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"  Livonia, Mich.\u2014 The electric vehicle market in the U.S. is tiny right now, less than half of 1 percent of all vehicles sold. The Nissan Leaf is blazing the trail as the first modern EV for public sale, but more are coming, including the Ford Transit Electric. For Ford&amp;#039;s first EV since the Ranger EV, the company partnered with Azure Dynamics to quickly adapt the van for electric propulsion. It&amp;#039;s marketed primarily to fleet and commercial buyers, which Ford hopes will capture real-world data that will help future EVs. Eco-conscious families will also be able to purchase the van, but the $54,000 starting price will likely mean few take that route. In any case, let&amp;#039;s take a closer look.  The Specs  This quirky EV starts as what Ford calls a &amp;quot;glider,&amp;quot; a chassis built alongside other Transit Connects in Turkey but without an engine, transmission or fuel system. Ford ships its glider to contract assembler AM General&amp;#039;s brand spanking new Livonia, Mich., facility, where it&amp;#039;s fitted with electric goodies from Azure Dynamics. Rather than reinvent the wheel, Azure uses proven parts first seen on the Ford Ranger EV back in the &amp;#039;90s. The Siemens electric motor produces 78 hp and 117 lb-ft of torque, which is delivered to the front wheels via a Borg Warner single-speed transmission with an 8.5:1 drive ratio. Power comes from a massive 28-kwh lithium battery pack that&amp;#039;s mounted below the rear load floor and housed in a structure that also increases the body stiffness.  The battery adds nearly 1000 pounds, so the rear spring rates were increased and the maximum payload reduced from 1,600 pounds to 1,000. In place of the fuel-filler tube, there&amp;#039;s the SAE standard charging port. With a 240-volt Level II charger, the recharge time is about eight hours. If the high-voltage charger is not available, trickle charging at 120 volts takes a staggering 27 hours for a fill-up. Ouch. The estimated maximum range is around 80 miles, and of course, using the electric air-conditioning, heater or radio cuts into range. Production is ramping up now, but the volumes will be small even at full pace. Azure has committed orders from several energy companies, but 2011 will see only about 200 Transit Connect Electrics produced, with full volume somewhere around 400 vehicles a year. Still small potatoes, but a cautious and measured first step. The Drive It should come as no surprise to EV fans that the Transit Connect Electric actually drives better than its dinosaur-juice-powered cohort, assuming you don&amp;#039;t have terribly far to drive. Even with the hefty battery pack, accelerating to 60 mph is quicker in the EV\u201412.0 seconds rather than 12.3 seconds. Another happy advantage of having a big battery below the load floor: Since the weight has been lowered in the frame, the handling is significantly flatter than the standard Transit Connect.  As with all EVs, the Transit Connect recaptures some of the energy normally lost during braking, although in this case, the driver can select the brake regen&amp;#039;s aggressiveness. There are two positions on the shifter, marked 1 and 2, that adjust how easily the van coasts. In 1, the EV feels like a regular car, which gently glides to a stop. The second position is more efficient, but lifting off the accelerator makes the vehicle feel like the tires are in thick mud. It&amp;#039;s definitely a trait that takes some getting used to.  The steering system has been replaced by an electric unit that is still in development and whirs a bit more than it will in production. The feel is light but communicative, tuned more for easy maneuvering than aggressive feedback. The turning radius matches the normal Transit Connect at 39 feet. The only other noticeable changes to the Transit Connect Electric is a new gauge cluster, which instead of delivering rpm and fuel level, tells the driver how efficiently he&amp;#039;s driving and the total charge remaining. Other than that it looks and feels just like every other Transit Connect on the road. It&amp;#039;s a plucky, enjoyable little beast of burden that delivers exactly what it says on the box: big space inside, carlike handling and a no-nonsense, durable interior.  The Bottom Line For the commercial buyer, the Transit Connect Electric might make a lot of sense for specific routes and customers. The relatively high $54,000 starting price will be offset with the long-term savings against increasingly volatile fuel prices. It&amp;#039;s a long payoff though\u2014assume $4 a gallon for gas and $0.11 per kwh, and the fact that the Transit Connect EV will have to travel well over 100,000 miles to save enough fuel to pay back the price premium. There are other savings, of course\u2014no oil changes and less brake wear\u2014that might be enough to make a few delivery services go green. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/a6391/ford-transit-electric-car-test-drive/>