Buy the FFH because of FFE's Trunk Space?

[KLH]

I love my FFH but I must admit to buying it because the FFE's trunk space was too small. If it had the same trunk space as the FFH, I would have bought the FFE.

 

Did you buy the FFH for the same reason?

Edited October 10, 2013 by KLH

[djminfll]

I love my FFH but I must admit to buying it because the FFE's trunk space was too small. If it had the same trunk space as the FFH, I would have bought the FFE.

 

Did you buy the FFH for the same reason?

No, I bought the FFH because for me, I would probably never make up the extra cost in fuel savings. If I generally drove just a few miles a day, I'd probably have sprung for the Energi, but considering that most of the time I exceed the electric range of the Energi, it wasn't worth the extra cost for me. Plus, Ford has already had some experience with Hybrid drive, but Energi is a new world for them, and I would have been too uneasy to trust them right off the bat.

Edited October 10, 2013 by djminfll

[B25Nut]

With the number of times that I have used the cargo capacity that folding down the rear seats gives you, I know I would have regretted waiting the extra four months it would have taken to get an Energi. This was confirmed the first time I opened the trunk on a FFE. The depth of the pass thru to the rear seats would have been nearly useless for me. Besides, it was way over my price limit.

[acdii]

It was the price for me. Trunk space isnt my #1 thing in the Fusion, its my daily driver to get me and my wife to and from work and picking up the kids. As long as 2 backpacks fit, thats pretty much all the room we need. Anything that cant fit in there now, goes in the Flex. I just couldnt see paying the extra 6K for one.

[KLH]

Wow, I'm surprised at the responses. I would have thought the storage would have been a bigger impediment than the expense (because of rebates and incentives).

 

Please understand that I'm very happy with my FFH-SE. I simply would have purchased the FFE if the space were the same. Driving in EV mode is much cooler than I anticipated.

[hybridbear]

Price was the difference for us too. Also, we have no where to plug in living in an apartment. If we had a place to charge the Energi would have made great sense for us, just not the FFE because of the price. If we had a place to plug in we probably would have bought a Volt or a C-Max Energi. At that point the FFE's lack of trunk space would have come into the decision. But the first reason for eliminating it was the price premium over the hybrid. You could buy a C-Max Energi for about the same as the FFH after the tax credit. Their feature differences roughly would out to a wash in our eyes. But the fact that we can't plug in means we ended up with the FFH.

[HybridCCAATS]

I'm really surprised at all these responses about price being the deciding factor. With the rebates AND tax refund available, the FFE winds up being almost exactly the same price as an equivalently optioned FFH.

Edited October 10, 2013 by HybridCCAATS

[Sleddog]

About the only thing I've got in my trunk is a cooler and a change of cloths. So the size is just fine for me.

Edited October 10, 2013 by Sleddog

[dkegel]

I'm really surprised at all these responses about price being the deciding factor. With the rebates AND tax refund available, the FFE winds up being almost exactly the same price as an equivalently optioned FFH.

Kind of. The tax refund doesn't change the price of the car, or how much you have to finance, and therefore your car payment. And it's also not exactly the same as getting cash back. Yes, it comes off your taxes but that's not quite the same.

 

Dave

Edited October 11, 2013 by dkegel

[captmable]

Drove both models before purchase. Deciding factors:

 

1) Extra 300lbs. I could notice it driving the FFE... felt slow and heavy.

2) Trunk Space. It was definitely a concern.

3) Cost. Calculate the ROI. I didn't mind kicking in the extra $$ but I plan to only keep this car 3 years so there was no significant payback IMO.

 

Ford needs to come up with an EREV vehicle like the Volt / ELR. It is a more efficient hybrid design. I have a family member with a Volt and he hardly ever buys gas. Unfortunately the Volt is too small for my taste but I sure like the technology.

