2014 Ford Focus Electric Review, Price, Photos, Features, Specs

 

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In the past Ford has said it wants its 2014 hybrids, 2014  plug-in hybrids, and 2014 electric cars to be more than a niche, and that it’s about affordable transportation for the masses. With the 2014 Focus Electric, the automaker is at least on the “verge” of being affordable. The 2014 Focus Electric is priced at $39,200 – about $9,000 over the present average American new car price – and before the $7,500 federal or state tax incentives are potentially deducted.

However, a part of affordability has to do with fuel economy, and this is where the2014  Focus Electric really shines given it does not even burn “fuel” in the traditional sense, but uses an efficient electric powertrain. To help consumers compare fuel efficiency between gasoline or diesel cars and electric cars, the EPA has developed a formula called miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). 2014 Focus Electric has an MPGe rating of 110 City/99 Highway and 105 Combined.

Ford introduced the electric version of the new 2014 Focus first in California, New York and New Jersey – before expanding distribution to 19 additional markets. Those 19 markets include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh Durham, Richmond, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson and Washington, D.C. The rest of the U.S. will have to wait a while.

If you want a car that doesn’t run on liquid fuels, the 2014  Focus Electric has few competitors. That includes the funky styled 2014 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which is smaller than the Focus, has a shorter driving range and longer charging time, and starts at $29,125. Arguably, the electric $39,145, 2014 Chevy Volt with gasoline-powered generator backup could be an alternate option, although not if you never want to burn gas. It is a shorter range EV – the government rates it at 38 miles all-electric range – and the gasoline engine kicks on when the usable electrons are depleted. If kept within electric range, it is competitively frugal to operate as other EVs.

Nissan’s 2014 Leaf is the actually closest comparable EV. The 2014 Leaf is less expensive than the 2014 Ford with the hard-to-find base SV model starting at $35,200, but the more popular SL model starts at $37,250, just $1,950 less than Focus Electric.

The 2014 Focus Electric and Leaf have close EPA ratings for both driving range and efficiency: The Leaf is rated at 73 miles of driving range, with a rating of 99 MPGe (miles-per-gallon equivalent), The Focus Electric is slightly better on both counts, with 76 miles of range and a 105 MPGe rating.