Official Ford Focus Electric Thread

[willk55]

Sunnyvale Ford has an ad out today advertising a 2013 FFE on a 36 month lease for $4000 down and $120/mo.

 

[surfingslovak]

Great news, thanks for posting. I know someone who prefers the styling of the Focus over the LEAF and some other EVs, I'm sure they will love hearing that lease prices are coming down.

 

[cwerdna]

Fool.com: Why Nobody's Buying Ford's Electric Car:
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/01/28/why-nobodys-buying-fords-electric-car.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I FINALLY spotted one on the open road today in south San Jose. It was a dark grey one.

I'd never seen one on the road until today. Previous sighting were at auto shows and test drive events like http://altcarexpo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, where I test drove one. It's not a bad car other than the large amount of trunk space taken up by the battery.

 

[LEAFer]

And they are hard to spot due to just minor badging differences ... and the hard-to-find tailpipe :lol:

 

[Bicster]

I drove one of these the other day, and quite enjoyed it. It was a lot more fun than the LEAF I drove. I'm disappointed that there doesn't seem to be an active community behind this car. This forum had more participation more than a year before the delivery of the first LEAF than MyFocusElectric has with 600 cars actually on the road. I'd love to connect with one or two Focus EV owners and ask them some questions about it. I'd also like to know how to get a better lease offer ... Even with the 10750 in incentives, I'm looking at nearly 400/mo for a loaded 2013; Admittedly that's with 12k/yr, 36 mo, 0 down, taxes... Anyone?

 

[Volusiano]

I test drove one a couple of weeks ago and while it handles a little better than the Leaf, my driving style is more functional than spirited anyway, so I didn't give it that many points over the LEAF.

The tiny trunk space was the deal breaker for me, though. And they didn't have any kind of promotional discount at the time, like the recent $2K rebate for purchase or $10,750 incentive for lease (which is actually $3,250 after $7,500 tax credit).

The styling is kind of either like or dislike. Unfortunately my wife and son dislike it. So we went with the Volt, which came with a lot more rebate and discount for a purchase.

If the Focus has been as competitively priced as the Volt, I might have given it a second thought.

 

[Bicster]

For me, I'd rather have all electric. I know I'd end up being one of those people with gas anxiety in a Volt. :lol:

I've been following the Volt project since inception. It's a great car. I see a lot of them, and a lot of LEAFs, in my neighborhood, probably because I live in an urban, liberal, upper-middle-class neighborhood. I'd probably never notice a Focus EV on the road, but I doubt there are many.

I agree the cargo space in the Focus is too small, but I also have a van. My wife seemed to think that as long as it had room for groceries it was no big deal. We'd have to take the van on Costco runs no matter what. I couldn't fit 48 rolls of TP or a big pack of paper towels in the back of my Subaru Legacy, either.

 

[GRA]

For me, I'd rather have all electric. I know I'd end up being one of those people with gas anxiety in a Volt. :lol:

I've been following the Volt project since inception. It's a great car. I see a lot of them, and a lot of LEAFs, in my neighborhood, probably because I live in an urban, liberal, upper-middle-class neighborhood. I'd probably never notice a Focus EV on the road, but I doubt there are many.

I agree the cargo space in the Focus is too small, but I also have a van. My wife seemed to think that as long as it had room for groceries it was no big deal. We'd have to take the van on Costco runs no matter what. I couldn't fit 48 rolls of TP or a big pack of paper towels in the back of my Subaru Legacy, either.

If the Focus is primarily for commuting and the luggage space isn't a major issue, I'd say go for it (if you can find a reasonable lease deal). Ford is advertising $249/month/36 months/10.5k miles/yr, so I don't know why you can't find a better quote than you've been getting.

 

[jspearman]

I test drove one a couple of weeks ago and while it handles a little better than the Leaf, my driving style is more functional than spirited anyway, so I didn't give it that many points over the LEAF.

The tiny trunk space was the deal breaker for me, though. And they didn't have any kind of promotional discount at the time, like the recent $2K rebate for purchase or $10,750 incentive for lease (which is actually $3,250 after $7,500 tax credit).

The styling is kind of either like or dislike. Unfortunately my wife and son dislike it. So we went with the Volt, which came with a lot more rebate and discount for a purchase.

If the Focus has been as competitively priced as the Volt, I might have given it a second thought.

The trunk space is terribly unfortunate, since you expect so much more in a hatchback, especially after driving the Leaf. You can go to IKEA in a Leaf, but not so much in an FFE.

When we were deciding on a car to replace the Leaf, we looked at the FFE. We liked the look, but it doesn't have much more range than the Leaf, but at least you get active temp management. Got a lease quote of $3K down, $327/mo for 12K mi/year. Not bad, but decided to buy RAV4 EV in the end. Lots of space, and you can tow stuff like Tony!

