thecoloradokid
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As background, I currently own a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4s, and have owned a sedan version of the Taycan and an Audi e-Tron previously. I used to be a Tesla guy - owned a couple of Model S' and a couple of Models X's before switching to CCS compatible vehicles in late 2019. I have done well over 50k miles in CCS compatible vehicles since then, so I am comfortable with taking CCS compatible EV's out on the open road.
I was lucky enough to pick up a Lariat spec'ed Lightning as a 2nd vehicle in the end of October, and really, really enjoy the truck. The one thing I had yet to do was go on an extended road trip and figure out first hand how the truck operates when speed and distance are added to the driving equation. I have seen a ton of videos on Youtube, but you really never fully "understand" until you experience long distance driving in the Lightning for yourself. I usually spend 10 days to two weeks a month in warmer climates during the winter months, so I decided to do The Woodlands just north of Houston for my February trip.
I drove from Denver to Norman along I-70 and I-35 the first day, then spent a day in Norman and went to a basketball game on the U of Oklahoma campus before continuing the drive down I-35 and I-45 to the Houston area. Here are a few observations I noticed:
Sorry for the length of the post, especially since much of this has been shared in other posts on the forum. But, I thought I'd share in case there are some new owners who may not be 100% comfortable taking their new Lightning out on a road trip. I got my first extended road trip under my belt now, and am looking forward to doing more, but when the weather is warmer. I am hoping that the truck will see 2.1kW to 2.2kW per mile efficiency at 71mph or 72mph highway cruising speeds when it warms up to 70 degree temps and higher. Obviously, this all changes if I head west from Denver and have to go up and down large mountain ranges, or there is rough, windy weather.
I will take pictures of efficiency stats on the drive back to Denver next week since I did not do it on the drive to Houston. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Cheers!
I was lucky enough to pick up a Lariat spec'ed Lightning as a 2nd vehicle in the end of October, and really, really enjoy the truck. The one thing I had yet to do was go on an extended road trip and figure out first hand how the truck operates when speed and distance are added to the driving equation. I have seen a ton of videos on Youtube, but you really never fully "understand" until you experience long distance driving in the Lightning for yourself. I usually spend 10 days to two weeks a month in warmer climates during the winter months, so I decided to do The Woodlands just north of Houston for my February trip.
I drove from Denver to Norman along I-70 and I-35 the first day, then spent a day in Norman and went to a basketball game on the U of Oklahoma campus before continuing the drive down I-35 and I-45 to the Houston area. Here are a few observations I noticed:
- 1. Like all EV's, this truck hates the cold. I left my house at 6am in the preconditioned truck when it was six degrees and drove 135 miles to my first charging stop and used 75% of the battery. I also kept my speed at like 60mph to 65mph. I got 1.5kW or 1.6kW per mile on this first stretch. As it warmed up throughout the day, I saw a gradual improvement on efficiency. Once it got past 30 degrees or so I got up to 1.7kW per mile, and then it passed 50 degrees, I was seeing 1.8kW at 70mph to 72mph speeds.
- 2. Like all EV's, but maybe a little more, this truck hates higher speeds - not because of handling, but because of challenged aerodynamics and weight. The real range extending sweet spot speed for this truck is like 66mph or 68mph, but who the heck wants to drive at that speed on a 75mph speed limit highway? I don't, so because of this I increased my speed up to 73mph to 74mph. This results in 1.8kW or 1.9kW per mile highway efficiency, depending on elevation gain and temps.
- 3. The Lightning is a great cruising vehicle. I thought it was comfortable and absorbed a lot of the road turbulence, so it felt like driving a big Lazy Boy recliner.
- 4. Charging is OK. I knew what I was getting into when I bought the truck, but it is hard to sit at a charger for 40 minutes when you are used to 15 minute or 20 minute charging stops in your other vehicle. This is the one thing I wish Ford would update. I would like to see a charging speed of 200kW at a very low state of battery charge, and slowly taper the charge speed after 80% instead of it falling off a cliff to 50kW. There should be no reason why the truck drops to 50kW charging speeds right at 80%. It should hover around 75kW or 80kW speeds until 90% like other vehicles.
- 5. Every Electrify America charing location, except for Flagler, CO - where it was 6 degrees and the charger ran slowly - worked flawlessly. I did not need to move to find a working station, and had vehicle "as advertised" speeds. I realize some people may have different experiences, but the EA chargers along I-70 in Kansas worked great as did the charger in Blackwell, OK. I used a 200kW Francis Energy charger in Norman, and that worked great as well. The EA chargers in Denton, Ennis, and Huntsville in Texas all worked great with had no wait.
- 6. I thought BlueCruise was good to use. I was not expecting full self driving or anything like that, but for what it is I thought it was good.
- 7. This truck is not a winter time 200 mile range truck at highway speeds, even with the larger battery. Don't expect to do 200 miles on the highway at 70mph or 75mph in 35 degree temps - at least not on the stock 20 inch wheels and tires. In my experience while driving in cooler temps it is best to charge to 10% or 15% over what you need to get to the next charger, and then head out. Don't sit at a charger for an hour to charge your truck to 95% if you think you want to skip to a farther charging location that is 225 miles away. Even if the truck thinks it has 230 miles worth of range, it will probably only do 190 miles if it is 40 or 45 degrees and you are driving at a 75mph speed limit.
- 8. I wish the app did a better of keep details on drives since of the 8 legs of driving I did over the past two days, the app only has a record of three of them.
Sorry for the length of the post, especially since much of this has been shared in other posts on the forum. But, I thought I'd share in case there are some new owners who may not be 100% comfortable taking their new Lightning out on a road trip. I got my first extended road trip under my belt now, and am looking forward to doing more, but when the weather is warmer. I am hoping that the truck will see 2.1kW to 2.2kW per mile efficiency at 71mph or 72mph highway cruising speeds when it warms up to 70 degree temps and higher. Obviously, this all changes if I head west from Denver and have to go up and down large mountain ranges, or there is rough, windy weather.
I will take pictures of efficiency stats on the drive back to Denver next week since I did not do it on the drive to Houston. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Cheers!
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