Colorado Owners: Standard vs. Extended Range

DrJay32

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I've ordered (since Oct 1) a Premium 4x ER, and I've yet to be scheduled for production.
I'm curious as to what others in Colorado are driving, and if you have real-world insight into the necessity of the extra range, and see if anyone is happy with a SR model here. I have always had AWD, so to me, that's a must (convince me otherwise).

FWIW I'm in Colorado Springs, were DCFC is a pipe dream.
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I'm in Littleton and we do have a number of DCFC around, but have an EVSE in my garage. Mine is a GT PE, so came with an extended range. I would say it realy depends on your driving. My company closed our office, so I don't have any long regular commutes, just around town stuff. The lowest I have gotten to is in the mid 30% according to the GOM. I've only taken it up into the mountains once, but had no issues with range. The biggest effect is temperature and snow.

Being Colorado, I put a set of 3rd party wheels and real snow tires on the car. That affected range but the car is rock solid in the snow. Of course, 76 degrees on Sunday and snow on Tuesday. Got to love Colorado weather.
 
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DrJay32

DrJay32

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I'm in Littleton and we do have a number of DCFC around, but have an EVSE in my garage. Mine is a GT PE, so came with an extended range. I would say it realy depends on your driving. My company closed our office, so I don't have any long regular commutes, just around town stuff. The lowest I have gotten to is in the mid 30% according to the GOM. I've only taken it up into the mountains once, but had no issues with range. The biggest effect is temperature and snow.

Being Colorado, I put a set of 3rd party wheels and real snow tires on the car. That affected range but the car is rock solid in the snow. Of course, 76 degrees on Sunday and snow on Tuesday. Got to love Colorado weather.
Yeah... in the 30s today down here! Nothing like the "bipolar vortex."
 

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I've ordered (since Oct 1) a Premium 4x ER, and I've yet to be scheduled for production.
I'm curious as to what others in Colorado are driving, and if you have real-world insight into the necessity of the extra range, and see if anyone is happy with a SR model here. I have always had AWD, so to me, that's a must (convince me otherwise).

FWIW I'm in Colorado Springs, were DCFC is a pipe dream.
The only reason for DC fast charging is traveling.

Colorado Springs has EA fast charging at Sam's Club in Fountain. You have 125kW charging in your downtown parking garage. Going north, you have fast charging in Castle Rock, 45 miles away. Going east it's 110 miles in Flagler. Going south its 45 miles in Pueblo.

Seems like pretty good coverage.
 
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DrJay32

DrJay32

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The only reason for DC fast charging is traveling.

Colorado Springs has EA fast charging at Sam's Club in Fountain. You have 125kW charging in your downtown parking garage. Going north, you have fast charging in Castle Rock, 45 miles away. Going east it's 110 miles in Flagler. Going south its 45 miles in Pueblo.

Seems like pretty good coverage.
Thanks, Rick. I'm up on the north end of COS. My regular driving habits really aren't all that demanding as I work from home. I just want to make sure I can get to Denver and back without too much issue.
 


RickMachE

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Thanks, Rick. I'm up on the north end of COS. My regular driving habits really aren't all that demanding as I work from home. I just want to make sure I can get to Denver and back without too much issue.
Can't imagine why it would be an issue since there's an EA location 45 miles away, and Denver is loaded with fast charging. Did you look at either EA's website or PlugShare? This is 120kW+

Ford Mustang Mach-E Colorado Owners: Standard vs. Extended Range Denver.PNG
 
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DrJay32

DrJay32

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Can't imagine why it would be an issue since there's an EA location 45 miles away, and Denver is loaded with fast charging. Did you look at either EA's website or PlugShare? This is 120kW+

Ford Mustang Mach-E Colorado Owners: Standard vs. Extended Range Denver.PNG
I've seen the maps... it's nice to get real-world feedback. I appreciate it. I am really looking forward to the MME!
 

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If you had the smaller battery, that's 70kW. Assuming bitter cold, let's say you get 1.7 miles per kW. ~120 miles of range. No problem to get there and use it, then charge enough to get home.

