Ford Focus Electric - Initial Impressions

[HannahWCU]

As I stated in another thread (http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/4554-changing-vehicles/), I bought a Ford Focus Electric recently and handed down the CMax to my wife.  Fotomoto wanted a quick review so here is my initial impression (with ~ 450 miles):

 

- Much less room. For me (6'2" 300+ pounds), it is a little harder to get into and out of (than the CMax).  The back does not have near the storage space of a CMax.  A large part of the hatch area is taken up by the 6.6KW charger.  But since I bought this a strictly a commuter and around town vehicle, not a real big deal.

 

- Plenty of power.  At least in the 0-30mph range it is quite quick.  I would put it on par with the CMax for acceleration.  I have never been left wishing for more.  That said, it is no Tesla (not that I driven a Tesla ;) ).

 

- Charging.  Right now i only have the 120V charge cord.  I have a 240V charger on order, should be delivered next week. For those that don't know, the difference between a 120v and 240V cord is the speed of the charge.  The 120v cord takes 20 hours to charge a fully depleted battery, while the 240V will do the same in 4.6 hours.  This isn't a big deal for me as I have not driven over 45 miles without charging.  I am lucky enough to be able to charge (at 120v) at work.  My 27 mile drive to work takes about 6-7 hours to recharge at work.  So I have a full "tank" when I head home. 

 

- Range.  The FFE is EPA rated for a 76 mile range.  As I said I have not driven more than 45 miles without charging.  That said, the FFE hates cold MUCH more than the CMax.  But not directly because of the battery getting cold.  The FFE has a Thermal Management System for the battery so it will actively heat and/or cool the battery to keep it at the optimal tremperatures.  This has an adverse effect on range, as heating or cooling the battery will use part of the charge available for driving.  But the biggest hit to range comes with using the cabin heater.  Turning the heat on immediately reduces range by 10-11 miles!!  

 

- Cool Features.  Pre-conditioning!  The coolest part of an electric in my opinion is pre-conditioning.  Pre-conditioning is like a pre-programmed remote start.  I use MyFordMobile (app or web site) to tell my car that I will be leaving the house every morning at 6:10AM.  15 minutes before that the car turns on the heat and pre-heats the cabin to 85F.  It will maintain this temp for up to 15 minutes after my "GO" time.  This way the car uses the house electricity to heat the inside and not the battery (assuming it is plugged in).  You have 3 pre-set temperatures to choose from when pre-conditioning (68F, 72F and 85F).  Another cool feature is the Navigation system.  If you program in a destination, it will tell you whether you enough charge to get there or not.  If you don't program in a destination, it assumes you will be charging back at home, so it draws a circle in the nav that tells you when you have crossed the "point-of-no-return"!

 

- Running cost.  Here in NC, I'm paying about $0.11 per KW for electricity.  I estimate  that charging at home cost me about $0.029/mile.  With gas prices hovering around $2.50/gallon here that still works out to over 86 MPG equivalent. Also, remember that there is basically NO maintenance on an electric.  The first scheduled service to anything drivetrain related is at 150,000 miles (replacing the coolant for the controller).  And it is direct drive.  No clutches, no transmission, no oil, no air filter, no nothing (from a maintenance standpoint).  And no gas pumps ... ever!

 

Overall, I like it.

[fotomoto]

THANKS for the report.

 

Yes, 240v is the way to go especially if you need to pre-heat.  120v can't always keep up and the heater may need to pull additional power from the battery thus reducing range.  As you said, range isn't an issue so that won't matter really much.  

 

A good rule of thumb for the charging rate of the slowest level II chargers (240v) is 10 miles per hour of range added.  120v is 4mph.

 

When buying my first Energi, I looked at the FFE on the showroom floor.  I was intrigued until I sat in the back.  It was as cramped as my volt.  A car that I had traded in in the cmax because it became to small for my changing family needs.  They work great as commuters though!  

[scottwood2]

Thx for the report.   Seeing more of this all the time.  My work had 5 charge stations.  They are now doubling it to 10.  I have not seen any pure electrics here at work but do see a few in the Detroit area from time to time.  Good to see so many new cars coming out with this electric option.  i hope they can get the storage loss problem taken care of in time.  I am sure they will.  That was the main reason I did not want the plug in. 

