F-150 Lightning vs Rivian R1T : first live side-by-side comparison shot

[Bannerman]

I am calm. I'm also posting from experience. When my battery gets low, and I pull up to a charger with a car parked in that spot not even charging, it gets old.

Many of us have had to redirect to different chargers or simply wait it out for the person to leave due to this exact scenario.

Either you don't drive an EV regularly, or you live in the land of milk and honey where nobody takes up EV charger spots without charging, because people who have been ICED know the frustration I speak of.

No I don't drive an EV at all, I don't think our infrastructure is ready for all of us to be driving EVs. You seem to be confirming that.

But I guess you knew what you were getting into....

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[GABAR]

Well... Sort of. The Rivian isn't even plugged in, so it's not charging.

An EV blocking a charger it doesn't need is no less jerkish than an ICE vehicle blocking an EV charger.

Charging etiquette should be a mandatory class when buying an EV.

If a non Ev is parked in an EV spot or if an EV is parked in an EV spot and it’s not being charged, I say put a boot on either of those vehicles.

If said penalty is enforced, such bad etiquette would soon disappear.

Save your comments people because I drive an ICE F150.

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

Damn dude, maybe he just pulled in or just uncoupled. Maybe the Rivian driver took the picture. Calm down.

I think it was just a photo op. Both cars charge from the front / drivers side, so the Rivian couldn’t even charge from that stall either way unless they have a very long cable. Plus, none of the faster chargers have long cables.

This is something I’ve discovered with my Mach-e. Sone charging spots are simply not accessible to certain cars unless they back in, while others simply can’t be reached at all.

 

[Sam James]

This is something I’ve discovered with my Mach-e. Sone charging spots are simply not accessible to certain cars unless they back in, while others simply can’t be reached at all.

After a few months with my ID.4 I’m so used to backing in now. Gonna be weird not doing that with a truck. On the plus side almost every fast charger I’ve been to has an area I think I could pull in with a trailer and not have to disconnect.

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

After a few months with my ID.4 I’m so used to backing in now. Gonna be weird not doing that with a truck. On the plus side almost every fast charger I’ve been to has an area I think I could pull in with a trailer and not have to disconnect.

Things are going to get very interesting when Tesla opens up their SuperCharger network to non-Teslas because the only way for Fords to use them will be to not only pull in, but use the cable from the adjoining spot, making that spot useless to an actual Tesla.

That also means that you won’t be using the cable in your own spot, so in a sense, every car that pulls forward and needs a cable on the left will be using up two charger spots.

 

[vandy1981]

I charged at this location a few years ago in Madison, WI--it was the last fast charger on my route to Northern Wisconsin at the time. Thankfully the charging network has improved since then.

They've added the pickup sign pylons since I was last there--It had been set up for pull-through trailering but that's ruined now.

 

[EVBill]

I charged at this location a few years ago in Madison, WI--it was the last fast charger on my route to Northern Wisconsin at the time. Thankfully the charging network has improved since then.

They've added the pickup sign pylons since I was last there--It had been set up for pull-through trailering but that's ruined now.

Unfortunately I think it is going to take 10-15 years for the charging station installers to understand that someone may want to haul a trailer with an EV truck. What gets me is the push to put these stations in the parking lots of Walmart and Target instead of at large truck stops like Flying J and Pilot where you can get lunch or take a shower while waiting for your vehicle to charge.

 

[maverick92]

Unfortunately I think it is going to take 10-15 years for the charging station installers to understand that someone may want to haul a trailer with an EV truck. What gets me is the push to put these stations in the parking lots of Walmart and Target instead of at large truck stops like Flying J and Pilot where you can get lunch or take a shower while waiting for your vehicle to charge.

I think about this often. Most of the charging stops I use on 4+ hour road trips are at Sheetz gas stations so by the time I take the dog out, use the restroom and get some food my charge session is pretty much done. It works out quite well.

 

[ExCivilian]

Oh the joy of EV charging . So many things to worry about ,LOL
Tesla gets all its Supercharger cables stolen at brand new station - Electrek

It's a big problem that has basically been ignored but in order to get maximum results EVs need to be driven by urbanites. Most urban centers are not going to have a lot places where you can just leave thousands of dollars worth of copper lying around, sit in a $70K+ vehicle for five minutes let alone half an hour, or leave your vehicle unattended assuming the majority of the population can even afford to drive such a vehicle.

 

[maverick92]

That's a very good point. It works fine on cars as they sit low to the ground but doesn't work out so well in trucks.

 

[LightningShow]

That's a very good point. It works fine on cars as they sit low to the ground but doesn't work out so well in trucks.

Yeah, it's super easy to use the frunk in my Boxster and 911, the way the Rivian's is set up looks like a PITA. I mean, it's definitely functional, but Ford obviously put way more thought into it. I'm pretty excited about the MEGA POWER FRUNK, to be honest.

 

[Kevin22]

After a few months with my ID.4 I’m so used to backing in now. Gonna be weird not doing that with a truck. On the plus side almost every fast charger I’ve been to has an area I think I could pull in with a trailer and not have to disconnect.

Sam - really on the fence about the ID4. Last VW I owned was like a ‘74 Super Beetle. Do not think I will be in wave 4-6.

5.26 reservation. - should I complete my order with VW? Do you like the ID4? My daily is a 2014 Volt. Which is awesome. Just need 50 more miles per charge. Could be 1 year or even 1.5 years before I get the Lighting Pro?

Help a brother out with some good advice…

 

[ExCivilian]

Help a brother out with some good advice…

You're setting yourself up for a lot of frustration by going with VW. The vehicle wasn't fit for launch and more often than not the dealership will break it worse while VWoA washes it's hand of its "independent mechanics."

Take a look at what I own in the sidebar. This is my first domestic after decades of VW ownership. If anyone thinks Ford deserves some criticism for how it has handled this launch it pales in comparison to how badly VWoA mistreats and ignores its US customers.

If you really, really want a VAG EV wait for the Audi to release, which will be around $10-15K more than the VW (but still less than an F150) with considerable differences in customer service approaches and, hilariously, a completely different software development team (with Audi's actually being functional). Head on over to VWIDtalk but do pay special attention to the posts from people who have been with VW the longest.

 

[Sam James]

Sam - really on the fence about the ID4. Last VW I owned was like a ‘74 Super Beetle. Do not think I will be in wave 4-6.

5.26 reservation. - should I complete my order with VW? Do you like the ID4? My daily is a 2014 Volt. Which is awesome. Just need 50 more miles per charge. Could be 1 year or even 1.5 years before I get the Lighting Pro?

Help a brother out with some good advice…

We love our ID.4. It was probably the tax credit-eligible vehicle I was least interested in, but I knew we'd be buying it as soon as I took it for a spin. There are plenty of legitimate complaints about VW--and the owners forums have reported a lot of issues--but so far everything has been smooth sailing. I have a feeling a lot of the vehicles returning for service are first editions and early builds.

The infotainment system is what I hear the most griping about. I don't find it any slower than any other system I've used and I don't at all get the talk about the climate controls "being buried". You can hit a button to bring them up. I'm completely lost on those complaints. CarPlay clears almost all infotainment sins anyways.

This is our first VW since owning the Westphalia Vanagon I practically grew up in. That was a fantastic vehicle with one breakdown that led to an engine rebuild. My dad probably kept it another ten years after that. That said we have MME on order as well. I'm hoping my mom will want the ID.4 and my wife will like the MME, otherwise we'll have some decisions to make. The kids LOVE the VW and its been a fantastic car for long weekend drives. Roomy, comfortable, enjoyable to drive. I think its worth checking out at least!

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