Mach-e for Road Trips just sucks. Not even close. More expensive than gas

[Gloff]

@RickMachE

I have to laugh when I read this post, especially when it's from an owner of several years. If you had spent any time reading this forum in the past 3 years, you would have had a much better trip.

Using PlugShare, it's clear that the Ennis, Texas Electrify America is a bad stop. Clearly says 1 of 4 working, and it's rated 5.2 out of 10. ABRP would tell you to stop at the Tesla charger in Fairfield, Texas, which is rated 10 out of 10, with 16 chargers. If you don't have your Tesla adapter yet, you could use the EA in Fairfield, which has four 350kW chargers. Looks like it opened recently.

Had you paid $7 for EA's plan for your trip, you would have saved 25%. Instead of 56 cents, you would have paid 42 cents. Breakeven on the $7 would be 50kWh. So you threw money away.

If you got 1.9 miles per kWh, you were driving crazy fast, you should have gotten like 2.6 or so at the worst. What mpg do you get in your F-150 driving that fast?

Computing cost is challenging for so many. You left with a full battery. You said you used 133kWh. Doesn't make sense. At 2.6 you would have used 506/2.6=193. What portion of the 193 did you allocate to the 14 cents?

ABRP has my Premium AWD using 168 roundtrip. I would have arrived home with around 10%, and charged to 90%. So my home cost would be 100-90% (charging before leaving) and 90-10% (charging at home), or 90% of my 91kWh battery. That's 82kWh. So I only have to buy 86kW at 42 cents.

82 x 14 + 86 x 42 = $47.60, vs. your gas F-150 spending $43. So, basically the same cost... Add in the $7 membership fee if you want, so $54.60 vs. $43. Not much more, and more fun to drive (I had an F-150).

Plan your trips better, or complain. Up to you.

This post is entirely the point. Here's a Mach E owner that's had the car a while, and despite that, had a poor road trip experience. That's an experienced EV owner. The average consumer doesn't want to have to do all the nerd math like us big brains. They want to get in the car and go. If you think you're gonna reason with the average consumer on a vehicle purchase, you got another thing coming.

Until infrastructure is so ubiquitous as to be able to DC without having to plan your stops, you're going to get arguments like the OP's and the people he's referencing.

On that end, the fuel cost is merely a defensive excuse. It's not grounded in reality. The real reason is the need to plan and pivot because of the infrastructure. It's like when gas goes up and people go trade in their paid off car to save money on gas. Most of those people don't want to save money on gas, they want a new vehicle and are using the fuel economy as a bridge.

One day we'll get there, but that day is not right now.

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[Kamuelaflyer]

That’s the price in central Virginia. At Costco!

I’d kill for 58¢ per kWh DCFC. It’s at 61¢ off peak now.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Most of those people don't want to save money on gas, they want a new vehicle and are using the fuel economy as a bridge

Pretty much. New shiny and all that. As you know.

 

[kindofblue]

With 2 EVs (an MME and an i4) and solar panels we don't rely on DCFC unless on a road trip. In July we did a 1200mi trip up to Lassen Volcanic NP. Driving up there we used the last big of the 250kw we got when we bought the MME. From then on we relied solely on the Tesla SC and a bit of L1 charging at the B&B where we stayed.

Tesla SC chargers were ~$0.48/kwh and reliable until we got to Kettleman City wen the A2Z adapter balked at charging in the 120 heat (even though it had worked just fine in the 100F heat on the drive down from Lassen). I've contacted A2Z and a replacement charger is arriving today.

Road tripping with Tesla SC access is truly a game changer.

 

[Tampamike]

@RickMachE where are they still charging by the minute? I thought all EA’s went to the new rates.

 

[ack154]

With 2 EVs (an MME and an i4) and solar panels we don't rely on DCFC unless on a road trip. In July we did a 1200mi trip up to Lassen Volcanic NP. Driving up there we used the last big of the 250kw we got when we bought the MME. From then on we relied solely on the Tesla SC and a bit of L1 charging at the B&B where we stayed.

Tesla SC chargers were ~$0.48/kwh and reliable until we got to Kettleman City wen the A2Z adapter balked at charging in the 120 heat (even though it had worked just fine in the 100F heat on the drive down from Lassen). I've contacted A2Z and a replacement charger is arriving today.

Road tripping with Tesla SC access is truly a game changer.

Have you priced out paying for Tesla's subscription for a month to save on Supercharger rates for a trip? I haven't had a trip long enough or looked into it too much myself - but I know there's a crossover point where it's worth even paying just for 1 month of the subscription to save on charging if your trip is long enough.

 

[Boris]

Just a few comments on charging and cost.

First of all, we run our Mach-e from our solar panels. Normally this costs us nothing out of pocket, just cuts down on the amount we give back to the electric co. However, I broke my hip and Judy had to make daily trips (50 mi rt) to visit me. So we had a deficit for August, which includes the house air conditioner. With no trips in September I noticed we had a positive balance even with the very hot weather we're having. So my comment is that if you're using the Mach-e for greateer than 50 mi/day, you'll see the cost of electricity. I figured it's about equivalent to an ICE car getting ~30/mpg, which says that the mach-e is somewhat of a money saver.

Second, that adapter isn't a gift. It saved Fords ass. Outside of the main towns and highways, Tesla has the charging stations. Ford just joined Tesla so that it could make long trips out into the outback without building it's own charging stations. We found this out the hard way, just making it to the next non-Tesla charger on our road trip. We now have a Lectron adapter tucked in the rear.