[Kelleytoons]

I can definitely see this as the way to go for anyone who commutes in a distance that will fit.

 

For everyone else... not so much.  Forget the lack of storage for a moment, and even forget deliberate long trips.  As someone who goes out to the store (about a 24 mile round trip) I find that I often suddenly decide to make some "extra" trips.  Soon I've easily driven for an hour and... well, I'd basically be screwed with any electric only car.  Not only that, it would just make me *very* nervous to know I might run out at any moment and then be stuck, even if I made it to a plug, for several hours.

 

For this old man I doubt whether I'd ever be able to deal with that -- perhaps the next generation will have plug-in stations everywhere that can supercharge a vehicle in 15 minutes (I wouldn't count anything out, even though battery technology hasn't changed much in 100 years).

[stevedebi]

I didn't look at it past the price tag - about 39K at the time. It has been reduced now. A good car for those with the requisite commute!

 

Preconditioning with a 120v charger will quite possibly run the battery down somewhat. The 120v can't keep up. Not a problem with the L2.

[scottwood2]

 

 

Preconditioning with a 120v charger will quite possibly run the battery down somewhat. The 120v can't keep up. Not a problem with the L2.

???  Charging the battery runs the battery down?  I know the 240 v is better but I thought 120 v is better than nothing?  Our charging stations at work are 120 v.

[Kelleytoons]

No, I think he's talking about "pre-conditioning", where you heat/cool the car before you drive it.  Both he and the original poster said that doing this when attached to only 120 may run the battery down (I assume because 120 isn't enough to supply the power that's being used in the pre-conditioning).

 

I understand folks who live in the very cold would enjoy this, but here in Florida pre-conditioning would be foolish (I don't understand *anyone* who feels their car is too hot to get in to drive - it takes but a few seconds of A/C to cool down almost any car nowadays).  So for me it's a "meh" factor.

[fotomoto]

I understand folks who live in the very cold would enjoy this, but here in Florida pre-conditioning would be foolish (I don't understand *anyone* who feels their car is too hot to get in to drive - it takes but a few seconds of A/C to cool down almost any car nowadays).  So for me it's a "meh" factor.

The following pertains to the Energi models with an ICE not the focus electric model.

 

July 28th, 3:15 pm, central Florida= 98f with 115% humidity   :drop:     Car has been in a parking lot getting a charge.  If the battery is getting towards it's upper operational threshold, the car will use the ICE instead of the EV/battery even with a full battery.  So pre-con with a/c once or even twice will cool the interior AND battery letting the car drive under EV.  

 

In mildly cold weather after warming up the interior, the occupant can make do with just the low load seat heaters vs cranking up the 5kW heater.   Another benefit is this gets some current flow through the battery warming it up some before driving.  If the battery is too cold (Minnysnowtah weather), the car may revert to ICE only operation to protect the ev/battery just like the very hot weather example.  

 

Doing preconditioning off cheap or even free wall power is certainly preferable to having an unnecessary ICE start up because one lost too many miles as the HVAC drew down the battery.  Timers can be set up one time though a smartphone or internet to have the car preconditioned to a set temp. and ready to go at departure time.

[HPRifleman]

The FFE has a Thermal Management System for the battery so it will actively heat and/or cool the battery to keep it at the optimal tremperatures.  This has an adverse effect on range, as heating or cooling the battery will use part of the charge available for driving.  But the biggest hit to range comes with using the cabin heater.  Turning the heat on immediately reduces range by 10-11 miles!!  

 

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this. A lot of detail behind pure electric vehicles can only come from the people that own and drive them. Knowing details like this helps to educate the rest of us.

[HannahWCU]

I have read that the HVAC heating in the FFE is 6000 watts (6kw). So yes, the 120V charge cord can only supply about 1560 watts (120V X 13amps) whereas the 240V cord can do the full 6.6kw (6600watts) that the on board charger is rated for. With the 240V you can charge AND pre-condition.

 

I use the pre-conditioning to keep from running the heater on the way to work. As fotomoto said, with the seat heaters no heating is necessary.

[Adrian_L]

I can definitely see this as the way to go for anyone who commutes in a distance that will fit.

