A Good Second Car for Focus Electric Owners

[Arthur]

If your primary car is a Ford Focus Electric, here's the most sustainable option for making occasional, longer trips. An even better idea is for a few FFE owners to pool their $7500 tax credits and buy one of these gasoline-only Fiestas, to SHARE!! Or, even better yet, all Ford dealers could keep a few of them on hand, for FFE owners to rent.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1088015_2014-ford-fiesta-ecoboost-priced-45-mpg-highway-too

...IN FACT, the dealers could give us 2 weeks/year of free Fiesta loaners, similar to what Nissan is offering Leaf owners, in the UK: "Leaf owners can borrow a gas- or diesel-powered Nissan for free for as long as two weeks a year during the first three years of Leaf ownership."

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/12/02/nissan-tries-something-new-with-leaf-ev-shoppers-in-uk/

 

[jloucks]

That makes sense.

But honestly, FFE owners pretty much have to have a gasser in their fleet.

 

[michael]

I'm thinking my next car will be a Volt. The lease on my wife's ICE runs for a while more, but I'm not replacing it with another ICE, that's for sure. The other option could be a BMW I3, but I don't think that works too well for major trips. On the other hand, can always rent a car a couple times a year.

Another option would be to get a second electric car (another FFE or a BMW I3) and keep a cheaper, older ICE for those few time it's really needed.

But I think a Volt and an FFE would make a great fleet.

 

[davideos]

c-max energy is a good alternative. Running on gasoline, I believe the c-max gets better fuel economy than the Volt. Just a thought.

 

[michael]

My thinking was that for 90% of the use, Volt 40 mile range would do the job (neighborhood errands, etc).

I drive my FFE 2000 miles a month, but I rarely need to go more than 50 miles before charging. I figure my wife does about 1000 miles a month, that's 35 miles a day. She would rarely need gas in a Volt.

Energi might be better than Volt on long drives...that's a thought, but in our case those are quite rare. For three car family, maybe FFE, Volt, and Energi??

 

[EVA]

The Fusion Energi is an incredibly nice car. I'd go that direction over a Volt.

Renting is the best idea of them all.

 

[riskylogic]

We briefly had piston-free garage with an FFE and a Mazda RX8. But since they both have serious limitations as winter cars, I just traded the rx8 in on a Fiat 500 Abarth.

 

[markminnc]

Even though I enjoy my FFE, and most of my driving these days is in the FFE, my second car is my 911 and I enjoy that as much as I do the FFE.

 

[michael]

I was seriously planning on a BMW I3 with range extender to replace my 328, but the leasing prices are finally coming to light, and they are incredibly expensive. I can't imagine how BMW thinks it can hold out for the prices that are being discussed. They are even holding back part of the $7500 federal money for themselves.

So my plan is to go right out and get a Volt to replace the 328. Sooner the better!

When the lease expires on my wife's Acura in a year, I'll figure out what is the best option then available...maybe another FFE???.. I like the Energi, but from what I can determine, they are seriously lacking on power and acceleration in EV-only mode (tell me if I'm mistaken??) From what I can tell, they are burning a little gasoline almost from the start. I prefer the idea of a Volt going pure electric for the first 40 miles, which for me should cover most eventualities.