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" On Sale Date: Late May in California, New York, and New Jersey. An additional 16 markets will be added to the mix by the end of 2012. Price: $39,995 before subtracting government rebates and adding a home charging station.  Competitors: Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, Mitsubishi I-MIEV, sensible shoes, and bicycles.  Powertrains: AC electric motor, 144 hp, 188 lb-ft; 23 kwh lithium-ion battery pack; direct drive, FWD EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): Equivalent mpg of 110/99 What&amp;#039;s New: The five-door Focus sheet metal is familiar, but practically everything else is new. The drivetrain is all-electric with a two-piece liquid-cooled and liquid-heated lithium-ion battery pack in the rear sending amperage forward to an electric motor powering the front wheels. Ford rates the motor at 141 hp, but it&amp;#039;s the delicious 188 lb-ft of torque available no matter how fast it&amp;#039;s spinning that defines the driving experience.  Tech Tidbit: The seats are made of recycled plastic bottles, butterflies flutter on the dashboard when there&amp;#039;s still juice available, and the battery will fill with electrons in a (relatively) quick 3 to 4 hours from a 240-volt charger. Ford claims a range of 76 miles from a single charge.  Driving Character: Even when it&amp;#039;s full of zap juice, the electric Focus has the equivalent energy of only about 3 quarts of gas onboard and a range of 76 miles. To compensate, Ford suggests the owner use advanced MyFord technology to plan trips and vehicle usage carefully. It means, for instance, using a built-in timer to prewarm the car&amp;#039;s interior while the car is still in the garage hooked to the charger before heading out in the morning. It means programming your destination so the car can monitor how amperage is still available (and whether it&amp;#039;s enough). And it means the car is always prompting the driver to go conservative on acceleration, lay on the regenerative brakes efficiently, and keep abreast of the energy situation. While the screens that display all this information and tips are beautiful, monitoring all the details becomes a chore. This is no happy-go-lucky fun machine, no matter how friendly the graphics\u2014this car knows that inattentive driving can result in an empty battery and stranded owner. That noted, it&amp;#039;s a sweet car to drive. Yeah, the battery takes up too much of the rear cargo area, you can&amp;#039;t get a sunroof, and the recycled-pop-bottle upholstery isn&amp;#039;t plush, but it&amp;#039;s comfortable for four or five. Like all electric motors, the one in the Focus delivers a steady, quiet, consistent flow of torque that eliminates the need for a transmission and produces seamless acceleration. The dyno-tuned seat of my pants expects a 0-to-60 time of just under 10-seconds while Ford claims a top speed of 84 mph.  Favorite Detail: It&amp;#039;s freakishly quiet and the dashboard is always entertaining. Driver&amp;#039;s Grievance: The 76-mile range represents a breakthrough of sorts, but it&amp;#039;s still not enough to drive from Los Angeles to home in Santa Barbara on a single charge.  Bottom Line: All of Ford&amp;#039;s current Focus models are built the way Lincolns should be, handle how a Mustang ought to, and operate with the precision of a LASIK surgeon. And none of that changes with the conversion of the five-door hatchback Focus to all-electric operation. This is the Focus you want if you&amp;#039;ve cashed in big on the Apple stock run-up, have a predictable commute, live someplace where society is stable and generous in placing EV chargers, and you have a passion for all things greenie. But the transmutation does demand that the driver pay rapt attention to the car at all times and deal with the anxiety of knowing that the car is frequently on the verge of exhausting its meager supply of electricity. In addition to the range and recharging time woes that plague any modern EV, the Focus EV&amp;#039;s biggest challenge is simply how wonderful and affordable the other members of the Focus family are. This electric version starts at $39,995, and even after all the government bribery to buy one, it will still run in excess of $30K. Meanwhile the regular, gas-fueled Focus sedan starts at $17,295, drives as well, will go over 400 miles on a 12.4-gallon tank of gas, and refuels in less than 5 minutes. Even fully loaded, it&amp;#039;s difficult to push a conventional Focus beyond about $24,000. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/a7525/2012-ford-focus-electric-test-drive-8160520/>