2015 FFE interior color option? Reported "10 wheels?"

Ford Focus Electric Forum

Help Support Ford Focus Electric Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

studio460

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
281
Location
Los Angeles, CA
First post here--some background:

Daily commute: 60 miles round-trip (South Bay to Burbank, CA).
Power availability at work: Standard, 120V outlets only.
Road type: 100% freeway with a single large incline/decline (Sepulveda pass/Cahuenga pass).
Freeways used: Work-bound: 105E/405N/101S/134E; home-bound: 134E/5S/110S/105W/405S).
HOV: Available on 90% of freeway commute (Including FasTrak lanes).

So, I've come to decide that the Ford Focus Electric is the daily commuter car for me, mainly based on appearance. I'm choosing the pure-white, "Oxford White" exterior, but was hugely disappointed to learn that "Light Stone" (i.e., beige), is the only interior color offered. One report from the 2014 New York and Geneva shows made only brief mention of, "new interior trim," and, "10 wheel options," regarding the 2015 Ford Focus Electric. No other details about the "wheel options" (which just sounds odd, and perhaps is some sort of typo). The only reported change in interior trim was regarding the seats. The FFE cars on the show turntables appeared to still be beige.

Here's my dilemma:

• I would much prefer black/gray interior (leather).
• I would much prefer the Titanium's five-spoke wheels over the FFE's.
• 2015 FFE delivery isn't expected until Q1 2015.
• The $6,000 customer cash incentive (renewed through 09/02/2014), won't likely be re-applied to the new model, until a similar time frame as it was for the 2014 model (February 2014).

Other considerations:

• 2015 "refresh" is extremely subtle. In fact one person reported that he preferred the 2014 rear bumper facia over the 2015's.

Basically, I'm planning a considerable amount of exterior cosmetic mods (e.g., ST spoiler, PlastiDip'ed front bumper facia, etc.), mostly painted or PlastiDip'ed flat black, and perhaps one primary accent color graphic in one small area (e.g., Audi S4 "stripe"). So, the design concept is this pure, euro-white FFE, with contrasting black trim, with perhaps one small primary color graphical element. In this motif, beige is the least-compatible interior color (plus, I really don't like beige). I don't really care about the 2015 refresh--the body changes seem far too subtle to even notice from what I can tell (the ICE models do look significantly improved, and are worth waiting for, however). Plus, the the power-train and charging design remain unchanged, as far as has been reported.

Options:

• Replace headliner, door panels, etc. with black/gray parts from ST or other models (it this possible? Do they fit?). The problem is that I expect this to be very expensive.
• I plan on deleting the rear seats anyway (so no replacement necessary).
• Front seats--what to do?

Any suggestions would be most welcome!
 
We have a few similarities - I have the Oxford White, 60 Mile RT commute, HOV lane, leather, and initial issue with the Beige interior color. I would have preferred grey or black leather interior but defaulted to the beige as the only leather available. After seeing it in person, I started to like the beige as it was different than any of my previous cars. Would I prefer Grey or Black, yes, but the car is different from anything I have owned so it having a different interior color has grown on me. You have some exciting plans and will be fun to see your customization plans come to fruition. Can't wait to see your build thread.

No chance that there are 10 wheel choices but the Oxford white will most likely carry over into the 2015 model.
 
Thanks for your reply! After vetting the photos more carefully, the 2015 looks virtually identical to the 2014, so I'm back to considering the 2014 FFE. I think I'll probably succumb to your position as well. Although I probably won't be able to resist replacing at least the beige door panels, and perhaps the rest, piece-meal. Front seat replacement would be awesome, but expensive.

By the way, do you charge while at work on your 60-mile commute? Or is a 60-mile round-trip commute totally doable from your home-charge?
 
Entourage said:
You have some exciting plans and will be fun to see your customization plans come to fruition. Can't wait to see your build thread.
Thanks! I'm a photographer, so there'll be plenty of pictures! Can't wait to start shooting!
 
studio460 said:
By the way, do you charge while at work on your 60-mile commute? Or is a 60-mile round-trip commute totally doable from your home-charge?
Your round trip commute between South Bay and Burbank should be easily done on one charge at home, if you have a Level 2 EVSE. Using the Level 1 that comes with the car could do the trick as long as you are able to plug in maybe 14 hours before you leave in the morning.

I commute ~80 miles RT, Santa Clarita to El Segundo. Can't make it on one charge using the carpool lane (70+mph) due to the 1200ft elevation difference between the two points and having to get over the Sepulveda pass... would need about 2kWh more energy to do so. Your shorter distance and smaller difference in elevation gain/loss (about 400 ft) makes your situation much more doable on one charge.

Wheels: I've seen the 5-spoke 17" wheels on craigslist a couple of times over then past year; seems easier to find the 5-spoke 18-inch ST wheels, though.
 
Thanks a lot, v_traveller! I've quoted your reply in another thread, which is more on-topic:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2099
 
studio460 said:
By the way, do you charge while at work on your 60-mile commute? Or is a 60-mile round-trip commute totally doable from your home-charge?

