Mountain Road Trip - Heat and Elevation, no problem

RKinWA

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Location
Seattle, WA
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2022 Mach-E GTPE AWD Space White Metallic
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Software Engineer
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So yesterday was a very clear and hot day here in Seattle. I decided to take a trip over the mountains to Leavenworth (great little town but very busy, look it up). Leavenworth is about 110 miles east, over Stevens Pass. ABRP was telling me I wouldn't even need a charge, but I planned on charging at the Safeway EA station in Leavenworth. The elevation of Seattle is around 175 feet, the Stevens Pass summit is around 4100 feet. I was curious how the MME would handle it.

The MME used 40% battery each way. I had charged to 100% before leaving, arrived with 60% battery, I charged to 80% in Leavenworth, and arrived home with 40%, very consistent. There was a LOT of traffic, stop and go, so I turned on 1PD to test it out, which worked great. I only used 1% or 2% in all the traffic. I used about 15% battery going up the pass, and about 2% coming down (only because there are some up spots going down too).

Another thing that concerned me (past tense) was the glass roof. It was perfectly clear, and about 93 degrees up there. I was concerned about the HVAC and how much heat would come from the roof. Well in both cases I was pleasantly surprised and pleased. I had the AC on and set to 71 the whole trip, the interior stayed very comfortable, and according to my trip meter, not a lot of energy was wasted on climate. Additionally, at 96 degrees while stopped at a rest area, with the sun directly above me, I looked up at the sun, which was just a white spot, and put my hand 2" away from the glass. I could barely feel warmth. Then I touched the glass, and it was about 1000 degrees. So very good insolation!

One other thing, I definitely turned some heads with my MME. While I was driving through the thousands of people, many stopped to gawk. While I was charging, an old man (well I say old, but he was probably my age 🤣) actually came from across the parking lot to check it out, and started taking pictures of it. I popped out of the vehicle to talk to him and almost gave him a heart attack as he didn't know I was there. He was very interested in it and had never seen it before. While driving back, I was on an off ramp turning onto I-5 and a Mazda 3 to my right full of young guys came speeding up so they could check it out, they kept going forward and back checking it out, and as they passed, the passengers were all turned around looking and trying to figure out what it was. One thing about the GT, it has no pony on the back, just the "GT".

All in all it was an amazing experience. With each trip I take in my MME I gain more confidence in it and my original EV anxieties melt away.

I'll include my favorite picture from the trip just for the hell of it. :)

Ford Mustang Mach-E Mountain Road Trip - Heat and Elevation, no problem ModdedPic
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