Range problems with the long range Mach e in the UK

[Craig Thompson]

I drive a 6 month old long range Mach e in the UK.
I am shocked by the lack of range.
I drive in a very careful and legally compliant manner and instead of the advertised range of 360 miles I recon that I get half of that, typically using 33 miles of range on my eleven miles commute....a mix of 20, 30, 40 and 60 mph roads.
I have contacted Ford and they state that the car is designed to work at 25degC (77 Fahrenheit). In the UK the average temperature never reaches 20degC even in the summer. The temperature in February typically is between 4degC and 10degC.
Have a bought the wrong car for the wrong country ? or is there something wrong with the car?
Thanks
Craig

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[RonTCat]

Did you buy this vehicle new?

 

[hybrid2bev]

Nothing is wrong.
The WLTP calculation mandated for range estimates is terrible and only accurate if you drive like 35 mph.

Research WLTP vs. EPA range calculation methods.

https://insideevs.com/features/695492/epa-vs-wltp-ev-range-difference/

"WLTP is rather lenient, as the range specification is calculated just in the City cycle (at Low and Medium speed sub-cycles). This results in rather optimistic driving range numbers, as the vehicle is not subjected to high speeds in all-electric mode, as is the case with the EPA testing procedure."

Running the heater will reduce your range. Colder weather results in lower range.

 

[generaltso]

is there something wrong with the car?

They probably just installed the wrong battery.

 

[evfinder]

I always recommend that people use the US EPA mileage estimates as, while still a little optimistic, are much closer to reality than almost any other range estimate. For example for the OP's car the EPA range is 310 miles, 50 miles less than the WLTP range. Add to that the range loss due to winter weather conditions and range is going to be reduced by quite a bit over the WLTP range.

Most of the range loss in cold weather is because of the power needed for the heater. Using the seat warmers instead of the cabin heat can help there but the OP says he is doing an 11 mile commute so no need to be uncomfortable doing things to increase range.

 

[RickMachE]

I drive a 6 month old long range Mach e in the UK.
I am shocked by the lack of range.
I drive in a very careful and legally compliant manner and instead of the advertised range of 360 miles I recon that I get half of that, typically using 33 miles of range on my eleven miles commute....a mix of 20, 30, 40 and 60 mph roads.
I have contacted Ford and they state that the car is designed to work at 25degC (77 Fahrenheit). In the UK the average temperature never reaches 20degC even in the summer. The temperature in February typically is between 4degC and 10degC.
Have a bought the wrong car for the wrong country ? or is there something wrong with the car?
Thanks
Craig

All EVs are impacted by temperature.

You misunderstood what Ford said. What they meant to say is that the OPTIMUM temperature for an EV is 77 degrees. Hotter, or cooler, than that impacts the battery.

 

[MellowJohnny]

Have you been pre-conditioning the battery prior to your journey? That will do two things - heat the cabin with shore power rather than battery, and warm the battery to allow for better range

 

[Craig Thompson]

Hi All, everything you say makes sense, thank you, ..........I am just disappointed with the real world range in a colder country.

 

[Elektronik]

UK is not the cold country all Scandinavia, Baltic countries are much colder than UK and use EV's without any problems.

 

[Spacey]

The Scandinavian countries appear to be well ahead in their charging infrastructure compared to the UK, (No surprise there) especially Norway so range in colder weather is not an issue.

See cold weather range tests from Bjorn Nyland on YouTube.

 

[mkhuffman]

Hi All, everything you say makes sense, thank you, ..........I am just disappointed with the real world range in a colder country.

Unfortunately, all BEVs suffer range loss when exposed to cold temperatures. Some of the loss is due to a cold battery, and some is due to using the cabin heater. You can use less cabin heat if you need longer range. You can also precondition the cabin if you are plugged in prior to departure. That will help also.

By the way, all BEVs in the UK are required to be tested using the EU's WLTP test cycle. So do not blame Ford for failing to reach the WLTP range estimates. WLTP is very unrealistic, and it is a shame you were misled by the range numbers. Blame the EU government.

 

[Geordietone]

I have rather the same level of disappointment, have an ER RWD almost 2 years old, owned from new. At the minute in sunny Scotland (5 degrees C this morning), I have gone from the stated 369 to a massive 218 after a full overnight charge, the best I have ever had even in the Summer is 330.

 

[Thunderbuck]

I drive a 6 month old long range Mach e in the UK.
I am shocked by the lack of range.
I drive in a very careful and legally compliant manner and instead of the advertised range of 360 miles I recon that I get half of that, typically using 33 miles of range on my eleven miles commute....a mix of 20, 30, 40 and 60 mph roads.
I have contacted Ford and they state that the car is designed to work at 25degC (77 Fahrenheit). In the UK the average temperature never reaches 20degC even in the summer. The temperature in February typically is between 4degC and 10degC.
Have a bought the wrong car for the wrong country ? or is there something wrong with the car?
Thanks
Craig

They call that range estimate a "guess-o-meter" for a reason.

The algorithm is constantly revising your range estimate. And a whole slew of things can make that range estimate a LOT shorter than it actually is. If you only have an 11 mile commute, and it's on a variety of roads, you are very likely getting an extreme worst-case estimate.

 

[CTZ]

Your commute is 11 miles but you are worried about range? Can't you plug it in at night?

 

[Jtbuster]

They probably just installed the wrong battery.

I know what’s wrong: The cars got no gas.

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