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

[MellowJohnny]

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[ryannix123]

I start with "every house should seriously consider replacing one car with an EV" then you learn the ropes, try it all, and either stay 1 ICE 1 EV or you go dual EV. I think it would help adoption so much more if we just come from that angle. I hate when people ask me for EV advise and say, I am single, live in an apartment, have 1 car, and want to go spend $50k on an EV.....I am honest and say, I wouldnt, and thats from a household that is dual EV, no ICE.

I 100% agree with you! You have to do your homework. Are there EV charging stations near where you live or where you commute every day? Do you qualify for the EV tax credit? I begged my girlfriend to consider a used EV and outright refused. She bought a new Chevy Trax instead, and she was right to do so: There are no charging stations close to her home near Wrigleyville in Chicago, which is hard to believe, nor are there convenient chargers to use by her work in the north suburbs.

 

[Gerbear]

What I learned is that you have to shop around for charger pricing just like Gas...

In Canada OntheRun/Chevron, Tesla and Electrify Canada are pretty much the most expensive, even with their membership.

For a 50 KW charge I have paid as little as $ 15 and well over $ 30.

Home charging is inexpensive at about $ 4... for 50 KW after 7 PM.

 

[Jeff-NoVA]

EVs are best for around-town driving, IMO. Sure, the ability to road-trip is there and getting better as charging speeds and charger availability increase. Eventually - maybe in the next decade - we'll see the ability to go from 10 to 80% in five minutes. But as it currently stands, I dont mind paying a little more for charging on the occasional road trip when I more than make up for it by charging at home 99% of the time.

If I wanted to road trip in an EV routinely, I'd lease a Lucid.

 

[DYohn]

After 30k, I finally did my first road trip in my Mach-e (Houston to Dallas and back, leave Friday, back Saturday)

253 miles. Cost was $0.14 at my house, and $0.56 at each of 3 EA stops I had to make. Total cost $48. 133 kWh used. Efficiency was 1.9 - wow.
Stopped twice in Ennis, TX Walmart - 3 of 4 chargers out of service - had to wait for the 1 working one. Total time 75 minutes.
On the way home, had to wait again for the 1 working charger, total wait time 90 minutes.
Third stop was a little better (Huntsville), 3 of 4 working, but 1 was 30kWhr only ... I got the high speed, wait 20 minutes.

If I drive my F150, range is 550 miles, so NO stops, and gas at US$2.60 a gallon, cost is $43 - $5 LESS than the EV.

Just wow - I get it why people don't want to buy EVs. I am lucky, it's my 2nd car, and I love my Mach-e for getting around town, but these Public Chargers are a joke.

Peace

What you been smokin', Willis? 1.9 m/Kw? You drive with your foot to the floor all the time?

 

[RickMachE]

The whole thing about public charging is how many different networks are available in a given area. The more competition, the more price pressure there's going to be.

I just got home from a 3,000 mile trip that essentially took me the length of British Columbia and back. Charged mostly at BC Hydro chargers, which are $CDN0.37/kWh and that's a fantastic deal (especially since they're the only choice in remote areas like the Alaska Highway), but Tesla and Electrify Canada are both >$CDN0.70. Even at that higher price, though, my Mach-E is still considerably cheaper to run than on $CDN1.80/litre unleaded.

Sure, in a bunch of years, there will be price competition. But the example you give shows that right now there isn't enough critical mass.

Around the corner from us is a Shell gas station. Prices are absurd. People constantly filling up. We haven't bought a gallon there in 17 years...

I couldn't agree with you more. I've done two road trips in my Mach-E, which I love, and it's been a pretty terrible experience so far. The first trip was in the dead of winter, from Chicago to Madison, about 125 miles away. I left the garage with 270 miles ETA and rolled into Madison with 50 miles left. I spent 90 minutes charging at the Walmart in Madison to ensure a full charge for the return trip, and it was roughly $40 to charge.

My second trip was in June to downstate Illinois. I left the garage with 312 miles for a 180-mile trip and rolled into town with 77 miles left. Fortunately, the one Ford dealer in town had a level 3 charger, which I planned to use, so it only took an hour and $50 to fully charge back up.

It's hard to convince people EVs are the solution. Sure, road trips like these are rare, but EVs are only suitable for localized trips. That's the hard reality, but that's the physics of lithium-ion batteries today: reality isn't easily mocked.

Better planning fixes the first example, and likely the second one.

First is about 150 miles. With an ER, in the dead of winter, you would arrive in Madison no problem, as you did. Instead of charging to full, charge to 80% and then charge Rockford again, and you save time. Never charge above 80% unless you have to. Going above 90% is a big waste of time.

On the 2nd trip, you say you had 312 miles showing. But that's not real, for highway driving. Assuming 270, you'd arrive with 80 or so left, as you did. Don't know what town you charged in, but again had you looked up options and planned with ABRP and PlugShare, you likely would have found more economical options.

 

[Womps]

I can’t wait to get my Tesla adapter and go on a road trip in Alberta! At 92 cents a kilowatt hour renting a Kenworth might be cheaper.

 

[ryannix123]

Sure, in a bunch of years, there will be price competition. But the example you give shows that right now there isn't enough critical mass.

Around the corner from us is a Shell gas station. Prices are absurd. People constantly filling up. We haven't bought a gallon there in 17 years...



Better planning fixes the first example, and likely the second one.

