you should have unplugged the guy and left.

Really interesting reading this. We've recently had to replace my wife's 2002 Passat and were shopping around for replacements. Eventually concluded we should look at plug-in hybrids as she has a 30+ mile commute and the gas usage was starting to add up. We looked at the plug-in Prius, Gen-1 Volt, Ford C-Max Energi, and Fusion Energi.

The Prius was crossed off the list early. It was hopelessly underpowered and very drab and dreary inside. Personally, I liked the Volt, but mainly because of its EV range. I wasn't sure about the rear seats with a console between them which seems to limit its practicality. But I did like that it was a hatchback. If it had been a car for me I'd probably have gone in that direction. However, she felt the overall quality felt a bit lacking. We ended up getting her the Fusion, manly because she loved the feel of the car, and found the seats to be super comfortable. She has a history of back trouble from crashing motorcycles and really struggles to find a comfortable seat.

The basic concept is the same as the Volt I suppose, and many of the things you mention here are relevant. I have to agree with you, the EV/Hybrid concept is amazing. Driving the car in electric mode is so relaxing - smooth, quiet, easy. She isn't the most economical driver, and really like to have the heat turned up in the car. Still, her trip back from work the other evening recorded 61 mpg. It's overall average is showing 57 mpg. As I learn more about it I'm trying to get her to manage the EV use more efficiently. We now have the car set to warm up from the charger before she leaves the house. She also gets free charging at work, so it's set to warm up there too before she leaves in the evening. She managed to drive to work for the entire week, drive around the whole weekend, and when we filled the car on Sunday afternoon, 10 gallons! The VW would get through a tank and a half a week, and that's a 16 gallon tank. Really, she's thrilled with it.

I'm still wondering what the Volt would have been like. With double the EV range I think it would have been even more beneficial for her commute, but at least she doesn't complain about her back hurting.

I'm a little concerned with the massive amount of technology built in to the thing. I mean, there's very little likelihood of me working on it. On the plus side, there's very little chance of me working on it - the poor old VW was starting to be a little unpredictable.

Anyway, thanks for all the positive plug-in hybrid opinions. Reading all of this before hand made the decision a little easier!

She is smart to use grid power to pre-heat and pre-cool the car. Does the Fusion have a phone app that lets her do the pre-heat/cool from her phone a few minutes before she leaves for home?
I find the sound of the ICE engine in the Volt a little annoying. The sound is not proportional to anything - it just revs up randomly.
Glad you are enjoying your Focus. Please keep us posted on your experience with it.

"I'm still wondering what the Volt would have been like. With double the EV range I think it would have been even more beneficial for her commute, but at least she doesn't complain about her back hurting."

Range is nice. We get around 50 in our Gen 2. PLUS when you mash the go pedal on a Volt you don't exactly get tire smoke, but you get serious protests from the front tires. It 's enough to get concerned comments from passengers who think they are riding in "just" an electric car.

Yes, the Fusion has an app that not only allows you to remote start (as does the key), but allows you to schedule "Go Times" for when you're going to use the car. These can be set for each day of the week, and allow you to set the temperature to which you want the cabin heated. It will also schedule "Value Charge" based on this schedule, if you so choose, which will make sure the vehicle is fully charged at the time you wish to leave but based around off-peak electricity tariffs.
It's scary how much this car will do, hence my technology apprehension. The one we have has adaptive cruise, lane departure guidance, accident avoidance, driver alertness warning, and all sorts of fun stuff. My favourite is the "Braking Coach" which gives you a percentage of energy recovered when you brake to a stop. Presumably it calculates the energy based on the mass and speed of the vehicle, then gives you the percentage based on recovered energy. It turns driving into a video game. It's relatively easy to get 100% given an easy to anticipate need to brake. In the real world though, you find stop light turn too fast, and other people are amazingly inconsiderate.
The app also gives you stats based on your driving for lbs of CO2 saved, miles driven, and energy consumed, in case that's of interest I guess. You can also see where you rank in the league of gas sippers, braking experts, EV only users, and overall efficiency. Some of that is a bit gimmicky of course, but it's interesting data-wise.
The Fusion is quite a big car, and the battery only gives about 20 miles range without using the heater. Still, it's enough to get my wife 2/3rds of the way to work, and the free charge while she's there gets her 2/3rds of the way home of course. Like the Volt, it seems to offer the advantages of an electric car with the practicalities of a regular fossil fuel car when you want to make a longer trip. Is not super fast, but it's definitely no slouch either. We really like it. Oh, and the HOV lane stickers save her a good ten to fifteen minutes on the way home in the evening!

