Range Anxiety

[Redfocus]

This there some definitive definition of the range? For example At 70MPH with the headlights on and the heater running the range is xx. The equivalent MPG numbers are nice but the engineers I know have more range info.

One other suggestion is to have some sort of loan program for potential buyers to drive the car for 8 hours or overnight to help them understand the car's range/usefullness.

Thanks.

 

[user 3729]

I just flat out asked a dealer to let me have one of their FFE's for 24 hours so I could run through my routine with my family. They said it would be no problem. I haven't done it yet.

That said, you should not purchase any EV if you are on the edge of its range limitations, especially if you live in a hilly area or in a cold climate.

 

[Yoyogee]

Hi Red Focus,
I'd love an official range table but it's really tricky as there are so many variables to calculate (outdoor temp, wind, speed, acceleration, heater settings etc.). The good news is that I don't think lights, radio, windshield wipers or seat heaters really make much difference as they draw from the 12v battery. I talked to a senior Ford engineer at a big focus group (no pun intended) in San Jose last week and the best thing to do is use the navigation system to get an accurate "charge point" (it will use your route info to properly calculate your power budget) and then use the "Budget View" screen's "budget gauge" (the blue lined "cup" with the floating white line that lets you know your current power consumption) to get a sense of how far (and fast) you can go. If I had to guess (and I obsess on this) I would say that without a programmed destination, that the 2.75kwh "average" budget "cup" (with a 76 mile range) is based upon using cruise control to drive 55-60 MPH (without a strong headwind) with no heater in 60 degree weather. Push it up to 65 or 70 mph and your white line will be over the budget cup and you'll loose miles faster than anticipated. Turn the heater on full and driving within that same budget cup will give you 20 miles less range. A 50 degree or 40 degree outdoor temperature will also reduce range (and likely cause you to turn on the heater, further reducing milage). A published spec using a couple of baseline outdoor temperatures and different speeds would be nice but you can work it out yourself (in your own local weather conditions) by targeting your nav system at different destinations and running up the speed to see where the white line hits the top of the cup.

The nav system and cruise control are your friends if you have to drive on the highway. It took spending time with the Ford engineers that designed all this stuff for me to really get the hang of it but it's now second nature. (And sometimes you have to drive slower than you want to keep that white line in the cup so you can make it to your destination). I think that Ford dealerships need to do a better job of training customers to make sure our range expectations are properly set but it's really hard to "get it" without owning the car and I doubt that many of the dealer's sales floor staff are rockin' a Focus Electric. (Yet...)

There are several good videos on the subject but I think this video should be mandatory viewing before new owner's leave the lot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjJoHvby9jw&fwid=1251734985866

-Rob G.

 

[Redfocus]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the reply I did not know about the budget gauge. Still if the estimate is based on 55MPH with cruise control it is not based in the reality of commuting here in LA. Carpool or regular lanes if the traffic is flowing is 70 to 75 MPH and as MPH goes up the range gets shorter so is the range now 40 miles or 50 miles ignoring the headwinds, temperature, etc. One means we can use the car and the other we cannot.

Still would like to see some range data. Ford can base it on best and worse cases; as an engineer I know there was a minimum and a maximum test case or if not there should have been. In any case what is the definition of the claimed 78 miles?

Thanks Again

 

[WattsUp]

Fwiw, I've driven the freeways around the SF Bay Area at close to 65 mph (granted, can't be in the fast lanes for this), often with the A/C on (though, so far, have only tried this in 70-80 temps), and have been able to achieve at least the advertised 76-mile range.

For example, I've driven from San Jose up to San Carlos and back, a nearly 70-mile round trip, on a single charge, more than once. And, just recently I drove from San Jose to Paicines, a 65 mile trip, and arrived with 12 miles of range left. My speeds were 55-65, with A/C on for at least half the drive, with external temperature in the high 70s.

In my experience, the FFE performs very well, range-wise. But, you have to be consistent. Speeding up above 70 mph (instead of maintaining a steady 65 or lower) will seriously degrade your range, and 80 will crush it. The reason... resistance through the air increases exponentially with speed, and therefore so does the power required. Meaning, there isn't simply twice the air resistance to go twice as fast. There is a lot more resistance.

