New owner of 2017 FFE

[EVA]

You'll get there pcph. Once you start looking at the coaching numbers, you'll feel like you want to drive in the more zen zone. It is also way more comfortable to drive that way - smoother, better ride.

And oh yeah range goes down fast above 60 MPH in all electric cars. The power required to move through the air is exponential compared to the increase in speed. That's why a Veyron has that massive engine and still hits a speed wall it can't get past.

 

[Texas FFE]

I'm afraid to attempt a 55 mile trip at highway speeds. :lol:

You need to invest a little time getting to know what your car is capable of. I drove my 2013 FFE from east Texas to central Colorado and back charging at RV parks most of the way. Before I took the trip I drove around a loop at constant speed from full charge until I had to exit for the nearest charging station.

I performed this loop test at 70, 60, 50 and 40 mph. The information I gained was invaluable on my trip to Colorado. Not once did I run out of charge with almost forty charging stops and the longest distance between charging stops achieved was 102 miles, albeit at 40 mph.

 

[jmueller065]

You need to invest a little time getting to know what your car is capable of. I drove my 2013 FFE from east Texas to central Colorado and back charging at RV parks most of the way. Before I took the trip I drove around a loop at constant speed from full charge until I had to exit for the nearest charging station.

I performed this loop test at 70, 60, 50 and 40 mph. The information I gained was invaluable on my trip to Colorado. Not once did I run out of charge with almost forty charging stops and the longest distance between charging stops achieved was 102 miles, albeit at 40 mph.

Ok I have to ask for some numbers for that trip? Total time of the drive? Total time charging vs driving?

(I would have loved to attempt such a trip when I had my FFE, just never had the opportunity nor any willing passengers.)

 

[cutler03gt]

(I would have loved to attempt such a trip when I had my FFE, just never had the opportunity nor any willing passengers.)

Ditto. Willing passengers will never be the case though :lol:

 

[pcph]

Did my first "long distance" trip. Drove to the mountain for skiing 60 km each way, 120 km total, driving 100kmh most of the time. Started with 95% battery, was at 54%/80km left at the mountain (I was slightly worried at that point) and ended back at home with 21%/40 km left (downhill and regen gave me a state of +20 on the way back). And now I have to charge for 23 hours.

Rather than trying to explain more, the following screenshot will give actual numbers.

 

[pcph]

Thread necromancy incoming...

I felt I should give an update after more than a year of driving the car. I'm now approaching 30k km and no perceptible battery degradation. No major technical issues with the car.

My previous post was a warning of what winter driving would be like. I thought I had experienced the worst case ; I was wrong. In the dead of winter, the range can go down to less than 100 km! In order to reliably do the trip to the mountain, I have to mess with the climate control, turning it off most of the time and turning it back on when the windows start frosting up. One time I did it with passengers and had to charge the car slightly before the return trip, probably due to more weight and more humidity (so more window frosting).

Winter driving as a whole is brutal. The traction (or lack thereof) in particular. I have never gotten stuck (in negligible amounts of snow, no less) as often as while driving this car. The back half of the car acts like a dead weight (a kind of ball and chain, if you will) and the front wheels don't seem to have sufficient traction to move the back when it's stuck in snow.

Other than winter driving, I really have no complaints about the car. The battery in the trunk is somewhat of a hindrance, but really rarely gets in the way. It's well equipped and drives nicely. Traction is the only real downside. Putting the battery in the trunk is really a critical failure : bad weight distribution leading to bad traction, and obviously an impact on the cargo space.

I had the back suspension replaced on warranty (the actual spring and piston part) due to both of them doing a kind of mousy rubbery noise while driving and hitting small bumps. It was really a minor, almost negligible problem, but ironically, the absolute silence of the car made this problem very noticeable (I couldn't hear anything other than that noise) and reduced my appreciation of the car as a whole. So I'm glad that the dealer covered it on the warranty.

Not much else to say. No maintenance at all is nice. Absolutely nothing to do on the car beyond tires and windshield washer. I secretly laugh at ICE owners gassing up their cars at service stations when I drive past them

Note: I was saying before that charging was slow, but CCS charging is consistently FAST. No issues there. I don't remember the actual values, but all my attempts were around something like 40-50kW. I seem to recall 300-400V at 100+ amps.

 

[jmueller065]

LOL You haven't read my blog with its endless winter driving posts...

 

[pcph]

LOL You haven't read my blog with its endless winter driving posts...

Just did. Cruised through most of the "Winter" posts. Much of it rings true. Although your take on the Focus "traction" in winter isn't as damning as my experience. "Traction control" flashing all the way to 30 mph isn't my conception of a "good experience".

 

[triangles]

With only 49% of the car's weight on the front wheels and 100% torque at 0 RPM it's no wonder the FFE has traction issues. Throw in hard LRR tires and that only enhances the problem. I always turn traction control off in snow since ironically I have more control of the car. I'm eager to see how my new tires handle snow. They already handle wet road exceptionally well.