Charging FAIL & GREAT Surprise When We Compare The Model Y & Mach-E On The World’s Toughest EV Test!

[methorian]

We visit family in the Williamsburg/Norfolk area frequently. My problem is still WV. I HATE going the route from OH through PA, but I may have to until EA puts a charger or two in the WV charging desert. I have written to them twice about it. I77 and the WV Turnpike is a MAJOR North/South route from this part of the country to get South and then head East to the beaches, etc. The Tamarack rest area in Beckley would be ideal for a charging stop. Outside of that, you have to travel from Cambridge OH all the way to Wyethville VA to find a charger. 262 miles. Who wants to try that range in even an EX Mach E through the mountains?

Oh yea - I've seen the huge dry spot that is WV, sorry that's a common drive-through for you. I'd hope it's high up on EA's list. I certainly wouldn't risk the mountains without any DC charging options.

Maybe we'll see more aggressive roll-outs for CCD DC fast charging this year. I hope so!

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[dbsb3233]

Hoping we see some reports/videos from the buyers of the real production MMEs soon. A lucky few have had them for about a week now. I know only a tiny% of buyers are people that would be the type to post a review, but hopefully one does soon.

 

[Stang68]

Oh man....I know this was not an apples to apples test, but wow.....I don’t feel good about the MME and the charging performance. Sucks, because it’s these little videos that make me second guess myself for a little while. I need Tommy to talk me off the ledge.

Well, if you're like me and planning to install a 220v in your house to do most of the charging there, then I wouldn't worry too much. It's the road trips that I would be worrying about. For that we have my wife's SUV (which, let's be honest, is more practical than the MME).

 

[OttawaGuy]

Well, if you're like me and planning to install a 220v in your house to do most of the charging there, then I wouldn't worry too much. It's the road trips that I would be worrying about. For that we have my wife's SUV (which, let's be honest, is more practical than the MME).

I'm with you also, the MME will be the city car. And my wife wanted a car that would stand out from the mass... so for a while it will be kinda "exclusive" in a way. For the daily commute to work (70 some kms) and the errands, the MME will be more than plenty and a 240V plug in the garage with the mobile charger will suffice!

For the longer trips, which often include the 2 teens and luggage or the travel trailer, we have the F150 which is way better suited. And I went with the RWD because of the fact that we have the F150 also, in big snow storms, or intense conditions,we will ride the F150 to work, but that might not be often. We currently have a Honda Civic and in the last 4 years with one we might have used the truck 3-4 times because theweather required it!!!

 

[dbsb3233]

Exactly. CCS charging will improve a lot in the next few years. Heck, it'll improve some before many of us can even get our MMEs, and do our first long road trip.

There's about 8 automakers now depending on it, with more to come. If they have to, they'll get more involved. But I don't think they'll have to.

 

[generaltso]

Hoping that hard cut to charging at 80% is sorted out....

I'm beginning to think that this may be by design since the owner's manual recommends not charging beyond 80% on DC due to high cost, though cost isn't really a factor for chargers that charge per kWh.

 

[DBC]

This.

Also the P&C may work just fine on production cars. If not I'm confident EA and Ford will sort things out in short order.

Not sure the charging curve with DC charging will be "fixed". It's not a bug. It's what Ford wants to do. Maybe with more experience Ford will decide they can push this to 90% rather than 80% or something, but I wouldn't hold my breadth. Personally I think the whole DC charging concern (on both ends) is overblown, but not being a manufacturer I don't have to pay for battery replacements or listen to customers unhappy that their batteries are losing capacity.

 

[BlueMach]

I'm beginning to think that this may be by design since the owner's manual recommends not charging beyond 80% on DC due to high cost, though cost isn't really a factor for chargers that charge per kWh.

Unfortunately in states that don't allow kWh billing, it will be extremely expensive to continue past 80% even when necessary.

