Electriffic

Yikes very sorry to see that. I have never observed water getting in. Will have a look at my 2015 to see if anything similar is starting those areas.

Frequent failures of your "convenience cord" may mean the cord is bad. Ford covers hybrid components for 8 years/100k...the cord (EVSE) counts as part of the hybrid system and should be covered under warranty. My EVSE is now failing (red flashing triangle) so I'm about to find out if Ford will be cooperative or not. Will update soon!

With Sub-Zero temps I'm consistently seeing 6 miles EV range (heater at 68F). Just drove to Missoula and back; 38mpg there and 32mpg on the way back, average speed 58mph. 2015 ffe.

2015 ffe gets 6 miles EV range below 15F. That's running the heater at 68F. I live in Montana.

You're making me jealous! I just did a 7.4 mile trip (one way) with a fully-charged battery. I opted to run the ICE on the short highway part of the trip. Each way my I got about 47mpg. I live in Montana and it's cold, so that plus the heater reduces my all-electric range to about 8 miles or so. On the highway I get 38mpg.

It's been around -15F. At 100% charge I got 6 miles before the battery was depleted and I entered hybrid mode. As is normal in cold weather the ICE fired for at least the first few mins of my trip. Indeed extreme cold is murder for efficiency.

I've driven a 2011 Leaf for the last four years. The reason most people don't want my car is range. Toyota is generally correct about EVs but I see them hopping on board with EVs as battery tech evolves. The two things that prevent EVs from going mainstream are 1)range and 2)charge time. Cost could be said to be a factor too. Range: even with a 60kwh Bolt or Leaf, range is marginal. I speak as a guy who will likely own a used one, so the batteries are starting to degrade. I also live in a hilly, cold climate. So An advertised 238 miles of range in my world can easily turn into 125 miles. And my gen 1 Leaf? It's good for 35 miles. (I can push it to 50 in the summer). Recharge time: too long. Tesla owners doing a road trip must budget three hours for a comparable fill-up. Infrastructure for non-Tesla owners is a hassle. I am actually willing to plan a trip around where I can charge, but most folks aren't. The good news is that range can now be comparable to conventional cars. The bad news is that the charging time problem isn´t solved. The charging problem could be solved immediately by making batteries swappable. This would require standardized sizes and equipment. But it would mean you could drive five or six hundred miles in a day and only lose 10 minutes or less to refueling. Again, the best we have now (Tesla) is still a three-hour affair. Yes, I recognize that there would be a time lag between now and widespread adoption of a swapping standard, but I believe this time would be far less than inventing brand-new technology to take a massive battery pack and juice it up in 10 mins. The current focus on reducing battery charge time requires new breakthroughs, so it's not clear when such tech will be widely available. It's an uphill slog. That's why I favor swapping...getting the job done with tech that's available right now. Also gas stations could adopt swapping, meaning drivers can still just pull into one to quickly refuel. I recently added a PHEV to my vehicle stable, and I have mixed feelings about it. I hate that it's basically just gas-powered car with an oversized hybrid battery. I love that 90% of my in-town use is only electric. I love that I can take my PHEV on a road trip and not worry about where my next charge is coming from. I love that I don't worry about running out of charge while shuttling my kids around. I wouldn't mind getting a new Leaf, even the 40kwh would be a vast improvement over my not-quite-24kwh battery. But then again I'd be paying a premium price for an in-town only car. The state of the electric car is still emerging, but emerging quickly.

Winter is murder for efficiency. With a charged battery and 19 degrees F my ICE turns on for short trips (cabin heater). On top of that the car is still using the battery for propulsion, so it's a double-hit. I'm seeing about 2.3 miles per kwh now that it's cold. With mixed driving I'm pushing 50mpg. Overall pretty good for a car that's bigger and heavier than a Prius. I admit it makes me angry when my fully-charged FFE fires up the ICE for a two-mile trip. Mpg and miles/kwh will go up significantly when the weather warms up. For comparison my Nissan Leaf can drop down into the 2 miles/kwh range during very cold weather.

I live in Helena, Montana and I'm still running summer tires. I'm pleased with the Fusion's snow and ice performance...better than I expected. It does better than my Leaf and Sienna. Normally I buy studded winter tires but I don't think the Ford needs them as much as my other cars.

[br]EV regenerative braking can be far more aggressive than gearing down. Chevy Bolt owners have been rear-ended for this reason.

Last month I bought a Fusion Energi Titanium for $13,700. A local Lithia dealer had taken it on trade. I live in Montana and the dealer was not confident that anyone would be interested, thus the decent price. 40k on the odometer. All options but park assist, so it has lane keep, cross traffic, inflating rear seatbelts, sunroof, etc. It had a broken windshield and the dealer charged me a $300 document fee, so really I'm into it for more than the sales price.