Model S Plaid & Mach E Rt 1 Roadtrip by MKBHD

Stang68

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MKBHD just posted a video showing results from a roadtrip with the Plaid and the Mach E and an ICE Audi, and *spoiler* the Mach E's first leg was abysmal because they listened to Ford's in-car navigation for charging.
Second leg they used only Electrify America and had a much better experience.
Take notes, Ford.
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Interesting they chose a hotel at Niagra Falls that didn't have destination charging (for the Tesla). Also interesting he chose to do less frequent but longer charges. Most of my charging is to 60-65%, in and out within 10-12 minutes. Quicker to do two short stops versus one longer charge session.
 

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MKBHD just posted a video showing results from a roadtrip with the Plaid and the Mach E and an ICE Audi, and *spoiler* the Mach E's first leg was abysmal because they listened to Ford's in-car navigation for charging.
Second leg they used only Electrify America and had a much better experience.
Take notes, Ford.
Wow, that really is unfortunate. But to be fair...would ABRP or another app have been any better if the issue was that the recommended chargers were broken? Unlike Tesla, Ford is relying on a diverse set of networks that are quite honestly a mess (with the almost-exception of Electrify America).

Ford doesn't police those other chargers, they rely on those networks to report if they're open, available, broken, etc. The system WILL avoid them if it knows they're broken. But it's on the shoulders of those networks to keep that info up to date to report to Ford. So...isn't the issue here really that charging networks are a janky mess?

Although seriously, for now, the "only use EA if possible" is good advice.
 
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Stang68

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Wow, that really is unfortunate. But to be fair...would ABRP or another app have been any better if the issue was that the recommended chargers were broken? Unlike Tesla, Ford is relying on a diverse set of networks that are quite honestly a mess (with the almost-exception of Electrify America). So...isn't the issue here really that charging networks are a janky mess?
The issue is definitely the infrastructure. However, Ford's own navigation system routes to poorly-managed sites. On the second leg of their journey the drivers in the Mach E used their own apps to navigate and got much better results, only using EA stations.
 

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The issue is definitely the infrastructure. However, Ford's own navigation system routes to poorly-managed sites. On the second leg of their journey the drivers in the Mach E used their own apps to navigate and got much better results, only using EA stations.
Again...it's not Ford's fault it's getting bad data from the charging providers. But yeah, that's definitely an issue. You CAN preview the entire route and replace any chargers that aren't EA, but it's not quick or easy.

I can only imagine that this will all get better over time as more data is gathered. Tesla has the advantage that they OWN their network and know everything about each station in real-time, AND they've been at this a while. The early days of the SuperCharging network weren't great either. Few and far between, broken ports, all the same issues.

Where Ford has only been at it a few months. Give them some slack, and some time (and for charging stations to improve). And in a year or two, hopefully road-tripping a Mach-E will be significantly easier.
 


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MKBHD just posted a video showing results from a roadtrip with the Plaid and the Mach E and an ICE Audi, and *spoiler* the Mach E's first leg was abysmal because they listened to Ford's in-car navigation for charging.
Second leg they used only Electrify America and had a much better experience.
Take notes, Ford.
It is quickly getting to the point were choice of vendor is on the driver. Oh this clunky "Ford" app is awful kinda goes with "water is wet" or "use the search function first".
 
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Stang68

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Again...it's not Ford's fault it's getting bad data from the charging providers. But yeah, that's definitely an issue. You CAN preview the entire route and replace any chargers that aren't EA, but it's not quick or easy.

I can only imagine that this will all get better over time as more data is gathered. Tesla has the advantage that they OWN their network and know everything about each station in real-time, AND they've been at this a while. The early days of the SuperCharging network weren't great either. Few and far between, broken ports, all the same issues.

Where Ford has only been at it a few months. Give them some slack, and some time (and for charging stations to improve). And in a year or two, hopefully road-tripping a Mach-E will be significantly easier.
I seriously think it's all the new F150 Lightning owners who will get Ford to get their act together! Mustang is more "niche"...F150 is real, and high-volume, and charging it on the road cannot be fucked up.
 
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Stang68

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It is quickly getting to the point were choice of vendor is on the driver. Oh this clunky "Ford" app is awful kinda goes with "water is wet" or "use the search function first".
Yes and no. The Tesla owner uses the Tesla in-car app to find chargers. Mustang owners need to rely on third-party apps. Something that cannot be avoided but still a sub-par experience for new people who expect Ford's navigation (which I do not use) to "just work".
 

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Yes and no. The Tesla owner uses the Tesla in-car app to find chargers. Mustang owners need to rely on third-party apps. Something that cannot be avoided but still a sub-par experience for new people who expect Ford's navigation (which I do not use) to "just work".
Question - do any of these 3rd party apps work through Android auto (and show up on the main screen), or so you need to mount your phone somewhere and nav off of that. The latter seems far more painful.
 
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Question - do any of these 3rd party apps work through Android auto (and show up on the main screen), or so you need to mount your phone somewhere and nav off of that. The latter seems far more painful.
It seems like SOME of them do. ABRP has Apple Carplay integration (likely Android Auto too?) but you have to pay for that part. And PlugShare does but it never seems to work for me.
 

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It seems like SOME of them do. ABRP has Apple Carplay integration (likely Android Auto too?) but you have to pay for that part. And PlugShare does but it never seems to work for me.
Gotcha. Hopefully google adds something to maps.
 

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PlugShare, ChargePoint and EA apps all work with CarPlay. I always rely on PlugShare to get the latest reliability of stations that I plan to charge at, and adjust accordingly.
 

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PlugShare, ChargePoint and EA apps all work with CarPlay. I always rely on PlugShare to get the latest reliability of stations that I plan to charge at, and adjust accordingly.
Got it -thanks for the tips
 

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Again...it's not Ford's fault it's getting bad data from the charging providers. But yeah, that's definitely an issue. You CAN preview the entire route and replace any chargers that aren't EA, but it's not quick or easy.
I must respectfully disagree, sir. :)

They either tested the data, so they knew it was bad, or they just took it and rolled with it, which is their fault as well. In other words, they did make a choice, albeit one other manufacturers are making where there aren't a lot of choices, especially good ones.
 
 




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