If you assume 160 miles roundtrip, then you'd have to get worse than 2.3 to not make it roundtrip without charging, which is possible in winter highway driving with use of the heater. But one-way is a non-issue, and there is an abundance of charging. Charge to 100% before you leave.

With the ER, 160 / 91 = 1.76. I can't imagine that you couldn't go roundtrip without charging, but in a blizzard (where you probably shouldn't drive anyway), I'd charge up for the return in case you go off the road and need heat to survive.
 

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A larger battery has many advantages, I am on my second EV and would always go with the longest range possible.
  • Longer range, more trip options
  • Faster charging at DCFC
  • Battery will last longer because of less charging cycles for the same amount of miles
  • Your battery will degrade some and lose range over time
  • You live in a cold climate and that will reduce range during the winter, as will snow tires
  • If you arrive at a DCFC and it is broken, longer range may get you to the next one (I have had this happen and had to spend 3 hours on a L2 charger with my Bolt)
If you get the ER you will have no regrets.
 
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DrJay32

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A larger battery has many advantages, I am on my second EV and would always go with the longest range possible.
  • Longer range, more trip options
  • Faster charging at DCFC
  • Battery will last longer because of less charging cycles for the same amount of miles
  • Your battery will degrade some and lose range over time
  • You live in a cold climate and that will reduce range during the winter, as will snow tires
  • If you arrive at a DCFC and it is broken, longer range may get you to the next one (I have had this happen and had to spend 3 hours on a L2 charger with my Bolt)
If you get the ER you will have no regrets.
That was my thinking, too, and why I ordered a Premium ER. The wait is painful!
 

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That was my thinking, too, and why I ordered a Premium ER. The wait is painful!
We feel your pain. Almost all of us have endured that wait.
 

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That was my thinking, too, and why I ordered a Premium ER. The wait is painful!
Trust me, it's worth the wait. Unlike any car I have ever owned. Just a joy all around.
 

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I’ve put about 25k miles on my ER AWD, mostly on rural highways in Colorado (I drive back and forth between Woodland Park and Ridgway often). With snow tires, winter range has been on the 190-210 range…I think the larger battery is a must for cold climates like this, you won’t regret that choice.
 

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So, I'm not in Colorado, but am in Eastern Washington (i.e. more Montana, less Seattle), which can have a decent amount of similarity to CO on range and having very long drives sans-charging infrastructure. I have a pretty severe limit to the number of DCFC options between myself and the biggest population centers (e.g. there is one 50 kW charger way too close to my house, and another that occasionally works way too close to one of my destinations, with nothing in between; the nearest EA charger is decently placed on I-90, but not on the fastest route, and somewhat flaky). My car arrived in February, and we had a decent number of "good god its really f***ing cold" days this winter. Can't account for elevation change between COS and Denver, so take this with somewhat of a grain of salt.

I'm relieved I bought extended, because when we were in the 20s-30s, on 100% Charge, it got me from my home in Walla Walla to Spokane (156 miles one way, decent amount of elevation change, but not Rocky Mountain levels), with HVAC set to 68-72, and let me arrive with about 15-30% SOC - more than enough to poke around Spokane on needed errands until I could get to the L2 charger at my hotel, or I could drive to the DCFC selections, the most reliable of which are outside of the city center.

With your drive running 70 miles o/w, you'd be in far better straits than I am. In your case, in summer, you'll have a high likelihood of only needing to stop 10-15 minutes for a DCFC top up in Denver area (or none at all!), and get home. I'll always have to recharge to get back from Spokane to Walla Walla, unless I'm feeling *exceptionally* confident. Could I make the trips work with SR? In summer, yep. In winter, a crapshoot, but I'm gonna go with no. Sometimes, I'd argue the comfort of rolling in on 10-15% is worth it - and is worth the wait.
 
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DrJay32

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Thanks! This confirms my initial thoughts. Especially with AWD being almost mandatory in Colorado.
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