Mach-E Premium AWD SR vs AWD ER -- worth spending the $6,000 to get an extended range battery?

[Mach-E Nut]

Is it worth spending the $6,000 to get an extended range battery? I have a SR AWD and was told by the salesman, who I should not have listened to, that I would get 270 miles on a full charge with modest driving but I am only getting 210 - 225. But from reading other posts drivers with AWD 91Kw batteries, they are only getting 270 - 280 miles. Am I wrong in my reasoning?

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[devmach-e]

The Premium AWD SR was never rated at 270 miles. 224 miles Is the correct value. AWD ER is rated at 277. If you are getting 210 to 225, that’s pretty close to EPA which is really good.

Personally I thought getting the Extended Range was worth it for for the ~60 miles more range I got in the Premium RWD.

 

[RidingwithScotty]

Depends on how long your daily drive is/if you plan to road trip with your MME; I am happy with the SR and charge about once a week overnight. Scotty is a daily commuter with some errands thrown in there, your needs may be different than mine.

 

[ARK]

It totally depends on your use. I see that you live in New York - know that in cold weather, your range drops significantly. Know also that if you are cruising on open highway well above the posted speed limit, your range will also drop significantly.

If your car is basically used for commutes and you don't have an awfully long commute, I'd say the SR AWD is more than adequate.

That's basically been my experience with my SR AWD, farthest trip has been driving for a few hours, i.e., like 130 miles away and charging overnight there. I've never even had to DCFC once.

If I ever needed to drive further and had to DCFC, $6,000 is a lot of incentive for me to happily deal with an extra DCFC charge where I might have gotten away with none had I had the ER battery.

 

[daemonic3]

I wanted the most range possible and opted for Premium RWD ER. I figured a 10% cost adder up front is incremental, but the number of times having the extra range will help me over next several years could really make the ownership experience better. In particular, I make regular 130 mile (one direction) trips and may occasionally go 170 miles (one direction) to visit our daughter at college. So we even squeezed out the AWD to get the most possible.

Anyway, consider your primary usage and whether your *time* over the life of the car is worth it for $6k today. If you don't plan to go long distances then SR is a great money saver!

 

[Blue highway]

Let's do some Math!

In my situation, the ER battery will eliminate ~5 to 10 charging stops away from home a year over the SR battery. I expect to keep the car ~3 years.

Sooo... the ER battery would save me 15 to 30 charging stops... at the cost of $6K... hmm $200-$400 savings per stop excluding resale difference... SR for me is the way to go.

IRL the SR battery has not stopped me from going anywhere that an extra 60 miles of range would have enabled.

On a different topic, why would anyone listen to a car salesman about anything...

 

[SnBGC]

Is it worth spending the $6,000 to get an extended range battery? I have a SR AWD and was told by the salesman, who I should not have listened to, that I would get 270 miles on a full charge with modest driving but I am only getting 210 - 225. But from reading other posts drivers with AWD 91Kw batteries, they are only getting 270 - 280 miles. Am I wrong in my reasoning?

Tough call really. When I ordered my car, I was 100%, Absolutely, Positively certain that the SR would be plenty. I based this on my BEV at the time which was a 2017 Ford Focus Electric with only 120 miles of range and that car got me around fine. I averaged 25k miles/year on that thing so obviously the 33.5 kWh battery plenty. Right?

Then I ended up with the ER because I was offered a First Edition instead. As it turns out, having the extended range has been VERY liberating. I can drive to Tucson and back on a single charge where my brother can't do that in his SR Select. I can make it to San Diego with only one DCFC so that is very convenient. Even around town the extra range has made a difference on occasion.

Ford is a bit conservative on their range estimates. I get around 300 miles of range here in Phoenix and 250 miles between cities.

If it gets cold where you live, then the extra battery might be nice to have since range can be reduced quite a bit in really cold weather. Those of us in southern states don't really have any winter range issues though...

 

[Sealevel]

I opted for the ER and AWD, but when I trade it in on a Lightning pickup; I will get a SR battery. The trade in value was a factor on the MMe.

I only have a 15 mile commute and Solar cells and I rarely take long trips. That will change when I retire in a few years - but DCFC is still cheaper than gas or the ER battery.

 

[Schmetsky]

I opted for the SR because it is lighter, and hopefully will handle a little better. I really don't do that many long trips each year. Most is to soccer practice and around town. Home charging will be fine.

I can spend the extra $$$ on things to make the car better, like wider tires. The KW V3 Coilover springs. Etc.

We can use the Acura up to Tahoe or down to SoCal to drop the kid off at school when needed.

Finally because battery technology is changing so quickly right now, I suspect that in a few years we can trade the Acura for an EV that gets 400+ miles of range....

 

[ripperAZ]

Simple answer, trade in value. Studies show as electric vehicles age used electric vehicle buyers will look for greater battery capacity as a way to Ease concerns.

if you keep it, three or four years, it’ll be worth more than the difference in value and convenience you get from the range will certainly be worth it
Jes sayin. Bigger is usually better chicks dig the long ball.

 

[GrantK]

As others have said, its down to personal circumstances.

We are a 2 car family and It’s highly unlikely that I will roadtrip in my MME so went for Select AWD (standard range of course).

To be fair, if roadtrip range was necessary for me I would have got a Tesla for the charging network.

 

[timbop]

As others have stated: it depends.

For me the ER means I can drive to new york, baltimore, lancaster pa, and anywhere at the jersey shore and back on a single charge. Even better, on cold winter days it means I can drive the round trip to work without concern for charging.

The added residual value if I return it at the end of my options basically negates much of the added cost, with my peace of mind making up the difference.

 

[devmach-e]

As others have said, its down to personal circumstances.

We are a 2 car family and It’s highly unlikely that I will roadtrip in my MME so went for Select AWD (standard range of course).

To be fair, if roadtrip range was necessary for me I would have got a Tesla for the charging network.

We bought the extended range so that we could try to road trip in it, despite having a hybrid SUV that we normally road trip in.

 

[Fixbear]

The winter experience in northern NY drops my standard range down to 140 miles and I rarely travel interstates or above 55MPH. Course it also requires it to be plugged in when not in use for the electrolyte. But I do wish I had gone with the extended range.

 

[Mach-E Nut]

Thank you all, for your thought provoking responses.

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