Drive for two hours - Charge for an hour road trip.

[superdave80]

Uhhhhh.... unless you have a particularly short-ranged EV (maybe the SR AWD MME?), I think most can do 100+ miles at highway speeds in the winter easily, even if charged to just 80%. Most EVs have much better charging curves at 80+% compared to the Mach-E, so I don't think this generalization holds true. I make the drive from Huber Heights in Ohio to Gallipolis (last bastion of DCFC before hitting WV) and that's 140 miles. I arrive at Huber Heights with plenty to spare.

Of course any decent EV can REACH that island of a DC charger. But if it's down? 100+miles to the next charger would be cutting it close in good conditions for my Mach-E SR.

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[dbsb3233]

Road tripping in an EV certainly isn't for everyone, as this thread is illustrating. Especially if not a Tesla which has the big advantage of the Supercharger network.

But for those willing to put up with cons, the pros can be pretty great. We're some of the biggest Mach-E road-trippers in the forum. 25,000 miles over the last 2 years. Much of that at 80 MPH crossing Utah. The interstates out this way are generally well covered by EA, plus some scattered alternates. Does it take pre-planning to feel confident? Absolutely. But that's right up my ally. I enjoy trip planning.

Even though the car will go further, I usually plan shorter legs to leave plenty of safety buffer just in case I need to reach a backup DCFC. Average leg is usually 100-120 miles. Average charge stop about 30 minutes. Most are just minutes off the interstate.

I was skeptical before getting the MME whether we'd road trip in it. Now we love it, and are really disappointed if we have to settle for driving the Escape instead (which we like too but it's no Mach-E).

 

[Shayne]

I've put thousands of highway miles on. Driven 600 miles in a day. With planning, charging adds about 20%. Poor planning leads to "I should have taken the ICE".

That's is what I have found a bit more planning for trips. A bit longer but more laid back and enjoyable (50 KW chargers here). Reading a few reviews on plugshare in VR can save a lot of physical hassles. Not going back to ICE anytime soon I hope. Like how quiet it is and the only real vibration is the tires on the road. More enjoyable way to travel for me.

 

[Logal727]

I drive 3+ hours between charges. Charge for 30 to 40 minutes. This is uninformed.

Par for the course with that poster

 

[kltye]

Of course any decent EV can REACH that island of a DC charger. But if it's down? 100+miles to the next charger would be cutting it close in good conditions for my Mach-E SR.

I've found Plugshare to be extremely accurate with reports, especially for highly-trafficked chargers. If a particular charger has been historically iffy, then yes, obviously I'd advise caution for relying on that charger to make a trip. I just think generalizations either way can be a bit misleading.

 

[21st Century Pony]

Yup. I stopped using the Mach-E for any trip exceeding 150 miles. Boy did I get a ton of flack for making a thread about it.

The simple fact is… unless you’re in a Tesla, don’t road trip with your EV. I genuinely feel none of the big automakers are taking charging infrastructure seriously. And that includes Ford with their “dealer” charging stations plan.

Mmmm... I will disagree. I bought my AWD ER in May 2022. In December 2022, I completed a 2+k trip between Louisville KY, Burlington VT, Northern Virginia and back to Louisville. In February 2023 I went from Louisville to the south shore of Lake Superior (Apostle Islands National Shoreline), then Chicago and back to Louisville. All these miles were in cold temperatures, some of them in very cold temps. These two long trips were also, for the majority of the routes, on roads I haven't ever traveled before, by any vehicle.

I travel regularly between Northern Virginia and Lousiville Kentucky to see family, a distance of 600 - 700 miles, depending on the route taken. I've developed three EV road variants. All three variants are different than, and just a bit to noticeably longer than my usual old route when I had a car with a gas engine.

Yes it does take a bit of planning (not that much though) and a sense of adventure... but it is far from impossible to use the Mach E for long trips.

