mustang_sallad Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 You should listen to the June 9th “Autoline After Hours” (episode 381). Go to the 55’ mark. They have an interesting discussion on whether it’s worth buying an electric car. The topic of cold weather driving came up. The general consensus was that electric cars are not a good choice for this who live in cold climates. Major reduction in driving range compared to driving in warm climes, such as southern California. Plus, depending on where you live, the cost of electricity may be more than the cost of gasoline. The guys on Autoline are traditional auto journalists that don't really know how to wrap their heads around EVs. So many reviewers test these cars without having access to Level 2 charging at home, so their impression of the car misses out on the most convenient part of owning an EV. They have haul out that portable 120V cordset every time they get home - which is both a hassle and painfully slow (20+ hours vs 4 hours on Level 2). If you can charge at home, you'll be waking up with a full tank every morning, and you won't even have to think twice about whether you've got enough range for your commute, even in cold weather - you've got a decent buffer. I'm counting about 30 DC fast chargers in CT, and probably a ton more coming. So between those, and the hundreds of Level 2 stations in the state, including some at or near your work, you've got plenty of safety net. Cost of electricity in CT looks to be around $0.09/kWh. Focus is rated at 31kWh/100 miles, vs 3.2 gallons/100 miles (fueleconomy.gov). So on electricity, that's $2.79 per 100 miles. For gas to be cheaper, it would have to be $2.79 per 3.2 gallons, or $0.87 per gallon. I think it would be a stretch to find somewhere in the US where driving on electricity would be more expensive than gas, especially if you can charge overnight during off-peak hours. McElroy in that video is talking about cost of using a DC fast charger ("Level 3") - that's not every day. 95% of the time, you're charging up at home at cheap rates. For these guys to fixate on the cost of public charging just highlights how they've never actually lived with an EV as an actual EV owner would with charging at home and almost never needing public charing. And for him to suggest that you should base your assessment of the cost of ownership of an EV on peak rates is ridiculous. Who needs to do all of their charging during peak hours? The Focus EV comes with a timer so you can get it to automatically start charging when electricity is cheap, and that's a huge benefit for the grid that has all sorts of excess capacity. You can hear them start to remember some of these factoids towards the end of their discussion, confusing the idea of throwing dedicated storage into the mix... you can tell their a little over their heads, and it's good that they just cut themselves off there rather than spouting out a bunch of mixed up talking points that'll confuse their audience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Thanks for the input guys. I do a lot of stop and go driving. The car would be garaged year round. I do have access to a charger across the street from my office until my office installs a couple (promised by end of year). I don't want to rely on either for my calculations in case they are not available. It does get cold here in CT during the winter. Average January daytime temp is in the mid 30's and can get down the single digits every so often. I'm going to do a bit more research before jumping in. After all, my 2014 Focus is paid off, but I don't have the warm fuzzies about keeping it for 8-9 years with the Powershift. If I am going to get rid of it, I'd rather do it while I have a minuscule amount of equity to put towards something else. If I don't get rid of it this year, I'm just going to hump it out and keep it for as long as it will go because after I hit 4 years old / 50k miles it won't be worth much. Since the DCT is a big part of the consideration to get a new car, you should look this way. http://m.ford.com/performance/focus-rs/ ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Since the DCT is a big part of the consideration to get a new car, you should look this way. http://m.ford.com/performance/focus-rs/ . Talk about going from one extreme to the other....from the ultimate "green machine" to the ultimate "mean machine" Edited June 26, 2017 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 I have to go in for service next Monday. I'm going to chat with my sales guy. If we can make it work, I'll definitely consider it. A lot also depends on how much they offer on trade-in on my existing Focus. It is in superb shape, but (not sure if you guys saw the video from the other thread) it was in a minor accident that involved getting the driver's doors repainted (because the paint got scuffed, no metal work). Not sure how much (if at all) I'll get dinged on trade-in for that. If we can't get make it work, I keep my 2014 Focus till it dies. It is really unfortunate how quickly these things depreciate for being a relatively good car (minus transmission). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 A lot also depends on how much they offer on trade-in on my existing Focus. It is in superb shape, but (not sure if you guys saw the video from the other thread) it was in a minor accident that involved getting the driver's doors repainted (because the paint got scuffed, no metal work). Not sure how much (if at all) I'll get dinged on trade-in for that. I have not personally had an issue with previous damage affecting my trade-ins. I wouldn't bring it up unless they do, especially for the type of damage you are referring to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 A lot also depends on how much they offer on trade-in on my existing Focus. It is in superb shape, but (not sure if you guys saw the video from the other thread) it was in a minor accident that involved getting the driver's doors repainted (because the paint got scuffed, no metal work). Not sure how much (if at all) I'll get dinged on trade-in for that. My wife was rear ended in her 2010 Escape and I had a major accident in my 2006 Mustang GT about 10 years ago and neither had much affect on their sales prices...mileage is another matter...my wife had 157K on her Escape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 When you do order it if you decide to, if it's built on nights I'll be the one to install the passenger side door panels I think I found your watch... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I think I found your watch... Lol. I haven't worn a watch in probably 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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