TRAILBLAZER
ALL- ELECTRIC FORD FOCUS EV IS A SIGNPOST TO THE FUTURE.
Future generations will likely look upon vehicles like the Ford Focus EV in a similar way as 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 say, “Can you believe people actually bought a car with a top speed of just 45 km/h?”
In addition to sharing the same automaker, these two models each represent the early days of their respective technologies; the combustion engine in the 1903 Model A, and the electric battery in the 2016 Focus EV. Just as the former was the precursor to more powerful and efficient 20th-century Fords, the latter is a forerunner of the longer- range 21st- century Ford electrics.
The automaker recently announced it will invest $4.5 billion in battery development over the next few years, with a commitment of bringing no fewer than 13 new electric vehicle nameplates to its global lineup by 2020.
We’ll begin to see that investment pay off later this year when the second- generation Focus EV comes to showrooms as a 2017 model, with a reported full- charge range of 160 km 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!”
Which is sort of true. 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, just over 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 200- plus 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 I had a good chance to compare the two.
Visually, there isn’t much difference between the fivedoor 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 t he 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, while the gas Focus has a 1.0- litre turbocharged EcoBoost three- cylinder. The EV uses a single- speed automatic transmission; 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 the 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 the throttle. Likewise, its 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 voicerecognition communication and entertainment system. It 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, which 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 to preheat or precool the cabin.
My major complaint with the EV is the same as the gas- powered Focus: Rear leg room is almost nonexistent if you have sixfooter sin the front seats. In addition, the EV’s rear-hatch storage area in comparison is compromised with t he battery pack. That said, Ford designers did a good job of creating a storage space below the cargo floor.
In terms of charging, the 240- volt speed of 3.6 hours is good compared with the competition (Nissan Leaf for example), but the 20- hour 120- volt charge time is not. But, 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. 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 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.
And we all know how that story turned out ….