Deciding between Focus EV and C-Max Energi

[Gigi]

I’m trying to decide between buying either a Focus EV or a C-Max Energi. What is attractive to me about the Focus EV is the lease price, the possibility of fewer repairs due to no ICE, the gas savings of going all electric, the sleek styling, the handling, and performance. The things that are attractive about the C-Max in comparison to the Focus EV are not having to deal with range anxiety, having more cargo space, and having a few more options (such as homelink) already on the vehicle. My wife's car is a 2013 Fusion Energi and I plan to hold on to my F-150 for home and garden projects.

Here’s where I could use some advice. Occasionally, my wife and I need to switch cars. Her commute is 54 miles round trip in rush hour traffic. That means about 55 minutes of stop-and-go traffic with only a few miles of 60-70 mph expressway driving when a clear stretch appears. If I take her Fusion to go on an out-of-town trip and leave the Focus EV with her, I would want her to be able to be comfortable temperature-wise and to get back home without running out of juice. In your experience, do you think she could go 54 miles in comfort without getting white knuckles from range anxiety?

Buying the C-Max would eliminate this question, but I like the Focus EV much better. What do you think?

(Edited "decided" in first sentence to "decide." If my original Freudian slip is to be believed, I've already decided to buy the Focus and I'm just looking for confirmation."

 

[pjam3]

Most people aren't going to want to spend time figuring a way to max out as many miles as you can all the time. It's fun once in a while to see how far you can get, but everyday and that gets annoying. If you're trip is around 60 miles (to/from) every day and you can't charge at work, you will be cutting it close. What if their is a detour? An accident? Or what if it's cold and you need to use heat?

I might not be the normal buyer for an EV (i can't charge at home at all as I live in a condo complex with a carport and parking space nowhere ner my condo and nowhere near an outlet) so I'm probably more aware of how far these cars go to/from and how long I can get to a charger than most people.

I went to the airport a couple weeks back to pick up my son's grandma. The airport is like a 30 minute drive with traffic. I travel for work now and again (used to travel all the time) so the only worry I used to have was how much and how long to part at an airport. There are two airports close to me(closest is 30 minutes, the other is an hour away) but in a normal gas guzzler, it was about filling the tank up. In my 2014 FFE, I can't drive to the airport that's an hour away at all, and the airport that's 30 minutes away, well, it's not an every day thing.

Long story short, I started off to that airport with about 45 miles left. I found some apartment complex close by to charge the car, but it didn't work right, was complicated, and my boys were not having it. Plus at some apartment complex, doing one of those, "yes I'm interested in checking out an apartment" only gives you some time to hang around, not that long. So 30 minutes at a slow charger really was pointless. It gave me a few extra miles. I did wind up finding a Whole Foods with an EV, even saw a Fisker EV charging there, which was kind of cool, so I got a few more miles. Again, with two young kids, you can't hang out and charge up. So I get to the airport and have about 20 miles left. And remember I've tried to charge a few times, and at Whole Foods, I probably tried to charge for 45 minutes. So I'm at over an hour charing the car at this point.

The reality is, I had to find a charging station on the way home from the airport. I live in an area where I dont go up huge mountains, but most of the roads have some sort of incline and decline. And I avoid freeways at all costs. But some roads are windy to avoid the hills. So it doesn't really help.

Honestly, in my opinion, many of these cars avg about 60 miles. If you get more than that, great, if you get less, that stinks, but hoping you always get 80 Miles per charge is a recipe for disaster. Especially if you live in an area where there are only a few charging stations and half of them don't work or work like crap. Or like Blink stations, they went broke, somebody bought them, and half those Level 2 Chargers will take you over 8 hours to charge a car.

As time goes on, you will figure out what works, what doesnt', how to maximize your miles, but the truth is, if you know you are going to max out no matter what (aka say you avg 65 miles and the avg to/from trip is 60) it would be like driving a gas car when it's on E. And hoping you get to/from without running out of gas. It's stressful and a lot of people will find that annoying. Especially on long days where it's just not been a good day.

