Ford Motor Co said Tuesday its 2013 C-Max Hybrid crossover surpassed Toyota Motor Corp’s Prius V on fuel economy, with EPA ratings of 47 miles per gallon in the city and on the highway.
The Prius V is rated by the US Environmental Protection Agency at 44 mpg in city driving and 40 mpg on the highway.
Also, Ford announced that the plug-in version of the C-Max Hybrid, called C-Max Energi, will be sold this fall in 19 metro markets in 16 US states and will be at approved electric-vehicle dealers in all 50 states by the early 2013.
The five-passenger crossover will be Ford’s first plug-in hybrid. Later, Ford will have plug-in hybrid versions of the Fusion sedan and the Lincoln MKZ sedan.
The Prius V is rated by the US Environmental Protection Agency at 44 mpg in city driving and 40 mpg on the highway.
The C-Max Hybrid, which goes on sale this fall, has a combined EPA rating of 47 mpg, compared with a combined rating of 42 mpg for the Prius V.
Ford said the 2013 C-Max Hybrid will be priced from $25,995, including shipping. The 2012 Toyota Prius V starts at $27,395, including shipping; prices have not been released for the 2013 model.
Ford also said that the C-Max Energi will have a top all-electric drive speed of 85 miles per hour, which it says is 20 mph faster than the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid.
Pricing of the C-Max Energi will be $29,995, including shipping charges and incentives, Ford said.
The C-Max Energi has a battery pack and a hybrid transmission that are made by Ford at plants near Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, where the vehicle will be assembled.
The C-Max Energi will allow drivers to choose whether to drive solely on electric power, solely on gasoline-hybrid power, or by allowing the vehicle’s computer to use a blend of electric power and hybrid-gasoline power based on the state of the battery’s charge.
The C-Max Energi will have an electric-drive range of more than 20 miles.
