The Ford C-MAX Hybrid will be available this fall and there’s a buzz building for many reasons, but perhaps the “buzziest” is that it’s projected to achieve 47 mpg city! That’s 3 mpg more than the Toyota Prius. And the projected $25,995 base price is less than the base price of a Prius.

The C-MAX Hybrid is a member of an elite group – it’s the first dedicated line of hybrid vehicles from Ford.

But about that projected mpg: As we said, that’s 47 mpg city, and it’s 44 mpg highway. On top of that, you can drive 500-plus miles with total system horsepower of 188. There again it beats the Prius v and Prius, which is projected to come in at 134.

The five-seater C-MAX Hybrid makes power from a combo of gasoline engine and battery-driven electric motor. When powered by gasoline, the C-MAX Hybrid uses the all-new 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine – a powerful and fuel-efficient engine and among the most advanced non-turbocharged four-cylinder powertrains Ford has ever offered. The new Brake Coach feature helps optimize use of the braking system, coaching you to brake in a manner that maximizes the amount of energy returned through the regenerative braking system. Redesigned imagery of green leaves shows overall driving efficiency – as you improve your efficient driving, you are rewarded with more leaves.

C-MAX Hybrid also offers technologies such as a hands-free liftgate, active park assist and the next-generation SmartGauge® with EcoGuide, which is designed to help you get the most from the C-MAX Hybrid, by providing information such as instantaneous fuel economy to help closely monitor how your driving behavior affects efficiency.

And let’s do one more comparison: C-MAX Hybrid offers 99.7 cubic feet of passenger space compared with 97 cubic feet in Prius v, as well as more head room in both the front and rear seats than the Prius v (41/39.4 inches vs. 39.6/38.6 inches).