Buying a used EV in this market is a nightmare. Prices are all over the place, and half the cars you find have batteries that are basically paperweights. But then there’s the 2013 Ford Focus EV. It’s this weird, often forgotten relic from the era when "compliance cars" were the only thing keeping Detroit in the green conversation. You see them on Craigslist for like $5,000 and wonder if it’s a steal or a trap. Honestly? It's a bit of both.
Back in 2013, the electric vehicle landscape was a desert. You had the Tesla Model S, which was for rich tech bros in Silicon Valley, and you had the Nissan LEAF, which looked like a melting frog. Ford took a different route. They just took a standard Focus—one of the best-handling small cars at the time—and stuffed it full of LG Chem batteries. It was a compromise. A massive, heavy, trunk-eating compromise. But it was also one of the first EVs that actually felt like a real car instead of a science project.
The range anxiety was real, but the engineering was solid
Let’s talk numbers because that’s where things get messy. The 2013 Ford Focus EV was rated by the EPA for 76 miles of range. That sounds pathetic now. In 2026, where a basic Hyundai will go 250 miles without breaking a sweat, 76 miles feels like a leash. But back then, it was competitive. The problem wasn't just the distance; it was how it handled the juice it had.
Unlike the early Nissan LEAFs, which were notorious for having air-cooled batteries that degraded if you so much as looked at a heatwave, Ford used a liquid-cooled and liquid-heated thermal management system. This was huge. It meant that even in a Minnesota winter or an Arizona summer, the battery wasn't going to turn into a brick in three years. If you find one today with 80,000 miles on it, there’s a genuine chance the battery health is still decent, whereas a 2013 LEAF with that mileage is probably struggling to reach the grocery store.
The battery itself was a 23 kWh lithium-ion pack. Ford didn't have a dedicated EV platform yet, so they literally split the pack. Part of it sits under the rear seat, and the other part is in the trunk. If you open the hatch, you'll see this giant hump. It’s awkward. You can’t fit a bike in there. You can barely fit a large suitcase. It’s the clearest sign that this car was a "conversion" rather than a ground-up design. But that’s the trade-off for getting a car that doesn't scream "I'm saving the planet" from a mile away.
Driving dynamics: The Focus's secret weapon
Most cheap EVs feel like golf carts. They’re light, buzzy, and have all the structural integrity of a soda can. Not this one. Because it’s built on the global C-platform, the 2013 Ford Focus EV actually handles.
✨ Don't miss: Why an Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility Matters Way More Than You Think
It’s heavy, though. Really heavy.
The EV version weighs about 600 pounds more than the gas-powered Focus. That extra weight is low down, which gives it a surprisingly planted feel in corners. You’ve got 143 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. It’s not "Tesla fast," but the instant torque makes it punchy in city traffic. You can zip into gaps that a standard Focus SE would struggle with. It’s quiet, too. Ford added extra sound insulation to mask the lack of engine noise, making it one of the most refined compact cars of its era.
I remember talking to a former Ford engineer who worked on the powertrain calibration for the 2013 model year. He mentioned that the goal wasn't to make it a sports car, but to make the transition from gas to electric invisible for the average driver. They mostly succeeded. The regenerative braking isn't "one-pedal" like a modern Chevy Bolt, but it’s smooth. It doesn't have that jerky, anchor-tossing feeling when you lift off the gas.
What usually breaks (and it’s not always the battery)
If you’re looking at buying one of these today, you need to be careful about the "Stop Safely Now" warning. It’s the dread of every Focus EV owner. Sometimes it’s a simple 12-volt battery issue—because yes, even EVs have a standard car battery to run the electronics—but sometimes it’s the high-voltage contactors or the onboard charger.
- The Onboard Charger (OBC): The 2013 model came with a 6.6 kW charger. It was fast for its time, taking about 4 hours on a 240V Level 2 station. However, these units have a history of failing. If the car won't charge, it's often a $2,000 repair because parts are getting harder to find.
- The 12V Battery: If this gets low, the car’s computer freaks out. It will throw every error code in the book. Before you panic about a dead traction battery, swap the little battery under the hood.
- The Transmission: It’s a single-speed reduction gear. Generally reliable, but some owners have reported bearing noise. If it whines like a banshee when you’re decelerating, walk away.
- The Sync System: Oh boy. This car has MyFord Touch. It was buggy in 2013, and it hasn't aged well. It’s slow, the screen is resistive (so you have to actually press it, not just touch it), and it can be a total headache.
Why did it disappear from the conversation?
Ford didn't really want to sell these. Not in large volumes, anyway. They were expensive—starting at nearly $40,000 before incentives. For a car with 76 miles of range, that was a tough sell when you could get a loaded Mustang for the same price. It was a compliance car, built primarily to satisfy California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandates.
Because they weren't mass-produced like the gas Focus, dealership technicians often didn't know how to fix them. You’d take your 2013 Ford Focus EV in for a sensor issue, and the mechanic would look at it like it was a spaceship. That lack of support killed the momentum. People traded them in for Volts or just went back to gas cars.
But here is the weird thing: the people who still have them usually love them. There’s a cult following. They appreciate that it’s a "stealth" EV. No weird blue trim, no aerodynamic hubcaps that look like pizza pans. Just a solid hatchback that happens to run on electrons.
Making the 2013 Ford Focus EV work for you today
So, is it worth it? If you have a 15-mile commute and a place to plug in at night, absolutely. It’s a way better car than a Mitsubishi i-MiEV or a Smart ED. You get heated seats, a decent Sony sound system (usually), and a chassis that doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart on the highway.
Don't buy it if you live in an apartment without a charger. Don't buy it if you need to take road trips. The lack of DC Fast Charging on the 2013 model (it was only an option or standard on later years) means you are tethered to Level 2 charging. You cannot take this car on a 200-mile trip unless you want to spend 12 hours sitting at Starbucks while it sips power.
Actionable steps for potential buyers:
- Check the Battery Health: Use an OBDII scanner and an app like ForScan to check the "Battery Energy Content." A new pack was around 23 kWh. If the car is showing 15-16 kWh of usable capacity, the range will be closer to 45-50 miles.
- Verify the Recall Status: There were recalls for the powertrain control module and the door latches (a classic Focus problem). Make sure the work was done by a Ford dealer.
- Test the Heater: The electric cabin heater is a high-voltage component. They fail. Turn the heat to max and make sure it actually gets hot within a minute. If it stays cold, that’s a $1,500 fix.
- Look for the "Value Charge" bug: Sometimes the car’s internal clock gets out of sync with the GPS, causing it to refuse to charge during certain hours. You usually have to reset the Sync system to fix this.
The 2013 Ford Focus EV is a fascinating snapshot of a time when the "Big Three" were just starting to take electricity seriously. It’s flawed, it’s cramped, and its range is a joke by modern standards. But as a daily runabout for someone who wants to stop buying gas without spending $30,000 on a new EV, it remains one of the most interesting used car bargains on the market. Just make sure you know exactly what you're getting into before you sign the title.