Kachook
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2021
- Threads
- 24
- Messages
- 106
- Reaction score
- 153
- Location
- Houston
- Vehicles
- 2021 Mach-E Premium AWD, 2016 Honda Odyssey
- Thread starter
- #1
So, I have had the MME for a bit now and have more specific thoughts on the vehicle. I am still hand-washing it once a week and the honeymoon period is still in effect. I have put on a few coats of the Chemical Guys hydroslick and the Rapid Red shines deeply. I am still weighing whether to get Paint Protective Film and whether to pay for a few professional ceramic nanocoats. Doing both will be about $3,000 and I think I would rather save the $. People still either thumbs up me or stop me on the street but not everyday like it had been when I had the dealer temporary plates on the vehicle. It is down to about 3 times a week that people will actually stop and ask me questions about the car. I still enjoy the effortless acceleration and the fact that I do not have to go to a gas station. Normally, I would compare it to the Tesla MY, but now I am comparing it to our 2016 Honda Odyssey. I realize that the two vehicles are two different types of vehicles, but this is actually a practical comparison for us as we decide which vehicle to use for a given task.
Here goes: I love not having to go to a gas station. Honda gets about 25 MPG when I drive around 60 mph and about 20 when I drive with my lead foot. Winner: MME.
In terms of seating comfort, using our normal booster seats, we can only fit four in the MME. Because my mom was going to be driving around with us this weekend, I used our less comfy travel booster seats. They are smaller and another adult can fit back there (although tight) bringing the capacity to 5 people. After driving about 300 miles this weekend, the fact that the MME had less room was highlighted. Even with the travel boosters, it was tight for a medium-sized adult. Also, we felt every bump although the car attempted to smooth it out. I think that actually made the car feel bouncy and my little kids kept waking up as we were driving back home late at night on Saturday. Lesson learned - if we do that again, we will take the minivan. Even if we had our normal booster seats that are sturdier, I have a sneaking suspicion that the kids would have still felt every bump. Also, minivan can seat 8. Winner: minivan.
The Odyssey does not have CarPlay, while the MME does and it connects either via bluetooth or usb about 98% of the time. But, the Honda does have a rear DVD system. But, I could always hook up the kids tablets to my phone. It takes so freaking long to connect with AT&T to set up the data that I have basically stopped trying. Because I drive the car more as my daily driver, the rear DVD is not an issue. Winner: MME.
Damn panoramic roof. The minivan's roof is all metal and has a small sunroof/moonroof with a cover. The MME does not have one. This is becoming an issue in the Texas heat. I will either now have to get some kind of tint (cost a few hundred bucks) or a cheapo sunshade type material. There are times when the roof comes in handy, but there really should be a motorized cover (at the minimum) and a roof that should be able to open up. My wife's 2015 Audi Q5 has both, my previous Cayenne has both and prior Land Rover Disco Sport had a fixed pano roof with a motorized cover. For a $60k car, this is unacceptable. I don't care that the MY does not have one. For this price range, it should. Winner: Because I shave my head and live in a hot climate - Draw.
Driving enjoyment is not close. The MME is so fun to drive. I look forward to doing random things even now. The minivan is just a minivan. It does its job well. Winner - MME.
Cabin noise is surprising. This is our first EV (BEV or PHEV) and after reading about pedestrians being struck by silent EVs and reviewers talking about how quite EVs were, I expected the car to be silent. To be fair, we have had the A/C on all the time since we've owned it. That A/C is loud. The MME does a good job of quieting the car from outside noise (although I think only the front windows are laminated). I think more outside noise does trickle in the Odyssey. However, when driving, I do not find the MME to be any quieter than the minivan. Winner - Draw.
Rear doors is not an issue for most of you with either no kids or older kids. But, those of you with younger kids and pets could probably sympathize. Those sliding doors on the minivan are the single biggest reason (plus it is paid off) that we plan on keeping the vehicle until the kids are done with high school. When in parking lots or even in the garage, I have to spend extra time to make sure I'm not hitting the wall or another car. Before smartasses tell me to go park further away from the store, I have two little kids and it is almost 100 degrees outside. Speaking of doors, the fact that the MME does not have a manual button to open the rear hatch is mind-boggling. Instead, there is a button for maximum front defroster. Maybe this depends on your climate, and I lived in the midwest for most of my life, but who thought it would be better to have a max defrost button than a hatch opening. To open the hatch, I need to use my fob, go through the tablet (into settings and access), press the button on the outside or swing my leg underneath the bumper. Regardless, this is poor planning on the part of Ford. Although the minivan does not have the automatic tailgate function by using my foot underneath, it wins because the button is so easy to use inside the car. Doors winner: minivan.
Phone as a key. Do not get me started. After the last update, my app just kept crashing and car would not charge overnight. So, I had to reinstall the app. Now, I need to re-setup my phone as a key. Easy, right? Wrong. Because my phone has the same name as a key saved on the system, the MME will not recognize it. Okay, let me change the name. Whoops, still won't recognize. Let me try to delete the old one. Still won't work. It appears as thought I need to delete everything including the door code, backup start code and something else to make this happen. Why is this so hard? Also, my wife's PAAK never really worked, but I didn't care at the time because she has only driven it once and we had the fob. So, please give me a second fob. Winner: Honda because I got two key fobs.
