Just bought a 2015 Fusion Energi

[bdginmo]

Hey everyone. I bought a 2015 Fusion Energi a couple of weeks ago and I must say I am very impressed so far. My commute to work is 60-65 miles round trip here in St. Louis with mostly freeway driving. I actually wasn't expecting to get much over 60 mpg, but I just did my first fill up today and it came in at 79 mpg. The car's computer said 73 mpg so I was very surprised. I only plugin on a 120V at my house. I already own a 2012 FEH so I'm already familiar with driving vehicles of this type and I tried to stay as close to 60 mph as possible on the freeway. It'll be interesting to see what I get in the winter.

 

By the way, it seems much easier to get better than the EPA mpg estimate while in hybrid mode than it is in my FEH. I put it in EV-later mode a lot and I can still get over 50 mpg. In reading through the forum it sounds like others have had the same observation.

[storksb]

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum.

 

I also find it easier to obtain better mpg than the EPA estimate, also getter better mpg when in hybrid mode than I did with my 13 FFH though that did have 18' wheels.

[stevedebi]

Hey everyone. I bought a 2015 Fusion Energi a couple of weeks ago and I must say I am very impressed so far. My commute to work is 60-65 miles round trip here in St. Louis with mostly freeway driving. I actually wasn't expecting to get much over 60 mpg, but I just did my first fill up today and it came in at 79 mpg. The car's computer said 73 mpg so I was very surprised. I only plugin on a 120V at my house. I already own a 2012 FEH so I'm already familiar with driving vehicles of this type and I tried to stay as close to 60 mph as possible on the freeway. It'll be interesting to see what I get in the winter.

 

By the way, it seems much easier to get better than the EPA mpg estimate while in hybrid mode than it is in my FEH. I put it in EV-later mode a lot and I can still get over 50 mpg. In reading through the forum it sounds like others have had the same observation.

Not really that surprising. The FEH has a 2.5L engine, and is shaped like a big box - it really takes a hit on the highway.

 

Former 2008 FEH AWD owner here. My lifetime was right at 30 MPG with the FEH, but the 2008 was not as efficient as the 2009 and later, and of course the AWD impacted it.

[Rexracer]

Congrats on the car and welcome to the forum.

 

impressive MPG given your free/way gas biased on your drive. Winter will take a hit on the battery for sure, you will be using it to heat your car and the capacity will be lower, so if your getting 79 currently don't be surprised to drop to 60-65.

[bdginmo]

I promise I won't post every time I fill up, but my second tank came in at 80 mpg so I'm getting consistent results which is good. I realize I'll take a big hit in the winter and I do have a tendency to want to use remote start which is double bad on mpg, but it's a good sign that this car is exceeding my expectations so far. I'm especially surprised by how efficient the hybrid mode is.

[murphy]

Use GO times instead of remote start, at least at home, to precondition the car.  This works very well if you have a level 2 EVSE.  Not so much with the level 1 EVSE that came with the car.

 

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment is the correct name for the part that came with the car.  It gets called a charger a lot but it is not a charger.  The charger, which converts AC to DC, is built into the car.  The EVSE is a protective device that only connects the wall power to the car after it has communicated with the car. 

[Hybridbear]

I promise I won't post every time I fill up, but my second tank came in at 80 mpg so I'm getting consistent results which is good. I realize I'll take a big hit in the winter and I do have a tendency to want to use remote start which is double bad on mpg, but it's a good sign that this car is exceeding my expectations so far. I'm especially surprised by how efficient the hybrid mode is.

You can sign up for Fuelly to track your fill ups. Many of us have Fuelly badges in our forum signatures.

[bdginmo]

I saw everyone here using Fuelly so I already signed up. I just added it to my signature.

 

I plan on doing L1 charging only. Getting an L2 EVSE in my garage is not something I'm interested in because I don't have a 240v circuit and we plan on moving in the next couple of years anyway. So using GO times might not be an option for me. Would the GO times help at all on a 120v circuit if I'm parked in an non-insulated garage with outside temperatures of say...30-40F?

Edited August 23, 2015 at 03:55 PM by bdginmo

[murphy]

The maximum power that you can get on a 120 volt circuit is 120 x 12 = 1440 watts (assuming a power factor of 1, I've never measured it but feeding a resistive heater it should be close to 1) = 1.44 kW.  The electric heater in the Energi is capable of using up to about 5 kW.  Even at 240 volts the maximum is 240 x 16 = 3840 watts.  I installed an L2 charger before the car was delivered so I've never used the L1 for a GO time.  The reports are that it does not work very well.  Maybe someone that has tried it can give an actual report.

[Hybridbear]

I saw everyone here using Fuelly so I already signed up. I just added it to my signature.

 

I plan on doing L1 charging only. Getting an L2 EVSE in my garage is not something I'm interested in because I don't have a 240v circuit and we plan on moving in the next couple of years anyway. So using GO times might not be an option for me. Would the GO times help at all on a 120v circuit if I'm parked in an non-insulated garage with outside temperatures of say...30-40F?

