The GOM is terrible, We need a Budget Gauge

[MadMatt]

My 2017 Electric Focus had this, it was very helpful especially in the winter.

essentially, every time you turn on the vehicle you get your GOM range estimate and a Budget starting at 0km. As you drive, depending on things like your driving style, speed, outdoor temps that budget will go into the positives (when driving slow and warmer out) or negatives (when driving aggressively, going fast and cold out).

With this the guessing game is removed from the equation. Seeing that number move further and further into the negatives tells me how much less actual range im able to do vs the original estimate, giving me real time feedback.

I just did a 407km drive in -15c temps. When I turned on the garaged pre-warmed (around 18c battery temp) 100% charged MachE LFP I saw 331km on the odometer.

during the drive my GOM fell wayyyy faster than it should of, this was expected but I’m annoyed I got no feedback from the vehicle that this is going on. I had originally planned to stop at a Fast Charge approx 270km from my house, it became apparent early on I wasnt going to make it. I adjusted to one around 20km closer, again not going to make it. I switched to another about 40km closer (totalling 230km from my home) and made it there with 9% battery and something like 15km estimated available range.

I shouldn’t have to constantly be doing math in my head, calculating the difference between my approaching destination vs how quickly the GOM is dropping.

anyway.. thanks for reading my rant. Felt like sharing.

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[Maquis]

If you put your destination in the nav, the GOM will adjust and basically do the budgeting.

 

[Mach1E]

What you’re describing is fine, but it’s honestly not any more nor less accurate than the GOM.

Only you know how you are going to drive in the future, the GOM is just guessing based on the past and current data.

The current iteration of the Mach e GOM actually does a decent job of guessing based on the data it has.

If anything it’s typically conservative with its estimates.

 

[Maquis]

The current iteration of the Mach e GOM actually does a decent job of guessing based on the data it has.

In cold weather, I find it much more accurate when you use the nav. Without a destination entered, you end up in a situation as described by the OP.

 

[Billyk24]

My 2017 Electric Focus had this, it was very helpful especially in the winter.

essentially, every time you turn on the vehicle you get your GOM range estimate and a Budget starting at 0km. As you drive, depending on things like your driving style, speed, outdoor temps that budget will go into the positives (when driving slow and warmer out) or negatives (when driving aggressively, going fast and cold out).

With this the guessing game is removed from the equation. Seeing that number move further and further into the negatives tells me how much less actual range im able to do vs the original estimate, giving me real time feedback.

I just did a 407km drive in -15c temps. When I turned on the garaged pre-warmed (around 18c battery temp) 100% charged MachE LFP I saw 331km on the odometer.

during the drive my GOM fell wayyyy faster than it should of, this was expected but I’m annoyed I got no feedback from the vehicle that this is going on. I had originally planned to stop at a Fast Charge approx 270km from my house, it became apparent early on I wasnt going to make it. I adjusted to one around 20km closer, again not going to make it. I switched to another about 40km closer (totalling 230km from my home) and made it there with 9% battery and something like 15km estimated available range.

I shouldn’t have to constantly be doing math in my head, calculating the difference between my approaching destination vs how quickly the GOM is dropping.

anyway.. thanks for reading my rant. Felt like sharing.

Battery temperature drops as you drive in the cold winter weather. As it drops, the Guess o meter range drops. It helps to have third party hardware/apps to read various vehicle data including battery temperature to understand what is going on.

 

[Mark813]

I'm curious if the screen had a number showing the kilowatts in the battery in addition to percentage would be better for our brains to get a better feel for how much is left in the tank.

 

[phil]

I don't need that.

I just glance at the fuel gauge occasionally. Same as every other car I've driven in the last 50 years.

 

[E90alex]

Long drives you should always use navigation because it can more accurately predict your energy usage and charge at destination. It doesn’t matter if you already know where you’re going. The GOM has no information about what your future route will be. Only the historical consumption. There is no need to constantly be trying to do mental math.

For local driving, just learn to stop obsessing about the range. If you can make it home without public charging then the range and consumption doesn’t really matter.

 

[AnimalChin]

Je sais toute de monde, Je deteste les GOM de merde.

 

[Stephen Munro]

I don't need that.

I just glance at the fuel gauge occasionally. Same as every other car I've driven in the last 50 years.

What Phil said!!

 

[Dana3502]

Chevy EVs have a "kWh-ometer" similar to what you are describing on your 2017 Focus. When you are applying the brake, the meter is in the green range showing how much energy you are adding back to the battery. When you are driving, it is in the red range, and that red gets bigger when you hit highway speeds. I would love to have that in our Mach-E's. It would truly inform us on how our driving habits affect range.

 

[Maquis]

Chevy EVs have a "kWh-ometer" similar to what you are describing on your 2017 Focus. When you are applying the brake, the meter is in the green range showing how much energy you are adding back to the battery. When you are driving, it is in the red range, and that red gets bigger when you hit highway speeds. I would love to have that in our Mach-E's. It would truly inform us on how our driving habits affect range.

The Lightning has this. I find it kind of cool, but not really useful.
You can use the brake coach to monitor regen.

 

[Dana3502]

The Lightning has this. I find it kind of cool, but not really useful.
You can use the brake coach to monitor regen.

The brake coach only appears when in Engage mode. What I especially like about the kWh guage is that you see how much extra speed affects the efficiency. I have seen people post that it really nose dives over 70mph, others say 60mph. I rarely drive the same roads to assess that myself. Plus, there are always other factors such as wind, cold, etc. I guess I'm a data hungry person that wants more detail than the average for the whole trip.

And BTW, you are making my buyer's remorse surface again. I initially started shopping for a Lightening, but somehow the dealer who couldn't find what I wanted talked me into a Mach-E.

 

[Mach-Lee]

For trips in the cold, make sure you are using the nav or some type of route planning app like apple or google maps, or ABRP to do that math for you.

But I do think the Mach-E needs a real-time efficiency gauge or graph. As in shows live mi/kWh over the 5-15 minutes compared to the average or what the GOM is using for the range computation. A single average for the whole drive isn't enough detail to accurately track efficiency trends during the drive.

This will actually show you the effect of adjusting the heat, or some factor rapidly changes such as the wind or rain affecting efficiency. I've had issues if you get a sudden headwind or rainstorm and don't notice the efficiency average trending down.

I like the Rivian implementation, has a live and recent history indication:

 

[sglewiswl]

I'm curious if the screen had a number showing the kilowatts in the battery in addition to percentage would be better for our brains to get a better feel for how much is left in the tank.

Yep. A simple % of battery left along with the expected range. Time to stop treating us EV owners like children. We get the range varies, we get it's based on a lot of factors. Shouldn't need a dongle or an app to see true battery percent. Watching the GOM tell me the battery is 100% until it decides to update is BS.

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