If you make long road trips, sigh up for Tesla's app and get the lower cost.

Last, arguing over the who has the best damn instructions is worthless. If you can't figure it out, don't drive.

 

[Jimrpa]

I’ve done two road trips Philadelphia - Detroit and Philadelphia - Orlando and was very happy. BlueCruise was a god-send. I had no problems with chargers or finding charging (I mostly relied on the Ford Navigation System). I do have a Tesla adaptor and found Tesla SuperChargers to be significantly less expensive than the CCS chargers.

 

[kindofblue]

Have you priced out paying for Tesla's subscription for a month to save on Supercharger rates for a trip? I haven't had a trip long enough or looked into it too much myself - but I know there's a crossover point where it's worth even paying just for 1 month of the subscription to save on charging if your trip is long enough.

A monthly subscription is ~$12 and pays for itself in savings in the first couple DCFC charges. And you can cancel it easily in the Tesla app.

 

[Womps]

Make sure you're looking at the actual incremental cost, including all "per kWh" charges. My electric company advertises like 0.5 cents. Now, add in all the other stuff and you're at 15.5 cents.



There is no reason to wait. Go to ABRP and tell it you now have an adapter in the car setup, and then plan the trip. Then, open the Tesla app and lookup the cost of each station. VIOLA! No surprises!


Facts - DC fast charging costs vary WIDELY by LOCATION, NETWORK, and TIME OF DAY (sometimes). There is no blanket "X is cheaper".

A few states still charge "by the minute". In those states, charging to 80% at every stop usually pays off hugely, like an average of 15 cents per kWh.

In some places (CA for example), you can find an EA station for one price, and a few miles away one for a lower price.

In some places Tesla is vastly cheaper than EA (Oregon). In other places, Tesla is more expensive. In some places, they're comparable.

Before each trip, I evaluate the route and see what ABRP offers up. If it's mostly Tesla, then I look to see if EA makes any sense on the trip. The morning of the trip, I'll activate, then immediately downgrade, one or both memberships if it will pay off. With the Mach-E, it takes longer than the Lightning, but on a multi-day trip, both can pay off.

We did 5,300 miles to CA, and 4,700 miles across 10 states and 8 national parks without Tesla (except 1 Magic Dock location in Moab). Then, we got an adapter and took a trip through Canada to Burlington, where CCS fast chargers are scarce. We used Tesla pretty exclusively, and it was a vastly improved experience.

The key is PLANNING. If you don't like to plan, don't trip in an EV. We got rid of our gas F-150 at the end of 2023, and haven't looked back.

A future trip will be through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and into Canada to catch some skiing. So don't tell me "road trips are hard"... ?

Road trips are hard! Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

 

[RickMachE]

Alabama is still. Nebraska was in the spring, but no longer.

It isn't easy to see now that each location can be different.

 

[n2585722]

I just checked my last electricity bill - actually is 10.9 cents per kWh. So, even better.

Look - i LOVE my Mach-e. It's AWESOME for getting around my area. It's SUPER fun to drive (i have the GT Performance) and it's WAY smoother than my F150. Have saved a ton of money on gas the last 3 years.

I was just so surprised about the poor Public Charging infrastructure and the price of Public Charing.

(And I didn't suggest that anyone not buy an EV - i just said I understand their arguments better now)

For me, I wouldn't make an EV my only car, but as a 2nd car, it's brilliant.

Cheers

I was going to ask about that. I am in Texas also and my electricity is a little over 10 cents KWH. I never got to go on a long trip in mine. But I did go up to Waco once and was going to charge there at a EA charger but they were all full and I was still above 50% so I turned around and came back home. That ended up being about a 175 mile trip. I was rear ended on the freeway last month and have not found a replacement for my Mach E yet. Hopefully I will soon.

 

[Scorpy2643]

Interesting. I’ve had mine more than 600 miles from home multiple times and never experienced 1.9. I reliably get 2.7 on the highway. Im guessing you are going 80+. You’re going to get shitty efficiency going 80. Slow down and you’ll only need 1 stop each way.

 

[JustBob]

I think a few people jumped on the OP a bit. Before getting my MME, I was under the impression that charging is cheaper than gas, and thought that meant all charging. Now I did research it and fully understood the realities of charging costs (and time) before I bought. But I think most people don't want to figure all that out. I'm still hopeful charging costs drop as it becomes more common and competitive.

 

[Snakebitten]

Like the OP, I only recently took my first EV road trip. Instead of Houston to Dallas, it was Rural south-of-Houston, to San Antonio. Pretty close to the same distance, but I mostly stayed off the interstate.

I had recently received my A2Z adapter and was curious to experience DCFC road tripping for myself. (I've been reading the various stories of others long enough)

Couldn't have been less dramatic. Tesla Supercharger. Plenty of capacity. Single DCFC in both directions. And the car was charged by the time me and my passengers had accomplished our comfort stop activities.

So the ONLY complaint I have is DCFC co$t isn't the chump change that L2-home charging is. But at 43¢ KWH it was still le$$ than my Land Yacht F150 Hybrid would have cost. (I burn 93 octane exclusively and on this trip it would have been ~20-21mpg)

Truck is far more luxurious.
Mach-E was more fun, especially running around San Antonio with the grandkids.

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