My thoughts after 4 years of EV ownership

[Cbowe]

🛻 Come along for an I-5 chat as I share why I went electric, what I love about EV ownership after 4 years, the biggest differences from gas vehicles, and why I think it’s okay if EVs aren’t for everyone. No hype. No politics. Just my honest experience.

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[garsh]

I was hoping you had put your thoughts into a written post.

After 14 years of EV ownership, I sold my last combustion car last year and am now all-in on EVs.

One quick thought: For road trips, I prefer a Tesla. The supercharger network is much better than the CCS network, especially when you include the older V2 stations. Tesla's navigation is very, very good at picking out places to charge along your route and letting you know how long to charge and how much battery you'll have when you reach the next station. It makes such trips pretty easy.

But fear not - I love my Lightning. Very comfortable, very roomy, and It does truck things very well.

I wish I liked my Charger Daytona as well as it looks. It's my best-looking car, but my least favorite to drive.

 

[Cbowe]

The lightning is an amazing road tripper for sure my favorite vehicle of all time. It’s definitely nice to have access to the full network of Tesla chargers, though especially if you’re lucky enough to have a Tesla that has free supercharging still. This was more of just a thought as I was driving down I five thing for the channel so I thought I’d share them.

 

[K6CCC]

I was hoping you had put your thoughts into a written post.

Big plus on that.

For road trips, I prefer a Tesla. The supercharger network is much better than the CCS network,

Absolutely. It is rare that I am unable to charge at a SuperCharger (obviously only the ones open to us). I did once in Ventura, CA that was a smallish V3 that was full enough that I could not get a stall. I did not need the charge, it was just conveniently located across the street from a lunch gathering. Yesterday I planned on a 8 stall V3, and I started looking at status on the Tesla app about 30 minutes before I got there and it was busy. Two offramps up the freeway was a shopping center with a 12 stall Rivian, a 20 stall Tesla V4 both open to us), and not one but two a Tesla only SuperChargers. I charged at the Tesla V4 (better price anyway).

Tesla's navigation is very, very good at picking out places to charge along your route and letting you know how long to charge and how much battery you'll have when you reach the next station.

I take if you mean in your Tesla - not something available to us.

 

[garsh]

I take if you mean in your Tesla - not something available to us.

If you use Android Auto in the Lightning, that will tell you the expected battery level when you reach your destination. So we get some of that ability.

 

[K6CCC]

If you use Android Auto in the Lightning, that will tell you the expected battery level when you reach your destination. So we get some of that ability.

Yes, I do use Android Auto and that part does work pretty well. The dismal display of public chargers on both AA and Ford Nav makes that part almost worthless. That needs to be 100% reliable in order to be useful. For the most part on a trip I start with PlugShare.com on a PC and then backstop what that finds with the appropriate app (primarily Tesla). Yesterday when I discovered that the SuperCharger I was intending to use was full (via the Tesla app), I pulled up the PlugShare app to see what was farther up the road - and found both Rivian and Tesla chargers two off ramps later. Tesla app confirmed that the V4 had plenty of available stalls. There was even another Lightning there that I chatted with a bit.

 

[Cbowe]

If you use Android Auto in the Lightning, that will tell you the expected battery level when you reach your destination. So we get some of that ability.

I miss Android Auto and Google Maps. When my daughter got old enough she needed a cell phone to keep in contact i switched to iPhone for FaceTime just to make it easier for the family and Apple Maps is so bad

 

[CavRider]

I miss Android Auto and Google Maps. When my daughter got old enough she needed a cell phone to keep in contact i switched to iPhone for FaceTime just to make it easier for the family and Apple Maps is so bad

You mean to say that your iPhone will not allow you to install Google Maps?

 

[Cornholio49]

Like most of you, I don't have time to sit around watching videos. A read is so much quicker. Here is Copilot's summary of this video. You're welcome.


Summary of the Video: “Bought an EV 4 Years Ago | Here’s What Nobody Tells You!”
The creator shares four years of real‑world electric vehicle ownership—why he bought an EV, what’s been great, what’s been frustrating, and how it compares to gas vehicles in daily life and on road trips.
1. Why He Bought an EV

• Lower running costs were a major motivator: home charging, reduced maintenance, and predictable energy expenses.
• He wanted a different driving experience—quieter, smoother, and more fun.
• Curiosity and early adoption played a role; he wanted to understand EV life firsthand.

2. What He Still Loves After 4 Years

• Driving enjoyment: EVs made driving fun again—instant torque, smooth acceleration, and a sense of rediscovered excitement.
• Daily convenience: Charging at home eliminates gas station stops and makes local driving effortless.
• Low maintenance: No oil changes, fewer moving parts, and fewer service visits.
• Cost savings: Daily commuting is significantly cheaper than with a gas car.

