Ford Fusion Hybrid Energi and Extreme Cold

[ChantelleR90]

Hey Guys!

 

I am considering a Ford Fusion Hybrid Energi as my next vehicle. I currently drive a 2013 Ford Escape but want to go hybrid and downsize to a Full Size Sedan instead of a SUV. My concern is where I live and the performance of Hybrids in the cold.

 

I live in Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador in Canadas North. For the past week it hasn't gone above -15C (5F) but most nights it will get to an average of -20C (-4F). In the very cold months in January and February it will sometimes get down to -50C (-58F) for a couple days during the winter. Block heaters are a MUST in the winters here. It gets so cold that the part of a tire that touches the ground will freeze flat overnight so that you can feel it when youre driving in the am. That being said our spring and fall are quite mild... 5 - 15C (41-59F) and summers can get quite hot 30C (86F).

 

Does anyone have experience with these types of cold temperatures and Hybrids or the Energi in particular??

 

The Local dealership sells them so I am assuming they would be okay. I realize that the electric mileage would be drastically reduced in the extreme cold.

 

Sorry about all the conversions, I am just assuming that there are many Americans here vs Canadians.

[mwr]

If the local dealership sells them, can they put you in touch with owners?

[ChantelleR90]

If the local dealership sells them, can they put you in touch with owners?

Unfortunately no. They said if I want one they can get it but don't regularly stock them. In the past they have sold a half dozen Ford Escape Hybrids, but that was to companies so theres not necessarily someone to contact.

 

Our local dealership is fairly small its an isolated area with 15k people and 2 car dealerships. Ford and GMC. The GMC/Chev dealership said they are not even certified to sell me a hybrid or service it so Ford is my only option here as they not only sell them they will also do the servicing.

[mwr]

I certainly don't know the answers to your questions, but if the local Ford dealer doesn't stock them, there might be a reason for that.

[lolder]

The fuel economy of a hybrid approaches that of a non-hybrid in cold temperatures. The Energi probably would only offer a little advantage. It's had to say if it would be cost effective over a whole year because it depends on the price difference. A hybrids best advantage is in warm climates like Florida.

[murphy]

Cold will not harm the battery but its capacity will be greatly reduced when it is cold. I am north of Philadelphia, PA and when it gets below freezing my 21 mile range usually drops to around 11 miles. Turning on the 5 kW heater drops it even further. When it is real cold I use EV Later mode and just use the engine which makes the Energi the same as a hybrid.

 

Many dealers don't stock the Energi because they are too lazy to learn how it works and don't want to be bothered trying to sell it to people that also don't understand how it works. I had to factory order my Energi and the salesman tried to convince me I could only drive it 21 miles at a time.

 

A 240 volt EVSE is mandatory at those temperatures if you want to use GO times to preheat the car before you leave. The supplied 120 volt EVSE is not effective for heating because 120 volts times 12 amps is only 1440 watts. 240 volts times 16 amps is 3840 watts which has a much better chance of heating the car cabin. The best case would be a heated garage.

 

Note: EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) is what comes with the car and is typically called a charger. The charger is built into the car. The EVSE is a smart switch to control charging.

[ptjones]

You can get more info at the fordcmaxenergiforum.com in that there are several Canadian CMAX Energi owners on that Forum. :)

 

Paul

[mwr]

Ford is my only option here as they not only sell them they will also do the servicing.

It sounds like they haven't sold any Fusion Hybrids or Energis so the shop would be learning on yours.