Leading the charge
2016 Ford Focus EV an electrified forerunner
Future generations will look upon vehicles like the Ford Focus EV in a similar way we regard Henry Ford’s original Model A.
“Can you believe people actually bought an electric car with a range of just 120 kilometres?” they’ll cluck in much the same manner we today guffaw, “Can you believe people actually bought a car with a top speed of just 45 kilometres an hour?”
In addition to sharing the same automaker, these two models each represent the early days of their respective technologies; the combustion engine in the case of the 1903 Model A, and the electric battery in the case of the 2016 Focus EV.
And just as the former was the precursor to more powerful and everefficient 20th Century Fords, the latter is a forerunner of longer-range 21st Century Ford electrics.
Ford recently announced it’s investing $4.5 billion in battery development over the next few years with a commitment of bringing no less than 13 new electric vehicles to its global lineup by 2020. Translation: the 500-km range is coming.
We’ll begin to see that investment pay off later this year when the second-generation Focus EV comes to Ford showrooms as a 2017 model, with a reported full-charge range of 160 kilometres and the addition of DC fast-charging capability. So, what of the 2016 Focus EV? Well, electric vehicle cynics — you know who you are — no doubt chuckled at that quote above about “people actually” buying the Focus EV, snorting a snide “nobody bought that car!” between spoonfuls of their Frosted Flakes.
Which is sort of true, as Canadian sales of the Focus EV since it debuted as a 2012 model are an anemic 265 at latest count (with 113 of those sold in 2013 when gas prices peaked). For comparison’s sake, more than 4,000 Tesla Model Ss have been sold in Canada since 2012.
But after driving a 2016 Focus EV around Metro Vancouver for the past week, I can’t help but think those must be two hundred and some pretty satisfied customers.
For a city car, the Focus EV is a real winner.
I had the advantage of driving a gas-powered 2016 Focus for a week before swapping over to the all-electric model, so had a good chance to compare the two.
Visually, there isn’t much difference between the five-door hatchbacks.
The EV has a round charge-port door on the driver side front fender, a smaller trunk (thanks to the battery pack) and slightly different gauge and display readouts on the dash to provide charge and efficiency information.
Obviously, under the hood there sits a difference: the EV is equipped with a permanent magnetic electric traction motor hooked up to a liquid cooled/heated Lithium-ion battery; the gas Focus has a 1.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost 3-cylinder. The EV uses a single-speed automatic while the gas-powered Focus is equipped with a six-speed manual.
Where the two really differ is at a stoplight; or more to the point, when said light turns green. With 25 more horsepower and a whopping 59 more poundfeet of torque, the EV simply blisters it off the line when you tromp on it.
Likewise, it’s regenerative braking acts as a downshift of sorts, so performance and handling far outstripped its oil-based stablemate once you become accustomed to its driving characteristics.
And unlike the gas-powered Focus I drove, the Focus EV comes standard with the new SYNC3 enhanced voice recognition communication and entertainment system. This includes a new touch screen that allows you to swipe to change content in the same way you do with a smartphone. Also standard is the MyFord Mobile app that allows you to use your smartphone to monitor in real time things like the state of the battery charge and the current range, as well as preheat or precool the cabin.
My major complaint with the gaspowered Focus is the same as the EV: rear legroom is almost non-existent if you have six-footers in the front seats. In addition, the EV’s rear hatch storage area in comparison is compromised with the battery pack. That said, Ford designers did a good job of creating a storage space below the cargo floor, then one below that for the charge cord.
In terms of charging, the 240-volt speed of 3.6 hours is good compared to the competition (Nissan Leaf for example), but the 20-hour 120-volt charge time is not.
As mentioned, the 2017 model will be equipped with a DC quick charge, which will go a long way in making the Focus EV one of the more competitive all-electrics for the money.
Ah yes, the money. (“Aha!” grunt the Frosted Flake eaters)
With a base price of $31,999, the Focus EV is more than $10,000 over the base sticker of the 1.0-litre EcoBoost gas model ($19,599), and even with government rebates, no case can be made that the Focus EV will save you money over the long haul (unless that long haul is measured in many decades).
The same logic no doubt factored in to many people not buying a Model A at the beginning of the last century, since a horse and wagon were much cheaper to operate.
We all know how that story turned out.