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If you want a Ford, and want it to be eco-friendly, then here are our top three recommendations: the Ford Fiesta 1-litre EcoBoost, the Ford Focus Electric, and the Ford C-MAX Solar Energi.
According to TheCarPeople.co.uk Ford cars page Ford has picked up 38 awards in the past five years alone. So you should certainly feel assured you’ll be getting your money’s worth … especially with these eco-friendly cars.
However they are still quite a rare sight with only 2,300 electric cars being sold in 2012 within the UK according to driversedgeuk, with Ford being a fraction of that. The problem is mainly the range anxiety and their higher price premium according to this BBC article.
Ford Fiesta 1-litre EcoBoost
Okay, so the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi offers the best fuel economy, with an official combined figure of 85.6mpg, but the Ford Fiesta 1-litre EcoBoost offers a driving experience that comes close to the highly acclaimed Ford Fiesta ST, but with the potential of 65.7mpg.
The secret to the Fiesta’s success is its lightweight, three-cylinder, one-litre petrol engine, which helps to make the car more agile as well as offering a responsive and fun powertrain. With 125PS of power on offer, there’s a 0-62mph acceleration time of 9.4 seconds and a top speed of 122mph – pretty good for an eco-supermini.
Ford Fiestas are known to have very low running costs and there are many other models available that have high miles per gallon figures.
Ford Focus Electric
The Ford Focus Electric is a regular Focus with the internal combustion engine replaced with an electric powertrain.
Therefore perhaps not surprisingly, the Focus Electric drives very much like a conventional Focus. Whereas some people may like the idea of an all-new electric car, others might prefer the familiarity of a Ford Focus.
The Ford Focus Electric features an electric motor and lithium-ion battery powertrain that produces 142PS, achieves a top speed of 85mph and is capable of a driving range of over 100 miles.
The production Ford Focus Electric is now on sale in the UK priced from £33,500, or £28,500 after the £5,000 UK Government Plug-in Car Grant.
Ford will initially introduce a low volume of Focus Electric vehicles to the UK, with fleet customers as the main target market.
Ford C-MAX Solar Energi
The Ford C-MAX Solar Energi is a petrol-electric concept car that features a solar panel roof, with the idea that the sun can recharge the car’s battery via the solar panels.
The solar panels have a special design to make them more efficient than the average solar panel mounted on the roof of a home. Also, the idea is for the car to be parked under a solar canopy which intensifies the ability of the sun – by a factor of eight – to recharge the car through its panels. The panels and the canopy could provide the equivalent of a four-hour plug-in charge per day.
It’s not realistic to expect the sun to power the C-MAX Solar Energi for all driving, but Ford claims that up to 75% of journeys could theoretically be solar-powered.
Unfortunately the car, which has an all-electric range of 21 miles, is just a concept at the moment and isn’t on sale, but this could be a hint at the future of our eco-friendly transportation.
