Buyer’s remorse?

[roundandround]

Hey all!

finally joined the community with a 22 prem awd. I was really happy when I got it that maybe I overlooked the mile range. 200mi on full charge.

Like today I had to do an errand 33miles each way. I left with 120mi and got to destination with 55mi/ 30%left. I had heater on and music, outside temp was 45, unbridled opd, trip overview was 3.0kWh. Had to charge at EA for 25 mins that totaled to $20 and 60%. This was a first “long distance” trip for me and it gave me anxiety with how “limiting” the trip feels.

Am I just ignorant and not totally open minded to the EV world (coming from a hybrid that gave 700mi full tank) causing a buyer’s remorse? Or am I just not educated enough on how to navigate with EV and understand its ways and quirks? I just feel limited and I can’t do any impulsive long trips without intensive plannings on where to stop and charge.

Any words of wisdom for a newbie?

Sponsored

 

[AliRafiee]

What was your starting percentage?
Pay more attention to that than the miles. You might have done a bunch of uphill toward the end of your trip, and it’s guessing your range is only 55 miles if you keep going uphill. Just a guess.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I assume that your Premium AWD has the standard battery.

Three things overall "eat" battery range:
- cold weather. The colder, the more battery range melts away. However, it all comes right back when the weather improves. This can literally vary by the day if there are large temperature swings over 24 hours.
- elevations. If / when you drive up significant hills or mountains, the battery range correspondingly suffers. Although the car gets a portion of the expended range back on the downslopes, it is only a portion. Based on your listed location as North Carolina, if you are in its Western hills, you will see this, no matter the weather. The only way to mitigate this, when you are running low, is to get over to the right lane and slooooow down until you crest the pass.
- cabin heater use. On the Mach E, the heater is a ravenous battery juice thief. Wear a sweatshirt. Use the heated seat(s). Use the heated steering wheel. Don't use the heater unless you must, and then turn it on and off as needed. It is much, much more efficient to warm contact - to - contact surfaces (heated seat / steering wheel touching your body / hands) than to heat the air which will then inefficiently heat you. On the other hand, use the air conditioner in Summertime to your heart's content because on our Mach Es the A/C is a very efficient system that will not rob your battery blind.
- when in doubt about making the destination / charging point, slow down. These cars are fun as hell to drive, and fast... and what they consume in battery juice at 80 / 85 mph is downright scary compared to what they will consume at 62 mph. Over time, you'll learn this by doing... I suggest you read up on the miles/kW ratio as shown on the big Synch screen and to the % of the available battery rather than pure mileage on the range indicator, because unlike a liquid (gasoline etc.) electricity is very tricky to reliably measure by anything other than its potential. If your driving gets you 2.5 miles/kWatt or higher, you're doing good in this car. Anything over 3.0 m/kW is great. If your driving gets about 1.3 or lower, well...
- the radio doesn't make any noticeable difference.
- smart people on this forum advise to try and avoid going below 5% of the big battery. I have gone lower multiple times and I'm still alive, but using the final 5% of the big battery on a routine basis might well shorten its life overall if it becomes a habit.
- learn about a program called FORScan / find a close by member with FORScan knowledge, and then turn on the "energy meter" or "power meter" on the small screen in front of the steering wheel. All the Mach Es have this feature but it is only live on the GT and GT-PE models... but FORScan can easily turn it on for you. Then, you'll actually see moment by moment how much juice you are pulling out of the big battery, and how much juice going downhill puts back into the big battery. This will help you "learn" how to drive the Mach E more efficiently and yet have fun too.

Good Luck - I hope this is helpful to you.

 

[roundandround]

What was your starting percentage?
Pay more attention to that than the miles. You might have done a bunch of uphill toward the end of your trip, and it’s guessing your range is only 55 miles if you keep going uphill. Just a guess.

63%. All flat highway, no hilly roads.

 

[AKgrampy]

First off there are many threads on this subject so take some time and read a few. Winter range can be 40% less than in the summer. So you do need to plan for that your range should get up to around 260 miles or more as things warm up. There are many techniques to extend or get maximum range. Lower temp for heat, use heat on seats, drive lower speeds ( not 75 ), pre condition before a trip, charge to 100% before a trip, always charge to your choice of max (80, 85, 90%) daily so you are not caught short. Just a few of the many suggestions you will find out there.

 

[AliRafiee]

63%. All flat highway, no hilly roads.

I drive 30 miles a day up and down hills in Seattle area. And use about 16% in that trip. The temps are around 40F and my cabin temp is 68F, anything higher and I’m sweating. I floor it every chance I get, but mostly doing around 40MPH because of traffic.

My wife’s i4 doesn’t get the advertised range when she drives it, but when I do, I gain 2 miles of range for every mile I drive her car.

 

[VaporTrails]

The first rule of MME’s is we don’t talk about the Guess O’ Meter. What it thinks your range is may not correlate to the driving conditions. You will learn to know when it is giving you bogus data.

There are apps that will increase your situational awareness and confidence when public charging. Apps like A Better Route planner or PlugShare can quickly identify charging options or help you plan better. The way to gain confidence and acclimate to EV’s is to plan experiences to increase your comfort level. I bought my MME just before freezing weather and drove straight to a charging desert. What a rush!

