Initial driving review impressions (Lightning Lariat OWNER)

[RickLightning]

Do you feel it necessary or benefitial to subscribe or purchase the premium service of the app? or is the free versions sufficient?

I don't spend a dime I don't have to. I use the standard ABRP. Works fine.

Also, when my free charging hours were up, I signed up for EA Pass+ the morning of a trip. You can then unsubscribe right away (like RIGHT THEN), and it will expire in 30 days automatically.

Ford has a $50 per year option that SUPPOSEDLY now is fixed to offer that same discount, but you cannot sign up at this time

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[Slick68]

The Antenna is for better AM radio reception - big deal in the mid-west or so I have heard. I plan to swap that for a stubby antenna - quick / cheap fix for that issue.

The door handles, I agree. I like the Mach-e solution. But I also see why ford kept it the way it is. Less design work and part reuse from the ICE F-150 kept costs down. I also suspect that the range impact is minimal given the overall aerodynamics of the truck. The current handles also make it "easier" for current truck owners to transition (more familiar)

Both thinks will likely be changed in their upcoming "Bespoke" design.

Another reason for the tall antenna (besides better AM reception) on larger vehicles like trucks, is that it’s slightly taller than your cab. It acts like a height gage in low overhead areas (think parking garages, fast food drive throughs) and will scape the ceiling before your cab top does. Something to think about.

 

[greenne]

I also have looked at a free app called Chargeway on android.

It appears to have similar functionality as ABRP and in my opinion an easier.. simple interface.

You can load multiple EVs..also will calculate estimated range with user specified speed and temperature.

 

[PV2EV]

I had expected either station owners, or at least one major oil company to start to install chargers at their gas stations. I know a few have, but if a major truck stop company where to do this, they would reap the benefits.

I firmly expect EV adoption to far outstrip charger growth for some time.

 

[GDN]

I had expected either station owners, or at least one major oil company to start to install chargers at their gas stations. I know a few have, but if a major truck stop company where to do this, they would reap the benefits.

I firmly expect EV adoption to far outstrip charger growth for some time.

Agree, I think we will see more of this. For the South/Central - I know WaWa has done this for Tesla SC'ers (I only know of them in FL). Also Buc-cee's has announced Tesla SC'ers at their locations.

I'm hopeful that these same entities are taking note for standard CCS. So it is happening, but still proprietary at this point from what I've seen.

 

[Ken]

wow, if Love's or one of the other major truck stop locations would add chargers I would be all over it. Last year I drove my diesel GL350 back and forth across the country, and found truck stops to be the best place to stop when needed. They had diesel at every island, and large multi-stall clean bathrooms. Back then some gas stations still wouldn't open their bathrooms, and getting diesel at regular gas stations can be iffy at best.

 

[Silent_Thunder]

I also have looked at a free app called Chargeway on android.

It appears to have similar functionality as ABRP and in my opinion an easier.. simple interface.

You can load multiple EVs..also will calculate estimated range with user specified speed and temperature.

Downloading it now to my iPhone. We have an R1S due any day now, so having multiple EVs is a nice plus!

 

[RidetheLightning]

I'm not sure you need to charge "everwhere" as 15 minutes at a level 2 will hardly help a bit. However, it is definitely worthwhile to work hard to charge at all overnight destinations!

I was thinking more about DC fast charging stations, but you’re probably right about Level 2 not making much of a dent. I won’t pass up free L2 but I bet DC is cheaper per kWh so not worth the $/time to charge on L2.

 

[vandy1981]

wow, if Love's or one of the other major truck stop locations would add chargers I would be all over it. Last year I drove my diesel GL350 back and forth across the country, and found truck stops to be the best place to stop when needed. They had diesel at every island, and large multi-stall clean bathrooms. Back then some gas stations still wouldn't open their bathrooms, and getting diesel at regular gas stations can be iffy at best.

Several Love's already have fast chargers, but they need to add more locations.

 

[greenne]

wow, if Love's or one of the other major truck stop locations would add chargers I would be all over it. Last year I drove my diesel GL350 back and forth across the country, and found truck stops to be the best place to stop when needed. They had diesel at every island, and large multi-stall clean bathrooms. Back then some gas stations still wouldn't open their bathrooms, and getting diesel at regular gas stations can be iffy at best.

EA has been installing at several Loves truck stops along the East Coast the last year or two.

Honestly, I think its only a matter of time before a major truck stop chain signs a major agreement and outfits most(if not all) of their locations with EA chargers.

It makes total business sense to me, as while charging people can grab a bite to eat, shop, use restrooms, etc. I'd rather stop at an EA station at a truck stop (or a Sheetz) than another Wal Mart parking lot.

It would go a long way to help alleviate range anxiety if you could automatically associate Loves(or Pilot) with an EA charger.

 

[GDN]

EA has been installing at several Loves truck stops along the East Coast the last year or two.

Honestly, I think its only a matter of time before a major truck stop chain signs a major agreement and outfits most(if not all) of their locations with EA chargers.

It makes total business sense to me, as while charging people can grab a bite to eat, shop, use restrooms, etc. I'd rather stop at an EA station at a truck stop (or a Sheetz) than another Wal Mart parking lot.

It would go a long way to help alleviate range anxiety if you could automatically associate Loves(or Pilot) with an EA charger.

I truly don't have hands on experience with EA yet, but from everything I've heard I wish it was some other brand. That whole EA name and process seems to reek, but I don't know who the right one is to keep some sort of payment standard.