 

[cwerdna]

Not bad, but decided to buy RAV4 EV in the end. Lots of space, and you can tow stuff like Tony!

It'll be very interesting to see how the Rav4 EV's battery capacity holds up after 2+ summers of AZ heat...

Would definitely give us a better idea of how effective their thermal management is at mitigating capacity loss.

 

[Volusiano]

When we were deciding on a car to replace the Leaf, we looked at the FFE. We liked the look, but it doesn't have much more range than the Leaf, but at least you get active temp management. Got a lease quote of $3K down, $327/mo for 12K mi/year. Not bad, but decided to buy RAV4 EV in the end. Lots of space, and you can tow stuff like Tony!

Oh? I remember reading that you traded in an ICE car for a Volt. So you also bought a RAV4 EV as well?

I'm surprised that you were able to buy a RAV4 EV because I thought it's only for sale to CA residents only, being a compliant car. I thought that you live in AZ, don't you?

 

[Volusiano]

Not bad, but decided to buy RAV4 EV in the end. Lots of space, and you can tow stuff like Tony!

It'll be very interesting to see how the Rav4 EV's battery capacity holds up after 2+ summers of AZ heat...
Would definitely give us a better idea of how effective their thermal management is at mitigating capacity loss.

There are plenty of Volts in AZ and they seem to fare just fine so far, so I can't imagine why the RAV4 EV would do any worse.

The temperature band for cooling the Volt is crazy. Above 72F plugged in will get cooled. Above 86F parked/not plugged in also gets cooled (as long as SOC is above 70%). And they insulate it well enough that internal temp is well kept away from ambient temp.

 

[Volusiano]

For me, I'd rather have all electric. I know I'd end up being one of those people with gas anxiety in a Volt. :lol:

That's why I originally bought a LEAF over a Volt, for its simplicity. And lower price.

So when I got my LEAF buyback, I narrowed it down to the Focus EV or the Volt. Focus has the advantage of simplicity, but Volt has the advantage of extended range. Both were priced similarly but Volt had $6,500 worth of discount/rebate incentives and Focus had zip at the time. Being old school, I hate to pay full price for the Focus.

Another deal breaker for me on the Focus is the lack of a QC port.

 

[jspearman]

When we were deciding on a car to replace the Leaf, we looked at the FFE. We liked the look, but it doesn't have much more range than the Leaf, but at least you get active temp management. Got a lease quote of $3K down, $327/mo for 12K mi/year. Not bad, but decided to buy RAV4 EV in the end. Lots of space, and you can tow stuff like Tony!

Oh? I remember reading that you traded in an ICE car for a Volt. So you also bought a RAV4 EV as well?

I'm surprised that you were able to buy a RAV4 EV because I thought it's only for sale to CA residents only, being a compliant car. I thought that you live in AZ, don't you?

We traded my Honda Fit for a Volt a couple weeks ago. Love it. Had to replace Leaf, though, and my wife decided she didn't want the headaches of another Leaf in PHX, even on a short lease.

I think it was Reeler who contacted Toyota HQ and asked them if it was prohibited to sell the RAV EV outside CA, and they said that it can indeed be sold to outsiders. I'm sure it depends on who you ask, but I had no trouble and found several dealers willing to sell the car. Mine should be here by Monday or Tuesday. It's certainly a hassle to deal remotely, and there are potential pitfalls with repairing the battery components should they fail, but I have confidence in the Tesla parts. The RAV4 parts are pretty standard.

 

[planet4ever]

The trunk space is terribly unfortunate, since you expect so much more in a hatchback, especially after driving the Leaf. You can go to IKEA in a Leaf, but not so much in an FFE.

That's true if you have kids, but my wife and I rarely have anyone in the back seat, so I expect we could put quite a lot in the FFE if we needed to. I drove one and liked the way it felt, but we've got another 15 months on our LEAF lease, so the FFE is just one of the cars I'll be looking at next year. I have to assume it would never have a CHAdeMO port, which is one point against it.

Ray

 

[mkjayakumar]

I'm sure it depends on who you ask, but I had no trouble and found several dealers willing to sell the car.

Jspearman, can you give me the contact name and number of the dealer you worked with. And if it is all right can you tell me the deal you received ? Also how do you plan to do the periodic servicing to maintain your warranty ?

Jay

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Dianne in Compton is a great person for out of state sales.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Google "dianne whitmire at Carson Toyota" for contact info

 

[Bicster]

Can anyone tell me how some dealers out west are offering insanely low lease deals on the FFE right now? What magic is in play?

 

[epic]

here in Austin texas there are 20+ focus electric available to buy.The price after all rebates,credits,etc is $26,ooo +tax and fees.And 0% apr for 60 months.This looks like Ford wants to sell some of these.The batterie has a 8 year ,100k mile warrenty,also.
what is the leaf batterie warrenty.