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Mach E Range


BoomerSooner

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I'm genuinely curious and perhaps someone with more familiarity with the topic can explain this, but why is the range of the Mach E, at most, right at 300 miles (and only 224 in one model)?  I think I understand why higher performance models get worse range (though I may be mistaken about that as well). Yet, I look at the Tesla S with over 400 mile range and the Lucid advertising over 500 mile range.  Are Tesla and Lucid over-estimating their ranges? Is Ford holding back on this purpose-built model? The addition of an extra 100--or 200--miles between recharges is definitely a game-changer (to me, anyway). Is there a reliability advantage to Ford's battery pack by limiting the range? 

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My wife and I have been driving factory built EV's since January of 1999 and we have driven over 328K miles on battery power since.

 

The range that an EV gets has to do with many factors including battery pack size.  There are two different size battery packs available on the Mach E- standard and extended.  In 2021 there was a usable standard battery pack that allowed access to 68kWh.  The extended pack size allowed access to 88kWh.  2022 models increased that slightly to 70 and 91kWh respectively.   Cars with an extended pack have an "X" in the markings on the front doors.

 

Other factors are overall weight, aerodynamics, tires (size, weight, rolling resistance) and motor efficiency- as well as driving styles (rate of acceleration), speed driven and drive modes (whisper, engage and unbridled in the case of a Mustang Mach E.) all contribute to this as well.  

 

Please note that the bigger the battery pack the heavier the weight, so a bigger battery pack will go a longer distance, but the extra weight of the battery also reduces some of the miles driven on any given kWh.   Ultimately this is why having more energy density per lb can end up making a big difference to ultimate driving range.

 

example:  I did read that one effort in Norway who did not drive over 50 MPH dove their Mach E 501 miles on one charge.

 

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/new-mach-e-world-distance-record-set-in-norway-with-stock-mach-e-rwd-501-miles-807-km-no-additional-charge.9765/

 

I hope that this helps give context.

Edited by Boss 302 Tiger
correcting grammar
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Also do not confuse EPA rated range with real world range.  It has been tested and shown numerous times that Tesla tends to have overly optimistic EPA range while others (Ford and especially Porsche) have pessimistic EPA ranges.  The real world range of a comparably equipped Mach-e and Tesla Model Y are not that far apart.  Tesla also does not publish their battery pack capacities anymore.

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Thank you for your comments!  I had read that Tesla allows its cars to access a greater amount of their batteries while others (such as Ford) partition off a larger part of the battery.  And, while energy use is energy use (weight, tires, weather, speed, acceleration) and obviously contribute to battery--and gasoline--use, are the EPA range estimates remotely accurate?  And, to my original point, what would it take for me to grab a fully charged Mach-E and make a 500 mile drive to San Antonio or Nashville (500-mile trips) without stopping and recharging for a couple of hours?

 

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Correct on the battery pack size vs accessible kWh.  The numbers I quoted were what is user accessible.  The pack on a Mustang Mach E has more capacity than what the user can access.

 

From what I can tell, Ford tends to be more conservative with estimated range (meaning it generally can drive longer distances than advertised), but I think the climate harsh winter weather will severely limit the range.  I would also add that if it is too hot, that too will limit the range.   Ford does this to enable the battery to last longer.  The chemistry in these batteries are lithium ion.  They will last for a very long time if you keep the battery in the range of 80-90% maximum charge and 20-25% minimum state of charge.  Charging it to full and draining it to empty as a regular routine will much more rapidly degrade the battery capacity.  

 

 Another factor that impacts battery life is how fast and how often one uses DC fast charge.  Filling the car up with high current will degrade the battery faster.  Using DC fast charge all of the time will also degrade the battery life.  The Mach E also slows the rate of charge as the pack gets closer to full.  

 

From what I understand Tesla range is more optimistic on how far it should go on a charge relative to Ford.  Tesla has a robust charging infrastructure, but they are less concerned about battery management and warranty and leave that to the user to decide.

 

I have heard from some Mach E owners in extreme cold that their range plummeted radically in the sub freezing temps this winter.  

 

Battery chemistry and types along with active battery cooling and management also impact all of these factors.  

 

I know it is a fair and reasonable "simple" question, but unfortunately I see this as having a very complex and variable answer.  The term "your mileage may vary" absolutely applies here.  

 

Now when it comes to your question of counting on a Mach E to go 500 miles on one charge without stopping...I don't see that being practical now or at any point in the next few years at least with almost any BEV including the Lucid Air.  Lucid Air is claiming that range because they have a more aerodynamic sedan, with a larger battery pack.  I have no idea how realistic or optimistic they are with their range estimate.  I think one will have to stop at least once, but probably twice to do at least some charging.   I don't think you should let the pack capacity drop too low or slam it to full all the time, let alone on a road trip. 

 

Our goal is to expect our cars and battery pack to last for a very long time.  We are still driving several days per week our factory built 2002 Toyota Rav4EV with 118K miles and a battery pack that was made in 2002 (I had an opportunity to get a lower mile pack about a decade ago, but it is still with batteries that are almost 20 years old).  That car is fine for one of us doing local errands as it "only" has a range of 80+ or so miles, but we rarely drive it more than 70 miles on a charge and usually 20-40 miles on any given day (we are not driving as much as we did pre-covid).  A modern EV with a 250+ mile range will be ideal for how we live today.

 

I think at least one EV in a multi-vehicle household with a 200+ mile range for what most people do with a car drive it 40-120 miles per day with a road trip 1-2 times per year is what today's EVs are really optimal for today in 2022.  