It's definitely a design choice - at 80% the car jumps down from "DC" speeds to "AC" speeds instantaneously. Ford is saying you *will not* DC Fast Charge past 80%, if you obstinately remain connected to a DC Fast Charger past 80% we will slow you to the same speed you'd get from an AC wallbox and let you tie up a quarter million dollar piece of equipment longer than you need to. We should be allowed to charge past 80% at DC speeds if we need to, we know the risks.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

I just watched the video finally and don't have time right now to read all the comments but I took notes as it went. Overall I was pretty happy with it, but there's still some big disappointments, some of which others have already pointed out:

• hatch "does stick a little bit" - literally every single Model Y comparison video needs to constantly say "but of course the car might not actually make it because kwality" - like literally very one. Tesla quality is just a complete sh*tshow and I wouldn't trust my life on that CO roadway (which I've driven actually - have pictures of the Eisenhower tunnel) because who the hell knows when your door will fly open (RIP dog) or the roof will fly off or ? it's insane that this is just brushed off "oh yeah the door kind of doesn't work whatever anyway". how the hell can anyone feel safe in that thing, ever? I'm not kidding here - not trusting a door to open and close right is not a little thing.
• 50 seconds is way too long before the wheel warning on the Tesla. This is a basic safety thing and not an opinion thing. Shameful.
• The driving feel comparison is not really relevant between the "performance" vs. not and the difference in tires - the steering feel has relevance, but I full expect that to be tweaked over time. in fact I'm sort of expecting without evidence at some point that we'll get the Mustang coupe style "pick your steering feel" adjustment. This is true for the acceleration as well - it's really just meaningless nonsense in this case. it's expected that of course the non-GT (non-performance) car will not perform as well as the GT (performance) car.
• Shouldn't the only battery capacities numbers given be the usable? there's some lip service given to this at the charging stop, but usable is literally all that matters. Tesla could have a 2,000 KWh battery in there and it doesn't matter if it's not usable. This is the kind of thing that is super confusing to people that are new to BEVs. Range matters, efficiency matters (which to the video's credit, is mentioned using the MPGe number), total battery size doesn't, not to a normal person.
• At the charging stop, on the one hand, 0 KW at the first two EA is way smaller than 75 KW, and that's of course an EA fail, hard stop. But on the other hand, that 75 KW at the Tesla "Supercharger" is really an aggressively terrible charging speed compared to what is promised. Once a working EA is found, yes, the Mach-E charging speed is absolutely subpar. But, overall, this is super embarassing for Tesla - the supposed king of magic plug and play and high speed charging, who really sh*ts the bed on charging speed as well compared to what's promised, which is much worse relative again because that capability and network is supposedly so much better and part of why you should get one. Honestly if I were a Teslastan watching this, I wouldn't say sh*t about this part of the video, because it just makes the car look so terrible at charging speed. If the Model Y was brand-new tech and the charging stations were brand-new tech, that would be very different, but supposedly Tesla has this all down pat.

anyway....

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Volkswagen's involvement wasn't entirely voluntary. Hopefully, they'll stay committed and others will join in.

 

[stlippert]

Oh yea - I've seen the huge dry spot that is WV, sorry that's a common drive-through for you. I'd hope it's high up on EA's list. I certainly wouldn't risk the mountains without any DC charging options.

Maybe we'll see more aggressive roll-outs for CCD DC fast charging this year. I hope so!

Your senator is now the most powerful man in Washington. Before the next election there will be chargers at every exit!

 

[Mach-E VLOG]

Volkswagen's involvement wasn't entirely voluntary. Hopefully, they'll stay committed and others will join in.

It seems like charging stations could be a huge business opportunity. From what I've read, gas stations actually don't make much from gas sales but make money from selling snacks and drinks. And those are just quick stops. If you are charging and have a longer stop, it seems like you'd be more likely to spend money. Right now, about 90% of the time I never even go into a gas station. But when I stop at a charging station, I would definitely go in almost every time. I'm hoping that once there are more EVs, some business entity will start making EV Travel Stops with lounges, restaurants, etc.

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

It seems like charging stations could be a huge business opportunity. From what I've read, gas stations actually don't make much from gas sales but make money from selling snacks and drinks. And those are just quick stops. If you are charging and have a longer stop, it seems like you'd be more likely to spend money. Right now, about 90% of the time I never even go into a gas station. But when I stop at a charging station, I would definitely go in almost every time. I'm hoping that once there are more EVs, some business entity will start making EV Travel Stops with lounges, restaurants, etc.

this is why elsewhere on here I've said that a place like a Sheetz (*) is not a terrible place to have a charger... places to get decent made-to-order food with places to sit... and truck stops would be even better because no kidding, if you've never looked at truck stops because they are "beneath you" or "I'm not a trucker" or whatever, you're really doing yourself a disservice. (**)

(*) regional reference - replace with "Wawa" or whatever I guess
(**) very US-centered view here - no idea about outside of US

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