Driving ICE for the 1st time in years. I don't miss it.

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

Even before I got my Lightning, I had a Mustang Mach-E, so it's been quite a long time since I've driven an ICE vehicle.

My truck's been at the dealer for over a month now, so I borrowed a Honda Accord for a few days, then a 2024 Explorer XLT as a loaner from the dealer.

It's funny how many things I forgot about the ICE experience. Some are little things, like the subtle vibration you feel everywhere, especially the steering wheel, but there are certain things that reaffirm why I made the choice to always buy EVs from this point on.

The three biggest things I took for granted were the quiet ride, the cost of gas, and the POWER.

I have a pretty steep hill in my neighborhood that really pushes ICE engines. The Explorer roars as it slowly makes the climb. My Lightning quietly climbed that hill as if it was a flat road. I also miss the ease of getting up to speed getting on highways or simply hitting the pedal to move towards a better lane..

I've spent almost $300 in gas this month, and I totally forgot how my hand would smell of gasoline when I finished filling the tank.

Hopefully I'll get my truck back soon, but this month has reinforced why I will never go back to ICE again.

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[SpaceEVDriver]

Never going back.

 

[CRAIGC540]

I had to take my daughters 2007 Chrysler 300 to get tires, soon to be a Tesla or Mach E.
It felt like I was back in time with a horse and carriage. With all the buckin and bronkin, gear shifting, vibrations, noises and tight steering I couldn't wait to get out of that thing.
How spoiled am I ??

 

[OtterJohn]

We're flying somewhere for a short vacation later this year, and have to rent an ICE when we get there (remote enough the charging infrastructure is meh). Not looking forward to that experience after having our Lightning... :\

 

[VTbuckeye]

A few weeks ago I had my lightning in for some recalls. I had an explorer as a loaner and was going to drive around some, go for a run 15-20 miles away. I pulled out of the lot and drove 2 miles, stopped and went for my run. I drove back. I waited at the dealership for them to finish. I'd rather be stuck at a dealership than drive an ice vehicle. The vibration, noise, throttle response (lack of) and the fact that I am burning dead and thay resource will never be used again... I have solar on my roof at home. I generated almost 90kWh yesterday. I am hoping to have an all EV house in the next year. As it is our phev gets used very rarely and we could probably live without it, though having a spare car is nice.

 

[KeyWestEViking]

I get to drive a lot of EV's for work and walk everywhere else. I drive my personal vehicle (2008 Wrangler) once a week for golf. I am always disappointed when I have to press the brake pedal and throw 50$ in the tank. If I didn't walk 98% of the time, I would've gone EV a long time ago

 

[Revenge]

I totally get the whole POWER aspect. I sold my 2008 F-150 to my sister-in-law and her husband (live right next door) when I bought the Lightning. I thought the truck had decent power when I owned it. I had to take it to get some brake work done that I promised them but as soon as I pulled out of the driveway I started to freak out that the truck I had just sold them a few weeks prior suddenly had major engine issues. Acceleration was slow, the roaring noise of the engine to get up to speed seemed excessive, felt like I was driving with the parking brake on. But nope everything was just as it had always been I just got so quickly used to the quiet, powerful, effortless driving of the Lightning.

 

[Hammick]

I agree. When I had the battery module problem last year they gave me a new F150 Ecoboost as a loaner. Man I hated that thing. I thought something was wrong with it but it was just me being used to driving EVs for the previous year. Recently bought a '16 Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel to tow our teardrop camper. I used to loved diesels. Not anymore.

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

I've a loaner RAM 1500 as jeep is in for service and I love the truck. Then I had to stop at the gas station... ouch. I got 15 mpg. This thing has a humongous tank i'm seeing 500 range SMH

truth be told I see at least 1 ICE in our household for the foreseeable future

 

[Ish]

Rented an ICE on vacation last weekend. Hated every second of it.

 

[Calvin H-C]

I occasionally travel for business and on some occasions need a rental car. The greatest thing I'm quickly reminded that I don't miss is the very low deceleration when you take your foot off the accelerator of an ICE vehicle.

I'm not talking about one-pedal driving, which we now use all the time with the Lightning. If one-pedal mode is off, the regen that kicks in when coasting slows the vehicle more than taking your foot off in an ICE. I've had a few "why is this thing not slowing" moments with rental cars.

I usually drive my Focus Electric, which doesn't have a one-pedal mode. It's shifter has a "Drive" and an "Low" position like the ICE Focus. In drive, coasting slows you down faster than with an ICE vehicle. In low, it slows even faster.

 

[bronco->lightning]

Agreed on all points. Was put in a brand new ICE (V6) F150 loaner while I had a few small things addressed by the dealer. That fake engine noise piped in thru the speakers

That week made me appreciate my Lightning even more.

 

[Texas Dan]

I hear so many people say they would never buy an EV even though we all know that in a few years there isn’t going to be a choice. I think those same people are going to be saying that they will never go back to ICEs once they get into an EV. I have to say that I was once a non-believer but now I’m on my fifth EV and that’s after a plug-in hybrid, a regular hybrid and two electric bicycles.

 

[CRAIGC540]

I hear so many people say they would never buy an EV even though we all know that in a few years there isn’t going to be a choice. I think those same people are going to be saying that they will never go back to ICEs once they get into an EV. I have to say that I was once a non-believer but now I’m on my fifth EV and that’s after a plug-in hybrid, a regular hybrid and two electric bicycles.

What did it take to change your mind?
A test drive I'm sure..

I know I was all in before Driving one just for the tech of it.
Then I drove my nephews model 3 but waited for a truck to come available.
I'm at home on YouTube and F150 Lightning launce came up and I'm like WHAT!
I reserved before the video ended, this was 9 days after the launch event.
I still cant believe I didn't know about the launch before hand, I would have taken off work for it. I didn't even know the Rivian was coming.
Got mine wave 7.

 

[Texas Dan]

What did it take to change your mind?

As I eluded to before, I have been experiencing EVs for about fifteen years. Misconceptions kept me away from EVs before that. I had the misconception that EVs were very heavy and had very poor range.

A friend of mine started talking about electric bicycles. I used to think that electric bicycles only had a range of maybe a mile. I was astounded to find out that the electric bicycle I ended up buying had a range of over ten miles, ten times more than I expected.

I can sum it up as curiosity turned into knowledge that eliminated my misconceptions and turned into experience. The last fifteen years have been both exciting and frustrating and full of discovery and challenges. I truly feel like a pioneer and I am proud of the changes to a more sustainable future that we have been a part of.

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