cornfieldcraig

I didn't say anything about the Focus, unless you interpreted FFH as Ford Focus Hybrid. I was only comparing the Ford Fusion Hybrid (FFH) to the Ford Fusion Energi (FFE). If there are hidden battery locations in the Fusion Hybrid, then the added batteries in the Energi would only increase the ratio of volume to kWh.

The FFH has a 1.4 Kwh battery. The FFE has a 7.6 Kwh battery. The FFH has roughly 4 cubic feet less trunk space than the standard Fusion. The FFE has roughly 8 cubic feet less. I know there's ventilation in there too, but I don't know how that differs from the FFH to the FFE. Based solely on volume it would seem that Ford made two layers of batteries instead of just one. If that's the case, then how is it that 2x of battery volume results in 5.4x the electrical capacity? I wonder if the charging system treats the entire HVB as a single battery or if it handles it like 2 separate batteries -- one layer for FFH-like mild hybrid mode and the other for plug-in, full EV mode. If it manages them separately, then I'm guessing that the FFH batteries are overspec'ed in order to ensure sufficient capacity for 100k+ miles. My brain hurts.

I am considering an FFH or FFE and live near Chicago and have an attached unheated garage. My daily commute is about 16 mostly flat miles each way. I do not have access to a charger at work. I test drove both a 2014 FFH and a 2013 FFE. I noticed that when testing the FFE, in particular, the climate control wasn't great. Maybe I just didn't understand the controls fully, but I just found myself not feeling very comfortable, even though the temperature was set to 72. I didn't notice any similar issues in the 2014 FFH test drive. Understand, temperatures here have been in the teens during my test drives. EV range on the FFE started at 12 miles. COMFORT question: Is the climate control effective on the FFE? Both heat and A/C? EFFICIENCY questions: Also, I see in the discussion about cold weather that many of the commenters seemed to avoid use of the climate control and any other optional features which use power (like the radio and defroster) in order to maximize their EV range. I don't see myself being that zealous about maximizing my eMPG that I would do that. I mean, I'm 54 and live in Chicago. It's darned cold in the winter and darned hot and humid in the summer. I want to be comfortable. Heck, one of my deal breaker requirements is seat heaters! And, I love listening to the radio. Is the impact of using the climate control and seat heaters so dramatic that I should be dismissing the Energi? How about the FFH? Is there a difference between "preconditioning" and setting a Go Time? I currently drive a 2009 VW Jetta TDI and apart from having to buy diesel, it's a remarkably carefree way to minimize fuel consumption. I average about 41 mpg in summer and 35 in winter. The other car I'm considering is a 2014 Passat TDI which actually gets slightly better mpg than the Jetta. Right now, I'm really on the fence. The Energi is intriguing and with the price reduction and the federal tax credit, it's not a bad value compared to the FFH. However, I preferred the 2014 FFH overall during my brief test drive and the Passat is a safe, inexpensive, but boring choice.