Terrible Highway mileage!

[JimboSlice]

The Mach-E has terrible highway mileage! I was in Quartzite,AZ heading to Glendale,AZ which is about 120 miles. I charged up with 220 miles of range but when I got home I ended up with 30 instead of 100 left and from Palm Springs,CA to Quartzite,CA was the same way, Ialmost ran out of charge! I should of got to Quartzite with 15 miles of range left but had to U-turn and goto a Hampton to charge up enough to get ust to Quartzite. What is the driving logic on the highway?

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[bshaw]

What was your average speed on this highway trip?

 

[AZBill]

I have the CR1 RWD with ER battery. I did that very trip last July and left Quartzsite with 60% battery and arrived home with 15% (130miles). I drove 75 mph and had to drive through a dust storm with 50 mph cross winds around Tonopah.

I had charged to 55% in Indio, then arrived at Quartzsite with about 20% battery at that point (105 miles).

Generally at 70-75mph I get 3.3 to 3.4 mile/kwh, but high winds will reduce that. But the CR1 has more efficient wheels than the other models.

 

[AZBill]

FYI, if you use the Ford nav or Apple Maps linked to the battery, it will give you a target battery percentage to charge to at each point. I have found either of those to be fairly accurate. I never use the GOM as a target for charging, only battery percentage.

The GOM has too much lag and filtering to use it on a trip for predictions.

 

[Dave-O]

I have the CR1 RWD with ER battery. I did that very trip last July and left Quartzsite with 60% battery and arrived home with 15% (130miles). I drove 75 mph and had to drive through a dust storm with 50 mph cross winds around Tonopah.

I had charged to 55% in Indio, then arrived at Quartzsite with about 20% battery at that point (105 miles).

Generally at 70-75mph I get 3.3 to 3.4 mile/kwh, but high winds will reduce that. But the CR1 has more efficient wheels than the other models.

holy crap, the only way for our Select to manage 3.4 mile/KWh is to drive 65. At 75 it’s down to 2.5.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I've only run into poor highway range when driving into high winds. We usually get around 3 miles/kWh on the highway. I've driven across Northern AZ into the LA area or to Las Vegas multiple times. I usually do 75 mph.

 

[Yeskamil]

Sounds about normal to me. I have the standard range and do 1.7-1.8 miles per KWh on average, highway and city combined. Can't get over 2 ever. Granted I'm in PA and it's only about 40F outside, but still.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

holy crap, the only way for our Select to manage 3.4 mile/KWh is to drive 65. At 75 it’s down to 2.5.

So many variables to be sure. In the warm weather at 70mph, I easily get 3 or better miles per KWh. Right now, with temps mostly below 40°F, I'm only seeing 2-2.5 miles. This is totally expected though based on forum info and the myriad of range tests performed in the media. The AWD Premium with ER battery weighs 4,990 lbs. She's a portly girl.

Frankly, I'm surprised she does as well as she does. It has also been rather windy around here. Still, there is room for improvement as efficiency goes.

 

[Logal727]

So you're saying you used more energy on the highway? Wow, shocking.

 

[mkhuffman]

James, the efficiency of a BEV decreases significantly the faster you drive. This is the opposite of what you expect in a gas powered car that typically gets better gas mileage on the highway.

All BEVs have the same issue and all are worse at high speeds. It is physics. It takes a lot of energy to push a car though the air, and the faster you go, air resistance increases exponentially.

 

[JimboSlice]

What was your average speed on this highway trip?

75-79mph

 

[JimboSlice]

FYI, if you use the Ford nav or Apple Maps linked to the battery, it will give you a target battery percentage to charge to at each point. I have found either of those to be fairly accurate. I never use the GOM as a target for charging, only battery percentage.

The GOM has too much lag and filtering to use it on a trip for predictions.

I was using the Ford Nav

 

[JimboSlice]

So you're saying you used more energy on the highway? Wow, shocking.

I'm saying the the starting range is inaccurate. I'm simply asking for tips on highway driving not smart a$$ remarks. This was my first trip. I thought the Forum would be helpful? ?

 

[TRP]

Anything north of 70mph will be a huge hit on mileage.

I always take the Nav mileage est with a grain of salt, it may be correct but it does not take wind and speed into consideration............at least as far as I know anyway

 

[SnBGC]

The Mach-E has terrible highway mileage! I was in Quartzite,AZ heading to Glendale,AZ which is about 120 miles. I charged up with 220 miles of range but when I got home I ended up with 30 instead of 100 left and from Palm Springs,CA to Quartzite,CA was the same way, Ialmost ran out of charge! I should of got to Quartzite with 15 miles of range left but had to U-turn and goto a Hampton to charge up enough to get ust to Quartzite. What is the driving logic on the highway?

I have found the best logic is to use the charge percentage meter as your prime method to determine usage (and thus range). The range estimate shown in miles is just that......an estimate, and it's based on a variety of variables and is really only helpful if your driving pattern remains the same from trip to trip.

So, using the percentage reading....I know that at interstate speeds of 75 mph, the best I can achieve is 250 miles on a full 100% charge. That is 25 miles of range for every 10% of battery charge (or 2.5 miles per percent). And that is on the best day. If I have passengers, cargo, cold temps, inclement weather, wind etc....then it drops even further.

So, for a 120 mile trip like you describe....I would need to have at LEAST 50% charge in the battery to even attempt that trip. At 60% I would expect to arrive with about 30 miles of range remaining.......which is really tight because that doesn't even factor in the wind or elevation change or ambient temps. If it was cold and you were using the heater then that will affect (lower) your range as well.

Glad you made it safely though. It takes a few trips to get a feel for planning to stop and charge.

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