 

Capt

Edited October 12, 2013 by captmable

[SD Diver]

Well, I had been considering the FFH at first. Got to the point of having a contract written up, but then the dealer tried to stick me with their installed "add-ons" so I walked out. Next day I look at an FFE. Seeing how small the trunk was at first made it a non-starter. Was also disappointed that the FFE Titanium did not have the same 18" wheels that the FFH Titanium did. Thought about it, went over the two different forums, thought some more. Went back to the (2nd) dealer the next day, nonchalant about the FFE, and left with one a few hours later. Better equipped, it cost me $1200 less than the FFH (after state and federal credits). I was $1k below invoice before Ford's $3500 in rebates/incentives. True, I am still waiting on my CA $1500 and will have to wait until April next year for the $4K Federal, but it is only a matter of time. Meanwhile, my last "fill up" of 4.844 gallons had taken me 651 miles. I was able to switch to my power company's EVTOU2 rate plan. Since most of my usage takes place off-peak, even with charging the car my electric bill is now $100 less per month (I had most of my billing in the top tier of $0.36/kWh, now even at peak my highest rate is $0.29/kWh, with my heaviest usage (car recharge, pool filter) being at $0.16/kWh. Could not have gotten this without an EV. I am also saving over $200/mo on gas (most of my trips are short and fall within the EV range). So, in 8 years, this car will have paid for its self in fuel and power savings. Since most of the time it is just my wife and I going on trips, the trunk and fold-down seats suffice. It was a picture that an FFE user had posted of 4 cases of wine fitting in the FFE trunk that did it for me!

[acdii]

. It was a picture that an FFE user had posted of 4 cases of wine fitting in the FFE trunk that did it for me!

Hmm maybe if I stuck my two whiners in the trunk.....

[trvlrschick]

That was basically why I've decided on the FFH over the FFE. I even have the 240V charger in my garage from the Volt we just got rid of... but I didn't think I could deal with such a tiny trunk.

[Geremy13]

I love my FFH but I must admit to buying it because the FFE's trunk space was too small. If it had the same trunk space as the FFH, I would have bought the FFE.

 

Did you buy the FFH for the same reason?

 

Absolutely!, This is why we purchased the FFH instead of the FFE. I would have much more preferred the Energi as most of my trips are 3 miles or less. And that's 15K of them at least per year. But I am very fortunate to live close to work, close to home, close to everything I have to do. BUT!, since me and the wife work all of the time we do travel quite frequently to relieve our stress. Give's us something to enjoy after working so hard.

 

Now, I am just fine with a pair of shorts, pair of flip flops and swim shorts to last me the weekend, while she packs an entire months of clothing for a getaway weekend. And more shoes than I have in my entire closet. So even at this with luggage I have to play 'Tetris' to load our luggage in the normal FFH. Doing it in the Energi was not doeable and that's what made our decision.

 

Other than that though.... I would have loved the Energi.

[TX NRG]

Now, I am just fine with a pair of shorts, pair of flip flops and swim shorts to last me the weekend, while she packs an entire months of clothing for a getaway weekend. And more shoes than I have in my entire closet. So even at this with luggage I have to play 'Tetris' to load our luggage in the normal FFH. Doing it in the Energi was not doeable and that's what made our decision.

 

Other than that though.... I would have loved the Energi.

Trunk Tetris! LOL

 

If you have more than 3 carry-ons, there is always the backseat and floor space.

 

http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/1291-trunk-issue/?do=findComment&comment=8344

 

I have no problems loading a week's worth of groceries in mine. Enjoy your FFH and safe travels!

[MaineFusion]

I love my FFH but I must admit to buying it because the FFE's trunk space was too small. If it had the same trunk space as the FFH, I would have bought the FFE.

 

Did you buy the FFH for the same reason?

 

When we purchased our FFH, the FFE was not yet available and we couldn't wait for it to come available.

 

With that said, my daily commute is almost 100mi round trip, and I'd only be able to charge up at home so I would really gain much from being able to plug the FFE in compared to the loss of fuel economy due to the extra battery weight so the numbers just wouldn't added up cost wise given how much more expensive the FFE is over the FFH.

 

The higher price of the FFE also put it out of our price range for the options I wanted.

 

Even if the numbers added up (fuel economy vs cost), and it fit in our budget and it had been available, at the time, the lack of trunk space would have still been a deal breaker. You simply can't take a reasonable road trip with four people without adequate trunk space. As it is with the FFH, trunk space can be tight for a decent road or camping trip.

 

Trunk Tetris! LOL

 

If you have more than 3 carry-ons, there is always the backseat and floor space.

 

http://www.fordfusionenergiforum.com/topic/1291-trunk-issue/?do=findComment&comment=8344

 

I have no problems loading a week's worth of groceries in mine. Enjoy your FFH and safe travels!

 

Back seat is useless for luggage if you need to put people in it.

[B25Nut]

I'm working on a one piece 51" wingspan version of my Triton. I needed to take it somewhere and thought I'd have to use my wife's RX330, but I didn't have to use the extra gas. It fit perfectly in the FFH since it has the fold down rear seats. I don't think this could have been done in any of the FFH's sedan competitors.

