Official Ford Focus Electric Thread

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while i was using the QC at stanfurd mall last week, i drove the FFE.

it was a very short loop. the car was not fully charged, and it was showing 58miles of range. supposedly it has a range comparable to the leaf but somehow i got the idea that it had a lower range.

the displays are really nice - quite high resolution. there's one on each side of the speedo and one in the center console. each time you brake you get a readout of your regen efficiency, and instead of collecting trees, you collect butterflies for conservative driving.

i could not see the power button - one of the wheel stalks was directly in my line of sight. the dash seemed kind of crowded to me. finally going over speedbumps in the parking lot, the front suspension seemed a little loose. hard to describe.
 
I heard from a friend in CA that there will be a regional drive with the FFE on May 16th in Carson, CA.

I will try to find out more information, but if anyone in CA has heard something similar, be sure to post details. I'm trying to find out if this is an invitation only event or open to the public.
 
A couple nice things they said about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/automobiles/autoreviews/the-battery-driven-car-just-got-a-lot-more-normal.html?_r=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
<snip>
In my week with the Focus Electric in the San Francisco Bay Area — the first multiday test of the car by a journalist — the powertrain felt as if it had been tailored for highway driving, offering rapid bursts of acceleration from 30 to 50 m.p.h., and from 55 to 75, with oomph left in reserve.

That’s one of many ways Ford engineers aimed this electric auto at drivers accustomed to the road manners of a gasoline car. “We wanted the Focus Electric to be a vehicle first, that just happened to be electric,” said Eric Kuehn, Ford’s chief engineer for global electrified programs.
<snip>
Above 10 m.p.h., the Focus becomes well-planted and controlled by taut steering. Without a gas engine up front, the Focus Electric’s weight distribution is close to ideal at 49 percent in front, 51 percent in the rear. (The gasoline car is nose-heavy at 61/39.)

Because of its 650-pound battery pack, the car is relatively heavy, at 3,642 pounds, but the engineers did a good job of adjusting springs and shocks to handle the extra weight in the rear. The car has a substantial but not ponderous feel.
<snip>
 
scottf200 said:
A couple nice things they said about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/automobiles/autoreviews/the-battery-driven-car-just-got-a-lot-more-normal.html?_r=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
<snip>
In my week with the Focus Electric in the San Francisco Bay Area — the first multiday test of the car by a journalist — the powertrain felt as if it had been tailored for highway driving, offering rapid bursts of acceleration from 30 to 50 m.p.h., and from 55 to 75, with oomph left in reserve.

That’s one of many ways Ford engineers aimed this electric auto at drivers accustomed to the road manners of a gasoline car. “We wanted the Focus Electric to be a vehicle first, that just happened to be electric,” said Eric Kuehn, Ford’s chief engineer for global electrified programs.
<snip>
Above 10 m.p.h., the Focus becomes well-planted and controlled by taut steering. Without a gas engine up front, the Focus Electric’s weight distribution is close to ideal at 49 percent in front, 51 percent in the rear. (The gasoline car is nose-heavy at 61/39.)

Because of its 650-pound battery pack, the car is relatively heavy, at 3,642 pounds, but the engineers did a good job of adjusting springs and shocks to handle the extra weight in the rear. The car has a substantial but not ponderous feel.
<snip>
Really makes me wish they'd built in from scratch instead of just doing conversions from the ICE version. Sounds quite nice, not including the instrumentation. But the lack of cargo space is a killer (as is the price). We should be seeing auto mag tests of production versions soon, as well as comparos. I know Consumer Reports has had an i since February, but they probably took a long time to get 2,000 miles on the car before testing (given the similar difficulty with the longer-ranged Leaf's breaking-in period). I hope to test drive a Focus soon, or better yet rent one for a weekend: the 6.6 kW charger makes it a lot more useful for the trip(s) I want to try it on, which are all beyond its range.

IBELEAF said:
FFE has maximum speed of 85 mph?
Governed, I believe. One of the first things I expect the aftermarket to hack. :D
 
Drove FFE and LEAF back to back today at EVS26. Short street only course. LEAF feels more roomy, with a smoother ride. Focus more sporty, tighter suspension tune. LEAF has better B pedal regen integration. Trunk volume is a wash, but shape is different. Not decisive, but Focus is very appealing.
 
