My First Time Going All the Way with Ford #FordLocal

I did it! I finally did it. It was my first time and I’m not gonna lie, I liked it. I liked it a lot. I finally got behind the wheel of a Ford and drove one for myself. I told you before, that although I’ve been in a Ford as a passenger, up until June 28 of this year, I had never driven one.

My opinions of Fords were all secondhand. Some folks are pretty dang passionate about Fords and some folks like to talk smack about them. I listen and take it all in, but there’s nothing like forming your own opinions based on personal experience, so on June 28, I headed to Golden Gate Fields for the Bay Area stop of the Ford 2014 EcoBoost Tour.

I got there and there were three custom tracks set up, the Ford EcoBoost Challenge, the Hybrid Challenge, and the drive as fast as you can challenge (that’s not what it was really called, but that’s pretty much what it was). Now, if you know me personally, you know that I am a driver out of necessity. I’m not one of those people that goes nuts for cars just to go nuts for cars and I really do not have a need for speed. No, thank you, I will stick to the speed limit. I drive because I have to, because me feet can only get me so far, because I have kids and places to take them, because I like to travel, because I like to see places I’ve never seen before or revisit places and people that I love. For me a car or a vehicle is a method of getting from point A to point B as comfortably, safely, efficiently, and enjoyably as possible.

I had limited time because my kiddos were sick that day so I couldn’t do all the challenges. Instead, I chose the challenge that spoke to me the most and that was the Hybrid Challenge. I want a hybrid, you guys! Like really really badly. Up until this point I’d never driven a hybrid, but that hasn’t stopped me from wanting one. Anyway the really cool thing about this challenge is that I got to drive both a Toyota Prius and a Ford C-Max.

Both the Prius and C-Max are so much quieter than I’m used to in a car, at some points it’s hard to tell that they are even on. Now, you should know that in real life I drive a Toyota. I like Toyotas, always have, always will. Still, I got into the Prius and I wasn’t crazy about the setup. Putting the car in drive and park is a little different than anything I’m used to and I’m a bit of a creature of habit so I wasn’t crazy about that, it was a little too strange for me. Other than that, I really liked driving the Prius and if I didn’t drive the C-Max immediately after I would have left thinking the Prius was pretty dang awesome and it is, but the C-Max is mo’ better and I’ll tell you why.

First off, the set up was more “traditional” and what I’m used to. Putting the car in drive and park did not take any getting used to. The C-Max also seemed to have more oomph or power than the Prius when accelerating and it felt like a heftier car, which I personally like. But where I noticed the biggest difference was in the braking on the cars. The Prius was sort of jerky whereas the C-Max was much smoother when braking.

So, now that I’ve driven a sum total of one Ford, I can tell you that I am impressed with what they’ve got going on and I would most definitely like to drive some more Fords. Yes, I’m willing to go further with Ford.

Have you ever driven a Ford hybrid?

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*Disclosure: I am a #FordLocal Embajadora. This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Ford. All statements and opinions are my own.