HXGuy
Well-known member
Ford held a little demo this morning in downtown Phoenix and I said what the hell, why not check it out, especially after just checking out the Nissan Leaf, I could do a back-to-back comparison of sorts.
Cool thing was that they let you take the car out on your own, anywhere really, just be back in 5 or so minutes. I took it out once, came back, there was no one there waiting (they had 3-4 demo cars) so I asked if I could take it out again!
Since I was by myself, had a chance to take some photos and videos as well.
Now for a little review...
Compared to the Nissan Leaf, the Ford Focus Electric felt a lot more like a normal car. Since it's essentially a retrofit of the regular Ford Focus, nothing is really different aside from the powertrain...inside everything is the same. The car actually felt a little bit more upscale than the Leaf, but also a bit more juvenile in design...like it's more oriented toward a younger male driver. The interior is smaller than the Leaf and the trunk space is a joke.
Driving the Focus Electric was similarly quiet to the Leaf, though there was a slight hum even when at a dead stop which I don't remember hearing in the Leaf. Acceleration felt about the same, and it was just as weird not having an engine noise, especially when you're getting up to 60 MPH and there isn't that near redline scream from an engine. Steering was maybe a little better in the sense that felt more "regular" car like.
The gauges and all that has to do with "electric" was much better in the Leaf if that's your thing. The Leaf throws all sorts of information at you in kW/h and how much power your are regenerating when braking and so on. The Focus Electric has a battery meter on one side of the speedometer and some pretty lame butterflies that appear when you are driving to it's liking (the Leaf has some trees that you build as you drive "good", not that much better but at least they aren't butterflies).
Overall impression was that the Ford Focus Electric felt very much like a normal car, you'd probably easily forget you were even in an electric car once you got into your daily routine. The Leaf on the other hand feels very much like it's a new technology and you're driving a different kind of car, has a very futuristic feel to both the inside and the outside.
Price wise the Ford Focus Electric is ~$2,000 more than the Leaf and while it charged twice as fast at 220V (3.5 hours vs 7 hours), it does not have a Quick Charge port for 440V DC charging like the Leaf does (30 minutes to charge to 80%).
Pictures and videos...
Cool trick "fuel" door...
http://youtu.be/lyZF5j-l7wM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Starting up...
http://youtu.be/I0dNmwM7eKg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Accelerating from 0 to 55 MPH...
http://youtu.be/sqdoQ9rLL1Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Driving around, accelerating, braking...
http://youtu.be/JcZo6XzE95Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And ironically as I was leaving the event, the gas light came on in the Audi. :laugh1:
Cool thing was that they let you take the car out on your own, anywhere really, just be back in 5 or so minutes. I took it out once, came back, there was no one there waiting (they had 3-4 demo cars) so I asked if I could take it out again!
Since I was by myself, had a chance to take some photos and videos as well.Now for a little review...
Compared to the Nissan Leaf, the Ford Focus Electric felt a lot more like a normal car. Since it's essentially a retrofit of the regular Ford Focus, nothing is really different aside from the powertrain...inside everything is the same. The car actually felt a little bit more upscale than the Leaf, but also a bit more juvenile in design...like it's more oriented toward a younger male driver. The interior is smaller than the Leaf and the trunk space is a joke.
Driving the Focus Electric was similarly quiet to the Leaf, though there was a slight hum even when at a dead stop which I don't remember hearing in the Leaf. Acceleration felt about the same, and it was just as weird not having an engine noise, especially when you're getting up to 60 MPH and there isn't that near redline scream from an engine. Steering was maybe a little better in the sense that felt more "regular" car like.
The gauges and all that has to do with "electric" was much better in the Leaf if that's your thing. The Leaf throws all sorts of information at you in kW/h and how much power your are regenerating when braking and so on. The Focus Electric has a battery meter on one side of the speedometer and some pretty lame butterflies that appear when you are driving to it's liking (the Leaf has some trees that you build as you drive "good", not that much better but at least they aren't butterflies).
Overall impression was that the Ford Focus Electric felt very much like a normal car, you'd probably easily forget you were even in an electric car once you got into your daily routine. The Leaf on the other hand feels very much like it's a new technology and you're driving a different kind of car, has a very futuristic feel to both the inside and the outside.
Price wise the Ford Focus Electric is ~$2,000 more than the Leaf and while it charged twice as fast at 220V (3.5 hours vs 7 hours), it does not have a Quick Charge port for 440V DC charging like the Leaf does (30 minutes to charge to 80%).
Pictures and videos...
Cool trick "fuel" door...
http://youtu.be/lyZF5j-l7wM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Starting up...
http://youtu.be/I0dNmwM7eKg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Accelerating from 0 to 55 MPH...
http://youtu.be/sqdoQ9rLL1Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Driving around, accelerating, braking...
http://youtu.be/JcZo6XzE95Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And ironically as I was leaving the event, the gas light came on in the Audi. :laugh1:
