LEAF owner, considering FFE

[kubel]

I've got a LEAF right now, and have been putting over 15,000 miles per year on it. I'm considering replacing it with a FFE (maybe even a used one) when my lease is up. I just have a few questions:

1) Battery details- One of the things I can't live without is detailed information from the battery. With the LEAF, I use the Android app "LEAF Spy", which takes information from the OBDII port. I don't like relying on bars or estimated miles to tell me how much power is left in the pack, so with this app I can see exactly how much power is left, how the battery has aged, battery temperature, voltage, etc...

Is there state-of-charge data provided on the dash that can give a driver the granularity of information needed for getting every last watt-hour out of the battery pack?
Is there a way to determine battery degradation/aging?
Are there any apps like LEAF Spy for the FFE?

2) Winter- I live in Michigan, so that means I need a car that can handle below freezing (and sometimes below zero) temperatures. The LEAF suffers from significant loss of range in the winter, partly due to a cold battery pack that doesn't have active thermal management, but also because I have a resistance heater in my LEAF. I find during January that 30% of my range can easily be spent just keeping the cabin lukewarm.

Does the FFE have an efficient heater?
How well does it work?
How much juice does it suck down?
How good do the heated seats work?
Does it have a heated steering wheel?
Is on-demand pre-heating and scheduled pre-heating an option?
How efficient is the A/C?

3) Driving- I'm a very spirited driver. I like jack rabbit starts. I like throwing the car into corners. Even though the LEAF has a spongy suspension and light steering, it's still a fun car to drive. It's also very quiet, even on the highway.

What are your thoughts on the FFE handling and acceleration?
Is it a fun car to drive?
Is it sufficiently noise-insulated (road noise, wind noise, motor noise)?

4) Warranty- LEAF owners were initially promised 10 years of life out of their batteries, but have been very disappointed by the 5 year, 60,000 mile battery capacity warranty that Nissan has finally offered. Batteries have been known to reach EOL well before the second year of ownership in some areas. While I live in Michigan, I'm protected from the more damaging environments that exist, but latest battery aging models still suggest my battery will probably reach EOL around the 6 year mark (a far cry from 10 years I was expecting). To make matters worse, Nissan has decided not to release the cost of a replacement battery, effectively ruling out long term ownership of the LEAF. My initial plan was to lease the LEAF and buy out the lease- but now that won't happen.

What assurances has Ford given for battery capacity?
Is there a battery aging model available for the FFE battery in various geographic locations?
Is there a guaranteed capacity or range warranty?
Are there large numbers of known cases of EOL batteries in hot climates like Arizona, similar to the LEAF?
Has Ford made available a replacement battery price?

5) Audio- I like listening to good music while driving. The LEAF has a 'meh' sounding audio system. I noticed in pictures that the FFE appears to have the Sony sound system from the Focus Titanium trim.

How does it sound?
Does it have a sub?


Sorry for the endless list of questions, but the FFE is looking like it may be my next choice for an EV since the Tesla Model E / "BlueStar" is still a ways away, and I'm hesitant to give Nissan a second chance seeing as they STILL haven't released a replacement battery price. Any insider input you can give will be much appreciated.

 

[EVA]

Question 1 - Nope nothing like that at all. No detailed battery information.

Question 2 - JMueller lives in Michigan, has a great blog about experiences there. I live in the Chicago area and am just starting to feel the effects of winter. The heater for the interior of the car (and I think all electrics do this) sucks a lot of range. The heated seats are incredible. I run them on 1 (of 5) and have a nice toasty bottom with no hit on range. No heated steering wheel. Yes, Go times does the pre-heating. JMueller did some fantastic work on that regard. The AC is super nice - I'm surprised it doesn't suck more range. Now that I've run this in the cold, the AC seems to take very little.

Question 3 - darn this thing handles well. It stays much flatter in corners than the regular Focus, which is already a good car to drive. By flatter, I mean more neutral. I don't ever turn up the radio when I'm driving at any speed. To me that's all that needs to be said, the car doesn't make much noise when you drive it - there is no need to speak louder or turn up the radio to hear it.

Question 4 - nobody knows about battery life. Other than the car has thermal management, something the Leaf doesn't have. So you should expect a lot longer life. I think there is one thread about improving life of your battery over here. Not a big topic.

Question 5 - Well that depends. No there is no subwoofer - the battery takes up the space Ford uses to put a sub in the ICE focus. The only options you can buy from the factory on this car are paint and leather interior. OK the quality of the radio depends on the model year and maybe some randomness from Ford. I happened to have owned a 2013 - the radio in that car was AWFUL, the worst I could imagine. I was actually at the point of replacing the speakers. The car was totalled and I bought a 2014. The radio in that car is completely different. Much better - good enough that I won't consider replacing the speakers. It also depends on the type of music you like - yeah it won't do well with the dubstep or the thumping rap - but then not many factory systems will. If you like more normal human being music, it is a perfectly good system. I do have a Focus Titanium also - no the system is not exactly the same. It is similar. If you really hate it, Crutchfield sells a kit to upgrade the speakers. There are some really great detailed instructions on the Ford Focus Fanatics that shows you how to do the upgrade - it ain't easy, but it is a DIY project. I'm not sure where I would ditch a sub in this car. You'd have to take out the organizer in the back and even then it might not be the best install in the world.

Those were great questions.

 

[jmueller065]

Since I'm mentioned above for Question 2; here is the post about power consumption in the cold (or one post):
http://jamiegeek.myevblog.com/2013/11/27/some-numbers-on-the-cold/

(And thanks for the mention!)

 

[Whitey]

The FFE is a MUCH better car than the LEAF. I looked at both, and kept my masculinity in check with the FFE. Enough said.

All electric cars + heater = range suck.
All electric cars + cold = range suck

Basically, range I have received:
Cold Weather + Heater = 50ish range
Using heater in regular weather = low 60ish
Driving normally (for me that sounds like how you drive) = 60ish range
Drive like a half dead grandmother in 60+F weather going no more than 35mph = 76+ range. (Probably 100+) I think the electric MPGe board is made of these people...

 

[jstack6]

Get a Tesla S and all questions are solved with double and triple the range ,options and if you live near a free super charger your are triple really blessed.
The Gen III will be out in late 2015. Lease a Focus until then it is super if it fits your use.