2012 Ford Focus Electric: the strong, silent type (first drive)
Last week, I rather flippantly mentioned that I'd driven Ford's new Focus Electric, but that I couldn't talk about it. I know you've been on the edge of your seat since then, so I won't bury the lead any further and just get right into what you're here for: the drive.
On the road, the Focus Electric rides nearly identically to the gasoline powered Focus. That is, until you listen and realize that there is no exhaust note and no engine noise, only the gentle woosh of the road beneath the tires and the tiny, high pitched hum of the electric motor. Unlike a hybrid, there's no gasoline engine that fires up when you get too heavy on the accelerator, so there's no audible feedback to deter you from your lead-footed antics, there's only silent and strong electric torque egging you on and prodding you forward. And just because there are no tailpipe emissions doesn't mean that there are no consequences to driving inefficiently. Rather than hurting the environment or your wallet at the pump, driving the Focus Electric like a tool hurts your range: a resource that is in quite limited supply on a vehicle that only starts with an EPA estimated 76 miles per charge.
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