I'm out after 6 months

[Zprime29]

So it's definitely not accurate to think of capacity as a fuel tank. I knew I had to change my driving habits to take full advantage of what an EV can offer. Gotta change the way I think about SOC now too.

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[daveross1212]

I think if the EPA just published a "city/highway" range for EVs a lot of the "surprise" ownership stories and sensational news articles would go away. The Lighting is a 320 city / 235 highway truck and should have been sold/advertised as such. Yes the cold makes it even worse, but initial expectations for many buyers were set incorrectly and I think that's the fault of Ford and/or the EPA.

 

[wighty]

Since the GOM is based on the voltage of the HVB, the range and SOC will go up.

Here's the thing, I don't think the truck is reporting the state of charge as significantly different. My truck sat overnight again, started at 86% displayed SOC and HVB temp 55F, energy to empty 75.8 kWh. This morning SOC was 85.5%, HVB temp 30F, energy to empty 70.9 kWh.

I don't think they are necessarily wrong to do it their way, but it definitely messes with our ability to use our driving efficiency and SOC to estimate our range better than the GOM.

 

[Jim Lewis]

I think if the EPA just published a "city/highway" range for EVs a lot of the "surprise" ownership stories and sensational news articles would go away. The Lighting is a 320 city / 235 highway truck and should have been sold/advertised as such. Yes the cold makes it even worse, but initial expectations for many buyers were set incorrectly and I think that's the fault of Ford and/or the EPA.

I think the problem is vehicle owners misinterpreting what the EPA "highway" estimate means. It's not a long trip at 70 or 75 mph or higher for hours on end. Here's a Bing ChatGPT answer to how the EPA Highway Estimate is arrived at and the average speed the EPA assumes:

According to the EPA test cycle, the average speed on the highway is 48 MPH 1. The test cycle calls for acceleration and braking across a distance of 10.26 miles, representing the surges and dips in speed that might be experienced during a typical highway run 2.

Numbers 1 and 2 are links to the articles on which the summary is based. In figuring the combined city/highway driving range, the EPA weights the city driving range/mpg at 55% and the highway driving at 45%. So, if your 100% 70 or 80 mph, you're not going to come close to the EPA combined range or even the highway range. You can customize the % highway/%city with the following EPA calculator but it's still not going to adequately account for mostly very high speed driving: Personalize (fueleconomy.gov)

I can get 2.4 to 2.5 mi/kWh driving between San Antonio and Austin, mostly 65 to 70 mph, for an estimated range of around 280 mi in my Lariat ER at 60 to 80 degrees F and low wind speed. I'm on BlueCruise most of the way, accelerate and decelerate very gently, and usually travel 3 to 4 car lengths behind a vehicle, often an 18-wheeler. Obviously, temperature, wind speed, snow or rain, and elevation changes can make a big difference. My Austin destination is only 300 ft lower than my San Antonio start point, and I figure that costs me perhaps 0.7 kWh on the return trip, assuming, unrealistically, 100% regen recovery on the downhills.

The EPA has lots of information on its tests, but their explanations are kinda vague: Detailed Test Information (fueleconomy.gov). Here's what they say about the incorporation of higher highway speeds and more aggressive driving into their tests:

Beginning with 2008 models, three additional tests are used to adjust the city and highway estimates to account for higher speeds, air conditioning use, and colder temperatures.

The following graph under the Higher Speeds tab shows some pretty aggressive driving, but the average speed over the course was still ~48 mph.

 

[Maxx]

Here's the thing, I don't think the truck is reporting the state of charge as significantly different. My truck sat overnight again, started at 86% displayed SOC and HVB temp 55F, energy to empty 75.8 kWh. This morning SOC was 85.5%, HVB temp 30F, 75.8 kWh .

I don't think they are necessarily wrong to do it their way, but it definitely messes with our ability to use our driving efficiency and SOC to estimate our range better than the GOM.

I wouldn't mind seeing energy to empty instead of SOC.

Keep in mind if you accelerate hard or use high regen or anything to warm up the battery, you could get some of the energy back.

 

[wighty]

I wouldn't mind seeing energy to empty instead of SOC.

Keep in mind if you accelerate hard or use high regen or anything to warm up the battery, you could get some of the difference between 75.8 kWh and 75.8 kWh back.

Yes, correct. My drive this morning (20 miles over 30 minutes) brought the pack temp up from 30F to 37F. I'm not sure how much of that was the heater or driving. The effect is probably pretty variable so tough to rely on.

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