Ford Focus Electric is More Efficient Than Nissan Leaf

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is giving Ford something to brag about: The new Focus Electric is more efficient than the Nissan Leaf.

“Ford is giving customers the power of choice for leading fuel economy regardless of what type of vehicle or powertrain technology they choose,” said Eric Kuehn, chief nameplate engineer for the Focus Electric. “The Focus and Fusion are great examples of how we transformed our fleet of cars, utilities and trucks with leading fuel efficiency.”

The company’s first foray into all-electric vehicles achieves a stated 110-mpge city and a 105-mpge combined, giving a six mile-per-gallon equivalent advantage over the Leaf. It seems unlikely that those extra miles would come into play very often, though.

Range anxiety will probably be enough to keep most EV drivers reasonably far from exhausting their charge, or even testing the extra range claims that differentiates the Focus.

Instead, it really wins over the Leaf by offering more interior space, half the charging time and the chance to blend in with other cars if you don’t always want to brandish the green cars cause.

Ford is positioning itself to have a lineup of efficiency-minded cars with the 2013 Fusion getting a 1.6-liter EcoBoost with a projected 37-mpg highway consumption rating.

Ford says that will round out their lineup with 10 fuel-efficiency leaders across various segments. It’s important to note that the Focus beats Nissan but still isn’t the most efficient EV available. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV gets 112 mpge combined or 126 city.

UPDATE: The Focus Electric has a 76-mile range on a single charge.