Handles!!

[Gforcemurphy]

So, would I be right in thinking that most folk find those front door handles weird and unnecessary? I get that some testing came back with a suggestion that there would be a fear of fingers getting caught, but they’re an unsightly imperfection on an otherwise beautiful car.

Reckon we will be able to have them removed afterwards, without compromising paintwork, etc? (Better yet would be an option to dispense with them altogether, but I’m guessing that’s not going to happen...)

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[eager2own]

The Ford handles don’t pop out like the 3’s. So the good news are that they won’t freeze... but the bad are that they’re always sticking out like that. I’d rather not have any at all.

 

[06VistaGT]

In below freezing weather, doors sometimes stick. Requires a good yank to get them open. I doubt the electric door release will be that powerful; hope I am wrong. While I agree the handles are unsightly, they do provide leverage in that situation. Without them, not sure what you would do if the doors were frozen shut and the auto "popper" proved incapable of overcoming that.

 

[06VistaGT]

The same approach would work for windshield defrosters, yet most still scrape the window as a matter of convenience. In practice,, the approach you advocate is ideal. But lots (most?) dont always think ahead enough to preheat the car. Maybe we will all get used to remote starting in cold weather, but the option to go at a moments notice still seems valuable to me.

 

[JamieGeek]

That handle is a non issue for me.

Ford's plugins have always had a scheduled precondition. For commuters that leave for work at the same time every day (and leave for home at the same time) you can program the car with a time & a temperature (e.g. make the inside 72F by 7am).

The implementation of that in the Focus Electric was awesome. In the winter I had the FFE set to be 80F by the time I left to go to work. It didn't matter what happened overnight in the winter the car was always toasty warm and all the snow/ice was always melted off the windows. I didn't have to remember to remote start the car....it was always ready.

 

[eager2own]

In below freezing weather, doors sometimes stick. Requires a good yank to get them open. I doubt the electric door release will be that powerful; hope I am wrong. While I agree the handles are unsightly, they do provide leverage in that situation. Without them, not sure what you would do if the doors were frozen shut and the auto "popper" proved incapable of overcoming that.

But if you’re really concerned about that scenario, you should not be happy about the lack of handles for the rear doors. Either you’d want to have handles on all four doors (unless you think it’s acceptable that in cold weather you have to climb to the back from the front to push the back door open) or you’d want the release to work in cold weather.
Frankly, I just wish they’d come up with something that didn’t look as ”tacked on.”

 

[dbsb3233]

But if you’re really concerned about that scenario, you should not be happy about the lack of handles for the rear doors.

Probably not as big of a deal for the rear, as long as the front opens. While awkward, one could always crawl into the back from the front in a rare freeze up.

 

[macchiaz-o]

According to CNET Road Show's story about the doors, Ford's Ron Heiser states that the electronic mechanism will have no problem breaking through ice. He also provides a rationale for the door pulls in front, and none in the rear.

 

[timbop]

They aren't the most aesthetic, but I have no issue with them. Life is too short and real problems too hard to worry about something like that. First world problems

 

[Blitz118]

No big deal for me either. The car will be in garage when not being used plugged in and charging. So I'm not worried about them freezing, I'm sure Ford tested them in freezing temperatures. I think some of you guys are overreacting.

 

[Trekkie]

The first five years of my driving life were spent parked outside in Kansas. Every car I owned froze shut at least once a year, one year it got so cold my horn in a Pontiac sunbird shorted out at 2AM and just honked until it burnt the horn out/killed the battery. Woke up to the cops beating on our door that time

So I own a garage now and haven't scraped ice off a window for close to 20 years

I'll reserve judgement on the doors until I see them/try them out. My favorite car doors were in my Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Coupe where the door handle was hidden in the B pillar, but in the X I'm a big fan of the 'open the door for you' capability they have. I'm a little iffy on the photos I've seen of the drivers door with that weird hook thing, but I think I want to see them in person.

 

[Nak]

Framed or not, I've had issues with car doors and windows freezing to seals on just about every car I've owned. There is a cure. Amazon Put that on your seals twice a winter. It keeps your seals healthy and ice won't stick to it. Northern Europeans swear by the stuff and after I tried it I saw why. As far as frozen door handles a squirt of de-icer fixes that just fine. Your 3 also has a schedule for heating and charging. Just set it to the earliest you might ever want to leave. I'm sure the E will do the same. Problem solved.

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