 

[Astrand1]

I had a cmax energi and I did like it but traded it for the FFE. Between the sweet lease deal etc. I came out great! Now no more gas ever!! I'm so happy with the car. I got a brand new auto dimming mirror w/homelink for a $150 and installed it so that takes care of that issue. As far as your range it all depends on how the car is driven and outside temp. Heater kills the range. Out here in LA I easily get around 90-100 miles to a charge but it's just so dependant on your route, driving and climate settings. Can she plug in at work? Even if it's only 110v it still would make it totally doable.

 

[michael]

One of my co-workers bought a C-max Energi, and a week later I bought the FFE. He was totally envious. He never liked the Cmax and eventually got rid of it. He was always trying to run it as an EV, but it had no power or range in EV mode. He also said the mileage wasn't great. He had traded in a Mazda and he said it got better mileage.

 

[Astrand1]

Yes. That's what I found with the cmax. It seemed to have a weak electric motor. And the gas engine wanted to come on if you put your foot into it. I did like the room in the cmax being a taller big guy. Also my gas mpg was usually around 35-37mpg and that was going like 60mph. Having my FFE now I'm sure I could not go back to a ICE car or even a hybrid. I'm ruined! But in a good way.

 

[Gigi]

Yes. That's what I found with the cmax. It seemed to have a weak electric motor. And the gas engine wanted to come on if you put your foot into it. I did like the room in the cmax being a taller big guy. Also my gas mpg was usually around 35-37mpg and that was going like 60mph. Having my FFE now I'm sure I could not go back to a ICE car or even a hybrid. I'm ruined! But in a good way.

Last month, when we bought the Fusion Energi for my wife, we were deciding between that and the C-Max. The Fusion won out because it has such a quiet ride, there is more rear seat hip room, and I liked the styling of the Fusion better. It looks more like a car.

Acceleration in the Fusion Energi and the C-Max Energi is, shall we say, deliberate. Test driving the FFE, I was impressed by how much torque it got to the wheels. I could see myself having fun zipping along whenever I didn't need to worry about range.

I don't know about real world mpg with the C-Max. I assume it should be about the same as the Fusion Energi since they share the same drivetrain. The worst gas mileage we have gotten on the Fusion so far was 42 mpg on a 357 mile road trip. 7 gallons into this last fillup, we're getting 74 mpg. Our overall average for 2250 miles is over 60 mpg. I think I would be happy with the C-Max gas mileage vs. the Focus. I figure it would be about $500 more per year for gas and electricity for the C-Max vs. the Focus for the number of miles I drive and my opportunities for plugging in.

I'm 5'11". On my test drive, I found myself driving the Focus with the seat all the way back. There is way more height and leg room in the C-Max, but the Focus has just enough for me. I'm not cramped. I think of the FFE as a two-seater with room in the back for golf clubs. In case of emergency, the rear cargo area can fold up to make seats.

I get what you mean by being ruined by EVing. It really pleases me to trundle along in the Fusion Energi on battery power.

My main concern is whether the FFE can do a 54 mile round trip commute with normal use of the climate control if I should borrow my wife's Fusion for a road trip and leave her with the FFE.

 

[Gigi]

One of my co-workers bought a C-max Energi, and a week later I bought the FFE. He was totally envious. He never liked the Cmax and eventually got rid of it. He was always trying to run it as an EV, but it had no power or range in EV mode. He also said the mileage wasn't great. He had traded in a Mazda and he said it got better mileage.

I'm afraid that I would regret not buying the FFE. Looks are important to me and the FFE is low and sleek neither of which adjectives apply to the C-Max.

I worry whether the FFE will work for my wife's commute if I use her car for a road trip. Buying the C-Max would solve that worry, but I'm afraid I would miss driving the FFE around town. At worst, I could always leave the FFE in the garage and drive my F-150 on a trip and get 16-18 mpg, but after driving the Fusion at 42 mpg on the road, driving the F-150 for a long trip almost seems wrong.

