Steve Litchfield

This foxed me for ages. And I'm hoping that relating the tale will help someone else. We have a Ford CMax (2015), but the same systems apply for the Ford Focus, on which the CMax is based. We bought it in 2018 and the auto-stop-start system worked fine for a couple of years. As a reminder, this auto-stops the engine when stationary in traffic and when the handbrake is on (and gear in neutral, obviously). Then, when you engage a gear and release the handbrake, the engine is auto-started and you're off. A nice fuel-saving measure, in theory. Alas, around 2020, the auto-stop-start system ceased to work. The green 'A' above was greyed out and with no explanation. Research online pointed to this system not working in very cold or hot weather, or when the engine's not warmed up enough, or if you have all the lights and wipers on. Sensible reasons. But not applicable in our case - it remained a mystery. There was a clue in that 'low battery state' was also listed, ...

No, this isn't a detailed treatise and specification comparison between the various car propulsion technologies. More me musing on where to go and what to do, in terms of 'choosing my next car'. I currently drive an eight year old Ford C-Max with a three cylinder 1.0 litre turbocharged 'EcoBoost' engine - those exact details becoming relevant below, as you'll see. Definitions The year is 2023 then. 'Hybrid' cars (see definitions below) have been around in production form for 25 years (since the first Toyota Prius), so are almost ubiquitous now. 'Electric' cars (ditto, definition) for about 13 years (since the Nissan Leaf), so are more common but still considered new technology. ' Hybrid ' cars have both (small batteries with) electric motors and  Internal Combustion Engines ( ICE ), with the former handling low speed, low acceleration duties, and the latter handling higher speeds and higher accelerations over longer distances. Most hybrid...