We've done it when traveling. It will slightly heat the coolant, but it will also drain the HVB. Using the block heater also helps, but Ford only installs them on cars sold in select states. It doesn't work hardly at all. A/C in the summer on 120 V also is very limited. It will cool the car slightly, but it will also drain the HVB a bit.

[Euclid's Brother]

I tried using a go time to cool my car a little before leaving in the morning (playing with it really).  But when I came down and found the car running at least 45 minutes before my go time, I've stopped using it.  I have no idea how long the car had already been "on".  Since I only have the 120v evse, it doesn't really matter, as I won't be using GO times.   May have to get a 240V before winter.

[Hybridbear]

I tried using a go time to cool my car a little before leaving in the morning (playing with it really).  But when I came down and found the car running at least 45 minutes before my go time, I've stopped using it.  I have no idea how long the car had already been "on".  Since I only have the 120v evse, it doesn't really matter, as I won't be using GO times.   May have to get a 240V before winter.

Why did you stop it? The car will begin preconditioning up to 1 hour before the go time. With a 240V EVSE we don't see preconditioning more than 15 minutes before a go time, but our car is parked in a climate controlled garage. My parents' Energi will begin preconditioning 1 hour before a go time in the winter in order to heat the cabin.

[murphy]

The car was not running.  Only the air conditioner was running.

[flyingcheesehead]

I saw everyone here using Fuelly so I already signed up. I just added it to my signature.

 

I plan on doing L1 charging only. Getting an L2 EVSE in my garage is not something I'm interested in because I don't have a 240v circuit and we plan on moving in the next couple of years anyway. So using GO times might not be an option for me. Would the GO times help at all on a 120v circuit if I'm parked in an non-insulated garage with outside temperatures of say...30-40F?

 

Some people say it's worthless, but that has not been my experience at all.

 

I live in Wisconsin. My garage is at least partially insulated, but it is not heated at all. Winter temps inside the garage are usually around 30-35ºF - It'll be at the upper end of that range if it's warm-ish (upper 20's/low 30's) and at the cooler end when it's down in the single digits on either side of 0ºF. 

 

IME, the L1 EVSE that came with the Energi was good enough last winter for preconditioning to be very noticeable. It probably wasn't 72º in the cabin, but it was close enough that I could make the 13-mile trip to work with just the heated seat and heated steering wheel on, not further heating the cabin at all.

 

And in any case, it beats the hell out of my previous ICE-only vehicle and having to be super cold for the first 5 miles!

[Timewellspent]

I'm with flyingcheesehead.  I used the L1 EVSE this past winter as well and it does make a difference.  I'm just not sure if it used the battery range at all.  I need to pay more attention to that this year.

[stevedebi]

Some people say it's worthless, but that has not been my experience at all.

 

I live in Wisconsin. My garage is at least partially insulated, but it is not heated at all. Winter temps inside the garage are usually around 30-35ºF - It'll be at the upper end of that range if it's warm-ish (upper 20's/low 30's) and at the cooler end when it's down in the single digits on either side of 0ºF. 

 

IME, the L1 EVSE that came with the Energi was good enough last winter for preconditioning to be very noticeable. It probably wasn't 72º in the cabin, but it was close enough that I could make the 13-mile trip to work with just the heated seat and heated steering wheel on, not further heating the cabin at all.

 

And in any case, it beats the hell out of my previous ICE-only vehicle and having to be super cold for the first 5 miles!

I'm one of those who thinks L1 is not optimal. Maybe I'll have to reconsider this winter, although it doesn't get that cold here in LA. However, my C-Max is not garaged, which makes a difference, and electricity is expensive here in LA, so I haven't wanted to run the electric heat from the wall socket.

[flyingcheesehead]

I'm one of those who thinks L1 is not optimal. Maybe I'll have to reconsider this winter, although it doesn't get that cold here in LA. However, my C-Max is not garaged, which makes a difference, and electricity is expensive here in LA, so I haven't wanted to run the electric heat from the wall socket.

You run HEAT? In LA? ;) <chuckle>

 

I've wondered whether the air movements that will occur outside are enough to increase the rate of heat transfer from inside the car to outside and make it work harder. I've been plugging in at work since March or so, maybe I'll test it out at work this winter and see what it's like outside for me.

[stevedebi]

You run HEAT? In LA? ;) <chuckle>

 

I've wondered whether the air movements that will occur outside are enough to increase the rate of heat transfer from inside the car to outside and make it work harder. I've been plugging in at work since March or so, maybe I'll test it out at work this winter and see what it's like outside for me.

RE: Heat. Oh yeah, that would allow the battery to warm up. Really helps in winter, even here. But as I said, electric heat uses a lot of energy, regardless of if it is from the HVB or the wall plug. I use the seat heaters and only turn on heat for the defrosters when needed.