 

[Gigi]

I had a cmax energi and I did like it but traded it for the FFE. Between the sweet lease deal etc. I came out great! Now no more gas ever!! I'm so happy with the car. I got a brand new auto dimming mirror w/homelink for a $150 and installed it so that takes care of that issue. As far as your range it all depends on how the car is driven and outside temp. Heater kills the range. Out here in LA I easily get around 90-100 miles to a charge but it's just so dependant on your route, driving and climate settings. Can she plug in at work? Even if it's only 110v it still would make it totally doable.

I saw the auto-dimming mirrors with homelink on Amazon. Were you able to tap power in the overhead or did you have to run a line to the fuse panel?

My wife is working on the possibility of plugging in at work. If she is successful, there will be no question about whether the FFE will work for the days she uses the car, unless, of course, for some reason she cannot charge that day.

Driving around today in our Fusion Energi, with temperatures in the 40s and the climate control set at a comfortable 68, I watched the climate power indicator and I could see that it bounced around between 0, a quarter, and a half, which I take it is 2.5 kW. If the climate system averaged 2 kW for her 55 minute commute each way, that would be around 4 kWh total, leaving 15.5 kWh of the 19.5 kWh battery to drive the vehicle for her 54 mile round trip commute. If the 257 watt per mile figure is to be believed (19.5 kWh divided by 76 miles range), 15.5 kWh should take the car 60 miles. I'd like to be able to tell my wife that she can keep her toes toasty and still have 6 miles left over after a 54 mile commute. Does that seem reasonable?

 

[Astrand1]

depending on where you live that sounds like it might be doable. like you said if she can plug in at work then its a no brainer! as far as the mirror is concerned I got mine on ebay. Brand new from a toyota dealer. Its a standard gentex mirror but toyota and ford use the same holder on the glass so it fits perfect. I got it for $165 which a great price. I tapped a constant power, and switched power from the fuse panel in the passenger footwell and a ground as well. ran that up the A pillar and then over to the mirror. looks OEM.

 

[Ken_mc3]

OK, I had a FFE and it was a lemon. I liked driving it, but, always had range concerns, and did not like the small feel of the car. So, I traded it in on a C - Max Energi. I am quite happy with it. I run in the EV only mode most of the time. I use the ICE only mode in the morning to run the heat and defroster until close to work, then shift to the EV only mode to finish the trip.
The car feels better to me. The headroom makes it feel bigger and the rear seats fold really flat for hauling bigger boxes of stuff. I am satisfied with how fast it will accelerate, and in "auto " mode the ICE will assist. In EV only mode, it will accelerate fast enough to easily keep up with traffic. I am much happier with the C - MAX ENERGI than the FFE.

 

[WattsUp]

OK, I had a FFE and it was a lemon.

The car was an actual lemon... or you just didn't like it?

 

[Gigi]

Okay, we decided to buy the Focus Electric rather than the C-Max. While, perhaps it shouldn't matter this much, styling was part of the decision. The C-Max has one too many grill openings going in the wrong direction creating confusion in my aesthetic sensibilities every time I look at it. The front of the Focus Electric looks cleaner and less busy.

The current lease and tax credit deal on the Focus Electric is just too good to pass up. I don't like the idea of other people getting government handouts, but I'm not going to leave this one on the table, thank you very much!

I have figured out that the Focus Electric has more than sufficient range to cover my wife's 54 mile commute most months of the year without her having to sacrifice comfort or get white-knuckled with range anxiety. The ICE range extender in the C-Max just isn't necessary most of the time. I can plug in our Fusion Energi at work and drive all electric most days. When we get another arctic vortex like we had earlier this month, my wife can just go back to driving the Fusion Energi and not have to worry about the heater killing EV range.

Initially, we bought the Fusion Energi for my wife to replace her Honda Odyssey. Fortunately, she likes the Focus Electric nearly as well and so far is happy to drive it. The Fusion is a quieter and smoother ride, but she has also gotten the electric bug and loves the idea of driving past gas stations.

Thanks for your input, everybody.

 

[Ken_mc3]

OK, I had a FFE and it was a lemon.

The car was an actual lemon... or you just didn't like it?

Let's see... It spent 10 weeks in the shop. The high voltage cables were replaced, along with the motor, transmission, batteries, charge port and cable. An engineer looked at it twice.
Does that sound like a lemon to you?