An EV is extremely efficient at turning energy to motion. You don’t have a whole lot of energy to play with. If you use that energy for anything else, you don’t have it for motion. So heating the cabin, heating the battery, pushing air out of the way at 80mph all take away from that. We can’t store 700mi of energy in an acceptable weight yet. Even if we could, I would choose to lose 500lbs and keep the same range.

As a final thought, I think the Tesla deal is a game-changer, at least in the US. I am amazed at the additional options on my normal routes. This will definitely change my mindset from where I have to stop to where I choose to stop.

 

[Rt1AWD]

Hey all!

finally joined the community with a 22 prem awd. I was really happy when I got it that maybe I overlooked the mile range. 200mi on full charge.

Like today I had to do an errand 33miles each way. I left with 120mi and got to destination with 55mi/ 30%left. I had heater on and music, outside temp was 45, unbridled opd, trip overview was 3.0kWh. Had to charge at EA for 25 mins that totaled to $20 and 60%. This was a first “long distance” trip for me and it gave me anxiety with how “limiting” the trip feels.

Am I just ignorant and not totally open minded to the EV world (coming from a hybrid that gave 700mi full tank) causing a buyer’s remorse? Or am I just not educated enough on how to navigate with EV and understand its ways and quirks? I just feel limited and I can’t do any impulsive long trips without intensive plannings on where to stop and charge.

Any words of wisdom for a newbie?

"not educated enough" is a proper answer. Get a CarScanner and look at actual kWt*hrs left in the battery and energy usage and recuperation in different temperatures, modes and situations. You'll slowly start getting a grip of it.

 

[Space_Pony]

Hey all!

finally joined the community with a 22 prem awd. I was really happy when I got it that maybe I overlooked the mile range. 200mi on full charge.

Like today I had to do an errand 33miles each way. I left with 120mi and got to destination with 55mi/ 30%left. I had heater on and music, outside temp was 45, unbridled opd, trip overview was 3.0kWh. Had to charge at EA for 25 mins that totaled to $20 and 60%. This was a first “long distance” trip for me and it gave me anxiety with how “limiting” the trip feels.

Am I just ignorant and not totally open minded to the EV world (coming from a hybrid that gave 700mi full tank) causing a buyer’s remorse? Or am I just not educated enough on how to navigate with EV and understand its ways and quirks? I just feel limited and I can’t do any impulsive long trips without intensive plannings on where to stop and charge.

Any words of wisdom for a newbie?

Unfortunately if you do much traveling, you'll figure out that it costs more to fuel your ev with DCFC chargers than it did to fuel your hybrid. Maybe the Tesla chargers will provide some competition and the price increases will slow down. I saw a new charger recently priced at .64/kwh!

 

[generaltso]

Am I just ignorant and not totally open minded to the EV world (coming from a hybrid that gave 700mi full tank) causing a buyer’s remorse? Or am I just not educated enough on how to navigate with EV and understand its ways and quirks?

I‘d say both.

There‘s no harm in charging to 100% before going on a trip.

 

[Shanut]

Hey all!

finally joined the community with a 22 prem awd. I was really happy when I got it that maybe I overlooked the mile range. 200mi on full charge.

Like today I had to do an errand 33miles each way. I left with 120mi and got to destination with 55mi/ 30%left. I had heater on and music, outside temp was 45, unbridled opd, trip overview was 3.0kWh. Had to charge at EA for 25 mins that totaled to $20 and 60%. This was a first “long distance” trip for me and it gave me anxiety with how “limiting” the trip feels.

Am I just ignorant and not totally open minded to the EV world (coming from a hybrid that gave 700mi full tank) causing a buyer’s remorse? Or am I just not educated enough on how to navigate with EV and understand its ways and quirks? I just feel limited and I can’t do any impulsive long trips without intensive plannings on where to stop and charge.

Any words of wisdom for a newbie?

If you want to get great economy, you have to drive vehicles a certain way, and that includes gas engines and electric motors. The range or fuel efficiency listed for any vehicle assume absolute best conditions, and very few people drive their vehicles that way.

 

[smunro622]

As someone who lives in Michigan and drive a PHEV there is a learning curve to the vehicle. I had renters remorse for a different reason. This has gone away in the last 5 months and for the most part like the car not love it. Things to learn if you do not have a home l2 charger expect to eat lunch at charge stations. If you do have a home l2 charger charge 100 percent night before and pre condition warm makes a huge difference in my opinion. During the winter I do this driving from north Detroit Suburbs to Columbus once a month no concerns but I plan my route thru the Ford Pass app and send the route to Waze. I did pick up a 50 amp Tesla to J1772 charger as a number of public spaces and hotels I stay at have free charging and I use that, my 23 Premium AWD X did come with a L1 charger I leave in the frunk just in case as when I head places that only have 110 outlet I still plug in super slow though. Biggest thing is plan your trip. On a home l2 charger my electric has cheaper "off hour" rates but requires a separate meter, off hours weekdays .11/kwhr 11pm to 9am and weekends other wise .24/kwhr. Electric company also had a $500 rebate after install. Nice part of September my 100 amp home service didn't need to be updated to do this. Last items read the forums here or Reddit and don't attention to the chronic complainers, everyone is here to help what you do with it is up to you...

