Don't trust the displayed range on indicator (GOM)! Best ways to calculate how far your Mach-E can really go

[RockwallRick]

This was extremely helpful - i just got mine and have been having anxiety with it LOL thanks!

I had a little range anxiety myself today. Battery was down to 13% with 40 miles of range showing. I was about 30 miles from home. Did not want to cut it that close so I pulled up to an EA station for my first DC charge on this car.

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[RetiredDP]

Umm, it's in the first sentence of the original post.

But it never explained it on 1st usage...should have been written "guess-o-meter (GOM)"

 

[LeeLeeMachE]

Hi, also wanted to mention for EV newbies that you can enhance your range by using the Whisper mode and set the 1-pedal driving on. I used to be able to regularly achieve a range of 350 miles on my Bolt (which was rated at 228) and am hoping I can bump my Mustang range from 305 up as well. But yes, weather and weight in the car will reduce the range for sure (as I learned the hard way lol).

 

[AllenXS]

A GOM is a cousin to the gnome but usually a bit shorter unless you live in a really warm climate and then it's a lot longer.

Went for a nice regional trip today and consumed at the rate of 270 miles/435 km in about 77 degrees.

 

[blue92lx]

There have been lots of new threads popping up from first time BEV drivers who are all worried or worked up because their Guess-O-Meter is showing much less range than they think it should.

Very simple answer: don't rely on the GOM! It doesn't know where you plan to go or the conditions it needs to calculate the actual range it can go. It will always be highly conservative. Be glad Ford gives you a conservative GOM -- it'll help keep you out of trouble.

How far can your Mach E really go? There are two good ways to find out. Neither is the GOM.

1. Trust the navigation system
Get in the car, turn on navigation, and pick a spot 200 miles away. See if it will navigate you there without charging. How much range will it have when you get there? If it can't get there without charging try shorter distances like 175 miles and 150 miles.

Now try with someplace 225 miles away, then 250, then 275, then 300. Once you have found a place near the end of your range the navigation system will tell you the range the car predicts to be able to go when it knows the distance, likely speed, altitude changes, and weather conditions of your drive. The distance of that drive plus the remaining range (you can trust it best when remaining range is low) will tell you your range.

I've found the navigation system to be very accurate and estimating my real range.

2. How far do you really go?
You can do the same thing with your normal driving. Charge up and drive it for a while. Drive until you are low on charge upon arriving home or a charging destination. How far do you go before charging and how much range does the car think is left?

Both of these will tell you your car's real range under real-world conditions.

Don't trust the GOM for anything other than a low-ball estimate. Then be glad Ford chose to do it this way. I've hopped in my Leaf trusting the GOM would get me somewhere, only to learn the GOM was based on slow around town driving and my battery won't get me where I need to go on my planned 70 mph interstate drive. I'd rather start out with a conservative GOM than a wildly optimistic one!

This also goes for ICE cars. I keep seeing people on here asking why the GOM is showing too high or too low. Have people never looked at the GOM in an ICE car? It does the exact same thing based on how you've been driving the car. I've seen mine estimate 440 miles (Fusion Hybrid) and immediately change after like 20 miles of driving. It's nothing new just because it's an EV.

 

[ChasingCoral]

This also goes for ICE cars. I keep seeing people on here asking why the GOM is showing too high or too low. Have people never looked at the GOM in an ICE car? It does the exact same thing based on how you've been driving the car. I've seen mine estimate 440 miles (Fusion Hybrid) and immediately change after like 20 miles of driving. It's nothing new just because it's an EV.

The GOM is not nearly as prominent in most ICE cars. You are right that even when it is prominently positioned, people somehow accept it's only an estimate.

 

[timbop]

The GOM is not nearly as prominent in most ICE cars. You are right that even when it is prominently positioned, people somehow accept it's only an estimate.

