet. 
True to Ford’s marketing, the C-Max is car-like, and largely unrelated to its competitors in design. The C-Max looks smallish from its exterior but is refreshingly spacious with true seating for four and a wealth of storage areas, including hidden rear footwells, as well as a storage net and utility hooks.
The C-Max was only available for a short drive in the financial district of San Francisco. Via brief start-stop city driving at low speeds, the C-Max was impressive. A longer drive would have allowed for a more thorough review.
Rebate information, recharging options, EPA mileage statistics and other C-Max details are available via the website: Ford/C-Max
Article Last Updated: November 13, 2012.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