[murphy]

In addition to folding the seat backs down if you move the front passenger seat all of the way forward and lower it's back all of the way down you can get additional room. Blankets are required to protect the seat back. I have transported 2 foot by 8 foot panels home from the store using that approach.

[machoman1337]

Drove both models before purchase. Deciding factors:

 

1) Extra 300lbs. I could notice it driving the FFE... felt slow and heavy.

2) Trunk Space. It was definitely a concern.

3) Cost. Calculate the ROI. I didn't mind kicking in the extra $$ but I plan to only keep this car 3 years so there was no significant payback IMO.

 

Ford needs to come up with an EREV vehicle like the Volt / ELR. It is a more efficient hybrid design. I have a family member with a Volt and he hardly ever buys gas. Unfortunately the Volt is too small for my taste but I sure like the technology.

 

Capt

 

Well said - I seriously considered buying a brand new Volt but the size turned me off in the end. A Ford equivalent with the same interior space as my Fusion would be nice.

 

Trunk space + cost were also my top reasons for not going with the Energi. In fact, the battery hump in the regular FFH has already been problematic on several occasions, usually because of luggage. I no longer use my own car if driving family to the airport because of this. There was one time when I was forced to make all 3 passengers squeeze in the back, and use the front seat to hold one luggage :(

 

If I could re-engineer the FFH myself, I'd take a page out of the Volt's playbook and replace the middle seat in the rear with the battery pack that would also double as an armrest. That could potentially free up a ton of space in the trunk. Maybe doing this + leaving the hump of the current regular FFH could give you an Energi with a half decent trunk!

Edited September 22, 2014 by machoman1337

[dkegel]

If I could re-engineer the FFH myself, I'd take a page out of the Volt's playbook and replace the middle seat in the rear with the battery pack that would also double as an armrest. That could potentially free up a ton of space in the trunk. Maybe doing this + leaving the hump of the current regular FFH could give you an Energi with a half decent trunk!

 

Wouldn't that make it a 4 passenger vehicle? That would be a big turn off to a lot of buyers.

 

Dave

[GrySql]

If I could re-engineer the FFH myself, I'd take a page out of the Volt's playbook at trunk!

The Volt is a purpose-built vehicle, the FFE shares the chassis with three models so it is harder to change the arrangement of components. The Volt is a 4 passenger car with less interior space, hip room, leg room, shoulder room and head room but only has 2.4cu-ft more trunk space than a FFE. I'm guessing that Ford will try and fix that trunk space issue in the next model change, they know it's a problem for sales.

 

Like some others the FFE was not available when I bought my FFH and if I had the choice now I'd still get the FFH. My reasons are very high home electrical rates here (32¢ @ kWh), trunk space and a whole lot of grandkids. The trunk was stuffed last night with school projects, a guitar, school backpack and other kids doodads - the back seat had kids in it.

[acdii]

We use the middle seat a lot, so not having it would mean not getting the car. Good thing it is 5 passenger, when the Flex got munched by a deer hit, we had a planned trip that we were going to use the Flex for, but had to use the Fusion instead. It was a bit cramped for my wife, but she said it wasn't bad, except for the two little heat generators on either side of her.

[MaineFusion]

In addition to folding the seat backs down if you move the front passenger seat all of the way forward and lower it's back all of the way down you can get additional room. Blankets are required to protect the seat back. I have transported 2 foot by 8 foot panels home from the store using that approach.

 

With the front passenger seat pushed forward, I was able to put a pair of full sized door panels (80"x24") into my FFH and close the trunk. I measured out how much I could put in and I think I could almost get full length 8' boards in with the front passenger seat moved all the way forward and tilted forward and both back seats laid down. It would be tight and would depend on the other dimensions of the boards. I have stuck 10' trim molding in by flexing it around the passenger seat.

[hybridbear]

The fact that the Volt only seats 4 is what eliminated it for us. We far too often have to take 5 people in the car.

[GrySql]

I'm working on a one piece 51" wingspan version of my Triton. I needed to take it somewhere and thought I'd have to use my wife's RX330, but I didn't have to use the extra gas. It fit perfectly in the FFH since it has the fold down rear seats. I don't think this could have been done in any of the FFH's sedan competitors.

B25Nut's Triton aircraft, he has a model of it in his FFH trunk, is being featured at the upcoming FLYING Aviation Expo in Palm Springs.

Take a look:

Edited September 24, 2014 by GrySql