News: 2012 Ford Focus Electric

I wish people would stop this electric car nonsense. Unless the electricity generated is clean - it will not be - and the environmental damage caused by the manufacture of the batteries is sorted, the whole sodding exercise is pointless - buy a diesel with stop start technology plus particulate filter.

This. Electric cars and hybrids are just patches to make people feel good about supposedly helping the environment. The truth is they're not really all that environmentally safe and definitely not a viable long-term solution. Bring out a hydrogen fuel cell Focus and then we'll talk.
 
This. Electric cars and hybrids are just patches to make people feel good about supposedly helping the environment. The truth is they're not really all that environmentally safe and definitely not a viable long-term solution. Bring out a hydrogen fuel cell Focus and then we'll talk.
They are not really trying to appeal to the hippies with those though, they are trying to appeal to the "I don't wanna pay $100 a week to fill up my car" crowd. The interesting thing about that is while the hybrids do cost less to fill up than a comparable car, these plug ins will likely cost more since you will have to pay for electricity.
 
I'm assuming you got one of the turbo motors in your car then. Unless you have an upgraded turbo and a good tune I'm reasonably sure you are making most of your torque in the low-midrange but very little up top. This is just from my experience with my own car, but for the most part stock turbos are too small to give you any top end.

:nod: 1.4 TSI.

Maximum torque is available from 1500 to 4000rpm. Light drop until 5000rpm. Steeper drop until the redline.
Compared to its naturally aspirated brethren the main difference apart from overall more torque (and obviously power) is more torque at lower revs. The 1.4 N/A also starts dropping on torque from 4000rpm, but the rev range before that also is low on torque.

C_motor.jpg


L_motor.jpg


Considering that 4000rpm will take me to 185km/h I think I'll be fine with the torque drop at higher revs.
 
love VAG's flat torque curves, my mates GTi just seems to have massive shove across most of the rev range. I guess they do it with variable vane turbos, that or they artificially limit the boost at the front to what it is at the rear of the plateau.
 
HAL2000_0.jpg


I can't let you go there dave.
 
Fancy light. Slap a diesel generator on it.
 
:nod: 1.4 TSI.

Maximum torque is available from 1500 to 4000rpm. Light drop until 5000rpm. Steeper drop until the redline.
Compared to its naturally aspirated brethren the main difference apart from overall more torque (and obviously power) is more torque at lower revs. The 1.4 N/A also starts dropping on torque from 4000rpm, but the rev range before that also is low on torque.

C_motor.jpg


L_motor.jpg


Considering that 4000rpm will take me to 185km/h I think I'll be fine with the torque drop at higher revs.
So exactly what I said the motor is tuned for low-midrange torque with the top end basically non-existant. My car is the exact same way, once I get to about 4,500 it struggles to accelerate more.
love VAG's flat torque curves, my mates GTi just seems to have massive shove across most of the rev range. I guess they do it with variable vane turbos, that or they artificially limit the boost at the front to what it is at the rear of the plateau.
He has the 2.0T right, those motors are really good and surprisingly torquey for their size. Flat torque curves are a natural by product of forced induction, as long as you tune it properly. I have seen much flatter curves with tuner turbos, we are talking from spool to redline is a flat line.
 
Last edited:
So exactly what I said the motor is tuned for low-midrange torque with the top end basically non-existant. My car is the exact same way, once I get to about 4,500 it struggles to accelerate more.

Acceleration continues until the redline. You just don't get more power, it keeps shoving with >90% of the maximum power from 4000 to 6000rpm. In other words, you don't need to approach the redline in order to get the maximum power :thumbsup:
Low-range torque is awesomesauce. What it means is more power per rev, resulting in slightly less consumption and fewer shifting needs.
 
Acceleration continues until the redline. You just don't get more power, it keeps shoving with >90% of the maximum power from 4000 to 6000rpm. In other words, you don't need to approach the redline in order to get the maximum power :thumbsup:
Low-range torque is awesomesauce. What it means is more power per rev, resulting in slightly less consumption and fewer shifting needs.

Of course it continues but if you ever put the hammer down and pay attention to how the car accelerates it will always accelerate slower after about 4K, no matter the gear. Obviously pushing it from 100 and on will be harder than pushing it from 20+ but the general behavior is unchanged.