 

For everyone else... not so much.  Forget the lack of storage for a moment, and even forget deliberate long trips.  As someone who goes out to the store (about a 24 mile round trip) I find that I often suddenly decide to make some "extra" trips.  Soon I've easily driven for an hour and... well, I'd basically be screwed with any electric only car.  Not only that, it would just make me *very* nervous to know I might run out at any moment and then be stuck, even if I made it to a plug, for several hours.

 

For this old man I doubt whether I'd ever be able to deal with that -- perhaps the next generation will have plug-in stations everywhere that can supercharge a vehicle in 15 minutes (I wouldn't count anything out, even though battery technology hasn't changed much in 100 years).

 

So you need to be more disciplined with your routes and range.  Yes, electric cars are not for "wanderlust" drivers who lose track of time.

[plus 3 golfer]

So you need to be more disciplined with your routes and range.  Yes, electric cars are not for "wanderlust" drivers who lose track of time.

I've seen Leaf owners characterize to prospective owners on how it feels driving with the range of the Leaf like this: it's like driving an ICE car with the low fuel light always on but with virtually all the gas stations closed.

[kostby]

Thanks so much for posting this great comparison info, and please continue to do updates!

 

We never considered an all-electric vehicle for the primary car, but since the purchase of our C-MAX Hybrid, I've been seriously thinking that it makes perfect sense as a second vehicle because so many of our trips are very short local commutes. A C-MAX Energi would have been an ALMOST perfect fit, but the large battery reduced the cargo capacity and useful shape too much for our weekly needs, like transporting a push mower back and forth between properties.

 

We're both retired now, so it will probably at least 2 to 10 years before we look for a replacement for the oldest car. As the technology advances, the EV range keeps increasing while the vehicle cost keeps decreasing, so it doesn't pay for us to 'rush' into an EV purchase.

 

Speaking of Tesla, I follow Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, @stevewoz on Twitter. Steve owns a Tesla S. Don't know if it's the 60KW (rated at ~265 miles max battery or the 85KW (now rated at ~300 miles max) battery. He's a pretty entertaining guy anyway, but some of his posts about finding charging and Supercharger stations for his Tesla are priceless. He recently said he's discovered lots of new eating places because of the need to recharge the car on longer trips!

 

And I'm sure you already know about this site that lists EV charging stations: http://www.plugshare.com

Edited December 7, 2014 by kostby

[Kelleytoons]

So you need to be more disciplined with your routes and range.  Yes, electric cars are not for "wanderlust" drivers who lose track of time.

 

I didn't say I lost track of time -- I probably keep track of my time more carefully than you do (since I have a lot less of it left :>).  But I certainly am flexible about things.  If I had to always think "well, we can't go out to dinner while we're out shopping because we'd run out of energy" it would take a lot of the fun out of what little life I have left.

 

No, I still think these are for those with fixed commutes who don't have to (nor want to) deviate from any such process.  Otherwise, it's really a crapshoot, at least with any distances involved (if you are driving around a few miles from your home/work where you can go back to charge then it's another matter, although I would argue that if that is your range you really ought to be exploring things that don't require any energy but your own, like a bicycle).  In that regard a lot of old folks live in a community called The Villages here and use golf carts to get around because nearly everything (shopping, recreation, medical facilities) is within a few miles of where they live, all with golf cart paths to it.  In that scenerio they are indeed using an all electric vehicle and I could see something like this being ideal if they wanted more speed and/or cargo/seating capacity.

[plus 3 golfer]

Very interesting. Thanks for posting this. A lot of detail behind pure electric vehicles can only come from the people that own and drive them. Knowing details like this helps to educate the rest of us.

Exactly,  I'd suggest anyone who is contemplating an EV, go to the Leaf and FFE forums and follow their trials and tribulations for a few years.  I've concluded (primarily for the reasons Kelleytones gives) that an EV with a 76 mile EPA range won't work for me.  

 

My guess is that the FFE is still too new to assess range degradation over miles driven under various conditions.  Hopefully, it won't be as bad as the Leaf.   There are many negatives with EV ownership that IMO offset fuel savings. This IMO is the most negative: "Loss of battery capacity due to or resulting from gradual capacity loss is NOT covered under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty."  So, after 30k or 50k miles say ones typical range is now only 60, 55, or 50 miles under various conditions. IMO, Ford needs to include a battery degradation threshold where the HBV is replaced under warranty. Otherwise, one cannot count on the range over time / miles.  Many Leaf owners favor leasing over ownership as a hedge against the negatives.  But everyone's situation is different.  

