5 Things I hate about the 13+ MKZ Hybrid

"CAR_IS_MI" (car-is-mi) 11/02/2016 at 00:51 • Filed to: None

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I know it may be strange to hear from an automotive enthusiast, but I love hybrids.

Okay, so maybe not love, not yet at least, but I think as the technology improves and manufacturers begin building normal looking hybrid cars (looking your way Honda Insight and Toyota Prius), hybrid drivetrains will become the standard.

That being said, one of my perks in my new position at work is being able to take dealer owned vehicles out as demo program cars. As an enthusiast, the inner me always screams “TAKE THE CORVETTE!!! OR WAIT, TRY THAT 370Z!!” or whatever fun, performance oriented car is there. The bigger part of me wants to see what new technologies are progressing towards.

That being said, just the other day we had a BMW i3 come through I really wanted to try. So I turned in the F-150 I was driving and went to go grab the i3. But I was too late and we had taken a customer deposit on it. So I grabbed a slightly owned MKZ Hybrid.

I have had this car for 27 hours as of writing this. Here are the 5 things I HATE most about this car.

Let me first start by saying overall, in terms of the hybrid vehicle market (true hybrid, not electric with range extenders), I feel ford makes one of the most all around solid vehicles for the price point. That being said:

1) The Efficiency Screen

This screen tells me literally nothing. Being light on the throttle, coasting more, and riding the brakes lighter and longer makes the bars go up. This also makes you the driver that even your grandma would flip off while passing.

2) The Entertainment Screen

A whole 4 inches of LED screen that tells you what audio function you have selected. Seriously. Change it to FM it says FM radio. Change it to USB it says USB. Heres my problem, the Sync system is already receiving specific information, such as radio station id (song names for those that transmit), or song info from USB / BT.

You can change the 4 inch screen to display other useless info like navigation where it says things like “N” or “SW”. It will display next turn info if a route is selected. But overall... USELESS.

3) This screen

This screen displays drive info, such as where power is being sent. When the engine is running it says things like “Engine on: Due to normal operation”. Great. Thanks. But everything is normal operation. Again, useless.

4) Lack of Trunk Button

So there is a trunk open button on the dash, and one on the remote, but where there is not one is on the trunk. I know. 1st world problem. But the car has a smart key, which means you can put the key in your pocket and leave it there when you open the door, when you start the engine, or when you need to lock it.

Again, I realize 1st world problem. But its annoying on a car that has a power deck lid.

5) Lack of EV mode

Toyota / Lexus has it. The new Mercedes hybrids have it, and so do the new Porsche hybrids.

But I don’t even care that there is not some button I can hit to keep me in electric mode for my 1 mile city drive to the grocery store.

No, what pisses me off the most about this is that anything over 5% throttle kicks the gas motor on. Most of my daily commute is 50+ MPH parkways with lights every few miles. In the 57 miles I have driven this car, I have gone through a 1/4 tank of gas. Thats 3.25 gallons, assuming a perfectly squared tank. thats 17.5 MPG in a car that claims over 40... (realistically the tank is not squared and I am likely getting mid 30 MPG).

Overall I like the MKZ and its features, and hope to bing you more interesting hybrid content (plus some fun stuff).

bhtooefr > CAR_IS_MI 11/02/2016 at 01:03

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If I had a Ford hybrid, I’d probably set the left display to Engage or Empower. (Engage has separate ICE vs. electric power gauges, whereas Empower overlays the EV power limit over top of a total power gauge.) My Prius has something very similar to the Coach screen on the Hybrid System Indicator (similar idea to Empower except with a static line marking the EV power limit), though, and yes, it basically tells you to drive annoyingly slowly in acceleration. I often get one box (out of five) for acceleration. (Cruising is basically, hold steady speed, and I’ve always braked slowly, so I get good scores there.) That’ll also help with keeping the engine off, especially Empower.

Also, keep in mind that Toyota’s EV button is intended only for moving the car around in a parking lot, and only up to 20 MPH. The instant you hit 20, it goes out of EV Mode (but it may stay in EV, if the engine’s warm - otherwise, it actually fires up the engine), at least in my 2016 Prius. Go hard on the accelerator, you get engine. Battery runs low, you get the engine. Coolant temperature low and you’re asking for heat, you get the engine sometimes.

Realistically, if you don’t want the engine to start, drive it very, very gently, don’t bother with the EV button. (Unless, of course, you’re dealing with a plug-in hybrid...)

jimz > CAR_IS_MI 11/02/2016 at 03:35

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1) The Efficiency Screen

There are several, try a different one.

2) The Entertainment Screen

That must be a seriously old car with seriously old software, because that screen should be showing artist/title info from USB/BT and RDS info from FM.

but where there is not one is on the trunk. I know. 1st world problem.

it’s right above the license plate. you’re welcome.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > jimz 11/02/2016 at 07:12

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Let me guess, it’s a flat button like the Focus and Fiesta?

CAR_IS_MI > jimz 11/02/2016 at 10:14

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1) all the various modes are usesless

2) its a 15....

3) the license plate is essentially calf high for me, that means I have to bend nearly all the way over to find such a button.

HammerheadFistpunch > CAR_IS_MI 11/09/2016 at 21:26

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Hey can I hit you up offline? hhfp.kinja@yahoo.com