A Green Driver Braves Manhattan

Ford invited me to take a new electric version of their commercial van, the Transit Connect, for a test drive in Manhattan today ahead of the auto show that starts Friday. The city had flood-inducing rain and high winds. Plus, it's been months since I drove anything. What were they thinking?

By the time I got to the dealership on 11th Avenue, the rain had mercifully become a mist. While I had been in hybrids before, this was to be my first time driving an all-electric vehicle. (A Tesla Roadster ride-along fell through when the car broke down.) I signed a scary liability waver and then the van's technical lead, Ford engineer Scott Staley, handed me the key. It looked like a tiny metallic Twizzler.

The electric Transit Connect will be the first EV to come out of Ford--ahead of a plug-in Focus--when it goes into production late this year. Partner Azure Dynamics makes the battery electric powertrain and will ultimately determine the price. The van's lithium-ion battery gets 80 miles per charge and takes 6 to 8 hours to recharge entirely from a 240-volt outlet.

Getting behind the wheel I turned to Staley and gave a half-laugh. "Really? Still no place to put a purse?" A nook near the roof with elastic netting could probably hold one, though. I turned the key. Electric is so quiet that it took a few moments to figure out that the van was actually on. I eased onto 54th Street but a line of trucks blocked the view. Suddenly, a vehicle came tearing down the street. Oh shhhh......! I slammed on the brakes, instinctively reaching my right arm out to protect Staley, who was securely seatbelted. "See, the brakes work!" he said cheerfully.

On a clear stretch of 56th Street, Staley encouraged me to hit the "gas," or rather the electricity. Awww yeah! The van didn't feel heavy, either. Part of me was tempted to keep cruising cross-town, but then the light turned red and we had to return to the showroom garage.

Ford's plan is to start out with a small first run of these vans, which are aimed at business owners that have delivery services. They're not the only ones, though. Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation and partner Enova Systems debuted an all-electric commercial van in South Carolina this month. And Nissan has been talking about making an electric version of its NV200 for North America. Anyone who has ever filmed in New York City knows how pervasive white commercial vans are here--it's almost a joke. As I stepped over an oily puddle on my way back to the Subway, it was tempting to imagine most of the vans lining the street running on electricity instead.

Photo (top): The all-electric Ford Transit Connect, which I didn't crash. Credit: Scott Staley. Photo (bottom): Under the hood. Credit: Alyssa Danigelis.