Ford is finding itself in hot water across the Atlantic for allegedly making overblown fuel consumption claims for its C-Max and Fusion hybrid models. Under the scrutiny of the hugely respected Consumer Reports magazine, the C-Max failed to get within 10mpg of its official claimed fuel economy figures, while the Fusion failed to get within 8mpg of its claimed figure.
That may sound like so much of a technicality – few if any of us expect our cars to match their claimed figure in everyday driving – but earlier this year Hyundai and Kia were pressured into reimbursing customers who bought models that fell similarly short; Ford may have to do the same. The moral of the story? Car firms need to be careful about making overcooked claims for their new cars.