No More Road Trips

[AliRafiee]

For trips of 300 miles, I find that even my MME GT is basically the same as a gas car. I drive for 120-150 miles, stop for 15-18 mins to use the bathroom, get coffee + plug into a charger, then drive to destination.

Beyond 300 miles, it starts to be a drag but definitely not an infrastructure problem nowadays.

Hell, I drive my GT from North Seattle to North Vancouver and back 5-10 times a year. That’s pretty close to 300 miles round trip. I could get there and back on one charge. I stop for 10 minutes on my way back to cut down on any potential stress.

Since my car has BC I prefer to “drive” my car vs my wife’s i4.

Sponsored

 

[silverelan]

It's only going to get worse, as the new administration is talking about pulling funding for increasing charging infrastructure. Really a shame.

I was worried about this too but my mind is now at ease. Lemme see if I can change your mind too.

1) The majority of NEVI funding has been sent out already. NEVI funding is for 5 years, 2022-2026, and most of that funding has already been distributed to states for 2022, 2023, 2024. The 2025 checks will be sent out in March or April 2025. Even if the next administration refuses to disburse funding for 2025 and funding gets axed for 2026, 60% of the NEVI funds have already been sent out.

2) State, regional, and local funding for EV infrastructure continues on. Whether it's a state government offering grants or a utility like the TVA, the non-federal funding for the infrastructure build out continues on.

3) Private investments of EV infrastructure is on a roll. Tesla, IONNA, GM/EVgo, BP Pulse, Mercedes Benz, Electrify America, Circle K, Costco, etc. Billions of private corporate money is being spent on infrastructure. Everyday, the charging network is appreciably better than yesterday.

To sum up, the EV infrastructure ship has sailed and the federal government's plans become increasingly less relevant. EV stations are already being built at a furious pace but you're going to see it kick into another gear entirely in 2025 as the projects started in 2022-23 get completed.

 

[Mandretti]

And hence I still keep an ICE SUV for road trips. I just don't have the patience for trips requiring more than 1 DCFC. However destination chargers (ie at hotels, b&b) will help quite a bit.

Whether you like it or not, the MME is not an efficient EV compared to its competition. Much has improved over the last few years since its inception.

True that! Having to stop every 150-180 miles is kind of bizarre.

 

[Mandretti]

I’ve had the experience of driving N Seattle to Eugene multiple times, each taking 2-3 hours longer than driving an ICE for various reasons. But 300 of the right kind of miles is doable; basically a one charge trip.

 

[AliRafiee]

I’ve had the experience of driving N Seattle to Eugene multiple times, each taking 2-3 hours longer than driving an ICE for various reasons. But 300 of the right kind of miles is doable; basically a one charge trip.

Apple Maps is telling me to stop for 40 minutes from Redmond to Eugene with a starting charge of 83% vs driving an ICE. Why is it taking you 3-4 hours longer?

 

[Monke]

It has been almost two years since my last trip (350 miles one way) with MME. It took me 5 hours with ICE cars and at least 6 hours with MME. I had to plan for one mishap charge event, so I had to take of 1.5 hours earlier than driving ICE. A 5 am - 10 am drive turns to a 3:30 am - 10 am drive. It was doable but it is better to just drive an ICE car.

 

[Snakebitten]

 

[Mandretti]

Chargers not working (sometimes spending-10-20 minutes trying different stations) , driving to alternate locations, sometimes out of the way, waiting for chargers to become free, then because of these delays getting stuck in bad traffic. Nightmare.

 

[Mandretti]

And actually it was Bellingham not N Seattle.

 

[RickMachE]

After 3.5 years of ownership I’ve finally tossed in the towel with lengthy road trips. The poor mileage under freeway conditions, unpredictable charging infrastructure, wait lines for charging, and the Walmart parking lot ambiance makes for a longer and unpleasant experience. My wife has been putting up with this up to now, but has finally put her foot down. Not doing it ever again.

This is for trips 300 miles or more. Great car for around town and shorter trips.

I was going to come back with all the reasons why this is wrong, but decided I can sum up the OP's take in one sentence:

My wife has... finally put her foot down.

In other words, he's not tossing in the towel, she told him he's tossing in the towel...

I can almost guarantee you that if you had simply purchased a Tesla SuperCharger adapter, you would have had a much different experience. Yes, it does matter WHERE you travel (some states have no Tesla SuperChargers), but in some areas (West Virginia, parts of Canada) it is a game changer.