 

What they did in Norway is accomplish 500 miles of range...but it is an outlier and not an example of practical or "real world" driving.  It shows it CAN be done...at least technically.  I do think that depending on what model of Mach E is chosen and moderate driving during the spring and fall mild temps one can go about 300 miles on a charge, but I would think that stopping closer to every 200-240 miles is likely to be expected.  That is just my opinion, you may find others out there that will say otherwise (maybe better or worse).  

 

If the primary use for the car is weekly long distance driving, I personally don't think an EV is the best choice with the state of the infrastructure and battery tech in Feb 2022.  Tesla is ahead on that race as of today because of the Tesla charging infrastructure, however, all of that will change over time.  

 

Our next EV (#6) will be a Mustang Mach E GT Performance (whenever the shipment of chips can complete the build on our car that has been in production since January 15th).  This car we think will offer us a fantastically practical vehicle for how we live every day.  

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Regarding "I think you're right: it's a second car."  Our experience is:

 

When we signed up for a lease on one of the 300 Honda EV Plus vehicles built in the fall of 1998 that is exactly what we thought the Honda would be a occasionally used "spare" car, but from the moment we brought it home my wife or I drove the car virtually every day when we were not traveling.  That became our primary car and who ever drove further, but less than 100 miles drove the EV Plus.  We found that it covered virtually all of our daily driving needs living in Los Angeles.  This was also in an era that there was virtually no public charging (and when there were some it was 6.6kW "L2" charging and not one "DC fast charger" available.

 

Since January 1999 we have never looked back.  In the past 23+ years our EV (and later EVs) have become our vehicles that we virtually alway drive daily and we are finally dumping our "gas" backup car when we get our Mach E GT performance.  (I still have my vintage sports car, but that is not a daily driver).  The Mach E is large enough, with enough range and there is a large enough of a DC fast charge network now that if we were to ever take a road trip from our house the Mach E will work for us.  However, usually when we go on a trip these days (pre-covid) we fly somewhere and then rent a car.  

 

For years we considered our old gas car to also be a "Plug-in" since every time we needed to use it, the battery was always dead - unless we put it on a maintenance charger.  

 

I recommend you reset your trip odometer every day and see how many miles you drive on a daily basis.  

 

Personally I would say that if one of the two cars in your house never goes more than 150-200 miles in a day, you would find that this car would be the primary driver.  The driving experience is simply superior to an ICE.

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/10/2022 at 8:40 AM, BoomerSooner said:

As much as the instant thrust of the Mach E GT is appealing, I think you're right: it's a second car.  I timed a full-fueling of my primary driver and was in/out in 3 minutes.  I just don't think batteries are ever going to reach that state of convenience.  

I personally think the opposite. Unless I'm going on a road trip, I never have to be inconvenienced by refueling. I just plug in when I get home and don't think about it. I won't be in a situation where I'm running late for work then suddenly realized I'm low on gas and need to drive over to the gas station before heading in.

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On 3/15/2022 at 11:37 AM, FlyHighCrue said:

I personally think the opposite. Unless I'm going on a road trip, I never have to be inconvenienced by refueling. I just plug in when I get home and don't think about it. I won't be in a situation where I'm running late for work then suddenly realized I'm low on gas and need to drive over to the gas station before heading in.

Respectfully, I think you're exactly agreeing with me.  If all you do is potter about town, then the Mach E is appealing. You can do exactly as you suggested: plug it in overnight and you're set. However, I don't know about you, but my cars leave town  and in the Midwest nothing is close. So if you go any distance, the fact you plugged in overnight isn't going to help you get back home (or maybe even to your destination). You're still going to be stuck for hours waiting to recharge batteries far away from home.  As I have stated, that's just not an inconvenience I'm willing to accept.  I will, however, give you a hearty thumbs-up as I drive by, having refueled for another 400+ miles in under 5 minutes.  

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24 minutes ago, BoomerSooner said:

Respectfully, I think you're exactly agreeing with me.  If all you do is potter about town, then the Mach E is appealing. You can do exactly as you suggested: plug it in overnight and you're set. However, I don't know about you, but my cars leave town  and in the Midwest nothing is close. So if you go any distance, the fact you plugged in overnight isn't going to help you get back home (or maybe even to your destination). You're still going to be stuck for hours waiting to recharge batteries far away from home.  As I have stated, that's just not an inconvenience I'm willing to accept.  I will, however, give you a hearty thumbs-up as I drive by, having refueled for another 400+ miles in under 5 minutes.  

 

That was a good explanation I definitely misinterpreted when I first read it. Yea if you have to drive any sort of long distance, especially regularly,  then it is much more convenient to use an ICE. 

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I haven't even had my MME delivered and I already have range anxiety thinking about the first time I may need to head out of town.  I live in So Cal so we have plenty of  DC fast charging stations along main routes and large citys,  but I do have family that live in smaller communities that still do not have DC fast chargers. We will be driving an ICE when making those trips. 

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On 3/15/2022 at 10:37 AM, FlyHighCrue said:

I personally think the opposite. Unless I'm going on a road trip, I never have to be inconvenienced by refueling. I just plug in when I get home and don't think about it. I won't be in a situation where I'm running late for work then suddenly realized I'm low on gas and need to drive over to the gas station before heading in.

I agree. I purchased that home station for that reason. The advantage of refueling in your sleep. As far as long distant travel the new road way technology will be here before we know it and you will only need to stop for restroom breaks. That is forseeable

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