I think it's also related to how inefficient ICE's are relative to a BEV. Since an ICE is only 30%-40% efficient anyway, the difference in efficiency due to weather/driving is less noticeable. At > 90% efficiency you notice the change in efficiency at different speeds with a BEV

 

[kevC]

I've been getting 300+ by my calculations but GOM is showing only 250 ish. Hopefully it'll go up soon.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I've been getting 300+ by my calculations but GOM is showing only 250 ish. Hopefully it'll go up soon.

I'm averaging 3.7 miles/kWh (We have no freeways around here). 3.7*88=325.6 Pretty good for an AWD ER right? Yeah, the GOM shows 229 at 100%. My belief is that it is overemphasizing the last part of a drive to get its range guess. I live on the side of a volcano. It's a sustained climb and much lower than the 3.7 m/kWh average.

 

[Shayne]

I'm averaging 3.7 miles/kWh (We have no freeways around here). 3.7*88=325.6 Pretty good for an AWD ER right? Yeah, the GOM shows 229 at 100%. My belief is that it is overemphasizing the last part of a drive to get its range guess. I live on the side of a volcano. It's a sustained climb and much lower than the 3.7 m/kWh average.

325 is pretty good. I have noticed my range go up lately. Not sure if something internal. Close/over epa now with most 2 way highway at 65 to 70 mph. Consumption is down which makes me wonder and GOM is up ?. The problem maybe it needs to let you know what you are going to do if you continue going up (hence a small window)? Wonder if it would say 600 miles if you lived at the bottom.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

325 is pretty good. I have noticed my range go up lately. Not sure if something internal. Close/over epa now with most 2 way highway at 65 to 70 mph. Consumption is down which makes me wonder and GOM is up ?. The problem maybe it needs to let you know what you are going to do if you continue going up (hence a small window)? Wonder if it would say 600 miles if you lived at the bottom.

I’ve seen as high as 10.2 coming down the the Daniel K Inoyue highway (long, straight and steep). We won’t mention the 1.2 going back up.

 

[Shayne]

I’ve seen as high as 10.2 coming down the the Daniel K Inoyue highway (long, straight and steep). We won’t mention the 1.2 going back up.

I was thinking the internal change may be the wing nut behind the steering wheel? It has calmed down a bit ? . Range has always been good but lately I have seen consumption numbers go down a bit (Kw/100Km). It is easy to know what you will get at 22 Kw/100 Km so when it is below 20 it is good. Lowest I have seen to date lately and over EPA.

 

[Ken Josing]

My longest trip, started at 94% drove 276 miles returning home at 9%. That’s 85% of the battery or 74.80 kWh consumed for an average of 3.69 miles per kWh. A full charge would have yielded 324.71 miles which is 6% over the 305 miles estimate for the ER battery. I’m in whisper mode, one pedal, 72 mph freeway, using cruise. Forget the GOM, it’s not on board for any of this.

 

[coolshades]

do we use the 'this trip' miles/kwh or the 'trip 2' one?

my 'this trip' is showing 2.6 whereas trip 2 is showing 3.1

btw, i have done only 150 miles so maybe neither number is accurate.

AWD ER, here.

 

[SnBGC]

do we use the 'this trip' miles/kwh or the 'trip 2' one?

my 'this trip' is showing 2.6 whereas trip 2 is showing 3.1

btw, i have done only 150 miles so maybe neither number is accurate.

AWD ER, here.

Your magic numbers for normal day to day commute should be about 3.0/30/300
First number is miles per percent of charge.
Second number is miles per 10% of charge.
Last numbers is miles per 100% of charge.

To check.....drive about 30 miles and see how much your charge percentage changes. Should have reduced by about 10 percent. Or, drive until your battery charge percentage reduces by 10 percent and see how far you travel.


On road trips.....your magic numbers should be about 2.5/25/200
Last number is 200 miles because most road trip legs start with 80% state of charge.
Your first leg can be more than 200 miles but should be less than 250 assuming you start at 100% charge.

All this assumes reasonable driving habits.

Hope this helps.

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