Range of Focus vs. Spark

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brlister

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Messages
6
This is a long shot, but looks like an appropriate place to see if anyone has an answer. My office is 67 miles from my home. I have 220V chargers at the office. It is mostly downhill to the office and uphill on the return. I have driven Chevy Sparks for the last three years, and have yet to run out of power, although I do have to be very careful with speed, heating/cooling, etc. on the return, and usually have 3-7 miles left. I have a 2013 Focus that I'm looking at, but it isn't where I could "test drive" it on my route. Does anyone know of a test that has been done of the Spark range vs. the Focus. I actually have driven two Sparks (we have three that are leased and two will be returned in a couple of months), both the 2013 with the larger battery and the 2015 with the smaller, newer battery and get almost exactly the same from either.
 
Here's a comparo from a few years back.
Battery is slightly larger in Focus, and benefits from a 6.6kW onboard charger.

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/2014-chevy-spark-ev-vs-fiat-500e-ford-focus-electric-honda-fit-ev-nissan-leaf-smart-fortwo-ed-comparison-test
 
If you live anywhere where it gets cold the FFE is not for you. In winter with temps in the 20's and below 50 miles would be pushing it. In warm weather I feel comfortable with anything under 80 miles as long as I don't have to go fast on the freeway. Farthest I've gone is 86 miles with 4 miles left on the guess-o-meter. If you give us more information about the location, weather temperatures and how much elevation change we could probably give you a better idea.
 
triangles said:
If you give us more information about the location, weather temperatures and how much elevation change we could probably give you a better idea.
I'm going to guess Cali since the Spark is sold in very few states...
brlister said:
This is a long shot, but looks like an appropriate place to see if anyone has an answer. My office is 67 miles from my home. I have 220V chargers at the office. It is mostly downhill to the office and uphill on the return. I have driven Chevy Sparks for the last three years, and have yet to run out of power, although I do have to be very careful with speed, heating/cooling, etc. on the return, and usually have 3-7 miles left. I have a 2013 Focus that I'm looking at, but it isn't where I could "test drive" it on my route. Does anyone know of a test that has been done of the Spark range vs. the Focus. I actually have driven two Sparks (we have three that are leased and two will be returned in a couple of months), both the 2013 with the larger battery and the 2015 with the smaller, newer battery and get almost exactly the same from either.
With a 2013 Focus I would be concerned about capacity loss. If you were looking at a new Focus then I wouldn't be so concerned. If you buy a Focus & then it doesn't work for your commute, could it be used by someone else in the house while you drive the remaining of the 3 Sparks?

Do you know how many kWh you use in the Spark for the uphill commute? What about Wh/mi or mi/kWh or some other measure of energy efficiency. I have no problem beating the EPA ratings for the Focus for efficiency, even at high speeds with the AC on, but not everyone beats the EPA estimates.

The Spark is a more efficient car than the Focus.
Spark - 128/109/119 MPGe
Focus - 110/99/105 MPGe
 
I have a 16 Spark and a 14 Focus. Yes the Spark will get about 5-10 miles more of range with all else being equal. Any other questions feel free to ask :)
 
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