Long Road Trip: MME or ICE?

[RobbH]

We did a spur of the moment trip from Albuquerque, NM to Goldsboro, NC (1,800 mi) and back with no more issues than we would have had with any other long road trip. We didn’t have planned stops so we never had hotels with charging but since you are planning in advance that might help. When coworkers asked me how many times I had to stop and charge I told them less times than I stopped for the bathroom If you do this trip in your MME I guarantee you will have the confidence to take it anywhere. As many people have already said just check ABRP and plan your route accordingly. Have fun whatever way you choose!

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[dtbaker61]

My wife and are are new owners of a Rapid Red MME Premium, AWD, ER. We are going to take a long road trip from Michigan to Tucson in January. I really want to take the MME, especially since our ICE option is a slightly smaller and less comfortable Ford Escape. The plan is four days of approximately 500 miles each: Michigan to St. Louis; Oklahoma City; Albuquerque; and Tucson. My friends are joking about authorities finding a pretty red car in the desert near dried out bones!

Has anyone made a similar trip? What are your opinions on this adventure? Do I need to be talked out of this plan and settle for the ICE?

considering the (lack of) chargers for LONG trips.... I would actually RENT a comfy ICE, and put the miles on a rental rather than my MME.

 

[JayBonk]

Not quite as long, but I've driven from Phoenix to San Francisco round d trip three times now. Take the MME.

By the way it's about 750 miles one way and I've driven that in a day in the MME. Stopping more frequently to recharge makes the trip far more relaxing that driving full to empty in an ICE.

The different perspectives in this thread are fascinating. I recently did two 500 miles days in the MME and would not willingly do it again.

I like the car. It's nice around town and for short trips. I would imagine it is a nice car for lazy road trips. But if you're looking to make time, 500 miles day after day ... ICE permits faster travel and gives you more flexibility in routes, stops, etc.

It's great that the car works for some on long trips. But it very much does not work for everyone in that context, and you'll only know for sure when you try it. Four days of 500 miles seems like an ambitious experiment.

Good luck!

 

[Mach1E]

Oof. Too late to book plane tickets?

Everyone else seems to have covered how you could make it work on the Mach E.

Zero chance I would do that kinda road trip in the Mach E. Owned it a year, I have never used DCFC and hope I never have to.

Hell, we took my wife’s Lincoln last time we went to Orlando. And that’s only 2 hours away. Sitting at chargers, trying to plan ahead to find a charger, worrying about range, are NOT my idea of “fun” on vacation. I want to get in the car and go.

 

[kennethjk]

Having taken several trips of around 250 in a day 500 Is doable and 600 would be my max.

I don’t know the fast charging situation out there but here on the east coast a long distance trip is very doable but not without some challenges.


my only hesitation and the reason I did not drive my MME to Florida from NY was the fear of HVBJB failure. I didn’t want to be stuck hundreds of miles from home and deal with the related hassles.

good luck.

 

[BigMach-E]

Yep, this is definitely a YMMV sort of thing, and it’s really all about “do you want the trip to be mainly about making time or mainly about making the car do the trip”.

Here’s my analogy: you are really using a needle-nose plier for a task that calls for a channel lock wrench. Sure, you can make it work, but it’s going to be more frustrating and time-consuming.

I have had a road trip from the Bay Area to Big Bear (NorCal to SoCal) and a trip from Bay Area to Seattle in my mind. I want to do it because it’s a challenge, and to prove my car could do it.

Haven’t yet found the time for either, but I just used the Apple Maps EV routing to Seattle, 800+ miles, making what would be 12 hours in an ICE to almost 17 in an EV. And that’s with chargers that are nearly off route.

 

[Blue highway]

Your profile says retired… I presume you have some schedule flexibility..

I’d suggest you do some shorter road trips and see how that experience goes,

the MME is a good road trip car but it forces you to plan ahead. You will want to experience this first hand before your big trip.

 

[PupSideDown]

That's incorrect. You get 250kWh free at EA. You cannot use FordPass points.

You're correct. I confused those EA credits with FordPass points. My bad.

 

[Phil Martin]

Why is stopping to charge for nearly an hour every couple of hours or so in some parking lot considered more relaxing than driving an ICE car? I'd love to know the reasoning.

If I'm driving my gas car I can stop just about anywhere, get out for walk, go shopping, go eat, etc etc etc and therefore I should be more relaxed also right?

Trying to be realistic...