[HannahWCU]

Exactly,  I'd suggest anyone who is contemplating an EV, go to the Leaf and FFE forums and follow their trials and tribulations for a few years.  I've concluded (primarily for the reasons Kelleytones gives) that an EV with a 76 mile EPA range won't work for me.  

 

My guess is that the FFE is still too new to assess range degradation over miles driven under various conditions.  Hopefully, it won't be as bad as the Leaf.   There are many negatives with EV ownership that IMO offset fuel savings. This IMO is the most negative: "Loss of battery capacity due to or resulting from gradual capacity loss is NOT covered under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty."  So, after 30k or 50k miles say ones typical range is now only 60, 55, or 50 miles under various conditions. IMO, Ford needs to include a battery degradation threshold where the HBV is replaced under warranty. Otherwise, one cannot count on the range over time / miles.  Many Leaf owners favor leasing over ownership as a hedge against the negatives.  But everyone's situation is different.

 

One big difference between the Leaf and Focus is the Focus has active thermal battery management. I have heard that some of the problems with the Leafs is the battery getting too hot. But you are correct. Long term range loss is still an unknown. I would have liked to have leased, but just driving back and forth to work I will put 15,000+ miles a year. Not good for leasing.

 

In my case, I actually paid about $3000 less than a similarly equipped ICE Focus. So for me I thought I would give it a shot. We will see.

[plus 3 golfer]

One big difference between the Leaf and Focus is the Focus has active thermal battery management. I have heard that some of the problems with the Leafs is the battery getting too hot. But you are correct. Long term range loss is still an unknown. I would have liked to have leased, but just driving back and forth to work I will put 15,000+ miles a year. Not good for leasing.

 

In my case, I actually paid about $3000 less than a similarly equipped ICE Focus. So for me I thought I would give it a shot. We will see.

Yes, I agree that the active thermal battery management should reduce the degradation rate.  As I stated in another thread this past summer, I considered a FFE given the significant rebates (leasing and cash) available on the FFE in early summer.  But, it made no "economic" sense trading our C-Max in for an FFE or keeping the C-Max and trading in our Rogue. 

 

Does the PID for SOC show the "true" SOC for the HVB?  Has anyone tracked their SOC yet on the FFE forums?

Edited December 7, 2014 by Plus 3 Golfer

[hybridbear]

Thanks so much for the detailed update. Please keep them coming!

 

No, I think he's talking about "pre-conditioning", where you heat/cool the car before you drive it.  Both he and the original poster said that doing this when attached to only 120 may run the battery down (I assume because 120 isn't enough to supply the power that's being used in the pre-conditioning).

 

I understand folks who live in the very cold would enjoy this, but here in Florida pre-conditioning would be foolish (I don't understand *anyone* who feels their car is too hot to get in to drive - it takes but a few seconds of A/C to cool down almost any car nowadays).  So for me it's a "meh" factor.

I disagree completely. Pre-conditioning is incredible. It enables you to use electricity from the wall and not give up any range while getting into a heated or cooled car.

[HPRifleman]

I find myself as a very interested bystander observing a shift in transportation preferences. For decades we have had an infrastructure model of ICE-powered vehicles and energy sources (gas stations) scattered around the country. You can travel from any point to any another point as long as you are moving from one gas station to another.

 

Now we are seeing vehicles that don't subscribe to this model. For the most part, EV's source their energy from wherever they are based. For privately owned vehicles that means at home. The downside of this is that the vehicle can't venture out to an external energy source and must remain within range of its base.

 

There is a lot of inertia behind our existing infrastructure model. It remains to be seen if the infrastructure will change to accomdate EV's (charging stations all over the country), if the vehicles will advance to the point that they don't need charging away from their base, or a combination of the two.

[scottwood2]

No, I think he's talking about "pre-conditioning", where you heat/cool the car before you drive it.  Both he and the original poster said that doing this when attached to only 120 may run the battery down (I assume because 120 isn't enough to supply the power that's being used in the pre-conditioning).