I am able to charge at work on 220V so I rarely charge at home with the included 110V charger only if necessary. I can do the 60-mile RT Commute and still have around 20 miles left over while using the AC. I am in Phoenix with the AC both directions. It has worked well so far and have yet to suffer from range anxiety. I plan to get a 220V at home but have not needed it yet as it is primarily a commuter car.
 
studio460 said:
One report from the 2014 New York and Geneva shows made only brief mention of, "new interior trim," and, "10 wheel options," regarding the 2015 Ford Focus Electric. No other details about the "wheel options" (which just sounds odd, and perhaps is some sort of typo) . . .
Maybe it wasn't a typo--from the 2015 Ford Focus site:

"Ground your Focus with stylish wheels. Choose from a wide range of designs available on [the 2015] S, SE and Titanium. Options roll on 15, 16, 17 and 18 inches. ST offers standard 18-inch Rado Gray painted aluminum wheels and 18-inch machined aluminum with black-painted pockets as an option."

Perhaps there's still hope for a black/gray interior in 2015.
 
There may be 10 wheel options across all available Focus models, but I would only expect one design to be available on the Focus Electric. The Focus Electric reminds me a lot of the old Escape Hybrid in the way it is handled. They artificially limit the options and color choices on both the interior and exterior to simplify the number of combinations they have to build, even though they could easily offer anything that the gas model has. At least for 2015 they are removing the exterior color limitations and you can order any color that's also available on the gas Focus. There may still be a chance for interior color options, but I wouldn't count on it.
 
Only concern is your 120V charging. IT TAKES 18+ hours do charge on that low of a voltage.

If you can get an electrician to determine if you get a native 240V service then you can charge in few hours and that would work.
I LOVE our JuiceBox
 
timf said:
At least for 2015 they are removing the exterior color limitations and you can order any color that's also available on the gas Focus. There may still be a chance for interior color options, but I wouldn't count on it.
Yeah, I doubt it as well. I'm sure they're going to keep the single interior color (beige, or whatever they call it), with the same "eco" wheels. That's cool about the exterior color options, though. Gonna try Plasti-Dipping my FFE stock wheels black, or have them powder-coated black (the super-cool looking, optional five-spoke wheels for the gas-powered Ford Focus Titaniums are over $700 each).
 
The 2015 order guide is out. There are 4 new exterior colors, Performance Blue, Magnetic, Tectonic Silver and Ruby Red. Interior color is the same, no option. The only real option is the same leather/power seat. The only other differences are the design tweaks on the interior and exterior.
 
jachady said:
The 2015 order guide is out . . . Interior color is the same, no option.
Whew! Thanks for posting that! I just bought an Oxford White 2014 FFE three hours ago. If they had offered a new gray interior option for 2015, I would've been super depressed!
 
jachady said:
The 2015 order guide is out. There are 4 new exterior colors, Performance Blue, Magnetic, Tectonic Silver and Ruby Red. Interior color is the same, no option. The only real option is the same leather/power seat. The only other differences are the design tweaks on the interior and exterior.
Can you share the order guide with us?
 
hybridbear said:
jachady said:
The 2015 order guide is out. There are 4 new exterior colors, Performance Blue, Magnetic, Tectonic Silver and Ruby Red. Interior color is the same, no option. The only real option is the same leather/power seat. The only other differences are the design tweaks on the interior and exterior.
Can you share the order guide with us?

+1 on this request. A link would be great as I can't find the 2015 FFE configurator on ford.com, much less ford.ca which is ineitably several weeks behind. I'd love to see what changes are coming for 2015 as I have to wait for the 2015 production to start so my order can be filled.

Thanks and Cheers

Carl
 
I like Performance Blue better than Candy Blue, and Magnetic Metallic is a lot like the Ashen Gray Metallic that Chevy offers on the Volt. And Ruby Red is just plain good looking.

I wish they had some electric-only colors (like Citrus for the old Honda Insight !) or other ways to distinguish the electric models. Right now the principal way anyone can tell mine isn't an ICE is the Plugshare bumper sticker.
 
Kakkerlak said:
Right now the principal way anyone can tell mine isn't an ICE is the Plugshare bumper sticker.
I beg to differ: Park next to an ICE Focus and look at the front ends--that is the biggest differentiator of the FFE. The smallish "Electric" emblems on the doors and rear are pretty invisible on a day to day basis and are missed by just about everyone. When I spot FFE's on the road it is usually because they are either behind me or in front of me driving towards me. Unless, of course, your Plugshare bumper sticker is HUGE!
 
I've noticed quite a few ppl in city traffic looking at the Focus and I see them mouthing the word "electric" when they see the emblem on the door. It's quite fun to watch. I agree that the back emblem is too small to see, but in city traffic the front door emblems are large enough to be easily read.
 
hybridbear said:
I've noticed quite a few ppl in city traffic looking at the Focus and I see them mouthing the word "electric" when they see the emblem on the door. It's quite fun to watch. I agree that the back emblem is too small to see, but in city traffic the front door emblems are large enough to be easily read.
Haha... I've experienced that sometimes too.

Just recently, I was parked in a gas station (waiting to use the air hose) and some guy came up (from filling his ICE car), peering into my passenger side window, saying "excuse me, excuse me...". He asked all about my electric, saying that he was paying a fortune in gas for his commute.
 
Back
Top