We've done 25 states and a province of Canada since 2021 between the Mach-E and the Lightning, and only this year did we have the SuperCharger adapter. On a 5,300 mile trip to California, and a 4,700 trip to 8 national parks across 10 states, no SuperCharger adapter. This year we used it on a trip through Canada to Vermont, where it was a game changer in Vermont, which has a dearth of fast charging of any type, but more Tesla Superchargers.

As to wait - every SuperCharger location I have been to has at least 8 charges, some have more, some many more. I have been to 2 or 3 EA's with more than 4 chargers, usually it's 4, and usually 1 or more is broken. Even the newest locations have at least one broken.

Tesla Superchargers by and large are also FASTER, specifically they deliver closer to what the car asks for than the EA chargers. No, I haven't done the same session in the same temps and compared, but relaying my experience.

Chargers not working (sometimes spending-10-20 minutes trying different stations) , driving to alternate locations, sometimes out of the way, waiting for chargers to become free, then because of these delays getting stuck in bad traffic. Nightmare.

Nearly all of this could be alleviated with a SuperCharger adapter. Think of all the aggravation that could have been avoided (WIFE YELLING AT YOU) had you spent less than $200...

I will state I am not a Musk fan, I am very anti-Musk, but I'm also anti-inconveniencing myself, so when there is a better choice I take it.

 

[bbulkow]

Chargers not working (sometimes spending-10-20 minutes trying different stations) , driving to alternate locations, sometimes out of the way, waiting for chargers to become free, then because of these delays getting stuck in bad traffic. Nightmare.

That doesn't happen with superchargers. Some, sure, i have driven a little further off the road than i would like.

It is an entirely different ballgame. I spent 200 bucks on one about 3 months ago. I am surprised anyone who road trips wouldn't invest 200 bucks. No other car vendor is giving away free adapters, so if you are really stuffed about the 200 bucks, you can get most of it back when your ford adapter arrives.

I wouldn't roadtrip without my adapter.

 

[RickMachE]

That doesn't happen with superchargers. It is an entirely different ballgame. I spent 200 bucks on one about 3 months ago. I am surprised anyone who road trips wouldn't invest 200 bucks.

I agree, but let's be fair. Supercharger locations are not without issue. I took a trip through Canada to Vermont, with 4 charging stops. At 2 of the stops, 2 Superchargers were down. On a return a week later, one location still had the same 2 down.

If you do a sampling of SuperCharger sites on the Tesla app, you will find down stations. They aren't perfect, just much better than others.

 

[devmach-e]

True that! Having to stop every 150-180 miles is kind of bizarre.

Bizarre? More like smart. Reduces driver fatigue. Allows for bio-breaks, including eating. My days of doing 6 straight hours are long behind me. I get the urge to get to your destination as quickly as possible, I really do. I do an 800+ mile roundtrip road trip every weekend in the spring. And we're usually extremely tired on Sunday night coming home. Stopping every 2 hours has been a life safer for us.

 

[lwilliams0514]

For trips of 300 miles, I find that even my MME GT is basically the same as a gas car. I drive for 120-150 miles, stop for 15-18 mins to use the bathroom, get coffee + plug into a charger, then drive to destination.

Beyond 300 miles, it starts to be a drag but definitely not an infrastructure problem nowadays.

I get it, but it depends on infrastructure. I drove from LA to SF multiple times and stop basically at the same charging spots. Bathroom, food, and a short nap and I am back on the road.

I routinely go from LA to Vegas all the time (already have 128k in 3 years lol)

LA - SF is more than 300 miles. I plan to drive to Sacramento this summer and I am excited because now i finally got my Tesla adapter.

 

[devmach-e]

I get it, but it depends on infrastructure. I drove from LA to SF multiple times and stop basically at the same charging spots. Bathroom, food, and a short nap and I am back on the road.

I routinely go from LA to Vegas all the time (already have 128k in 3 years lol)

LA - SF is more than 300 miles. I plan to drive to Sacramento this summer and I am excited because now i finally got my Tesla adapter.

The new Tesla supercharger site at Harris Ranch has 80 V3/V4 Superchargers. Makes an LA to SF or Sacramento trip super easy. Or there's Kettleman City, Firebaugh, Santa Nella, and a bunch of other ones all along I-5. CA-99 has a ton, too.

Sponsored