Congratulations. If you are reading this, you know that there are choices in fully electric cars beyond the Leaf and the Tesla. The Ford Focus Electric is one of the best. I have had mine for over a year, and I love it. It is well thought out, practical, substantial, and good-looking. It is really the only EV that is a tasteful mainstream car.
You will have noticed that Ford is not promoting the Focus Electric at all. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very, very good car. Regardless of Ford’s corporate strategies, this car appears to have been designed and developed by a small and dedicated team of engineers who believed in what they were doing and produced an excellent product, probably with very little corporate oversight. Others have speculated that the Focus Electric is merely a “niche car”, a “halo car”, or a “compliance car” in Ford’s product strategy, and they may all be right, especially when you look at the huge and thirsty vehicles Ford does promote and produce in quantity. This could mean that Ford is not prepared to produce the Focus Electric in large numbers, and if the demand eventually exceeds the supply, you may not be able to get one !
You might also be procrastinating on your EV purchase in expectation of dramatically improved batteries. I have talked with several dedicated battery researchers who are working on just such technologies. They all tell me that big breakthroughs are years away, and that “incremental improvements” in the lithium ion battery are all that can be expected in the foreseeable future.
But here is my main argument: The Focus Electric really is a good car. Sensible size, nice stance, clean design, useful features. It feels solid, powerful, quiet, and is unexpectedly fun to drive. Whenever Ford has produced a design gem like this in the past, it has been an accident. When Ford has a winner that attracts corporate attention, they waste no time in completely ruining it. (Think of the original Thunderbirds and Mustangs, and the latest casualty, the Transit Connect) This is somehow imbued in the corporate culture. The next iteration of the Focus Electric will be bigger, higher, and heavier, with lots of pointless embellishments. The inspired original will instantly become a “classic”, but you won’t be able to get one anymore ! You can count on this.
The Focus electric costs only about $2K more than a comparably equipped Nissan Leaf, and about one third as much as a Tesla. You can hedge your bet with a lease/buy arrangement for almost no additional cost. Get one while you can !
You will have noticed that Ford is not promoting the Focus Electric at all. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very, very good car. Regardless of Ford’s corporate strategies, this car appears to have been designed and developed by a small and dedicated team of engineers who believed in what they were doing and produced an excellent product, probably with very little corporate oversight. Others have speculated that the Focus Electric is merely a “niche car”, a “halo car”, or a “compliance car” in Ford’s product strategy, and they may all be right, especially when you look at the huge and thirsty vehicles Ford does promote and produce in quantity. This could mean that Ford is not prepared to produce the Focus Electric in large numbers, and if the demand eventually exceeds the supply, you may not be able to get one !
You might also be procrastinating on your EV purchase in expectation of dramatically improved batteries. I have talked with several dedicated battery researchers who are working on just such technologies. They all tell me that big breakthroughs are years away, and that “incremental improvements” in the lithium ion battery are all that can be expected in the foreseeable future.
But here is my main argument: The Focus Electric really is a good car. Sensible size, nice stance, clean design, useful features. It feels solid, powerful, quiet, and is unexpectedly fun to drive. Whenever Ford has produced a design gem like this in the past, it has been an accident. When Ford has a winner that attracts corporate attention, they waste no time in completely ruining it. (Think of the original Thunderbirds and Mustangs, and the latest casualty, the Transit Connect) This is somehow imbued in the corporate culture. The next iteration of the Focus Electric will be bigger, higher, and heavier, with lots of pointless embellishments. The inspired original will instantly become a “classic”, but you won’t be able to get one anymore ! You can count on this.
The Focus electric costs only about $2K more than a comparably equipped Nissan Leaf, and about one third as much as a Tesla. You can hedge your bet with a lease/buy arrangement for almost no additional cost. Get one while you can !
