First Drive in a Hybrid Fuel Cell Electric Car
As you may be able to imagine, along with the bread and butter sedans, SUVs, minivans and pickups that pass through my hands, I get to drive some pretty impressive luxury and sports cars. I've enjoyed $100,000 plus Vipers, Porsches and Maseratis as well as near $200,000 BMWs, $300,000 Ferraris and $400,000 plus Bentleys. That's why, with good reason, I never could have thought the most expensive car I'd have driven to date would end up being a Ford Focus.
The Focus Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle in question, however, isn't just any entry-level Ford. With possibly more research and development time and cost than any previous model, the new FCV Focus hardly looks any different than a regular Focus, other than the 'notice-me' paint job.
Climbing inside I instinctively went for the ignition switch before Phil Chizek, my Ford supplied co-driver, reminded me I wasn't in a regular gasoline powered car. The only visible alteration was a modified gauge package, still with large, round gray-faced dials, though the one on the right, where the tachometer would have otherwise gone, showed a simple 'wait / run' gauge.
After turning the key a subdued turbine sound emanated from the engine bay, slowly building before the gauge clicked over to the run position and we were ready to go. The rest of the driving experience was anticlimactic, which is obviously what Ford is attempting to accomplish.
As you may be able to imagine, along with the bread and butter sedans, SUVs, minivans and pickups that pass through my hands, I get to drive some pretty impressive luxury and sports cars. I've enjoyed $100,000 plus Vipers, Porsches and Maseratis as well as near $200,000 BMWs, $300,000 Ferraris and $400,000 plus Bentleys. That's why, with good reason, I never could have thought the most expensive car I'd have driven to date would end up being a Ford Focus.
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| The most expensive car I've ever driven isn't a Ferrari or Bentley, but a Ford Focus, the new hydrogen powered FCV. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
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| Compared to the standard Focus, the only difference on the inside is a modified gauge package that replaces the tachometer with a 'wait/run' display. (Photo: Ford Motors) |
Climbing inside I instinctively went for the ignition switch before Phil Chizek, my Ford supplied co-driver, reminded me I wasn't in a regular gasoline powered car. The only visible alteration was a modified gauge package, still with large, round gray-faced dials, though the one on the right, where the tachometer would have otherwise gone, showed a simple 'wait / run' gauge.
After turning the key a subdued turbine sound emanated from the engine bay, slowly building before the gauge clicked over to the run position and we were ready to go. The rest of the driving experience was anticlimactic, which is obviously what Ford is attempting to accomplish.