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I leased a Ford Focus Electric for 2 years before purchasing a used Tesla. After just a few months it became apparent that the Focus was just a compliance car a

by jread 9y ago

I leased a Ford Focus Electric for 2 years before purchasing a used Tesla. After just a few months it became apparent that the Focus was just a compliance car afterthought. Instead of putting a little thought into battery placement, they simply threw it into the hatchback which reduced storage and left little weight in the front of a front wheel drive car. Instead of converting the engine compartment into a frunk, there was a mass of loosely placed tubes and wiring. The result was a car with limited storage that was downright dangerous to drive on a wet road due to lack of traction, with an effective range of about 50 miles (hope you don't have to use your heater or AC). Ford Sync was also absolutely miserable to use - slow, unintuitive and clunky. On the contrary, the Tesla has been an absolute joy (perhaps even more so after driving the Focus for 2 years). The performance, interface, supercharging, storage, aesthetics and customer service are IMO far superior to any other electric vehicle on the market today or even announced for release in the next few years.

derekp7 9y ago
On the flip side, their hybrid offerings (Fusion, Lincoln MKX) feel pretty solid. The smooth drive and handling of my Fusion hybrid feel pretty close to what I imagine a Tesla would (smooth quiet acceleration while on battery, but it also feels just as smooth when the ICE kicks in due to the eCVT [totally different technology than the older belt-driven CVTs]). Oh, and sync has been updated now to not use Microsoft embedded anymore. But the mapping and voice control still sucks bad (I usually use Android Auto, which works like you'd expect in 2018). But their plugin hybrid version of the Fusion does feel like a minimal effort compliance product, due to the battery taking up too much trunk space (eliminating the possibility of folding down the rear seats for trunk passthrough), and virtually no electric-only range.
r00fus 9y ago
I have a FFE 2017 and they fixed a lot of that. 1) Range is 110mi (winter: 80, summer: 130) 2) Acceleration is improved (I smoked a Porche Boxster between 2 very long lights). 3) Sync3 is better, and they support Android Auto/ Apple Carplay. 4) DC Fast charging support = 30m recharge ( we have one at my office) to about 80% from near-zero. Some things are unchanged / still suck: traction due to it not being 4wd - is the same. Battery position is the same (really unfortunate since it kneecaps the benefit of having a hatchback. The radio always comes on if I disconnect CarPlay - I wish I could disable it from every getting AM/FM as I find it mostly ads and useless. That said, I still really enjoy the car. It's more fun than my old Prius, still fits 5 (3 kids in back) and I never visit a gas station. Of course, I'm on the list for a Model 3.

by jread 9y ago

derekp7 9y ago

On the flip side, their hybrid offerings (Fusion, Lincoln MKX) feel pretty solid. The smooth drive and handling of my Fusion hybrid feel pretty close to what I imagine a Tesla would (smooth quiet acceleration while on battery, but it also feels just as smooth when the ICE kicks in due to the eCVT [totally different technology than the older belt-driven CVTs]). Oh, and sync has been updated now to not use Microsoft embedded anymore. But the mapping and voice control still sucks bad (I usually use Android Auto, which works like you'd expect in 2018). But their plugin hybrid version of the Fusion does feel like a minimal effort compliance product, due to the battery taking up too much trunk space (eliminating the possibility of folding down the rear seats for trunk passthrough), and virtually no electric-only range.

r00fus 9y ago

I have a FFE 2017 and they fixed a lot of that. 1) Range is 110mi (winter: 80, summer: 130) 2) Acceleration is improved (I smoked a Porche Boxster between 2 very long lights). 3) Sync3 is better, and they support Android Auto/ Apple Carplay. 4) DC Fast charging support = 30m recharge ( we have one at my office) to about 80% from near-zero. Some things are unchanged / still suck: traction due to it not being 4wd - is the same. Battery position is the same (really unfortunate since it kneecaps the benefit of having a hatchback. The radio always comes on if I disconnect CarPlay - I wish I could disable it from every getting AM/FM as I find it mostly ads and useless. That said, I still really enjoy the car. It's more fun than my old Prius, still fits 5 (3 kids in back) and I never visit a gas station. Of course, I'm on the list for a Model 3.