First is about 150 miles. With an ER, in the dead of winter, you would arrive in Madison no problem, as you did. Instead of charging to full, charge to 80% and then charge Rockford again, and you save time. Never charge above 80% unless you have to. Going above 90% is a big waste of time.

On the 2nd trip, you say you had 312 miles showing. But that's not real, for highway driving. Assuming 270, you'd arrive with 80 or so left, as you did. Don't know what town you charged in, but again had you looked up options and planned with ABRP and PlugShare, you likely would have found more economical options.

So your explanation proves my point: Why should I have to micromanage my trips? I don't want to stop in Rockford, and the Ford dealership on my second trip was the closest one for many miles.

I'm aware that we live in a decoupled, complex, non-linear world. How fast you're going, how many people are in your car, your HVAC settings, the outside temperature, etc, all impact battery capacity. And there's the rub, said Hamlet. Not many people want to deal with all of those variables.

 

[RickMachE]

So your explanation proves my point: Why should I have to micromanage my trips? I don't want to stop in Rockford, and the Ford dealership on my second trip was the closest one for many miles.

I'm aware that we live in a decoupled, complex, non-linear world. How fast you're going, how many people are in your car, your HVAC settings, the outside temperature, etc, all impact battery capacity. And there's the rub, said Hamlet. Not many people want to deal with all of those variables.

Ah. Why should you have to plan your trip? To a) avoid issues and b) take an EV on a trip in 2024.

If you don't want to, that's clearly your choice. But you made statements that are only true if you don't want to do the work. Your "pretty terrible experience so far" is of your own doing, because you didn't want to stop in Rockford. I can't comment on the other one, perhaps you could have charged enroute to/from and not had to sit at the Ford dealership and spent $50.

I have charged in 25 states and one province, including my Lightning, and have no recollection of spending anywhere near $50 ever.

"EVs are only suitable for localized trips". I disagree, having done a 5,300 mile trip, a 4,700 mile trip, and multiple 3,000 mile trips.

 

[spgordon57]

After 30k, I finally did my first road trip in my Mach-e (Houston to Dallas and back, leave Friday, back Saturday)

253 miles. Cost was $0.14 at my house, and $0.56 at each of 3 EA stops I had to make. Total cost $48. 133 kWh used. Efficiency was 1.9 - wow.
Stopped twice in Ennis, TX Walmart - 3 of 4 chargers out of service - had to wait for the 1 working one. Total time 75 minutes.
On the way home, had to wait again for the 1 working charger, total wait time 90 minutes.
Third stop was a little better (Huntsville), 3 of 4 working, but 1 was 30kWhr only ... I got the high speed, wait 20 minutes.

If I drive my F150, range is 550 miles, so NO stops, and gas at US$2.60 a gallon, cost is $43 - $5 LESS than the EV.

Just wow - I get it why people don't want to buy EVs. I am lucky, it's my 2nd car, and I love my Mach-e for getting around town, but these Public Chargers are a joke.

Peace

In NorCal gas is close to $5/gallon so EVs still make a lot of sense for road trips. Also: I recently went about 255 miles on a road trip in a ‘22 MME Premium on one charge without stopping (starting at 100% SOC). You must have been going real fast to get such poor range. There is a 25+% difference in range between going 70mph and 80mph; and a similar difference between 60mph and 70mph. So yeah you do need to manage your speed on long trips but there is hardly any reason to stop/charge 3 times for a 250 mile trip.

 

[Sikkun]

Too many people hyper fixate on how one part of ownership might (depending on the trip) be more inconvenient. A type for trip that isn’t common driving 99% of the time over a vehicles lifetime. Even OP went 30,000 miles more being inconvenienced.

Personally if I need to go somewhere fast, I’m just gong to be inconvenienced by a tiny plane seat.

 

[Snakebitten]

A Nissan Leaf was neither me virtue signaling (greeness) or requiring me to be affluent.

Some of the absolutes in these posts are hilarious.

 

[EtotheO]

I have done this trip multiple times and what worked best for me was to use the A2Z adapter at one of the approved Tesla Superchargers open to non-tesla and also sign up for the Tesla membership rates.

The plan cost $12.99 and it's good for 1 month (savings of 10 cents per kW). I typically pay around 33 cents to 38 cents per kW at Tesla. The main thing is having reliable and plentiful chargers.

I typically stop at Buc-ee's or Woody's.

Hi, I wondering if you need to disable "Plug and Charge" and instead activate the station thru the Tesla App to receive the discount?

 

[Madtroniks]

Hi, I wondering if you need to disable "Plug and Charge" and instead activate the station thru the Tesla App to receive the discount?

You have to use the Tesla app to start / stop your session / get the Tesla membership rates.

 

[Tampamike]

Here in the Bellingham, Washington area, I fill up my ‘93 F150 for $3.49 at Costco (as of last week); I charge the Mach E at home for 8 cents a kWh.
What’s this free kWh allowance at EA? I purchased a 2024 Premium last month and haven’t seen it the two times I charged at EA.
Also planning a 3,000+ mile road trip in October. I do have the Tesla adapter.
Any advice and planning tips would be appreciated. What are the best apps?

Thanks.

Obviously you haven’t comprehended what’s been voiced. I’ll refresh you - road trips in an EV suck. Don’t do it. You should go buy a hybrid. Everybody knows that.

TIC.

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