Interview With A Happy Ford Focus Electric Owner

NZ What were the reasons behind getting an electric car, why not a plug-in hybrid or a Prius?

MC In the past few years I have been making decisions and choices in my life to become "more green". Small choices, giving up water bottles, being more thoughtful about recycling etc. When the Nissan Leaf got introduced my husband said I had to take a look at it, as I was in the beginning stages of a new car search. The thinking was if I am trying to make a point of being green, and being good to our earth, then I should make one of the biggest steps possible and stop using gas, and creating pollution while driving. I never looked at hybrids, although I do not have a reason why. I test drove the Nissan Leaf, and wasn't sold, although I cannot exactly remember why.

NZ I recall you exchanged a gasoline Focus for the Electric?

MC My first car was a 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 and it was a great first car with no problems. In fact, my husbands daughter drives it now. When it came time to get a new car, I wanted something larger. I test drove the Ford edge and absolutely loved it! I also test drove a VW Tiguan, a Nissan Rouge, a Honda CRV. I was absolutely sold already on the Ford Sync system. My number one requirement of a car, was an advanced entertainment system with Bluetooth, a touch screen navigation, voice activated commands and the ability to stream music from my phone. My brother in law and two of our friends all had Fords with the sync system, and that is why the Edge was on the top of my list for my new car.  But when my husband read an article in the LA times about the 2012 Ford Focus electric it was automatically clear that was what I was getting. I could have my advance entertainment system, I could be ecologically responsible, and I loved the idea of going from the focus I have always been so confident in to yet another focus.

NZ Can you tell me if there were any other specifics for choosing an electric car?  For instance, did you realize you didn't really need a car with a 350 mile range, or you already knew you daily driving patterns?

MC My home and office are 4 miles apart. I am also a step mom and do a lot of city driving between my kids schools, their extracurricular activities, the grocery store, and their moms house. Almost all of my driving is city, but it is all in a small 15 mile radius bubble. It would be a very rare day indeed to drive more than 75 miles. We also have 2 other cars. My husband has a BMW convertible that he drives to work, and that we go on road trips in. Then we also have a Yukon Denali, for large group outing or moving large thing. Most of our needs were already filled except for a car that had great gas mileage for running errands around town. I would not feel as confident getting an electric car if I didn't know we had two other cars for everything it couldn't do. 

NZ There are more and more electric cars out there, what was it that won you over with the Ford Focus Electric?

MC I did not test drive it before I signed my lease. My only question was "Can I get heated seats". And when I found out I could have cloth seats, made from recycled materials that were heated I was ecstatic! It was a very easy buying decision. 

While people buy electric cars for many different reasons, one trending philosophy is “to be green”. I love this because it is not quantifiable and something no amount of analytics or marketing can tap into. Feeling good is something we all experience and is one of our greatest drive as humans. Mollie’s story about wanting to continue owning a Ford out of brand loyalty and being made in the USA is even more interesting when she decided to go altogether with the electric version of the Ford Focus since she understand her driving range very well.