Ford Ecostar EV

From the “floating bubble” theme of its wheels and body-colored grille to its debut of Ford’s now well-known road-and-leaf environmental logo, the circa-1992 Ford Ecostar featured none of the raw edges or engineering quirks typically expected of developmental electric vehicles of the time. Gone were the pop-riveted sheetmetal, the ubiquitous wires, and the function-before-form approach. While the Ecostar had a good start since it was based on Ford’s European Escort Van, the automaker’s attention-to-detail with this electric vehicle variant was notable.

Time spent behind the wheel of the Ecostar during test drives in 1992 through 1994 proved this a capable vehicle, with good acceleration in traffic and performance on par with most internal combustion engine vehicles of its class. Steering was crisp and overall handling very good, with the vehicle feeling quite stable even during hard transient maneuvers, no doubt helped by a low center of gravity created by its heavy sodium-sulfur battery pack mounted beneath the cargo floor. Its 15 second 0 to 60 mph acceleration was good for an electric vehicle of that time but sedate by gasoline engine standards, although acceleration capabilities were never lacking in any driving situation GCJ editors experienced. Data gathered by Ford as part of its 105 vehicle demonstration showed its test Ecostars averaging a 94 mile driving range with a maximum recorded range of 155 miles.

The most significant feature of the Ecostar was its hot (600 degree F) sodium-sulfur battery, a technology invented by Ford in the 1960s. The battery operated at this temperature to allow a molecular reaction between molten sodium and sulfur that created the substantial electricity needed to power an EV. Heat was largely contained within the battery’s double-walled, stainless steel vacuum housing. Because the Ecostar’s sodium-sulfur batteries remained hot regardless of outside temperature, they offered consistent performance even in the extremely cold weather that often sapped an EV’s driving range.

While sodium-sulfur appeared a potential player in the early 1990s, other battery technologies emerged offering fewer technical challenges and greater peak power, making them better suited for electric vehicle use. The Ford Ecostar fleet with its sodium-sulfur batteries faded into the electric vehicle’s colorful history, a chapter closed but not forgotten.