3. What’s Not So Great

• Road‑trip realities: Charging on long trips is slower and more planning‑intensive than filling up a gas tank.
• Charging variability: Not all public chargers are reliable or fast, and charging speeds vary widely.
• Cold‑weather impact: Range drops in winter, and charging can take longer.

4. EV vs. Gas Car: The Real Differences

• Daily driving: EV wins—cheaper, smoother, quieter, and more enjoyable.
• Long‑distance travel: Gas still wins for speed and convenience.
• Total cost of ownership: EVs can be cheaper overall, especially with home charging.

5. Community Reactions (from comments)

• Many viewers echo that EVs rekindled their love of driving.
• Several Ford Lightning owners say they’d never go back to gas.
• Others highlight cost savings, reduced maintenance, and improved road‑trip enjoyment once they adapted to EV planning.

 

[garsh]

• Road‑trip realities: Charging on long trips is slower and more planning‑intensive than filling up a gas tank.

After taking several long road trips in a Tesla Model 3, I attempted a small road trip in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 that I bought to replace it. It did not go well. The big issue was the CCS1 network. But the other major issue was not knowing how long I needed to charge. You want to charge just enough to reach the next charging station, and the Ioniq 5 did nothing to help with this. Those two issues turned a six hour drive into a seven hour drive.

I haven't tried a roadtrip in my Lightning yet. Having access to (some) Tesla Superchargers and getting an arrival SOC estimate from Android Auto should help a lot. But it's hard to beat the lack-of-planning that Tesla's navigation permits.

 

[Cbowe]

You mean to say that your iPhone will not allow you to install Google Maps?

You can do Google Maps but it’s not integrated and linked with the trucks BMS like it is with Android Auto or how Apple Maps attempts to and does poorly. It’s basically navigating but not showing you real time battery percentage, estimated performance at arrival or route planning based on that or any real time data.

 

[K6CCC]

After taking several long road trips in a Tesla Model 3, I attempted a small road trip in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 that I bought to replace it. It did not go well. The big issue was the CCS1 network.

I did a quick read on the link you posted on the other forum. I see that was before Tesla opened up their network. I would agree that at that time, the CCS network was FAR more limited. Much better now - both CCS-1 and having access to Tesla.

I haven't tried a roadtrip in my Lightning yet. Having access to (some) Tesla Superchargers and getting an arrival SOC estimate from Android Auto should help a lot.

You can change your wording to "Having access to (most) Tesla SuperChargers". At least here in the SW USA, most locations that have one of the older V2 (Telsa only) SuperChargers also have another newer SuperCharger that is open to us nearby. For example, Baker CA (on I-15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas) has had one of the old V2 SuperChargers for years, but they have now opened a V4 station a half mile away that is open to us. Many other examples. Yes, there are places that only have a SuperCharger that is not available to us (Big Bear Lake, CA is an example), but they are getting to be somewhat rare.

 

[halfbakedenchilada]

I miss Android Auto and Google Maps. When my daughter got old enough she needed a cell phone to keep in contact i switched to iPhone for FaceTime just to make it easier for the family and Apple Maps is so bad

Thanks for the video, Chris. I agree with all of your points. I've always loved road tripping and doing it in an EV just suits me perfectly. It's great.

Maybe I am on outlier, but in my hands, with the OBD dongle, ABRP is about as good as Tesla at picking a route, and estimating your charge when you arrive. I've done many years and tens of thousands of road trip miles in a Tesla, and honestly ABRP is *almost* as good. It's not as seamless, in the sense that Tesla is a closed system and so the data it sees is very reliable and excellent, but given the complexity of integrating so many charging networks, etc., I find ABRP nearly as good.

I find ABRP equally as good as Tesla at the most important thing (to me): estimating my arrival SoC at the next charger. I've driven my Lightning all around the (somewhat charger sparse) intermountain west, and only ever had one serious issue ... which was a Tesla station out of commission in the middle of nowhere! And since Tesla does not send real time data to ABRP anymore, or ABRP is not able to see it, not sure which, I didn't know until it was too late.

Thanks again, enjoy your stuff.

 

[K6CCC]

And since Tesla does not send real time data to ABRP anymore, or ABRP is not able to see it, not sure which, I didn't know until it was too late.

Particularly with that statement, I would always verify a station status and availability with the Tesla app.

 

[garsh]

And since Tesla does not send real time data to ABRP anymore, or ABRP is not able to see it, not sure which, I didn't know until it was too late.

That's strange. Google Maps recently started showing real-time availability for Superchargers, so Tesla must still be making that data available.

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