ChasingCoral
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There have been lots of new threads popping up from first time BEV drivers who are all worried or worked up because their Guess-O-Meter is showing much less range than they think it should.
Very simple answer: don't rely on the GOM! It doesn't know where you plan to go or the conditions it needs to calculate the actual range it can go. It will always be highly conservative. Be glad Ford gives you a conservative GOM -- it'll help keep you out of trouble.
How far can your Mach E really go? There are two good ways to find out. Neither is the GOM.
1. Trust the navigation system
Get in the car, turn on navigation, and pick a spot 200 miles away. See if it will navigate you there without charging. How much range will it have when you get there? If it can't get there without charging try shorter distances like 175 miles and 150 miles.
Now try with someplace 225 miles away, then 250, then 275, then 300. Once you have found a place near the end of your range the navigation system will tell you the range the car predicts to be able to go when it knows the distance, likely speed, altitude changes, and weather conditions of your drive. The distance of that drive plus the remaining range (you can trust it best when remaining range is low) will tell you your range.
I've found the navigation system to be very accurate and estimating my real range.
2. How far do you really go?
You can do the same thing with your normal driving. Charge up and drive it for a while. Drive until you are low on charge upon arriving home or a charging destination. How far do you go before charging and how much range does the car think is left?
Both of these will tell you your car's real range under real-world conditions.
Don't trust the GOM for anything other than a low-ball estimate. Then be glad Ford chose to do it this way. I've hopped in my Leaf trusting the GOM would get me somewhere, only to learn the GOM was based on slow around town driving and my battery won't get me where I need to go on my planned 70 mph interstate drive. I'd rather start out with a conservative GOM than a wildly optimistic one!
Very simple answer: don't rely on the GOM! It doesn't know where you plan to go or the conditions it needs to calculate the actual range it can go. It will always be highly conservative. Be glad Ford gives you a conservative GOM -- it'll help keep you out of trouble.
How far can your Mach E really go? There are two good ways to find out. Neither is the GOM.
1. Trust the navigation system
Get in the car, turn on navigation, and pick a spot 200 miles away. See if it will navigate you there without charging. How much range will it have when you get there? If it can't get there without charging try shorter distances like 175 miles and 150 miles.
Now try with someplace 225 miles away, then 250, then 275, then 300. Once you have found a place near the end of your range the navigation system will tell you the range the car predicts to be able to go when it knows the distance, likely speed, altitude changes, and weather conditions of your drive. The distance of that drive plus the remaining range (you can trust it best when remaining range is low) will tell you your range.
I've found the navigation system to be very accurate and estimating my real range.
2. How far do you really go?
You can do the same thing with your normal driving. Charge up and drive it for a while. Drive until you are low on charge upon arriving home or a charging destination. How far do you go before charging and how much range does the car think is left?
Both of these will tell you your car's real range under real-world conditions.
Don't trust the GOM for anything other than a low-ball estimate. Then be glad Ford chose to do it this way. I've hopped in my Leaf trusting the GOM would get me somewhere, only to learn the GOM was based on slow around town driving and my battery won't get me where I need to go on my planned 70 mph interstate drive. I'd rather start out with a conservative GOM than a wildly optimistic one!
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