campfamily
Well-known member
This morning, on my way to work, my FFE turned over 10,000 miles. I bought the car back in early May of last year, so it's taken me a bit less than 9 months to put that many miles on the car. And, I will have to say that, so far, this car has met all of my expectations. I am not a raging environmentalist; I bought the car for selfish reasons, to be able to drive in the carpool lane, and to cut the cost of my commute. The car has met both of those goals. Being able to drive in the carpool lane has cut at least 15 minutes each way from my commute. And, even at the outrageous prices we pay for electricity here in LA (thank you, SoCal Edison!!), I'm saving a lot of money compared to what I would have paid to drive my gasoline powered car (a 2008 BMW 550). My commute is about 55 miles round trip, so after I get home, I still have plenty of electrons left to run the odd errand around town. So far I'm averaging about 245 watt-hours/mile, driving about 30% on city streets (35 to 40 mph), the rest on the freeway (65-80 mph in the morning, 45-50 in the evening). I have noticed an increase in power consumption with the "cooler" weather; one of the main shortcomings that I see in our cars, that has been discussed at length on this and other forums, is the impact of cold weather on power consumption. Fortunately, given the mild weather we have out here, the impact has been negligible, although still noticeable. I've also found that my wife will use the car on the weekends for the majority of her errands, as will I. My teenage son likes to drive it when he's home from college, so the mileage on our other cars has dropped off quite a bit.
I have been spared any of the "SSN" issues that other owners seem to have been suffering. So far, my car has started 100% of the time. I did visit the dealer once, for the software recall notice, and to have them replace the front floor mats, which were beginning to come apart. Other than that, I've had the tires rotated once (thank you, America's Tire!), but have had no other maintenance.
I do have a few negative comments about the car, but interestingly, they are likely common to the entire Focus line, not just the Electric.
1) The interior shows dirt very quickly. I am constantly wiping down the front of the seat bottom, which shows soil very quickly. Also, the area around the hand brake gets dirty. And, the touch screen is very susceptible to fingerprints. Maybe I just have dirty hands???
2) I really miss the auto-dimming mirror. Ford really should have left that feature in the car, or offered it as an option. Ditto for Homelink, although I was able to fix that myself by replacing the sunvisor with one from an earlier Ford Focus; easy plug and play.
3) Interior rattles. I recognize that since the car is so quiet inside, rattles are going to be a lot more noticeable, but I periodically get a loud rattle from around the right rear passenger seat, mainly over larger bumps or very rough roads. At first, I thought it was the seatbelt buckle banging on the hard plastic at the bottom of the seat, but I noticed it again one day when I had a passenger in that seat, so I'm still chasing that one. And, I have a slight buzzing noise over some road surfaces in the drivers door, right by my elbow. That one can be ignored by turning the radio up louder, since it really is very minor. Still annoying, though.
4) The driver side floormat is too short. I already mentioned that Ford replaced my mat once, as it was coming apart at the front of the mat. The replacement looks like it's going to do the same. It seems as though it is wearing right where I put my left foot. I guess we can thank the lawyers for Ford providing us with a floormat that doesn't go up and under the pedals like they used to do!!
Other than these minor quibbles, I've been very happy with my FFE. I appreciate how it doesn't look any different than a "regular" car (even more so with my car, as I have removed the Electric badges). For my needs, the range is more than adequate, so all of the hoopla about new electric cars with 200+ mile range doesn't interest me; 75 or so miles meets more than 95% of my needs.
Bottom line.....would I do it again? Yes, I think, given the same circumstances, yes I would. The cost of entry was very low (after incentives, less than $15,000 + tax and license), and the cost to operate is similarly low. And, the carpool lane benefit is huge to me.
Keith
PS - my older son is in his second year of college, and since his education isn't costing us anything, my wife and I agreed to buy him a car when he is allowed to have a car at his school. That time is coming up, as he will be a junior after this summer. He is trying to convince us that he should get a Focus RS. From what I've seen about that car, it really looks like an awesome automobile, but I cringe at spending $37k+ for a Ford Focus. We did drive the Focus ST, and I was very impressed, so that might be what he ends up with. Bottom line, we may shortly be a two-Focus (Focii?) family!
I have been spared any of the "SSN" issues that other owners seem to have been suffering. So far, my car has started 100% of the time. I did visit the dealer once, for the software recall notice, and to have them replace the front floor mats, which were beginning to come apart. Other than that, I've had the tires rotated once (thank you, America's Tire!), but have had no other maintenance.
I do have a few negative comments about the car, but interestingly, they are likely common to the entire Focus line, not just the Electric.
1) The interior shows dirt very quickly. I am constantly wiping down the front of the seat bottom, which shows soil very quickly. Also, the area around the hand brake gets dirty. And, the touch screen is very susceptible to fingerprints. Maybe I just have dirty hands???
2) I really miss the auto-dimming mirror. Ford really should have left that feature in the car, or offered it as an option. Ditto for Homelink, although I was able to fix that myself by replacing the sunvisor with one from an earlier Ford Focus; easy plug and play.
3) Interior rattles. I recognize that since the car is so quiet inside, rattles are going to be a lot more noticeable, but I periodically get a loud rattle from around the right rear passenger seat, mainly over larger bumps or very rough roads. At first, I thought it was the seatbelt buckle banging on the hard plastic at the bottom of the seat, but I noticed it again one day when I had a passenger in that seat, so I'm still chasing that one. And, I have a slight buzzing noise over some road surfaces in the drivers door, right by my elbow. That one can be ignored by turning the radio up louder, since it really is very minor. Still annoying, though.
4) The driver side floormat is too short. I already mentioned that Ford replaced my mat once, as it was coming apart at the front of the mat. The replacement looks like it's going to do the same. It seems as though it is wearing right where I put my left foot. I guess we can thank the lawyers for Ford providing us with a floormat that doesn't go up and under the pedals like they used to do!!
Other than these minor quibbles, I've been very happy with my FFE. I appreciate how it doesn't look any different than a "regular" car (even more so with my car, as I have removed the Electric badges). For my needs, the range is more than adequate, so all of the hoopla about new electric cars with 200+ mile range doesn't interest me; 75 or so miles meets more than 95% of my needs.
Bottom line.....would I do it again? Yes, I think, given the same circumstances, yes I would. The cost of entry was very low (after incentives, less than $15,000 + tax and license), and the cost to operate is similarly low. And, the carpool lane benefit is huge to me.
Keith
PS - my older son is in his second year of college, and since his education isn't costing us anything, my wife and I agreed to buy him a car when he is allowed to have a car at his school. That time is coming up, as he will be a junior after this summer. He is trying to convince us that he should get a Focus RS. From what I've seen about that car, it really looks like an awesome automobile, but I cringe at spending $37k+ for a Ford Focus. We did drive the Focus ST, and I was very impressed, so that might be what he ends up with. Bottom line, we may shortly be a two-Focus (Focii?) family!
