2000 Mile Road Trip: Charging and Efficiency of the Mach-E

[Fat Mach]

ugh - don't remind me. i haven't experienced one yet with an EV, but have heard from many friends: be prepared

if you were to estimate, range loses 15-20%? more? less?

Prepare yourself for 40% loss of range.

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[timbop]

Prepare yourself for 40% loss of range.

 

[John&KayEVS]

Great info! I had similar results on round trip Florida to Mass. I was similarly pleasantly surprised by lower EA charges in Massachusetts due to $/min rate. Even met a couple of other EV drivers at EA stations who drove from NH into Mass just to enjoy lower rate. Does anyone know where to look for a list of states that use time to charge rates?

 

[bshaw]

Having a PHEV for 3 years, the winter hit is steep - figure 40%. If you precondition while on the charger, and then drive, it shouldn't be as bad.

A 40% hit seems about right if your winter consists of 32-deg F or lower daytime temps. Preconditioning will definitely help, but its not gonna bring that range hit down to 20% or anything like that.

 

[RickMachE]

Great info! I had similar results on round trip Florida to Mass. I was similarly pleasantly surprised by lower EA charges in Massachusetts due to $/min rate. Even met a couple of other EV drivers at EA stations who drove from NH into Mass just to enjoy lower rate. Does anyone know where to look for a list of states that use time to charge rates?

https://www.electrifyamerica.com/pricing/

 

[RickMachE]

A 40% hit seems about right if your winter consists of 32-deg F or lower daytime temps. Preconditioning will definitely help, but its not gonna bring that range hit down to 20% or anything like that.

Part of the issue with a PHEV is the ICE warming up. With a BEV, running the heat is a huge impact.

I'd be surprised if driving a BEV in 50 degree weather wasn't ideal for the batteries, but it will be interesting to find out.

 

[Bram12]

Observations and Questions:
1. On about half my charge sessions when I plugged in, the DCFC would charge but max out at +/- 33kW or ramp up to high speed but only for a few

I had similar experience at the Electrify Canada 150kw stations where charging quickly declined to 33kw, the 350kw stations settled in at 78kw. Had a better charge rate at the Petro Canada stations with charge rates in the high 80s. In all cases it starts great with a low 3 figure charge rates and then settles back to lower rate after a couple of minutes. I have a Premium SR AWD Mach E. My log of DC charging based on my road trip from Ottawa to St Catherines and back.

Station	KW Added	Time	Cost
PC Napanee	36.1	28	9.16
PC Scarborough	44.2	33	10.56
EC Halton Hills	17	26	16.76
EC Halton Hills	26	20	12.68
EC Oshawa	5	6	7.03
PC Cobourg	32.1	24	7.86
PC Kingston	29.2	20	6.86
Total	189.6	157	70.91

 

[sotek2345]

Great write up - thanks for sharing!

On the human side of things, how had was it to find chargers with good (or at least decent) restaurants nearby. I haven't found a good way to do this yet and most chargers seem to be by shopping, not eating.

It would be unfortunate if you had to stop, wait to charge and then drive to a restaurant.instead of doing both at once.

 

[timbop]

Great write up - thanks for sharing!

On the human side of things, how had was it to find chargers with good (or at least decent) restaurants nearby. I haven't found a good way to do this yet and most chargers seem to be by shopping, not eating.

It would be unfortunate if you had to stop, wait to charge and then drive to a restaurant.instead of doing both at once.

Use plugshare.com to locate the EA chargers along your route and then click on the address link to take you into google maps for the location. In maps, then click "nearby" and select restaurants - or just zoom in a little to see the restaurants in the map:

 

[timbop]

In plugshare you can filter on minimum power level and plug type to only see the faster fast CCS chargers:

 

[sotek2345]

Use plugshare.com to locate the EA chargers along your route and then click on the address link to take you into google maps for the location. In maps, then click "nearby" and select restaurants - or just zoom in a little to see the restaurants in the map:

Thanks, this is what I have been doing, but it is very clunky. Was hoping there was something easier and integrated (like plugshare or ABRP listing all restaurants within a certain radius of the chargers). Maybe someday.

 

[rafpug]

Nice to hear you had an overall positive experience on your Mach E.

I myself will be doing a 1200m (2400m roundtrip) road trip this thanksgiving on my Mach E and been nervous about charging.

I'm no noobie doing EV road trips. I've Taken the same road trips on my Tesla Model 3 multiple times with no issues but the supercharger network is (in my experience) more reliable than EA. Very few times that I was charging under 50 kW. I'm happy as long as I actually charge and not stuck on dead EAs on arrival. Thats my worst fear so far.

 

[timbop]

Thanks, this is what I have been doing, but it is very clunky. Was hoping there was something easier and integrated (like plugshare or ABRP listing all restaurants within a certain radius of the chargers). Maybe someday.

Actually, the latest ABRP does have a feature like that. In the trip summary page you have to click on the stop and in the details there's a widget for restaurants. I think you have to enable it, but I don't remember where:

 

[RickMachE]

Great write up - thanks for sharing!

On the human side of things, how had was it to find chargers with good (or at least decent) restaurants nearby. I haven't found a good way to do this yet and most chargers seem to be by shopping, not eating.

It would be unfortunate if you had to stop, wait to charge and then drive to a restaurant.instead of doing both at once.

Do you eat fast? When you're charging for 28 minutes, and then tying things up at the charger while it slowly continues to charge from 80 to 100%, you're going to tick off a lot of people. We found most stops were equal to two bathroom visits. Some Walmart chargers were close to a fast food restaurant, none were near to a QUALITY restaurant.

 

[sotek2345]

Do you eat fast? When you're charging for 28 minutes, and then tying things up at the charger while it slowly continues to charge from 80 to 100%, you're going to tick off a lot of people. We found most stops were equal to two bathroom visits. Some Walmart chargers were close to a fast food restaurant, none were near to a QUALITY restaurant.

I was thinking charging times were closer to 45 minutes vs 30, but even then I see your point. That said, I would still rather have something nicer than fast food (even a diner or something). I don't mind going out to move the car when it is done charging if the station is full.

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