Did..................... All is fair in love and poor etiquette at public charging stations. Just returned the love.


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My sister has a blue one, her husband has a white one, & they gave their kid the red one. Red White and Blue. They love them and even occasionally charge them for free at 'incentive parking area's' when shopping in town.
Too bad the sedan has been discontinued but the basic platform will remain in production and live on in another form so all the parts will be available from what I understand.

I am waiting for a 250 mile range min. & batteries that are lighter than a standard gasoline-fuel motor and for them to be cheaply available everywhere in used mid-engined sports-cars.

I've had Fusion hybrids several times for rentals. Really the biggest compliment I can give is that they operate in a nearly identical manner to a standard Fusion, except for better MPG. The technology is pretty much transparent at a normal operating level. Not a car that I would pick for myself, but a good appliance.

Yes, I have to agree, once out of full EV mode it does behave more 'normal', but still offers very respectable mpg. Still, I think the plug-in version offers more than the regular hybrid does, and the technology is far more visible. Twenty miles of EV range is easily enough for a run to the grocery store, or the Saturday morning shop.

I will also agree that these are all appliance-type cars. Although it's quite a good looking car, and the trim level on ours does make it a very comfortable appliance, I don't get the same level of driving fulfilment I get from my other vehicles. That isn't to say it isn't fun in other ways though.

The most important thing is, she's happy with it :)

Nice little summary on EVs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0PPVC7FOeY

BTW beme News is started by Casey Neistat, it is now a CNN-owned start-up

My wife commutes 100 miles a day, two separate trips of 50 miles one at 7:30 the other at 1:30.

I decided a few weeks ago to buy an hybrid EV car. I narrowed down my selection to two cars, the Volt and the i3. The reason for those two was simple, both had at least 80 miles of battery range and both had gas motors driving generators (1st gen volt at least) that extends the range of the car.

On specs alone (2014 used models) the cars were a toss up, the decision was going to be based on how we liked each car while driving it.

When we got to the Chevy dealership they only had 2018 Volts, I was told the 2018 was vastly improved over the 1st gen models and felt this was going to be an unfair comparison as we had lined up a 2014 i3 to drive at BMW after.

We drove the Volt, it was nice, you really had no idea you were in a hybrid electric car unless you really looked for it. It was set up just like a Cobalt, center tunnel down the middle, gear selector etc..

The drive of the Volt, it was ok you felt more like you were riding in it than driving it, you felt somewhat disconnected, but, this is a economy car so we were expecting this.

Then we went to the BMW dealership and drove the i3. The regenerative braking really surprised us, it is very intrusive, yet, after a few stops, intuitive. If you look far enough ahead and anticipate you can stop the car without ever touching the brakes. The interior was different from any car I had ever been in, no tunnel down the middle, dash layout completely foreign with only 2 tablet looking displays. The exterior too was very in your face, the car looks weird and I was not sure I liked how ugly it was.

The drive though was very BMW, even though this little car weighs 3600 lbs you could not tell, acceleration was on par with the Volt if not somewhat quicker, or at least it felt like it was. Handling was very precise, steering inputs sharp and responsive, all this despite the motorcycle like tires on the car.

After driving both, we really liked the BMW much better. Of course they wanted to deal on the spot and not let me walk away. I had to sell my JCW Mini first. No room for all these stupid cars. I sold the JCW in 24 hours, then something cool happened.

The BMW salesman texted me and asked if I was still interested in the i3. I smiled, and waited a day before responding.

Then I texted back and said yes and made a cash out the door offer and told him take it or leave it.

He tried to counter @$500 more, I thanked him for his time and said no I will continue to shop.

He came back 30 minutes later and accepted my offer. I scanned and emailed all my info to him. Walked in the next evening and walked away 45 minutes later owning the car. Easiest Stealership used car purchase ever.

We had our Stage 2 charger installed Monday night and this is my wifes first week commuting with the car. She loves it I dig the tech in it and mostly the fact we never have to buy gas is really nice.

We set it to charge in the middle of the night when rates are lowest and are curious to see how much our electric bill changes. She was spending $280 a month on gas. If our electric bill goes up $100 a month this is a total win for us.

This is not even considering lower maintenance costs as well. I think we have to do an oil change once a year.

I call this pic 33 years of BMW.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jS.../i-9tLpfVP.jpg