 

[thekat03]

Driving with an EV is a big change from gas. With gas, we are used to filling up, and then driving without refilling for days. With an EV, you're better off plugging in every night and recharging to 90% (or 100% if you're driving enough the next day to make that extra 10% make a difference). If you were charged to 90%, you would have had no problem doing that 33 mile each way trip. Even if you were charged to 70%, I think you should have been fine, hitting around 37% on the way out and 6% once back home, assuming similar . The guess-o-meter does get more accurate with time as it learns how you drive, but I mostly use it in combination with navigation, to help gauge how much buffer I will have to get to my target destination. If the miles of buffer between range and distance to destination drifts down as I drive, and is cutting it too close, I slow down, and maybe reduce hvac usage. Dropping speed by 5 or 10 mph can make a huge difference. If I am really worried, cruising behind a slower semi-truck helps (though I don't tend to follow close enough to get that much drafting). A lot of this is just getting used to how the car does over time, and learning what chargers are better along long distance routes you tend to use. If you tend to drive long distances (200 miles round trip or more) frequently, the extended range battery may have been a better choice, but if you have decent charger availability, and are willing to incorporate charging time and planning as you learn what works best for you where you tend to drive, a 200-ish mile range EV can work just fine. I drive my extended range California Route 1 around Maine and also on 650-850 mile road trips to Ontario and Ohio, and it works well for me, but my husband drives a 226 mile EPA range Volvo C40, and was crazy enough to drive it to Florida and back, straight through (I do not recommend most people drive straight through from Maine to Florida in any car, but charging stop naps apparently worked ok). I assume you aren't as crazy as we are, so tolerance to adjusting to EV driving may not be as high, but most people can adjust enough to be able to comfortably do shorter trips within the range of your car. Good luck!

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

A few of your numbers don’t add up at all here. Not calling you liar by any means but some things to watch out for.

If you left home at 65% and got to your destination at 30%, you used 35% to go 33 miles.

Even the standard range batter is 70kwh. So if you used up 35% that’s 24.5 kWh used to go 33 miles. So only 1.3 miles/kwh. Not sure where you got your “trip overview” of 3 miles/kwh but it isn’t correct. (I’m guessing that was somewhere in the FordPass app which doesn’t math well and shouldn’t be relied on for anything). Also 1.3 miles/kwh is atrocious for efficiency, even in the cold. I’m guessing you were going pretty fast. I drive a GTPE and even at 0° rarely get below 1.6 miles/kwh.

My advice here is to keep the trip meter up on the big screen and keep an eye on the efficiency there. Though even that can be wonky if it didn’t clear the numbers from your last trip. Either way, getting even slightly better efficiency would have prevented you needing to charge on the go. If your trip had only taken 30% one way, your initial 65% would have gotten you safely both directions.

Once you get your efficiency nailed down, it’s time to look at charging. Leaving home at 65% is less than ideal, but with better efficiency would have been fine. With 35% used one way, and only 30% remaining, you had to charge. But you only needed to add 5%, maybe 15% for a buffer. So why add 60%? DCFC is expensive so don’t pay for more than you need unless you don’t have home charging. I would have added 10% in about 6 minutes and rocked toward home. Or better yet, turned the heat down a few degrees and slowed down by 10MPH (increasing my efficiency to make that 33 miles home on my 30% remaining) and gotten home without needing to charge.

All that to say, driving a full BEV is a balancing act between efficiency and charging. 3 years in I’ve become an expert at knowing when to increase efficiency by slowing down and calculating how far to my next stop. I can also reliably calculate just how much to charge up to so I can reliably arrive home with 2-3% battery. By doing so I avoid paying 50¢/kwh for DCFC when I can pay 4¢/kwh at home.

 

[Steph]

There is a strong learning curve and planning required for BEV, so time will tell which it was for you. ABC-always be charging is good for your battery and always ready to run errands or longer drive when needed.
I found no scenario where DCFC is cost effective and installed a L2 (ourselves, and the electric company paid for half materials). Some public L2 chargers are the same as home power costs, but most are the same or more without the home convenience.
Similar to your hybrid, my Altima is quite efficient, though I do prefer driving the Mach-e (10 years newer, quieter, more fun to drive, etc.). I will take the Altima if it is more than one charging stop to my destination, or if the route that doesn’t have well placed chargers. Especially considering the efficiency loss from higher interstate speeds, weather conditions, and waiting for chargers/outages.
If I took more road trips (used DCFC more), I would never own a BEV if the decision came to economics of it. The cars are getting cheaper, but insurance & registration are high and public charging has increased by over 30% at some I’ve used. This is excluding the connection fees which are up to $5 per session on some I’ve seen. I think session fees could drive longer charge times where i want to be encouraging more frequent & shorter stops. Everything is changing so much, we’ll see where it goes.
Keep on researching and see how the BEV goes!

Sponsored