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

[machefan2022]

I would like to add my anecdotal BS as well. Couple weeks ago i took a 200 mile roundtrip in 24 degree weather. Charged to 100% drove 95% highway speeds between 72 and 75 miles per hour with a cabin temp of 72 degrees. got 2.4mi/KWh

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[DenverDan]

On a 350 mile freeway road trip in 35 degree weather I’m getting less than 2 miles for each percent charge. This means I’m super charging for 45 minutes at 75 kWh (on a 350 charger) for every 2 hours of driving. Add in the time to divert to a charger, find one that’s actually working (trying 3 to get 1 to work ), available, connect and start charging, it’s more like drive for two hours and handle charging for an hour in a Walmart parking lot.. And spend 15 minutes to find a charger on 3 different apps….

Stressful.

Lesson learned - use the Subaru for road trips!

2021 Premium AWD Ext

I drive in much colder and in the rocky mountains and get much better usually 2.6-2.8. Heck my Lightning gets better. Plug and charge at Electrify America so not sure about finding a charger on 3 different apps.

 

[21st Century Pony]

Although freezing weather absolutely lowers battery range, I found that significant continuous mountain driving lowers the range even more - for example Western Maryland on I-68, almost anywhere in West Virginia other than along the Ohio Valley, and parts of Northern Wisconsin, Vermont and New Hampshire.

And btw, yes it's o.k. to get into single indicated digits on the "range remaining" indicator. People do survive it

I've found that in very cold weather, carefully managing climate controls i.e. directly heating the body instead of 1st heating air to then heat the body, wearing a sweatshirt, and (of course) slowing down from 80 mph to 62 - 65 mph has always gotten me where I was going. Even at times with 3 or 5 indicated miles to spare. Nothing like a frisson of fear to feel alive haha.

The big change is our perceived feeling of the importance of time. That IS a major component to deal with when long-distance tripping in an EV... however, I note that the perception of time is a conditioned, not an innate perception. My usual haul between Arlington VA and Louisville KY has changed from about 9 hours to (on the adjusted EV friendly routes) about 12 hours. OK, I still get there, just with an additional 3+ hours of charging. How to spend time in a worthwhile way while charging is really the psychological question here. The dog loves the 40-minute walks every 3 hours.

 

[DenverDan]

I left on very short notice and didn’t really have time to do trip planning and the gesso meter is not accurate because my driving pattern in town and at different temperatures was way off from the conditions of a road trip. Anyway, now I know and as I said, I will never again use it for a winter time road trip. And now I know how to estimate mileage under these conditions. Less than 2 miles/% charge. Probably from 100% to 0% which of course we never really want to do I would get 185 miles. 80% to 20% probably 115. I wish these mustangs had heat pumps like the Teslas.

Tesla's has much worse range estimation than Ford. Also you don't get anywhere close to the EPA range. Same issues in cold weather.

 

[dbsb3233]

You obviously haven’t used modern heat pumps from the last 20 years. New home mini splits are amazingly efficient, even below freezing. The heat pump in my Tesla model 3 did a great job down to 25F (the coldest it got while I owned that car). I’m not saying they are great at the extreme temps some people apparently deal with (-30F? Screw living there), but they would absolutely improve the crappy range I get in my MME at 30-45F. There’s no excuse for having such range loss in above-freezing, mild climates.

It's a matter of trade-offs, including cost. Heat pumps are great for cool temps but not cold. And adding both a heat pump and hefty resistive heating onboard costs more (and take up more space). Different models target different price points. It's always a balancing act for manufacturers for how many features to add vs keeping the MSRP from going higher than they're shooting for.

 

[RickMachE]

As far as the BS heat pump claim...

 

[Tampamike]

My point exactly. You had much better temps than the OP, and I suspect you were driving under 70mph. Can it be done at lower highway speeds under optimal conditions? Sure. That is an outlier.

The OP’s 2 hours of highway driving to 1 hour charging ratio is a much more realistic measure for winter road tripping.

The reason I’m not letting this go is that some of the claims being made in this thread are not realistic. People need to be HONEST about the pros and cons of owning the Mach E.

And the biggest con is DCFC during road trips. Unless you enjoy the meticulous preparation and planning, the uncertainty of whether the chargers will work, or the leisure of 40min+ stops every 2hrs or so - but that’s weird, man. Not saying it’s wrong, but that is not characteristic of most people.

Let’s just be honest.

Another data point - or another useless opinion to be disregarded?

All of my road trips start out heading north. I’ll leave the house with 100%. I can EASILY drive 3 hours to the Jax area and arrive with a comfortable margin, (with options) all while driving as fast as Blue Cruise will let me. Subsequent charges are never an hour - more like 30-35 minutes each. Subsequent legs are usually 2-2 1/2 hours.

I bought the configured RWD, extended range, Premium because it’s my only driver and I wanted the range available. So far it’s worked. I use heat and AC as appropriate and I din’t drive slow. I haven’t gotten stuck and I’ve made several long road trips as far north as Quebec, eh.

