Newbie to EV

[ATL-FFE]

For the money, you can't beat a used Prius if you need to make a longer trip.

For comfort on those long trips, I would pick up a used Hyundai Genesis V6.

For max versatility, small pickup truck. My personal favorite is the non-turbo diesel mid-80's Toyota Hilux longbed.

 

[Streetfocus]

I'm a Ford fan, but we are thinking for an environmental choice, maybe having one hybrid for those unpredictable events (my wife helps her/our family out quite a bit) or traveling outside the city, we might be kicking ourselves if we have two FFEs. Maybe not. Who knows. The rental idea might work for those instances. I might be able to keep something like a cmax in electric mode for a good amount of a commute, but have it as a backup for other needs (?). I'm brainstorming here.

 

[jmueller065]

I might be able to keep something like a cmax in electric mode for a good amount of a commute, but have it as a backup for other needs (?). I'm brainstorming here.

That would depend on where you are, how long your commute is, and if you can charge at work.

At best you can get is about 20 electric miles out of a C-Max Energi (or Fusion Energi) in good weather. Around here (Michigan winter) I'm getting about 12 miles--not enough for one leg of my commute. I'm still paying about $50/month on fuel costs (mostly electricity and one tank of gas every 2 or 3 months depending on the season). I was paying the same per month with the FFE, just all in electricity. In the summer I'm getting closer to the 20.

When all full (full tank of gas and fully charged battery) the C-Max will show 600+ miles--never had a car with that kind of range (that is just two tanks of gas to get me to FL from MI!).

 

[Streetfocus]

Wouldn't $50/ month on fuel cost be like.....filling up every 2 weeks? Something like that?

 

[jmueller065]

Wouldn't $50/ month on fuel cost be like.....filling up every 2 weeks? Something like that?

No, I'm counting electricity in that.

Thus a single tank of gas in the C-Max is like $20 or so, the other $30 is all electricity (in my case about 300 kWh).

 

[Pearl]

At best you can get is about 20 electric miles out of a C-Max Energi (or Fusion Energi) in good weather.

There are many Energi owners out there that regularly get close to 30 miles of EV range.
http://fordcmaxenergiforum.com/

 

[Streetfocus]

Ok. Cool. I think the cmax energi might make a good 2nd vehicle then. It would be mostly electric for trips around town, and if we needed to travel, it would have that capability as a backup. Perfect. That and the FFE we just got should cover everything and be as electric and near to zero gas as we can get.

 

[cutler03gt]

Although it was my wife's car, and I didn't drive it much, I did really like our C-MAX Energi. You'd also be able to just charge it with the included level 1 charger vs investing in a second level 2. Or since it charges in 2.5 hours, you could probably just plug it in in the evening, and move the plug over to the FFE before bed. Though it's probably not worth the effort vs just using the level 1 overnight.

 

[jmueller065]

Or since it charges in 2.5 hours, you could probably just plug it in in the evening, and move the plug over to the FFE before bed. Though it's probably not worth the effort vs just using the level 1 overnight.

I have my C-Max setup to start charging at 4am so its just fully charged when the preconditioning starts and I'm ready to walk out the door.

 

[Streetfocus]

I need to learn about preconditioning. I don't know what it is. We just plug in with the charger it came with and it is full by morning. I also need to figure out the difference between cmax energi and cmax hybrid.

 

[cutler03gt]

I need to learn about preconditioning. I don't know what it is. We just plug in with the charger it came with and it is full by morning. I also need to figure out the difference between cmax energi and cmax hybrid.

Preconditioning is essentially pre-scheduled remote start. It gives your car a head start in the morning, so it's using power from the house instead of it's battery. You'll be able to leave in the morning (of afternoon if plugged in at work) with a nicely warmed or cooled car. It'll help you get the most range from your car in the hot or cold days.

This, and value charging, can be set via MyFord Mobile or in MyFord Touch I believe.

Energi is just Ford's trim level for their PHEVs (plug-in hybrids). A regular HEV (non Energi) C-MAX will not have a plug, therefore will strictly run on gasoline. It can save up energy when it's running the engine or when slowing down via regenerative braking, to be used later by it's electric motor, but will not have any energy put in by an EVSE (charger), like a PHEV or EV.

I would suggest going to http://www.plugintoford.com and read up on some of the summaries to see some of the differences.

 

[Pearl]

Pre-Conditioning (Go Times) will not work for heating unless you have a 240V EVSE. There's just not enough power (1440 watts) from the standard 120V cord.

 

[Streetfocus]

Thank you. Thank you. I have joined the C-Max forum also to learn. It hit 87 yesterday here, so maybe the preconditioning is not so much needed for us, but good to know either way. The pre-cooled car would be badass in the summer if you could do it from an app. I suppose you have to leave the AC settings in the ON position when you shut off the car, so that it can "wake up" and the air conditioning will begin (?) . Cool.