 

I understand folks who live in the very cold would enjoy this, but here in Florida pre-conditioning would be foolish (I don't understand *anyone* who feels their car is too hot to get in to drive - it takes but a few seconds of A/C to cool down almost any car nowadays).  So for me it's a "meh" factor.

OK, Got it.  Thx for clearing that up.

[HannahWCU]

Now we are seeing vehicles that don't subscribe to this model. For the most part, EV's source their energy from wherever they are based. For privately owned vehicles that means at home. The downside of this is that the vehicle can't venture out to an external energy source and must remain within range of its base.

 

There is a lot of inertia behind our existing infrastructure model. It remains to be seen if the infrastructure will change to accomdate EV's (charging stations all over the country), if the vehicles will advance to the point that they don't need charging away from their base, or a combination of the two.

 

This is an issue I am running into. For the most part, keeping within 30 miles of my home is not a problem.  I went out Saturday for a day of shopping and had no issues with driving around AND using the heater all day.  Got home with about 50% charge left.  That said.  I would like to venture out further.  Charlotte is certainly within the range (one-way) of the FFE.  The problem is finding a charger near my destination.  My big wish is to drive to a Carolina Panther Football game.  But since I will use about 75% of my charge to get there I HAVE to charge to get home.  There are plenty of chargers around the stadium, but you cannot "reserve" a space with a charger.  And since I can't reserve a charger, and I don't want to be stranded, I can't drive the FFE.  I tried calling the Panthers organization, but since all the parking around the stadium is private (not run by the Panthers) they cannot help.

 

Overall though, It is working out for me.  It is what I expected.

[Kelleytoons]

Thanks so much for the detailed update. Please keep them coming!

 

I disagree completely. Pre-conditioning is incredible. It enables you to use electricity from the wall and not give up any range while getting into a heated or cooled car.

 

You disagree that living in Florida pre-conditioning is foolish?  How long have you been living here?

 

The longer you live here the more you get used to the heat, so if you've only been here a few years I think you'll find that you don't need A/C as much as you might now (certainly not to pre-cool your car).

Edited December 8, 2014 by Kelleytoons

[hybridbear]

You disagree that living in Florida pre-conditioning is foolish?  How long have you been living here?

 

The longer you live here the more you get used to the heat, so if you've only been here a few years I think you'll find that you don't need A/C as much as you might now (certainly not to pre-cool your car).

The problem is that you aren't understanding the benefit of preconditioning. A/C uses a lot of energy when you first turn it on to cool a hot car. Just look in your C-Max at how much energy is being used by the A/C in the summer when you first start it up. Preconditioning allows you to get the car cool using power from the wall instead of from the battery. This means that you can start your trip with a full battery and a cool car. Since driving on wall electricity is way more efficient than driving on gas it makes a ton of sense in the Energi vehicles to precondition. Since wall electricity is your only source of "fuel" in an EV it makes a ton of sense to precondition. It takes a lot less energy to keep the car cool than it does to cool it down initially. That is the benefit of preconditioning, you aren't giving up EV range for that initial cool down.

[hybridbear]

This is an issue I am running into. For the most part, keeping within 30 miles of my home is not a problem.  I went out Saturday for a day of shopping and had no issues with driving around AND using the heater all day.  Got home with about 50% charge left.  That said.  I would like to venture out further.  Charlotte is certainly within the range (one-way) of the FFE.  The problem is finding a charger near my destination.  My big wish is to drive to a Carolina Panther Football game.  But since I will use about 75% of my charge to get there I HAVE to charge to get home.  There are plenty of chargers around the stadium, but you cannot "reserve" a space with a charger.  And since I can't reserve a charger, and I don't want to be stranded, I can't drive the FFE.  I tried calling the Panthers organization, but since all the parking around the stadium is private (not run by the Panthers) they cannot help.

 

Overall though, It is working out for me.  It is what I expected.

What network are the chargers on? If they're ChargePoint you may be able to reserve one. ChargePoint stations also usually show if they're in use or not. You could check during Panthers games to see how many of the stations are in use. If you see that they're almost all empty then you could probably take the FFE.

[ptjones]

I guess you could take a small generator as a backup , but then again someone could steal that too. What to do. :)

 

Paul