Back in mid-April, Ford of Canada gave me the opportunity to test drive the 2013 C-Max Hybrid for a week. I was pretty excited, as it was my first time having the experience of driving a hybrid vehicle, and I wanted to see just how efficient the vehicle really was. I wanted to see if hybrids really lived up to what they're marketed as. To really put it to the test, I decided to take it down with me on a weekend getaway to Banff & Calgary.

But let's talk about the vehicle itself first. The model I was given was such a unique colour - blue candy metallic - and I absolutely loved it. It's one of those colours you either love or hate immediately. This vehicle isn't a crossover, but an actual car, and I had imagined it to be long like a wagon (think soccer moms?). To my surprise, it was shorter and I didn't mind the streamlined shape to it. While driving the car, I definitely sat higher up than I do normally driving in my Civic, so it was nice to be able to see more of the road! The vehicle didn't feel too big as I drove it, and it accelerated as quickly as I would want it to while driving around the city.

The interior featured leather seats and soft plastic accents, and the MyFord Touch system in the centre of the console. The vehicle itself had plenty of headroom in the front, the seats were roomy and comfortable, and there were seat warmers that could be customized to five different levels for both the driver and passenger. As with the Escape that I test-drove, the touchscreen system in this C-Max was identical. It was user friendly and had tons of great features ranging from bluetooth options and up to date GPS navigation. The Active Park Assist system was also available to me, and it really does come in handy when needing to parallel park into a small space. The rear view camera also featured grid lines to guide the vehicle as you reverse. There isn't much to complain about besides the fact that the climate control settings are a little hard to reach with the gear selector sitting right in front of them.

Like most of Ford's newest models, the C-Max Hybrid uses a keyless start, which I actually really enjoy because I can skip digging through my purse to find the keyfob. The drive itself throughout the city and on the highway was smooth and very steady. In the city, I often found myself driving way faster than I perceived, as the vehicle accelerated so quickly and quietly that I didn't notice it at all. Fear not, I got no tickets that week! A great feature of the vehicle was the Brake Coach - a system to teach the driver how to brake efficiently with each stop in order to maximize the regenerative capacity of the brakes to increase fuel economy and reduce wear on the brake pads. The braking energy normally lost is actually used to help charge the car battery. It honestly was great positive reinforcement, cause I loved attaining 100% returns on energy usage!

On the highway, the C-Max performed just as well, accelerating quickly but steadily as we made our way down the QE2. For the entire duration of the trip, we used the ECO Cruise control option which is designed to maximize fuel efficiency during cruise control. After driving from Edmonton to Calgary, cruising around Calgary for lunch, and driving all the way to Banff, we managed the trip in less than 3/4 of a tank of gas and the vehicle reported mileage of 6.9L/100 KM. On the drive back to Edmonton, we averaged 6.2L/100 KM which is awesome, considering the manufacturer lists the value to be around 4L/100 KM in the city and 5L/100 KM in highway conditions.

Overall, the experience with the C-Max Hybrid was a positive one - I enjoyed the steady ride and it was quite suitable for little me. Despite being a small car, there was a surprisingly large volume of space in the trunk - by flipping down the back seats you could get additional room as well. With all the features in this vehicle, the price came out to just under $36 000, but it starts at $25 199. While it may be more expensive than your average vehicle, I think the reason to commit to a hybrid vehicle really comes down to how much you value the environment. In the long run, the amount of money you save from gas utilization could also be worth it. Although the C-Max Hybrid probably isn't going to be my next vehicle purchase, the experience with it has definitely opened my eyes to the hybrid vehicles and I would take the feature into consideration.

Disclaimer: This vehicle was provided courtesy of Ford Canada. I was not expected to feature this vehicle on my blog, nor obligated to do so. This post is 100% my opinion, and as always, my priority is to you, the reader, to present an unbiased, thorough review.