Bronco EV reportedly on hold until early next decade (⚠️ ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS)

[PrepVet]

I had a 2018 Tesla Model 3 and here is my sad story of despair and why I would most likely never buy an EV again.. Most def not on an off-road vehicle..

I had numerous instances of almost being stranded.. Tesla tested my batteries several times after my many range complaints. They even sent the data to the mothership a few times to appease my complaints. They continually said the battery was fine and the car was preforming as it should.

My final straw, and why I eventually traded it:

I was leaving my sons house after Christmas and driving home. Total distance about 210 miles. My Model 3 was the SR+ which had a 240 mile range.

About the mid point of the trip was a Tesla Supercharger station.. I believe from my sons house to it was something like 110 miles then another 100 miles from it to my home..

Car was charged to 100% before leaving my sons house, weather was freezing cold so I ran the heater and had the radio for music during the drive.. There were high winds and the route also has a mountain pass to contend with...

About 40 miles into the trip, the Model 3 told me to reduce speed to 60mph so I would make it to the charger.. At about 60 miles into the trip (about 50 miles from the Supercharger) it told me to reduce speed to 50mph to make the charger...

So a 240 mile ranged car can only make it 110 miles IF I reduce my speed to turtle levels.. I had little old ladies blowing past me on the freeway and I could swear a few of them flipped me off since I was going so slow...

I had to turn the heater on and off to try and preserve battery. When the cold got unbearable, I'd turn it back on to warm up a little then back off to save battery in the hopes I'd make it. I made it to the supercharger, a whopping 110 miles away, with something 2 percent battery left...

This was not the 1st time this happened to me but it was the final straw and was the main reason I decided to trade it..

During the fiasco described above, I did call Tesla and ask what I'd need to do since I didn't think I was going to make it.. They said if I ran out of juice on the trip to call them and they'd send a tow truck free of charge.. All fine and dandy but since it was freezing cold, no juice left to run heater, I assume I would have had icicles hanging off my nose when it arrived.. Luckily I made it to the charger... Barely...

Now imagine the above except I didn't make it and needed to wait for a tow. Probably an hour wait maybe longer. I was by myself but what if this happened to a family with small children. Freezing on the side of the road with no means to heat the inside of the car could have been very dangerous..

Anyways, that's my sad story of despair and why I would NOT buy another EV only vehicle.

Range anxiety is real and it should be because there are many factors that play into your range and if you'll even make the next charger.

I personally would not purchase another EV only vehicle until they reach at least a 500+ mile claimed range and fast chargers are more readily available. Gas stations are everywhere, fast chargers are not.

City ONLY driving? An EV would be fine but for anything other than that, I'd personally take a hard pass on an EV.

Off roading? Nope, nope, nope, and an absolute nope...... The range anxiety would kill the fun, the weather conditions could kill your battery range, slow crawling will kill your battery range.. Heck everything is going to kill your battery range.. Need to winch out? Good luck with that as you'll probably decrease you range significantly...

My .02

/end sad story of despair..

That sucks and not an uncommon story. However, it does not invalidate electric cars an option, but it does prove what their case use is... as a short commuter car and/or a fun toy.

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[voxel]

That sucks and not an uncommon story. However, it does not invalidate electric cars an option, but it does prove what their case use is... as a short commuter car and/or a fun toy.

The right tool for the right job. Diesel trucks for long haul. EVs/PHEVs for short 150 mile trips.

EVs are crazy efficient in stop and go and slow speeds (Bolt drove 500+ miles traveling 23 mph - https://news.yahoo.com/chevy-bolt-just-set-560-050000413.html)

2024 is a crazy year. Battery backup banks are switching to Sodium-Ion batteries (much cheaper) and Lithium prices are cratering. One of the largest makers expect batteries to be 50% cost this year alone - https://cleantechnica.com/2024/02/26/catl-byd-to-slash-battery-prices-by-50-in-2024-boom-evs-win/ - which means battery replacements will cost sub $5K or less in the future. Tesla is already replacing older Model 3 batteries with LFP batteries which cost half of the normal NMC/NCA batteries and soon will even be cheaper.

LFP-based EVs will be cheap commuter cars. Maybe $15-20K in a few years.

 

[AZ_Liberty]

That sucks and not an uncommon story. However, it does not invalidate electric cars an option, but it does prove what their case use is... as a short commuter car and/or a fun toy.

They work fairly well as a general purpose car here in Phoenix. But one thing we don't have here is the horrible white stuff that falls from the sky.

 

[indio22]

The right tool for the right job. Diesel trucks for long haul. EVs/PHEVs for short 150 mile trips.

EVs are crazy efficient in stop and go and slow speeds (Bolt drove 500+ miles traveling 23 mph - https://news.yahoo.com/chevy-bolt-just-set-560-050000413.html)

2024 is a crazy year. Battery backup banks are switching to Sodium-Ion batteries (much cheaper) and Lithium prices are cratering. One of the largest makers expect batteries to be 50% cost this year alone - https://cleantechnica.com/2024/02/26/catl-byd-to-slash-battery-prices-by-50-in-2024-boom-evs-win/ - which means battery replacements will cost sub $5K or less in the future. Tesla is already replacing older Model 3 batteries with LFP batteries which cost half of the normal NMC/NCA batteries and soon will even be cheaper.

LFP-based EVs will be cheap commuter cars. Maybe $15-20K in a few years.

Agreed. The EV forte currently is as an urban commuter vehicle. (Less for longer trips bumping up against battery range.) An EV could handle near 80% of my household driving needs no problem, with occasional nightly home charging. Our gasoline vehicles would handle the longer trips.