KeiJidosha said:
Drove FFE and LEAF back to back today at EVS26. Short street only course. LEAF feels more roomy, with a smoother ride. Focus more sporty, tighter suspension tune. LEAF has better B pedal regen integration. Trunk volume is a wash, but shape is different. Not decisive, but Focus is very appealing.

I got to drive the FFE also today. I agree with KieJidosha's assessment. FFE cockpit is tighter but still roomy enough for this 6 footer of average girth, doesn't have the LEAF's airy, open feel, but is more sporty. Seating is lower than in the LEAF because the batteries are not placed underneath the seating area, and I'm starting to notice that I prefer a lower seating position than that in the LEAF. Leather steering wheel is nice, and cloth seat material is grippier, looks and feels more durable than LEAF's seats. Interior trim level is same as ICE Focus Titanium level, so quite nice, comes with rear parking sensors and, I was told, rear view camera in addition.

I didn't sit in rear seats, but that area looked more cramped than LEAF's and FFE roofline slopes back more quickly than LEAF's, so it appears that rear head room is more limited on FFE. As familiar as I am with LEAF's rear luggage space, I'd say that the FFE's rear space is more cramped due to the intrusion of the battery pack, though the FFE's space is larger front to back than LEAF's. Still, the LEAF's luggage space is deep and tall and IMO is larger and more flexible and usable than FFE's.

Steering on the FFE is nice and tight, more connected and less serenely overboosted than LEAF's. Motor response was good and quick and the car felt responsive to the pedal and it rewards enthusiastic driving. With the tight city course we had available, it wasn't possible to judge handling and road holding, so the FFE's higher center of gravity and large battery mass at the extreme rear of the car weren't a factor. If I were to guess, I'd say that this issue wouldn't show up for the average driver in daily use, but more so if the car were pushed hard on a road course. Brake regen was mild and not noticeable, though I didn't shift into L gear, where regen is apparently stronger.

The EV-specific instrumentation on the main dash was pretty and colorful, but lacked quantitative kW usage feedback that the LEAF offers on the energy display. The FFE has colorful bar graphs, but as I recall, they weren't labeled as to scale. Instead of growing trees, the FFE grows butterflies. Pure fluff, both. I remember seeing a GOM, but no SOC percentage display.

All in all, I'd say that the FFE is attractively designed both outside and inside, has nice interior materials, feels more sporty to drive due to the lower seating position, grippier seats, leather wheel, and more aggressive acceleration. But the interior is less spacious than the LEAF's especially in the rear seats, width, leg room, head room and luggage area. Instruments on the LEAF are better, especially the energy use display.

If I had the two cars to choose from head-to-head, my personal choice for a driver's car would be the FFE, but that is only because I value sporty driving over interior space. I'd truly be hard pressed, though, because the FFE lacks any kind of quick charge capability beyond its 6.6 kW standard charger, and because the FFE is $40,000.
 

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I have to agree. The FFE is clearly more of a driver's car and you do see some of that extra cost in the interior, features, and appointments. The fellow I drove with today let me push it and throw it around a bit and it was definitely more rewarding when driven thusly than the Leaf. My wife and I, too, rarely ever have anyone in the back seat so space there is of no great interest to us. Everything considered however, if I was doing it over again today I would likely still stick with the Leaf, or if it was available, I might seriously consider the BYD. That 10Kw onboard charger, QC, and 185 mile range is mighty appealing for around $40k......

I also drove the Volt again since it had been a while since I last drove one and that reconfirmed why I went with the Leaf instead... I wanted to drive the Fisker they had there but that, alas, was by invitation only! :D

Boomer23 said:
If I had the two cars to choose from head-to-head, my personal choice for a driver's car would be the FFE, but that is only because I value sporty driving over interior space. I'd truly be hard pressed, though, because the FFE lacks any kind of quick charge capability beyond its 6.6 kW standard charger, and because the FFE is $40,000.
 
Boomer23 said:
Trunk photos:


is the trunk really angled down like that or is it an optical illusion? It looks like anything left on the floor will slide back into the hatch, and when you open it, it will fall right out on the ground.
 
palmermd said:
Boomer23 said:
Trunk photos:


is the trunk really angled down like that or is it an optical illusion? It looks like anything left on the floor will slide back into the hatch, and when you open it, it will fall right out on the ground.
Picture of floor lifted shows two "Legs" that can be left down to have a level floor. When folded, the storage covers slopes. It's your choice depending on cargo.
 
palmermd said:
Boomer23 said:
Trunk photos:


is the trunk really angled down like that or is it an optical illusion? It looks like anything left on the floor will slide back into the hatch, and when you open it, it will fall right out on the ground.

