How fast does range estimation react?

[Striike]

Good day everyone. I have my 2021 Select Mach E for a while now, and have become accustomed to the nuisances of driving an EV. My question comes from a trip I recently took.
I normally drive around town, and get pretty good range. So it was no surprise to me that my range showed 233 when I charged to 100% before a trip. The trip was 80 miles one way, with most of it being interstate travel. On the way to my destination, I watched the remaining range deplete significantly. I went from 233 miles down to 117 miles. Now my battery went down by 37% to 63%, so I figured no big deal, it has adjusted to highway efficiency. On the return trip, it continued to shrink though. I watched my 37 mile buffer shrink to 17 miles by the time I got home. It’s like Ford wants us to have range anxiety!
My question is how long does it take to adjust to the current driving conditions? Is the estimated range useless? I should also point out I used 37% battery getting there, and 49% coming back. So not a linear battery usage either.
Your experience is appreciated.

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[thekat03]

One tool that might help is programming in your destination in the Ford Navigation. It will adjust estimated range based on your route and typical fuel consumption on that route. I mostly do this when on longer trips where I know I will need to stop and charge, but it probably would be worthwhile for those still learning the range of their car at various speeds and climates.

 

[YeOldeTraveller]

For longer trips, like the one I am currently on, I use a number of things to track how the trip is going. One thing is to track the buffer based on the GOM (displayed estimated range, or Guess-O-Meter), another based on doubling the SoC value (this works for the larger battery assuming at least 2.2 miles/KWh). The thing I am looking for is the trend relative to the remaining distance to the destination, or charger.

I had a leg yesterday that apparently had more wind than expected, so I slowed down until the trend was no longer deteriorating, and I sped up a bit as I got closer to the charger. Normally, I would have stopped at a closer charger, but there was nothing between the two chargers when I checked. (There was supposed to be, but that is another story.)

As to the differences in the two trips, there are several factors that could impact the range on a given day. Temperature, wind, and elevation change are the most common items. A difference in traffic could also impact the result.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Good day everyone. I have my 2021 Select Mach E for a while now, and have become accustomed to the nuisances of driving an EV. My question comes from a trip I recently took.
I normally drive around town, and get pretty good range. So it was no surprise to me that my range showed 233 when I charged to 100% before a trip. The trip was 80 miles one way, with most of it being interstate travel. On the way to my destination, I watched the remaining range deplete significantly. I went from 233 miles down to 117 miles. Now my battery went down by 37% to 63%, so I figured no big deal, it has adjusted to highway efficiency. On the return trip, it continued to shrink though. I watched my 37 mile buffer shrink to 17 miles by the time I got home. It’s like Ford wants us to have range anxiety!
My question is how long does it take to adjust to the current driving conditions? Is the estimated range useless? I should also point out I used 37% battery getting there, and 49% coming back. So not a linear battery usage either.
Your experience is appreciated.

If you put your destination into the navigation, the range displayed can instantly change to reflect the estimated consumption (this is called intelligent range). This is especially the case if you usually drive slow (<60 MPH) around home, but are now going to take an interstate trip where you will be driving significant faster (e.g. 80 MPH) than you usually do.

If you do not put your destination into the nav first, the range may take 100-200 miles of driving to adjust. You will see the range and buffer continuously shrink while it adjusts (as you did).

Hopefully you know this, but your range at 100% is very much related to the speed you drive (it takes more energy to drive faster), so that's why range will adjust downward while driving faster than you normally do:

100% range (RWD Standard):
50 MPH - 268 mi
60 MPH - 233 mi
70 MPH - 204 mi
80 MPH - 176 mi
90 MPH - 153 mi
(Wind, elevation, and temperature will affect these values significantly)

Therefore the number displayed on the dash is only representative if you're going to drive the same speed you normally do. If you will drive faster or slower, then it will need some time to adjust. Again, you can enter the destination in the navigation system if you want an instant update, or use an app like ABRP to plan your route. I would never plan a road trip based on the displayed range alone.

 

[Striike]

Mach-Lee, where did you get those numbers?

 

[Womps]

This is for a 4x extended range.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Mach-Lee, where did you get those numbers?

I calculated them.

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