 

[RickMachE]

Same here. It’s a car. I dive it like one.

That is irresponsible. Car is not certified for diving.

 

[Scooby24]

Ford really screwed up not giving us a heat pump. Major impact in cold weather. Not a suitable road trip car in the winter months, IMO.

That said, bundle up, turn off the heater...and you can get more range. But it's not comfortable.

 

[dbsb3233]

Another data point - or another useless opinion to be disregarded?

All of my road trips start out heading north. I’ll leave the house with 100%. I can EASILY drive 3 hours to the Jax area and arrive with a comfortable margin, (with options) all while driving as fast as Blue Cruise will let me. Subsequent charges are never an hour - more like 30-35 minutes each. Subsequent legs are usually 2-2 1/2 hours.

I bought the configured RWD, extended range, Premium because it’s my only driver and I wanted the range available. So far it’s worked. I use heat and AC as appropriate and I din’t drive slow. I haven’t gotten stuck and I’ve made several long road trips as far north as Quebec, eh.

This discussion illustrates how much variability there is in all this. Even from car to car. For instance you have RWD which adds roughly another half hour of range vs AWD that many people have. Some people drive 60 instead of 80. Some people drive it down to 5%, others plan to stop by 30% to be safe. Some live where the weather is warmer, others colder.

Using time for the drive leg measure opens it up to such a wide range of possibilities.

 

[Tampamike]

This discussion illustrates how much variability there is in all this. Even from car to car. For instance you have RWD which adds roughly another half hour of range vs AWD that many people have. Some people drive 60 instead of 80. Some people drive it down to 5%, others plan to stop by 30% to be safe. Some live where the weather is warmer, others colder.

Using time for the drive leg measure opens it up to such a wide range of possibilities.

Kind of like, … with any car?

 

[RickMachE]

Except that claiming 3+ hours highway driving between charges just doesn’t add up. And I think you know it.

I never said in the depths of winter.

I log my trips. I have multiple legs where I have gone over 3 hours between charges. I have posted many of my trips.

91kw x 3mpk = 273 miles.

70mph x 3 hours = 210 miles

210/273 = 77% battery

So, I could charge, on the highway, to 85%, and arrive 3 hours later with 8% battery.

Saying 3+ hours doesn't add up, shows an inability to do multiplication, not addition...

I always leave in the morning with 100% charge, whether from home or hotel or someone's house. Sometimes I stop before 3 hours to use the restroom, but no charge.

In the winter, with precondtioning, you can get 210 miles on the first leg, but harder to do on future legs.

When we go south, our first DC charger is 197 miles. Takes 3 hours or so.

Charger reliability is location specific. On a recent trip, 3 EA locations had significant issues, including one where there was only one working charger. First time in 2 years we have experienced that. People worked together to charge only enough to reach the next charger with 10% battery, then relinquished the charger.

Posting that you have to charge for an hour every 2 hours is simply hyperbole. Or, unfamiliarity with the vehicle and charging. Or, lack of competence.

 

[dbsb3233]

Ford really screwed up not giving us a heat pump. Major impact in cold weather. Not a suitable road trip car in the winter months, IMO.

That said, bundle up, turn off the heater...and you can get more range. But it's not comfortable.

Not suitable for some routes, in some situations.

We road trip a lot, even in winter. AWD ER Premium, normal heat, no compromise. 1800 miles RT between CO and NV, mostly. We usually tweak 1 or 2 charging stops, but that's it.

But for some people on other routes, it may be worse.

 

[RickMachE]

Trip planning isn't for everyone. Some lack the skills to do it effectively.

I always plan arriving at a hotel, or my destination, with 10-20٪ battery. This often eliminates a stop. On a recent trip instead of driving 2 more hours, I scheduled a stop at a hotel with fast level 2 chargers, free dinner, and drinks (limit 3). Then, drove those 2 hours the next day.

Another tip is to make sure you have a buffer on each stop of 10 minutes for traffic, etc. And to have a backup plan for each stop.

ABC - Always Be Charging.

CWC - Charge Where Cheapest - In about a dozen states, EA has to charge by the minute, not the kWh. Charging is cheaper by the minute, up to 80%. About 1/2 the cost. I never leave a per minute state, like Georgia, without hitting the last EA station, before entering a per kWh state like Ohio or Florida. And, when leaving those states and entering a per minute state, I often will plan to hit the first per minute charger. "FULL" charge in per kWh states is often close to $30, in a per minute state it is $15.

If I had little kids, I wouldn't road trip in the Mach-E.

I plan my trips similarly to a pilot.

 

[dbsb3233]

Kind of like, … with any car?

General features in any car, yes.

But things that affect efficiency and range are far more impactful to BEVs. Range and efficiency in an ICE are really only a "cost of the fuel" issue for most drivers (minor). While in a BEV they're anxiety, time, convenience, and sometimes even impossibility issues for many routes (major).

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