That folding cover is angled down as it appears to be, but it can be propped up flat. Anything that might roll would be best placed underneath that folding cover, into the storage well below that is shown in one of the pics.
 
My thanks to those who posted driving reports. I'm hoping they show up at dealers soon so I can try one. Does anyone know if Ford has any contracts with rental companies to put some in their fleets, ala the Leaf? I did some Googling but couldn't find any mention, unlike the (out of date) info about the Coda. I asked Coda if the deals with Hertz and Enterprise were still on but they didn't reply, which I guess we can take as a 'No', or at least they're in abeyance until Coda demonstrates that it's not going to fold in the next few months to a year.
 
TonyWilliams said:
Since you're from the motor city area, I am going to guess any Japanese car is "not quite as good".

I don't judge cars without personal experience. Japanese cars can be quite good. I was rather impressed with my brothers Mazdaspeed 3. Being from the Motor City area (or anywhere else), the LEAF is inferior to the Focus when it comes to overall quality. I'm surprised anyone would dispute this. Though you didn't necessarily dispute this- you just prejudged me.

TonyWilliams said:
I don't fit in a Focus, and I'm only 6'2".

I totally agree with you there. In fact, there isn't a single car in Fords current line up that fits me well. My legs and knees are claustrophobic ;).

TonyWilliams said:
I don't agree with your thoughts on ChaDeMo, but not a surprising comment for a Detroit centric mindset.

Again, more prejudice. But ChaDeMo is dead. I'm not sure how you can ignore this. Automakers want one place to plug in. It's easier for everyone that way. I'm not sure why the Japanese would want two places to plug in. Probably because they had no other choice with no standard being made yet. I commend Nissan for pioneering the idea and doing what was necessary to make it happen with no standard being made yet, but I don't think fanboys should discourage a better solution.

TonyWilliams said:
I doubt there is greater real range in the Ford over the LEAF; I would guess they are merely comparable, with perhaps a slightly greater advantage to the Ford at speeds over 60mph if it is more aerodynamic (it should be if done right with a slightly smaller car). The 6.6 charger will be matched by the LEAF in just a handful of months.

Liquid thermal management is superior to air. The FFE will not only provide marginally better range in moderate temperatures, but I have a feeling it will provide substantially better range than the LEAF in winter conditions. They aren't merely comparable and there is no slight advantage. The FFE is the clear winner. Of course, you're paying for it if you get a FFE.

TonyWilliams said:
The final issues with a converted Focus is weight. I suspect it is significantly heavier than a LEAF.

I suspect you may be right. But even with the presumably heavier weight and smaller battery pack, it's still more efficient than the LEAF. Again, everyone should put it into perspective with the outrageous $40K pricetag.

TonyWilliams said:
I don't see a single category that a Focus would be an improvement over a LEAF for me. The Toyota Rav-4 EV is my next choice.

Steering and handling may be subjective, so let's ignore those. Warm and cold weather range. Energy efficiency. Quality. Audio. Performance.

The RAV4-EV would be nice, but I hope they consider making a 4x4 version.
 
kubel said:
Liquid thermal management is superior to air.
That particular assertion remains to be seen. In theory, LTM should do a much better job of keeping the batteries at their optimum operating temperature. But in practice, it's also a more complicated system, with more things that can go wrong. I would also think that it should be much easier to replace bad cells in a Leaf battery pack than in one where the cells are encased in liquid.
 
I would say the Leaf could benefit from liquid temp management for the pack to control DC fast charge heat rise

and the Focus EV could do without it and save 100 lbs or so since it has no DC fast charge !
 
garsh said:
But in practice, it's also a more complicated system, with more things that can go wrong. I would also think that it should be much easier to replace bad cells in a Leaf battery pack than in one where the cells are encased in liquid.

Leaks will rear their ugly hear right after your warranty runs out.
 
garsh said:
...than in one where the cells are encased in liquid.
That's... not really how it works. :roll:

Liquid cooling for battery packs work exactly the same way liquid cooling for your computer works: a heat exchanger. The idea of submersing the battery in coolant is silly for all sorts of reasons, maintenance being the least of them.
=Smidge=
 
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