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

[Sikkun]

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 do not have to disable plug and charge, but do have to start the charge with the Tesla app.

Sponsored

 

[DYohn]

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.

But right now, if you are the type of enthusiast who wants to own an EV, none of those things matter. You enjoy the micromanage process. You do what you need to do. And if you don't want to do that, then buy a Corolla.

 

[ryannix123]

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.

Okay, so your experience is the exception, not the general rule. There are too many variables to manage for most people. I work in high tech, so I don't enjoy mind the challenge, but I can empathize with those who don't want to deal with the hassle of EV charging. Some of my colleagues in high tech have had the same experience, too. We're all very knowledgable on hardware and software.

$50 and 90 minutes to charge is a deterrent to EV adoption when I spend roughly the same amount on gas and it only takes five minutes.

 

[Sikkun]

and 90 minutes to charge is a deterrent to EV adoption when I spend roughly the same amount on gas and it only takes five minutes.

90 minute charge is not needed or recommended 99.9999999999% of the time. You can DC fast charge to 80% roughly 3x in 90 minutes, getting significantly more range than sitting at one charger waiting to get to 100%.

Filling all the way is an ICE mindset that does not translate over to EV.

 

[Arsenic17]

Most people roadtrip less than 5% of their usage. Sounds like you do less than 1% roadtrips. But then they let a tiny percentage of their usage overly impact their purchase. Same way everyone buys a massive truck in suburbia, because they will MAYBE need to tow something or fill up their empty truck bed 1x per year.

 

[Mandretti]

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.

Yeah - took 5 paragraphs and 800 words to describe how you could do it better.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

The national average for gas prices (according to AAA) is $3.209 (as of this writing): https://gasprices.aaa.com/

But I wouldn't buy an EV to save money on a road trip ... I'd buy it to save money all year long -- especially all the days you are _not_ on a road trip and can charge at home.

At the rate I pay for energy, it is "as if" I am buying gas for $1/gallon.

I do just a few road trips per year and on those days I realize I am basically paying a convenience fee to have a fast charger available.

BTW, both EA and Tesla have an optional membership that reduces the cost of energy by better than 20%. Both plans can be purchased a month at a time. This means you can buy the plan only in the month you plan to road trip and then cancel it when you no longer need it.

Originally the EA plan was just $4 and you'd save more than that on just ONE charge (e.g. charging from 20% up to 80%). Today it's $7 ... and it's about a wash for just ONE charge, but it's definitely a savings if you need merely TWO charges during that month. Tesla's plan is around $12 (I think) so it's more like needing at least 3 charges during the month before it pays to be on the plan.

 

[WallyS56]

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.

I've already done 200-300 mile trips and had no problems whatsoever, especially blissful using Tesla Supercharger stations.

 

[OrchidMania]

One of my requirements is to stay at hotel/motel with L2 charger. That cuts charging $ in half

 

[WallyS56]

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

I didn't use the Tesla app and my Mach E charged just like the plug and go through the Ford app.

 

[WallyS56]

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

I used Plug and Charge at a a Tesla Supercharger and it worked seamlessly.

 

[Madtroniks]

I didn't use the Tesla app and my Mach E charged just like the plug and go through the Ford app.

Tesla membership rates are available when you use the Tesla app. You don’t have to use the Tesla app unless you want to take advantage of the lower rates with a $12.99 monthly fee.

You can start and stop the membership when you go on road trips.

 

[WallyS56]

Tesla membership rates are available when you use the Tesla app. You don’t have to use the Tesla app unless you want to take advantage of the lower rates with a $12.99 monthly fee.

You can start and stop the membership when you go on road trips.

Planning on getting the membership next month when we go on a three week road trip- EA one too.

 

[Kopytka]

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.

What I learned doing an extendo road trip (again, about 1200 miles each way with a couple of hundred inbetween) is that you need to be blessed with an extra share of patience to consider an EV road trip anywhere near the same stress level as an ICE. You "could" drive just about anything on a road trip, but I felt that it's nearly impossible to not compare the EV experience (and it's time eating/potential tech issues) to that of all of the ICE trips most people have traditionally made ("oh, 1/4 tank left - cool, looks like we're stopping at that TA to fill up - anyone have to go to the bathroom?" 5-10 minute stop).

You have the personality and patience to do multiple 3,000 mile trips - after doing one I am confident in saying that I don't want to do it again (and I love driving, love road trips, and LOVE driving my Mach-E over any other car available to me). Could I? Obviously, yes. But will i? No. I have too many other convenient options to make better use of my time. I will never stop preaching to anyone that will listen that should you be able to home charge (L2) and have access to an ICE for road trips, and EV is a GREAT choice....I can't fathom the inconvenience/cost of having to publicly charge, for day to day, and not having another choice if needed to run several hundred/thousands of miles.

Who knows - maybe I would wear down and not be in as much of a rush if I kept at it, but the 15-35 minute forced pauses in eating road miles (especially at the cost you have to pay) are enough to keep this veteran traveler from pulling the Mach-E out to hit the road.

 

[YeOldeTraveller]

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.

I looked into it for my current road trip. I got an EA and a Tesla membership. The EA is easy, and will usually pay for itself on the first charge session. Tesla is much harder to tell as there are many more variables, and there is not a set discount. I figured it was break-even after 2 or 3 charge sessions. After this trip, I think I will just use Plug-and-Charge for Tesla as is quicker and easier than using the app to get the discount.

Sponsored