Saturday, February 12, 2011

2012 Ford Focus Electric

New 2012 Ford Focus Electric


Like Toyota did when it made the first Prius hybrid, Nissan and Chevy chose to invent new names and shapes for their EVs. Ford is taking a different approach with the 2012 Focus Electric, the company’s first all-electric passenger car. Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Focus Electric is based on a regular, soon-to-be-familiar, high-volume production car.



Ford seems less concerned with differentiating the Focus Electric from internal-combustion Focus models than it does with beating its competitors for EV bragging rights—even as, it should be noted, those competitors will have beat it to the electric-car market by about a year. The Focus Electric will arrive here at the end of 2011 and will spread internationally a year later.



The Electric’s guts include a 123-hp electric motor that makes 181 lb-ft of torque from 0 rpm—less horsepower but more torque than the 155-hp, 140-lb-ft, 2.0-liter four in the conventional 2012 Focus. The electric car’s single-speed transmission allows for a top speed of 84 mph.



A total of 23 kWh of energy is stored in a battery pack located under and behind the rear seat. The pack is comprised of cells sourced from LG Chem and assembled by a supplier in Michigan. The EV powertrain is installed in the same Wayne, Michigan, plant that assembles non-EV North American Focus models. Aside from the lack of shifting, quieter operation, and additional weight (Ford quotes a curb weight of 3691 pounds, or about 700 pounds heavier than a gas-powered five-door), the company says that the experience will be like that offered by a regular Focus. Since adding that much weight seriously affects ride and handling, what Ford really means is that it will offer the same options in the same five-door wrapper.



Ford expects the Focus Electric to have a better miles-per-gallon-equivalent rating than the Chevrolet Volt’s 93 MPGe, and one comparable to those of other all-electric cars—we assume that refers to the Nissan Leaf, which scores a 99. The Focus Electric’s battery is about the same size as the Leaf’s, which, based on our experience, should be good for about 70 miles on a charge. The Focus’s additional mass means its range will be a bit lower.



Charge time on 240-volt power is pegged at three to four hours, or about half that needed by the Leaf; this is accomplished through the fitment of an on-board charger that is twice as powerful as the Nissan’s: 6.6 kW versus the Leaf’s 3.3. A charge on 120-volt household current will take somewhere between 18 and 20 hours, or about the same as a Leaf. This is because either charger is limited by the amount of juice available from a 120-volt circuit, whereas the Ford charger can better exploit the higher limits of a 240-volt system. Ford will include a 120-volt cord with the Focus, and a Ford-branded 240-volt home charger will be available through Best Buy for approximately $1500, including installation. A “value charging” function times recharging to coincide with the lowest energy rates.

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