We don't need EVs to be one size fits all for them to have a very useful place depending on the users. Our next urban main vehicle will be an EV for sure if the prices get down low enough. I don't want an expensive EV SUV though.

 

[Sherminiator]

LFP-based EVs will be cheap commuter cars. Maybe $15-20K in a few years.

Ford is planning low cost EV in a couple years that should be about $25K starting price about the size of the Maverick or Escape.

 

[Sherminiator]

Also in IMO if EVs can go about 250-300 miles per charge and you can easy recharge in 20 minutes or so, most arguments go out the window..yes it will take some changes in people's routine, but overall not that big of a deal

 

[CarmeloS]

Also in IMO if EVs can go about 250-300 miles per charge and you can easy recharge in 20 minutes or so, most arguments go out the window..yes it will take some changes in people's routine, but overall not that big of a deal

I take annual roadtrips to Florida, those “20 mins” (more like 45) are a big deal, since Im not always stopping for food or rest.

 

[cr117]

I take annual roadtrips to Florida, those “20 mins” (more like 45) are a big deal, since Im not always stopping for food or rest.

Cool, maybe don't buy an EV then? Or consider all the time you'll save not having to fill up gas every week or so because your EV can charge at home overnight. I'm not even going to address the image you shared due to so many factual inaccuracies.

 

[CarmeloS]

Cool, maybe don't buy an EV then? Or consider all the time you'll save not having to fill up gas every week or so because your EV can charge at home overnight. I'm not even going to address the image you shared due to so many factual inaccuracies.

I could leave my car sitting for a week without filling up and it still have the same gas, EV’s would be drained. Way I drive, be pointless

PNW huh? Not surprised with the support, just how’s winters over there? If ya get tons of snow, last thing you wanna be stuck in the middle of a traffic jam in is an EV

 

[cr117]

I could leave my car sitting for a week without filling up and it still have the same gas, EV’s would be drained.

What are you even talking about? I have an EV, so I can unequivocally say this is completely false.

PNW huh? Not surprised with the support, just how’s winters over there? If ya get tons of snow, last thing you wanna be stuck in the middle of a traffic jam in is an EV

Winters are pretty mild, not sure what that has to do with anything. If I am stuck in traffic, being in an EV is great. It's nice and quiet and I don't have to burn any gas just to keep my heater/AC running.

 

[Dral97]

Didn't read all the way through this thread, but is it assumed this includes a PHEV? I am interested in one for sure (though I do love my FE). If I knew I was waiting a few years for it, I'd try to grab a Heritage, but I don't want to do that if I'm just going to turn around and get a PHEV in a year or two.

 

[voxel]

Winters are pretty mild, not sure what that has to do with anything. If I am stuck in traffic, being in an EV is great. It's nice and quiet and I don't have to burn any gas just to keep my heater/AC running.

Right tool for the right job I say.

EVs are fantastic for commuting and super efficient HVAC wise. I can run full blast AC for days without draining the battery to empty. I ran my Telluride for 70-80 mins to update the infotainment (yeah it's stupid process) and it drained almost a full gallon of gas.

Diesel trucks for towing, minivans for hauling families, etc.

My Heritage Bronco is purely a weekend toy. Fun but being stuck in stop and go traffic with it is not pleasant.

 

[voxel]

Didn't read all the way through this thread, but is it assumed this includes a PHEV? I am interested in one for sure (though I do love my FE). If I knew I was waiting a few years for it, I'd try to grab a Heritage, but I don't want to do that if I'm just going to turn around and get a PHEV in a year or two.

I don't think so... the major issue with PHEVs (and hybrids) is the reliable ones use a planetary gear system instead of a transmission. They aren't even true AWDs as the rear is powered by an electric motor. Ford and Toyota share similar tech - no alternator, no starter, no transmission. There are co-patents owned by them I believe. It's just a brilliant design. It's why the Chevy Volt powertrain can easily last 300K miles.

The newer Toyota hybrids for off-roading have traditional transmissions and are basically German-engineered turbo messes IMO. Too complicated. Not going to be reliable like PHEVs + dumb hybrids.

 

[CarmeloS]

What are you even talking about? I have an EV, so I can unequivocally say this is completely false.

That explains way too much. So you're saying you could leave your EV unplugged for a week and it'll still be at say 100% charge if you charged it prior and left it alone afterwards?

Winters are pretty mild, not sure what that has to do with anything. If I am stuck in traffic, being in an EV is great. It's nice and quiet and I don't have to burn any gas just to keep my heater/AC running.

Meanwhile where it's not mild, you get stories like this. And forget about Road trips.

I don't wanna plan my days around charging stations and shit, I just wanna get up and go, and an EV robs you of that luxury. Again, for big cities and all that bullshit, EV's are fine, but not all of us live there, and we don't wanna be stuck holding our dicks in our hands on the off chance we forget to charge it due to life happening

 

[voxel]

Meanwhile where it's not mild, you get stories like this. And forget about Road trips.

I don't wanna plan my days around charging stations and shit, I just wanna get up and go, and an EV robs you of that luxury. Again, for big cities and all that bullshit, EV's are fine, but not all of us live there, and we don't wanna be stuck holding our dicks in our hands on the off chance we forget to charge it due to life happening

Again, right tool for the right job.

EVs are smoooooth quiet vehicles that are ungodly quick. They are a hoot to rip around urban areas. I call my Bronco a janky tractor. It's fun and I love it for beach/off-road trips... but brutally uncomfortable for long journeys.

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