My typical mix of driving is about 50/50 freeway/surface and my FFE normally estimates full-charge ranges in low 80 miles. But, after plenty of slower "surface-only" driving at 35-45 mph, it is fun to see this:

 

[chex]

Hi There, I am 'borrowing' a FFE from my car-sharing service this weekend in Montreal, Quebec, and have to make a ~ 65 mile run between chargers to get to my destination, in Burlington, Vermont. I am planning on driving VERY slowly, 35-40 MPH at most, and in warm dry weather, so no A/C, head-winds, etc etc. Can I expect to get more than then magical 74 mile range if I do this? If I can get 80-85 miles, I will be good.

-- Stefan in Montreal

Reference:
http://actualites.communauto.com/en/2013/03/27/100-electric-focus-arrived/

Fwiw, I've driven the freeways around the SF Bay Area at close to 65 mph (granted, can't be in the fast lanes for this), often with the A/C on (though, so far, have only tried this in 70-80 temps), and have been able to achieve at least the advertised 76-mile range.

 

[WattsUp]

My personal longest actual distance on a single charge was 83 miles. I am sure I didn't drive as slowly as 35-45 mph the entire time, so I think your idea is reasonable. I don't want to say, "yes, guaranteed!", that you can make your trip. But... I think you have a very good chance if you can drive as slowly as you say for the majority of the drive, and avoid using heat or A/C.

However, one other BIG factor is the terrain you will be driving... do you know what the terrain "profile" of your trip will be?

On flat terrain (which is what my above 83 miles were over), I think 80+ is very reasonable at the appropriate speeds. But, if you will be significantly ascending in elevation from point A to point B, it could be a deal breaker. If you will be descending, well, that should help you go from A to B. But, conversely, you may then not be able to make it back!

 

[francishsu]

When my wife has been driving the FFE, she does not have to get on the highway and so she is driving at 30-50mph. Her trips so far have been around 220Wh/mi, which would result in a max range of 85+ miles. So i think you will be able to achieve similar usage under the weather conditions you describe.

Contrast that with my drives which are about 60% highway at 70mph and the remainder at 30-60mph.. under this nice weather my trips are averaging around 275Wh/mi, which would result in about a 70 mile range.

 

[chex]

Hi there, yes of course I know the terrain I drive in those areas all the time, and one word: FLAT. South-west Quebec and the areas around the Lake Champlain river valley are generally very flat, unless you go east or west into the Green or Adirondack mountains, which I am not.

OK, so based on the info you guys gave me, I should be all set. I have a bit of a booster charge I am going to be able to get from a private Plugshare user I found, right on the Vermont border, so that will help reduce my anxiety, but I think I should be OK, as long as I go as slow as I am planning, all backroads, almost no highway at all.

I will try to post a trip-report and pics when I get back.

Thanks! -- Stefan

However, one other BIG factor is the terrain you will be driving... do you know what the terrain "profile" of your trip will be?

On flat terrain (which is what my above 83 miles were over), I think 80+ is very reasonable at the appropriate speeds. But, if you will be significantly ascending in elevation from point A to point B, it could be a deal breaker. If you will be descending, well, that should help you go from A to B. But, conversely, you may then not be able to make it back!

 

[vetboy45]

You'll be fine. Just remember that air resistance increases exponentially with speed so if it looks questionable, slow down. The only other thing you can do anything about is the HVAC system but it doesn't sound like you'll need it at all. Be sure to let us know how it goes.

 

[chex]

Hi there, well, I did my test run, and I was half successful. It turns out I had exactly the range I hoped for. The GOM guessed exactly how many kilometres I drove after I got back. However, I was so delayed by various things in my day, that by the time I got to the border, it was way to late to complete my trip down to Burlington, wait to charge 2-3 hours, and come back. So I just turned around and went back home, via the charger I had used to top up. That 6.6kW charging is amazing, compared to 3.3 on the Leafs. I made sure I didn't go over 70-75 km/h the whole time, with no jack-rabbit starts, and very gentle stopping, and lots of use of the re-gen, by shifting into Low in order to slow down, without hitting the brakes until the last bit of stopping needed. kilometres

Was a really fun ride. I am planning on making another trip (complete to Vermont this time ) again this Sunday.

Ill try to post up some pics later.

Thanks, Stefan

You'll be fine. Just remember that air resistance increases exponentially with speed so if it looks questionable, slow down. The only other thing you can do anything about is the HVAC system but it doesn't sound like you'll need it at all. Be sure to let us know how it goes.