'The electric Focus is as dead as a dodo. Press the button, and nothing – no lights, no futuristic beeps, nada'
Well, this is embarrassing. A nice man has come from Ford to pick up the electric Focus. But it's as dead as a dodo. Press the button, and nothing – no lights, no futuristic beeps, nada. But yesterday, when I last drove it, it said there were 26 miles left. Which I thought would be just enough for the man to get to where he had to go, though he may have suffered from that modern motoring malaise known as "range anxiety". Anyway, he's not driving anywhere today and leaves by public transport.
Now I'm not saying this isn't all my fault. It's more than possible that I left something on – the lights, maybe, or the radio (actually, wasn't Simon the photographer the last person in it? Let's blame him). But this whole sorry episode does, albeit inadvertently, illustrate an issue with electric cars.
The car is parked right outside my house but the charging cable doesn't nearly reach. The manual clearly says I shouldn't use an extension lead. OK, so I ignore the manual, give it a go anyway, but it doesn't work, no flashing green I-am-charging lights come on. (My house, thankfully, remains unburnt-down.) Even if it did work, I'd worry about tripping up pedestrians, the elderly, the blind. In short, if you live on an urban terrace, without off-street parking, then you can't charge at home. You can charge at a fast-charge place if that coincides with somewhere you want to spend three to four hours.
If you do have off-street parking, or drive to work and can charge there, an electric Focus – an electric anything – begins to makes more sense. Inside, it's like any other Focus, which is a good thing. And it's nice to drive. This is something not everyone knows about electric cars – they pick up briskly, plus there's something very satisfying about gliding silently about town (again, be careful of blind people) – and this one is no exception. The battery eats into a big chunk of boot space though, and that's because this is basically a regular Focus with a battery, rather than a purpose-built electric car such as a Renault Zoe or a BMW i3.
There's another big problem with an electric Focus: it costs £28,580. Whoa! And that's after the £5,000 government grant. Or nearly double what you would pay for a Zoe – a smaller car, admittedly, but with a lot more luggage space, though you then have to lease the battery for around £70 a month. Even a BMW i3, which is a much more interesting and desirable car, costs less. I can't see why you would get an electric Focus, to be honest, even if you could plug it in.
The next day another man – a different one, thankfully – brings a spare battery and takes it away.
*Ford Focus Electric 5 Door*
*Price* £28,580
*Top speed* 84 mph
*Acceleration *0-60mph in 11 seconds
*Range *100 miles (claimed)
*CO[2] emissions* 0g/km
*Eco* *rating* 9/10
*Cool rating* 5/10 Reported by guardian.co.uk 5 hours ago.
Well, this is embarrassing. A nice man has come from Ford to pick up the electric Focus. But it's as dead as a dodo. Press the button, and nothing – no lights, no futuristic beeps, nada. But yesterday, when I last drove it, it said there were 26 miles left. Which I thought would be just enough for the man to get to where he had to go, though he may have suffered from that modern motoring malaise known as "range anxiety". Anyway, he's not driving anywhere today and leaves by public transport.
Now I'm not saying this isn't all my fault. It's more than possible that I left something on – the lights, maybe, or the radio (actually, wasn't Simon the photographer the last person in it? Let's blame him). But this whole sorry episode does, albeit inadvertently, illustrate an issue with electric cars.
The car is parked right outside my house but the charging cable doesn't nearly reach. The manual clearly says I shouldn't use an extension lead. OK, so I ignore the manual, give it a go anyway, but it doesn't work, no flashing green I-am-charging lights come on. (My house, thankfully, remains unburnt-down.) Even if it did work, I'd worry about tripping up pedestrians, the elderly, the blind. In short, if you live on an urban terrace, without off-street parking, then you can't charge at home. You can charge at a fast-charge place if that coincides with somewhere you want to spend three to four hours.
If you do have off-street parking, or drive to work and can charge there, an electric Focus – an electric anything – begins to makes more sense. Inside, it's like any other Focus, which is a good thing. And it's nice to drive. This is something not everyone knows about electric cars – they pick up briskly, plus there's something very satisfying about gliding silently about town (again, be careful of blind people) – and this one is no exception. The battery eats into a big chunk of boot space though, and that's because this is basically a regular Focus with a battery, rather than a purpose-built electric car such as a Renault Zoe or a BMW i3.
There's another big problem with an electric Focus: it costs £28,580. Whoa! And that's after the £5,000 government grant. Or nearly double what you would pay for a Zoe – a smaller car, admittedly, but with a lot more luggage space, though you then have to lease the battery for around £70 a month. Even a BMW i3, which is a much more interesting and desirable car, costs less. I can't see why you would get an electric Focus, to be honest, even if you could plug it in.
The next day another man – a different one, thankfully – brings a spare battery and takes it away.
*Ford Focus Electric 5 Door*
*Price* £28,580
*Top speed* 84 mph
*Acceleration *0-60mph in 11 seconds
*Range *100 miles (claimed)
*CO[2] emissions* 0g/km
*Eco* *rating* 9/10
*Cool rating* 5/10 Reported by guardian.co.uk 5 hours ago.