Any north east (cold climate) energi drivers?

[kacalapy]

Every dealer either doesn't sell any, doesn't have any, or isn't authorized to sell/ service them because of low demand.

 

I don't think I'm the only smart guy in the state (ny/nj) but is makes me nervous that it seems no one gets these!

 

Is the cold weather a deal breaker?

 

I feel like I'm missing something here.

[murphy]

What you are missing is that a dealer has to be certified to sell and service them and have to keep one in stock for test drives.  That means two salesmen and two mechanics have to go to school and they have to install two 240 charger at the dealership.  Some dealers think it is too much trouble and have their head in the sand.  I am 35 miles north of Philadelphia, PA.  I had to order mine from the factory in January 2013  My dealer currently shows one Fusion Energi Titanium and one C-Max Energi SEL as dealer ordered which I think means they haven't been delivered yet.  The cold weather puts a crimp in electric driving because batteries are less efficient when they are cold and turning the heat on uses power for heat that can't be used for driving.  Last summer my mileage estimate was at 27 miles.  Today it's 24 with the heat off and 12 with the heat on.  This winter has been brutal.  In 2012 I used my snow blower twice.  This winter I have been using it once or twice a week. 

 

My ideal car would be the Fusion Energi with a Tesla 85 kWh battery in it.

[SteveEnergi]

I'm located in Connecticut and my dealer is EV Certified. My experience with the dealer has really been exceptional.  They have two master mechanics certified to work on the Energi's.  I only had the car in for service once to fix the "go times" and "auto windows up/down" issue.  It's just a matter of letting the service department know that this is an Energi and you need the certified mechanic to work on it; although they may do this on their own, but I'd rather emphasis that point.

 

As far as driving the car, I've had the vehicle since October, so mostly cold months and the range does go down, but that said my lifetime AVG MPG is now at 92.1 MPG.  Not too bad for using the ICE on the highway.  Taking back roads, I can get to work and home strictly on EV.  It's the really cold days that the engine starts to warm the cabin.  I take advantage of "go times" which gets me about halfway to work in a warm cabin before the windows fog over.  Then I either need to either turn climate "on" or crack the windows.

 

I would say the cold weather isn't a "deal breaker" and I look forward to the warmer temperatures so I can keep climate "off".  My wife loves driving this car for errands in the evenings and weekends as we are 100% EV with everything pretty close to us.

 

I think the car is fantastic and strongly believe Ford built a great product here.  I have no regrets, although I would have liked to research the BMW I3.  I didn't know that car was coming out and it gets about 155 MPG on a full charge which is pretty sweet.  The cost is the same as Fusion Energi Titanium ($43k), so I'm a little bummed that I didn't evaluate that vehicle as an alternative.  Definitely a vehicle I would have liked to test drove.

 

Good luck and explore the PHEV's.

[Quatro40]

In norther NJ

Quatlity AutoMall on Rt 17 Rutherford sells the Energi and has a charging station.

Wayne Ford on Rt 46 Wayne sells the Energi and has a charging station.

Crestmont Ford in Rt 22, Union, sells the Energi and has 2 charging stations.

[NJguy]

In norther NJ

Quatlity AutoMall on Rt 17 Rutherford sells the Energi and has a charging station.

Wayne Ford on Rt 46 Wayne sells the Energi and has a charging station.

Crestmont Ford in Rt 22, Union, sells the Energi and has 2 charging stations.

Also add Rt 23 Automall, Butler NJ to this list.  Purchased from them a couple of weeks ago.  They also sell Nissan so they have plenty experience with electric vehicles and were great when I purchased from them.  

[Andrew Stein]

I got mine from Fullerton Ford on 22 in Bridgewater.  It has a couple of charging stations, but they are too far from my house to make it practical to use.

[Joatnm]

I live in Montana. I just got my FFET a couple months ago. We just had our first snow and I have already determined the stock tires are inadequate for the slick roads. I will be getting a second set of mounted snow tires for winter. I have noticed that instead of 20 mi range I am now down to 14 mi to start with on a full charge. I am getting a cold weather extension cord to run out to my car with an multi plug head for the engine heater. Otherwise it work ok. I kind of suspect that heating the car before the go time is more than the 110vac charger can handle. Cooling in the peak of summer is probably going to be the same.

[stevedebi]

I live in Montana. I just got my FFET a couple months ago. We just had our first snow and I have already determined the stock tires are inadequate for the slick roads. I will be getting a second set of mounted snow tires for winter. I have noticed that instead of 20 mi range I am now down to 14 mi to start with on a full charge. I am getting a cold weather extension cord to run out to my car with an multi plug head for the engine heater. Otherwise it work ok. I kind of suspect that heating the car before the go time is more than the 110vac charger can handle. Cooling in the peak of summer is probably going to be the same.

You are correct about the 110 v charger. You need the 240 to effectively run effectively condition the car using the GO times. I have heard some folks get good results by remote starting the car while it is plugged in (assuming outside parking in case the engine fires up), but I think that may also be with 240V.

[Rexracer]

Cold weather kills battery range for sure. Yesterday high 50s started with 26 mile range. Same driving patterns as usually and today ~30 started with a 20 mile range. Turn on the heater and the range drops to 13 miles.

 

Need the 240v charger to really per-condition the car, it makes a HUGE difference.

[stevedebi]

Cold weather kills battery range for sure. Yesterday high 50s started with 26 mile range. Same driving patterns as usually and today ~30 started with a 20 mile range. Turn on the heater and the range drops to 13 miles.

 

Need the 240v charger to really per-condition the car, it makes a HUGE difference.

The heater is the biggest battery hog on the entire car, IIMHO.

[Hybridbear]

I live in Montana. I just got my FFET a couple months ago. We just had our first snow and I have already determined the stock tires are inadequate for the slick roads. I will be getting a second set of mounted snow tires for winter. I have noticed that instead of 20 mi range I am now down to 14 mi to start with on a full charge. I am getting a cold weather extension cord to run out to my car with an multi plug head for the engine heater. Otherwise it work ok. I kind of suspect that heating the car before the go time is more than the 110vac charger can handle. Cooling in the peak of summer is probably going to be the same.

The block heater makes a difference. Preconditioning with Go Times only heats the small coolant loop. If you're doing a long trip where you know you'll use the ICE you can use the block heater to reduce ICE warm up time.

[Rexracer]

The block heater makes a difference. Preconditioning with Go Times only heats the small coolant loop. If you're doing a long trip where you know you'll use the ICE you can use the block heater to reduce ICE warm up time.

Block Heater? *boggle*

 

I say that, but they are saying Portland could get 5-8" of snow, which I can't even think of a time it has snowed that early in Oregon.