I have a 60 Amp TeslaTap for the chance Tesla Destination free dribble-charging while eating lunch etc, and have used it several times - it helps out. I've planned stops in interesting places where I could free-L2 charge while in a municipal parking lot, while having fun (Chicago - at the Millenium garage under Grant Park while visiting the Skydeck at Sears / now Willys Tower and scoring good Shytown grub while walking from one to the other). I bounce between charging networks. I don't ignore small cool towns with 50kW charging stations right near their town squares. I've certainly encountered broken charging stations (I do call ahead to the network managers in must-use cases)... yet, I've always gotten where I aimed to get, so far, and pretty much when I wanted to get there.

So I will respectfully disagree with your conclusion that EVs other than a Tesla can't travel long distance. I sincerely wish you luck in future travels, and want to sprinkle some serendipity dust your way as well. "May the Road Rise Up to Meet You"

 

[Mirak]

I drive 3+ hours between charges. Charge for 30 to 40 minutes. This is uninformed.

Uninformed?! Dude - this is literally my lived experience at least a half dozen times this winter. It is personally-observed and verified fact.

Speaking of utter uninformed garbage, however, let’s do the math on “3+ hours” between charges. To actually achieve that, you would need to be driving 65mph or lower in optimal Wind and temp conditions.

75mph X 3 = 225 miles, and you are absolutely not achieving this range with a 4x in winter. If you are, you’re arriving at your next charger with less than 5% and spending at least 45 minutes to an hour filling back up. And that’s just to get you back to 80%, after which there is no way I’m hell you’re going another 300+ miles. You are talking out of your hat, good sir.

The sunshine pumping on display in this thread is slightly nauseating.

Look - I LOVE my Mach E is most regards. But for goodness sake, let’s have an ounce of realism about road tripping, please.

 

[Logal727]

Uninformed?! Dude - this is literally my lived experience at least a half dozen times this winter. It is personally-observed and verified fact.

Speaking of utter uninformed garbage, however, let’s do the math on “3+ hours” between charges. To actually achieve that, you would need to be driving 65mph or lower in optimal Wind and temp conditions.

75mph X 3 = 225 miles, and you are absolutely not achieving this range with a 4x in winter. If you are, you’re arriving at your next charger with less than 5% and spending at least 45 minutes to an hour filling back up. And that’s just to get you back to 80%, after which there is no way I’m hell you’re going another 300+ miles. You are talking out of your hat, good sir.

The sunshine pumping on display in this thread is slightly nauseating.

Look - I LOVE my Mach E is most regards. But for goodness sake, let’s have an ounce of realism about road tripping, please.

It’s like everyone’s experience is anecdotal and usage varies

 

[kennethjk]

My biggest fear is getting to that Walmart with DCFS chargers, finding no operational equipment whatsoever, or all chargers purposefully blocked by a pickup truck with a man-toy trailer, and having to ask a Walmart patron if I can follow them home and plug into their dryer socket for a day or so,

A lot of people’s comments are dependent on where they live or travel to.

I have made several trips of over 250 miles each way. Not real long distance but I did have to stop to charge to play it safe.

not once did I have an issue. Yes a unit may not have worked but others did. I would think the east coast (north and South) where I travel seems to have better coverage and more options Than other parts of the country.

is it easy like ICE, no. But considering I am retired, it’s no big deal spending the extra time to plan and have a backup plan.

it’s not for everyone. That’s for sure

 

[Logal727]

Just saw this article which is somewhat true and somewhat misleading https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bro...y-charging-electric-vehicle/story?id=97389275

 

[MME2000]

I charge L3 DCFC at a local GM dealer..... problem is its only 25KW LOL

 

[kennethjk]

Yep - that about matches my experience. I’ve heard that the 2022 models get somewhat better mileage.

Out of curiosity, what is the max mileage you have gotten.

my range in the summer is almost 300 miles. Obviously I haven’t traveled that far but I get 3.1-3.34 Mp KW during the summer, in the northeast where speed limit is lower than other areas.

 

[ThatGuyLando]

The sunshine pumping on display in this thread is slightly nauseating.

I believe the term is choice supported bias. I really like this car and love driving it, but let's not act like it doesn't have a lot of issues. Ford cut corners and it shows.

But yeah, CAN this be a road trip car in the winter? sure, just depends how much you value your time dealing with chargers.

 

[kennethjk]

No way I would let my wife take the car out if it wasn’t fully (90%) charged. 49 years of marriage would be over.

you are a brave man

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