Are we crazy for wanting an Energi?!

[ClaveMan]

It depends on your speed. High speed in electric mode drains the battery in a hurry because the drag from the air, that has to be pushed out of the way, increases with the square of the velocity,

Total is 14 miles street and 86 highway. Since my understanding is the car never charges the EV battery I would do best to use all EV getting to/from the highway. I get my best hybrid mileage on the freeway so that is a plus. Driving around 27,000 miles per year could really add up to some savings..

[murphy]

Total is 14 miles street and 86 highway. Since my understanding is the car never charges the EV battery I would do best to use all EV getting to/from the highway. I get my best hybrid mileage on the freeway so that is a plus. Driving around 27,000 miles per year could really add up to some savings..

That is almost correct.  Regen will recharge the battery.  A few years ago someone reported fully charging the battery while coming down from the top of Pikes Peak which is over 14,000 feet.

[bdginmo]

Total is 14 miles street and 86 highway. Since my understanding is the car never charges the EV battery I would do best to use all EV getting to/from the highway. I get my best hybrid mileage on the freeway so that is a plus. Driving around 27,000 miles per year could really add up to some savings..

 

You'll definitely rack up fuel savings at that pace. Technically you could use the EV button 3x press to gradually raise the SoC while driving, but I doubt you'd see any long term gain in efficiency doing this.

[ClaveMan]

Energi question

 

My nerd brain wants an Energi, my logic side says Hybrid.

 

Assume

1. A Fusion hybrid gets 45 MPG

2. A Fusion Energi gets 65MPG

3. My drive is 25 miles city, 85 miles highway 5 days a way round trip

4. A Fusion Energi can go 20 miles on full EV after overnight charge.

5. Plug in electricity is free (ha!)

6. Gas is $2.25 a gallon

 

Hybrid scenario: 110 miles @45MPG = 2.44 gallons.

Cost for round trip is 2.44 gallons x $2.25 = $5.50 per day

 

Energi scenario: 110 miles @65MPG = 1.7 gallons.

Cost for round trip is 1.7 gallons x $2.25 = $3.81 per day

 

So an Energi saves me $1.70 a day over a hybrid (off that free electricity!)

 

All other factors even

* Both cars cost same

* ignore the few disadvantages of a Fusion Energi over a hybrid (trunk, weight, no fold down seats, hard to find service or parts, battery differences (?), etc)

 

Is this math right? An Energi saves me less than $2 per day?

 

Am I crazy for wanting an Energi?

Thanks!

Edited November 10, 2016 at 10:02 PM by ClaveMan

[murphy]

Life is short.  Get what you want.  I gave up justifying purchases a long time ago.  I am retired.  My furthest destination is 10.5 miles.  My engine doesn't run in the summer.  Once or twice per season for spring and fall.  50% of the time in the winter.  Electricity is free from my PV solar panels.  I haven't sent any money to the power company since they were installed a little over 3 years ago.

[ClaveMan]

Life is short. Get what you want. I gave up justifying purchases a long time ago. I am retired. My furthest destination is 10.5 miles. My engine doesn't run in the summer. Once or twice per season for spring and fall. 50% of the time in the winter. Electricity is free from my PV solar panels. I haven't sent any money to the power company since they were installed a little over 3 years ago.

. You are my hero murphy! Are there any working class folk out there who think my math is right or wrong?

[Eric4539]

Hi ClaveMan! 

 

I have always thought like murphy; buy what you want!  I bought my Energi without calculating how many EV miles I would drive daily, or how many gallons of gas I would consume, or when would I recoup the cost difference.  Back then gas was probably close to $4/gal.  Frankly, I didn’t care.  I wanted the Energi.  I did not even consider the Hybrid.

 

Your calculations could be both right and wrong.  It depends how crafty you are when you're driving.  Here’s why I say that.  I drive two 262 miles round trips twice a month.  These drives consist of a short EV drive from my house to the highway,. Then it’s EV Later mostly from there.  But there are several lengths of uphill and then downhill.  On the downhill I switch to EV Auto, put Hill Decent on, and during one stretch the car puts 3 miles back into the HVB.  Then from the highway to the parking facility I’m in EV Auto.  So I always end up at my destination with MORE miles in the HVB than when I got onto the highway and switched to EV Later.

 

Here is an example of my numbers from the last long drive:

131.0 miles

EV miles 28.5

Fuel Economy 40 mpg (not MPGe) - I won't tell you how fast I drive!  :)

 

Then for the next week I’m using EV because my drives are all in town and short.  I work from home so I’m only running errands when I do not have to travel.

 

Personally, I think you would be very happy with the Energi.  If you have not driven the Energi fully charged and then driven the Hybrid, you should do that.  Just be sure the dealer has a fully charged Energi.  Do not test drive the Energi in Hybrid mode.