I'm not arguing against low range torque but what I'm saying is that the torque of even a highly tuned forced induction engine is not the same as an electric where the torque produced is very linear.
 
https://pic.armedcats.net/n/na/narf/2011/01/05/teslaroadsterdrehmoment.jpg

Taking a Tesla as an example, the only difference in torque is its start from zero rpm - which is obviously impossible with an ICE. As soon as both are up to mid-range rpm they start to drop in torque. The Tesla even drops in torque by so much that its power output at peak rpm is just over half its peak power.
 
And it is unveiled. A handsome beast I must say
engadget said:
focus-elec-2011-01-06-600-exterior.jpg

Ford just made industry history by being the first major auto manufacturer to unveil a new model at CES, the Focus Electric. But we already knew it would. What we didn't know were the details of the thing, but now we have them. And a lot of pretty pictures. Ford is saying the car will manage a range of 100 miles and that it will offer an MPGe rating (a conceptual equivalency of miles per gallon for an electric or otherwise non-traditionally powered car) higher than the Volt and comparable to the Leaf, but crucially it's saying that it can be recharged on a 240 volt outlet in four hours or less. The Leaf can take up to seven hours with the same amount of current -- though of course CHAdeMO support there handily trumps that. More details below, along with details of some pretty blue butterflies.

As you can see in the pictures the car looks quite good, inheriting the generally taut lines (if bulkier exterior) of the 2012 focus, but doing so with a bit more bling thanks to that grille up front. Also new is the fender-mounted charging plug, with an illuminated ring that fills up as the batteries do.

The car will quite naturally feature the latest MyFord Touch, displayed on an 8-inch touchscreen in the center stack, and will be the first car to offer MyFord Mobile -- the sort of smartphone integration we've seen in the Leaf and the Volt, allowing users to monitor the car's charging status and climate settings from afar. The car also critiques your driving habits, using a rather novel approach: "the more butterflies there are, the greater the range" says Ford -- and the happier the bunnies frolicing through the fields

focus-elec-2011-01-06-600-interior.jpg


Power is provided by a liquid-cooled (and heated) battery pack developed in conjunction with LG Chem and, while we don't have a curb weight yet, we're told to expect a car that handles just as nicely as standard Focus does -- which is rather nicely indeed, we might add. What we don't know, crucially, how much it will cost. That is an answer to be revealed sometime before its 2013 release. Or, at least, we hope it will.
Source
 
Last edited:
Can I get that front end on a regular Focus? An electric doesn't meet my needs, but that's quite handsome, and more handsome than a regular Focus.
 
why do hybrids and EVs have to have energy-sucking interiors? i bet an analog dash would save a bunch of energy that would go in to range.
 
And it is unveiled. A handsome beast I must say

Source


So this basically looks like the Euro Mk3 focus, I guess they are just sharing the same design now rather than Ford in the US having its own design? The front is kinda love or hate for me. I love the Aston style front grill, but then the squinty eyes and chubby bonnet line (thanks pedestrian safety) make it look a bit like a guppy. Interior rocks though, its in a whole other league compared to the current MK2 focus on sale now.
 
Can I get that front end on a regular Focus? An electric doesn't meet my needs, but that's quite handsome, and more handsome than a regular Focus.


Agreeed X10

Seriously, Ford, even if its only on the mid range and top tier "Titanium" trim, that front end needs to be on this car. The odd "fangs" of the current 2012 Focus just kill the car for me looks wise...

http://img808.imageshack.**/img808/3198/focush.jpg

Do. Not. Want.
 
Last edited:
why do hybrids and EVs have to have energy-sucking interiors? i bet an analog dash would save a bunch of energy that would go in to range.
You know I think that same thing every time I see a new EV/Hybrid unveiled. I suppose it helps with the whole future look...
 
why do hybrids and EVs have to have energy-sucking interiors? i bet an analog dash would save a bunch of energy that would go in to range.

Who knows, having an LCD display with backlight might be an energy savings of moving physical needles around. Can't say more without testing it.
 
So this basically looks like the Euro Mk3 focus, I guess they are just sharing the same design now rather than Ford in the US having its own design?

Where have you been? That was the plan for the last LONG while.
 
Aston-Martin-DB9-3.jpg


Not a bad car to take styling cues from.
 
Top