 

[greenne]

I truly don't have hands on experience with EA yet, but from everything I've heard I wish it was some other brand. That whole EA name and process seems to reek, but I don't know who the right one is to keep some sort of payment standard.

I don't have any first hand experience.. but EA seems to be expanding the most rapidly and at least they are attempting to get their quality up to snuff. Overall(esp along the East Coast) EA seems to have the most DCFC among the non-Tesla networks...

 

[greenne]

That whole EA name and process seems to reek, but I don't know who the right one is to keep some sort of payment standard.

What do you mean by this? Just curious....

 

[GDN]

What do you mean by this? Just curious....

Their billing set up, maybe it'll be different integrated, but they have tiers of pricing - if you want to buy in and pay a monthly fee, you get cheaper rates - just something I don't like. There are 4 in the DFW area of 7 million people. Just in the last year many cases of chargers not working when needed.

Kyle from OOS used them for his Taycan Cannonball run - they had to plan ahead and EA checked out each charger to make sure they were working, and I think he still had an issue or two.

VW built it only because they had to, I don't think there has been any true desire to make it good.

 

[mklcolvin]

Ok, we have over 500 miles under our belts with our Lariat and are starting to get the feel for this machine. We’re seeing avg mi/kWh in the 1.8-2.2 on highway (avg speed of 70 mph) and 2.8-3.4 in town (speeds varying 25-50 mph).

Love, LOVE the hands free “Blue Cruise,” but still need to play with it a bit more. I like that it truly is hands free so long as you’re looking ahead. I like that it accelerates when changing lanes instead of hesitating like auto pilot does on Tesla. I like that it doesn’t try to maintain the middle of an unmarked/unlined merge lane. I didn’t experience the jockeying that @oneguynick experienced…so no nausea here .

This thing is POWERFUL! I took some friends for a test drive yesterday and even I, as a former Model 3 owner, was BLOWN AWAY by the torque! It continues to pull hard well beyond posted speed limits (which, I, of course didn’t exceed ). Case I point: one of my favorite tricks in the Model 3 was to stomp on the “go” pedal at 40/45 mph and hear the gasps for air from my occupants. Never once did I hear tire squeal from it. The Lightning, on the other hand, spins the fronts when I attempt that. BE FOREWARNED—make sure to keep both hands on the wheel; the torque steer threw me for a loop when I was one-handing it. I predict lots of crashes if people aren’t mindful of the power this thing has. Oh, and this was all in “Normal” mode, too

In preparation for the rides yesterday, I took it to a touchfree car wash to clean off some of the bugs and mess from our first trip over the weekend. The “mega power frunk” stayed nice and dry inside, but the interior fenders were splashed/wet. I don’t think it’ll be a concern, but as a handyman, I intend to keep tools up there on the daily. (See pics)

Finally, it’s going to take some getting used to if you’re coming from Tesla. (We traded our Model 3 in and are no longer Tesla owners). And this is just one use case *with a brand new truck*. I accept my husband and I are early adopters and trust this will get better with time.

We left our cottage in SW MI with enough projected range to get to a DC Fast charger along our route (roughly 50% battery or 139 miles of projected range). When entering I-94, the navigation had us stopping at an EA Charger in Evergreen Park IL with a delta of 20 or so miles. Sunday was a very windy day and we were driving SW into SW winds—massive headwind. While we got 2.2 mi/kWh going up to the cottage on Saturday, our efficiency was shrinking to 1.6/1.8 during this leg of the journey. As we started driving home, the projected range and destination delta began shrinking significantly.

Here’s where I missed our Model 3. We’d normally top up at a supercharger before hitting the road (our cottage doesn’t even have grounded outlets so charging wasn’t happening there). The supercharger network made traveling so simple in a Tesla. We do lots of road-trips each year and have taken our Model 3 to all of them since purchasing in 2018.

As we were nearing the Indiana state line, the nav system began redirecting us 34 miles in another redirection to a DC Fast Charger along I-80 (we were traveling along I-94). We were basically in a DC Fast Charger dead zone. First, we hopped on PlugShare to see what nearby chargers existed. We found a Chargepoint charger at the next exit and headed that way. Upon arrival, we watched a Mach-E plug into the only CCS at that station. He planned on being there for 20 minutes. Impatience got the better of us so we decided to head to the next nearest “fast charger” which brought us to a travel stop on I-80 East (yes, opposite from our destination). After 38 minutes, we only mustered 62 miles and plugged in our route home, which still took us farther East to a DC Fast Charger in South Bend. They’re, we used 62 or 63 kWh of our 250 kWh balance from the Blue Oval network and did a plug and charge. Tty minutes later we added 142 miles which was plenty to get us home. What’s typically a 2.5 hour ride, turned into a 4.5+ hour trek home.

I admit I was frustrated. Was it the sunburn? Was I hangry? Did I contemplate pulling over and listing on carsandbids.com? Yes. It’s just the trade-off of being an early adopter in a vehicle that’s still getting used to us.

edit: updated tag for @oneguynick.

Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your experience, and yes, I'm VERY jealous (I mean CONGRATS!). We're getting rid of our Model 3 (mine is leaving first, and my wife already is planning for us to get rid of hers & was eyeing the Cadillac Lyriq). She's addicted to having a frunk to put her things in, so we may be looking at another truck!

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