Overall, I am very happy with the vehicle. I am getting about 3.1 kwh with the 90-100 degree weather and it drops to about 2.9 kwh when I am going around 80 mph. Charging is not an issue at all since I charge overnight. For most purposes, the MME is a better choice for us. But, for longer drives or on weekends, I think I may start using the minivan more.
Here goes: I love not having to go to a gas station. Honda gets about 25 MPG when I drive around 60 mph and about 20 when I drive with my lead foot. Winner: MME.
In terms of seating comfort, using our normal booster seats, we can only fit four in the MME. Because my mom was going to be driving around with us this weekend, I used our less comfy travel booster seats. They are smaller and another adult can fit back there (although tight) bringing the capacity to 5 people. After driving about 300 miles this weekend, the fact that the MME had less room was highlighted. Even with the travel boosters, it was tight for a medium-sized adult. Also, we felt every bump although the car attempted to smooth it out. I think that actually made the car feel bouncy and my little kids kept waking up as we were driving back home late at night on Saturday. Lesson learned - if we do that again, we will take the minivan. Even if we had our normal booster seats that are sturdier, I have a sneaking suspicion that the kids would have still felt every bump. Also, minivan can seat 8. Winner: minivan.
The Odyssey does not have CarPlay, while the MME does and it connects either via bluetooth or usb about 98% of the time. But, the Honda does have a rear DVD system. But, I could always hook up the kids tablets to my phone. It takes so freaking long to connect with AT&T to set up the data that I have basically stopped trying. Because I drive the car more as my daily driver, the rear DVD is not an issue. Winner: MME.
Damn panoramic roof. The minivan's roof is all metal and has a small sunroof/moonroof with a cover. The MME does not have one. This is becoming an issue in the Texas heat. I will either now have to get some kind of tint (cost a few hundred bucks) or a cheapo sunshade type material. There are times when the roof comes in handy, but there really should be a motorized cover (at the minimum) and a roof that should be able to open up. My wife's 2015 Audi Q5 has both, my previous Cayenne has both and prior Land Rover Disco Sport had a fixed pano roof with a motorized cover. For a $60k car, this is unacceptable. I don't care that the MY does not have one. For this price range, it should. Winner: Because I shave my head and live in a hot climate - Draw.
Driving enjoyment is not close. The MME is so fun to drive. I look forward to doing random things even now. The minivan is just a minivan. It does its job well. Winner - MME.
Cabin noise is surprising. This is our first EV (BEV or PHEV) and after reading about pedestrians being struck by silent EVs and reviewers talking about how quite EVs were, I expected the car to be silent. To be fair, we have had the A/C on all the time since we've owned it. That A/C is loud. The MME does a good job of quieting the car from outside noise (although I think only the front windows are laminated). I think more outside noise does trickle in the Odyssey. However, when driving, I do not find the MME to be any quieter than the minivan. Winner - Draw.
Rear doors is not an issue for most of you with either no kids or older kids. But, those of you with younger kids and pets could probably sympathize. Those sliding doors on the minivan are the single biggest reason (plus it is paid off) that we plan on keeping the vehicle until the kids are done with high school. When in parking lots or even in the garage, I have to spend extra time to make sure I'm not hitting the wall or another car. Before smartasses tell me to go park further away from the store, I have two little kids and it is almost 100 degrees outside. Speaking of doors, the fact that the MME does not have a manual button to open the rear hatch is mind-boggling. Instead, there is a button for maximum front defroster. Maybe this depends on your climate, and I lived in the midwest for most of my life, but who thought it would be better to have a max defrost button than a hatch opening. To open the hatch, I need to use my fob, go through the tablet (into settings and access), press the button on the outside or swing my leg underneath the bumper. Regardless, this is poor planning on the part of Ford. Although the minivan does not have the automatic tailgate function by using my foot underneath, it wins because the button is so easy to use inside the car. Doors winner: minivan.
Phone as a key. Do not get me started. After the last update, my app just kept crashing and car would not charge overnight. So, I had to reinstall the app. Now, I need to re-setup my phone as a key. Easy, right? Wrong. Because my phone has the same name as a key saved on the system, the MME will not recognize it. Okay, let me change the name. Whoops, still won't recognize. Let me try to delete the old one. Still won't work. It appears as thought I need to delete everything including the door code, backup start code and something else to make this happen. Why is this so hard? Also, my wife's PAAK never really worked, but I didn't care at the time because she has only driven it once and we had the fob. So, please give me a second fob. Winner: Honda because I got two key fobs.
Overall, I am very happy with the vehicle. I am getting about 3.1 kwh with the 90-100 degree weather and it drops to about 2.9 kwh when I am going around 80 mph. Charging is not an issue at all since I charge overnight. For most purposes, the MME is a better choice for us. But, for longer drives or on weekends, I think I may start using the minivan more.
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