 

[Mach1E]

Why is stopping to charge for nearly an hour every couple of hours or so in some parking lot considered more relaxing than driving an ICE car? I'd love to know the reasoning.

If I'm driving my gas car I can stop just about anywhere, get out for walk, go shopping, go eat, etc etc etc and therefore I should be more relaxed also right?

Trying to be realistic...

I think there may be an age difference to consider.

I imagine in another 20-30 years I’ll need to take a bathroom break more often, need to stand up more so my back doesn’t hurt, and won’t be time limited because I’ll be retired.

But for now it’s left lane above the speed limit, only stop when on E, go as fast as far as possible to get there in the least time.

 

[dje4msu]

Thank you all for your experiences, comments and suggestions. Greatly appreciated. There is no question that it would be easier and less stressful to ICE this trip. But I have committed to a BEV and as an early adopter I am anxious to prove it's "roadworthiness". I also tend to be a bit adventurous and, as a retiree, can take my time. And, like RichMachE I live in Michigan and have now made the trip up to Traverse City and back. Having said all that, I'm still on the fence. I have fully planned the ev trip with no leg greater than 160 miles and adequate charging options (with the exception of one stretch heading south off I40 toward Las Cruces, where I have fewer and slower options for one charge). I think it is manageable. My hesitancy now is more vehicle reliability. I have a newer build and presumably a re-engineered more robust HVBJB, but that and twelve volt battery failure are my sources of paranoia. I think I would enjoy the challenge, but........ decisions, decisions, decisions. Thanks again.

 

[Womps]

I’m retired as well but the words “I think” you have used in your last post would make up my mind immediately.

 

[ADDZ71]

I think another factor at least that plays into it for me is the ICE option for me does not include the BlueCruise capability. The MME is more attractive since I will drive it as much as possible versus the truck which does even have adaptive cruise control. Right now my trip from Western NC to Memphis is in question which vehicle I drive due to charging and potentially sub freezing temperatures and the range impact

 

[kltye]

Having done several long roadtrips (500-600+ miles), one of the best things you can do is ensure you have a backup plan for remote sites that might not have an abundance of chargers. This includes scouting out locations with NEMA 14-50 outlets so you can use your mobile charger, and/or overnight stays with some sort of L2 charging capability (again, even those with 14-50 outlets). The next best thing is getting a J1772 extension cord - I've managed to charge in places that other EVs couldn't simply because their EVSEs didn't have the reach. Plus, it also helps if L2 spots are ICE'd.

Plan on going no farther than about 170 miles between stops in colder weather, and maybe 200 miles in warmer weather (warm for this time of year anyway). This assumes you're driving at 70+mph. Make sure your tires are properly inflated; I like to add 3-4 psi when doing lots of highway travel, but that's entirely optional.

Finally, if your route indicates you'll be needing to use charging networks that isn't EA, it might be best to order the contactless cards from the providers now. I've had issues with apps and phones not working with the NFC reader at various locations - the NFC cards seem to have the best reliability for me. (ChargePoint and EVgo come to mind here)

Good luck with your trip! I used to be a speed demon with radar detectors and whatnot for long trips, but I would always arrive quite tired at the end of trips. With the MME, I'm much more relaxed, even if it takes a bit longer than driving at 15mph over the speed limit and making F1-style pit stops at gas stations.

 

[dje4msu]

I appreciated all the responses to my original post. I thought I would let you know my decision: I chose to travel in the Mach e. From January 11 to the 15th my wife and I made the approximately 1950 trip from southeast Michigan to the Tucson area. We drove in four legs: Michigan to just past St. Louis; St. Louis to El Reno, Oklahoma (just past Oklahoma City); then to Corrizozo, NM; and from there to Tuscon.

I am happy to report the vehicle performed flawlessly. Blue Cruise made driving much easier and less stressful. Cold weather reduced range but charging stations were adequately spaced for most of the route. I used all of the free 250 kws and then a smorgasbord of chargers (mostly EA, but also ChargePoint and one Francis Electric). At most stations at least one cabinet was down, but we only had to wait on one occasion for a charger; about ten minutes while a Porsche Taycan finished up on the only working station. Just as I finished charging an electrical contractor arrived with work orders on all four stations! We were lucky there.

To make the long story short, long road trips in the Mach e are doable. It does require planning and patience. We were driving for 8 hours a day and charging (or at least stopping) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. In the cooler temps and at expressway speed we averaged about 2.4 miles per kw. All in all, not too bad.

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