 

 

Let us know what you decide to buy! 

[ClaveMan]

Thanks.  The thought of owning an Energi gives me energy!  But I can't find one. 

 

I spent a half hour trying "100 mile radius checks" on ford.com in St. Louis, Springfield, IL, Kansas City, Memphis, Chicago, and Indianapolis.  I found only 3 Energi's -- 2 near Chicago and 1 in Indianapolis.  That's out of 100's of Fusions.  .  I guess I need to move to CA. Patience..

[murphy]

I custom ordered mine in January of 2013 before they started production.  It was built on April 1 and I drove it home on April 15.  It was the first one to arrive at my dealer.

 

They still don't "get it".  I receive many emails during the year advertising new cars that they want me to buy.  There has never been an ad for an Energi.

Edited November 11, 2016 at 10:51 AM by murphy

[bdginmo]

I'd definitely go for the Energi. I just did a build & price on the Ford website for the stuff I would want in a 2017 and the Energi came out $2000 cheaper if you include the tax credit. That by itself makes your decision for you IMHO.

[My14Energi]

I custom ordered mine in January of 2013 before they started production. It was built on April 1 and I drove it home on April 15. It was the first one to arrive at my dealer.

 

They still don't "get it". I receive many emails during the year advertising new cars that they want me to buy. There has never been an ad for an Energi.

I'd suspect you never get any Energi emails or advertising the same as you probably dont get any to buy a new Raptor. The customer base for either of those vehicles are so small that they arent going to spend the money to market them. A huge mistake with the Energi but i dont think the market for a PHEV is quite there yet. Hell i dont think i have ever seen a tv commercial for any brand of EV? Maybe a Volt at one time, but none of the manufacturers seem to push them marketing wise.

[flyingcheesehead]

My nerd side likes accuracy, so let's modify the assumptions a bit.

 

1) Fusion Hybrid probably gets closer to 40 mpg.

2) Fusion Energy is also close to 40 mpg once the HVB is depleted, but infinite MPG until then.

3) No change

4) I actually get 25 out of mine in mild temperatures. I've gone has high as 33.

5) Electricity isn't free - Nat'l average is about 12 cents/kwh, so a full charge will cost you about a dollar when charging efficiency is considered.

6) I'll go with that.

 

So. Hybrid scenario: 110 miles at 40 MPG = 2.75 gallons = $6.19/day.

 

Energi: Best use is to do the 25 city miles in EV Now mode, and the 85 highway miles in EV Later mode.

Full charge that gets you the 25 city miles (again, in mild weather): $1.00

85 miles @ 40 mpg = 2.125 gallons = $4.78

Total cost: $5.78.

 

So, the Energi only saves you about 41 cents per day, unless:

 

1) You can plug in at work. I got permission to plug into an outdoor outlet on the building where my office is. That would save you another $1.13.

2) You use the car for other trips too. I can run most any errand without using gas - Saves you another buck each time you do so.

3) You find other places to plug in too.

4) You lease, or you qualify for the tax credit - For me, the Energi was actually cheaper than the Fusion Hybrid to begin with because of that.

 

But no, you're not crazy for wanting it. It's a great car, and electric driving is addictive - Because of my experiences with the Fusion Energi, I'm in line for a Tesla Model 3. Ford has been OK, but they're falling behind - The Chevy Volt and the BMW i3 REx kick their ass when it comes to EV range and both of them have increased battery size and improved range since introduction whereas Ford has gone nowhere with the Fusion Energi. I'd also like to get into a BEV for one of the cars, and the Focus Electric is pathetically behind the game now, with the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, Chevy Bolt, VW e-Golf, etc. all having 100-mile-plus range and fast charging, neither of which is even an option on the Focus Electric.

 

Energi question

My nerd brain wants an Energi, my logic side says Hybrid.

Assume
1. A Fusion hybrid gets 45 MPG
2. A Fusion Energi gets 65MPG
3. My drive is 25 miles city, 85 miles highway 5 days a way round trip
4. A Fusion Energi can go 20 miles on full EV after overnight charge.
5. Plug in electricity is free (ha!)
6. Gas is $2.25 a gallon

Hybrid scenario: 110 miles @45MPG = 2.44 gallons.
Cost for round trip is 2.44 gallons x $2.25 = $5.50 per day

Energi scenario: 110 miles @65MPG = 1.7 gallons.
Cost for round trip is 1.7 gallons x $2.25 = $3.81 per day

So an Energi saves me $1.70 a day over a hybrid (off that free electricity!)

All other factors even
* Both cars cost same
* ignore the few disadvantages of a Fusion Energi over a hybrid (trunk, weight, no fold down seats, hard to find service or parts, battery differences (?), etc)

Is this math right? An Energi saves me less than $2 per day?

Am I crazy for wanting an Energi?
Thanks!