 

[Pearl]

I suppose you have to leave the AC settings in the ON position when you shut off the car, so that it can "wake up" and the air conditioning will begin (?) . Cool.

No, you actually set a time and temperature in the app or on the car's touch screen, and the car does the rest.

 

[cutler03gt]

I'd go through the YouTube playlist mentioned in Jmueller's post here. Some of the screens shown may have changed a little through the updates, but you will have MyFord Touch, which will look quite a bit different than videos discussing SYNC 3 (which replaced it in 2016), as shown by Pearl above.

https://spareelectrons.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/video-manual/

 

[EVA]

Streetfocus -

Nobody answered your extendable visor question.

That's a super weird one, and tough to answer. There were two versions of visors made for the FFE. One was extendable, the other not. I cannot remember the year they used the extendable version and the year they used the not extendable (I've had them both and replaced the visor about 5 times now).

You can buy a standard visor for a Focus. It will fit with no difficulty at all. You can buy it at your dealer or go to Ford parts.

I like this place:
http://www.fordparts.com/autonationfordwhitebearlake
They discount real live Ford parts and ship quickly.

The thing most people do is replace the visor with a Homelink (garage door opener buttons) visor. That visor does NOT have the extension.

There are two styles of screw mount covers - one has a split cover and the other is individual press in caps for each screw. The earliest FFE's came with the split cover. The Homelink visor uses the press in caps.
There is an outstanding thread here about how to install that visor.

 

[EVA]

Your question about the second car. If I'm reading you correctly, you are doing all this for environmental reasons, or something other than how much this costs and convenience.

If you want to have the lowest environmental impact, a second FFE is the only path (or a second BEV). And when you have the rare occasion to take a longer trip, rent a vehicle. You might be surprised to find a rental car company right near your house - within walking distance. They aren't all at the airport.

The problem with the hybrid or PHEV solution is the same old issue - you are hauling around a gasoline engine all day long for that one rare time when you want to go farther. Why do that? And you still have the whole issue of gasoline, oil changes, exhaust system - all the ICE nonsense - with a tiny battery that doesn't get you very far.

The only car that addresses the problem in a reasonable way is the BMW i3 with the range extender. They have basically put a small two cylinder gasoline generator in the car. It is a really tiny addition. Sadly, that car is horribly expensive - really too expensive for what it does. The whole PHEV solution other companies have done is big engines with maintenance.

PHEVs are incredibly popular. There are tons of them out there. And there are use cases where they make sense - commutes too far, frequent trips to places too far away, no charging at home possible (apartment building), only one car, and love the smell of gasoline.

Hey, you'll figure it out. Live the with FFE for a while longer to make your second car choice. I will bet on you buying a second FFE or leasing a 2017 with the longer range.

 

[Streetfocus]

You're probably right. It already came up where my wife had to drive her sister to the hospital for a surgery and that doctor uses a surgery center that is an hour away roughly. This gave us pause about having 2 FFEs, although we would really like that. Everything is spread out here in TX, and we consider things close by if they are 15 minutes away. We'll definitely have to try the FFE out for a bit and make a decision.
As for the homelink visor that came in ours (2012), I'll sell that bitch on eBay or something and grab the one that blocks the brutal sun off of my face.
I love this forum. Thanks y'all.

 

[amped]

Yeah, definitely don't rush into getting an exclusively BEV fleet. Keep an old ICE car around for a while as a 2nd vehicle and start keeping close track of how often you have to do longer trips and how many of these trips really require you to use your own car. My guess is a lot of the time you could borrow/swap cars or rent without any extreme inconvenience. One big caveat would be predictability. If you have a bunch of small kids or you have distant elderly relatives that might need looking after, then it's easy to imagine that unforeseeable events could require immediate travel, leaving no time for arranging rentals or car swaps.

WRT plug-in hybrids, why not consider the Chevy Volt. It has a much larger electric range than the C-Max Energi.

 

[jmueller065]

PHEVs are incredibly popular. There are tons of them out there. And there are use cases where they make sense - commutes too far, frequent trips to places too far away, no charging at home possible (apartment building), only one car, and love the smell of gasoline.

I have to call shenanigans on the last point! love the smell of gasoline is a fallacious argument: If someone loved the smell of gas they'd get a pickup truck or van that only gets 5mpg that they'd have to fill up once (or twice!) a week not a PHEV where you may fill up 3 or 4 times a year LOL.

The problem with today's PHEVs is the battery range so they have to be designed today with the primary motivation being a big ICE with a small electric motor. The i3's solution, however novel, only gets you to about 200 miles, where the PHEV solution gets you to 650+ miles (on 10 gallons of gas mind you!).

I loved my FFE but it just didn't have the range I really needed--sure I could make it work but it was a struggle in the winter. In addition, sadly, we still haven't figured out how to heat a vehicle any more efficiently than using fire.

The timing just didn't work out for me to wait for the 112 mile FFE...

I'm hoping my timing will be good for Ford's 300 mile EV.