Living with the Standard Range battery in the Lightning

[On the Road with Ralph]

I have 12K+ miles on my 2023 Pro SR, with seven trips of more than 500 miles, including three of 1500+ miles. With all the highway driving, my average kW/mile is about 2.2 or slightly higher. On interstates, I tend to drive 68 to 72 mph.

I have seen DCFC charging speeds in excess 160 kW on at least half a dozen occasions. My fastest 25% to 80% time is 21 minutes (I know the math of that doesn't seem to work, but I swear it is true).

At age 68, I really don't want to sit in the truck - even tho' it is a very pleasant drive - for more than two or two-and-a-half hours, so I really don't mind stopping to charge. Because of charger spacing (and prudence, since EA chargers are so damn unreliable it is imperative to have a back-up plan), I tend to stop on average every 110-120 miles - slightly less than optimal.

On several occasions I have crossed EV deserts that were at the very limit of the truck's range. With a bit of planning and judicious use of Level 2/NEMA 14-50 outlets, I've never gotten stuck.

Overall, I am completely satisfied with my SR battery - it gets me where I need to go, even on frequent long-distance trips. And, as one other commenter noted, I am not hauling around 500 lbs of useless ER battery weight.

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[casanewt]

Just a shout out to all who have contributed to this thread. There is a ton of great info that has been shared here, and I thank you for all of your input!

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

I’ve lariat SR. I’ve 10K city miles after 1 year of use and I’ve never driven it more than 120 miles in a day. I typically get 2.3-2.8 kwh unless it’s really hot or cold. For my use case it is perfect vehicle. We have young kids under 10 so we often make unplanned stops during road trips. Last thing I want to do is add one more stop for charging. Hence we take my wife’s Jeep GCL 4x4 for road trips and this has served us well.

 

[jdmackes]

Just did the trip back rom Florida to Maryland. Drove faster this time and just charged when I needed to, stopping at all EA chargers and had no issues until I got closer to Maryland. Emporia Virginia's EA charger is pretty poor as currently only 1 of the 4 chargers seems to be working correctly (one is completely down, another only charges at around 32-40 kw, and the third charges at around 90 kw when it's supposed to be a 350 kw one). My next stop on the way back was in Virginia Beach, and all of the chargers around there are pretty slow, even though there are a lot of them. I ended up charging at a free 62.5 kw charger at a VW dealership. Took about an hour to get the 50kw I needed to make it home, but hey, at least it was free. Otherwise, the trip was great and I have a lot less charging anxiety than I used to, as long as I can get far enough away from home to reach a decent charger...

 

[Acacia1731]

Here's my real-world data (Based on 20-mile tests. For range, multiply by 98kwh).

The variation at each speed is generally predictable based on Headwind and Temperature.

I've charged at several 62.5kw Chargepoint stations and I usually average 45-55kw on those.

 

[casanewt]

Here's my real-world data (Based on 20-mile tests. For range, multiply by 98kwh).

The variation at each speed is generally predictable based on Headwind and Temperature.

I've charged at several 62.5kw Chargepoint stations and I usually average 45-55kw on those.

Awesome set of data. I would expect nothing less from a fellow Cincy resident!

 

[CookieMonster]

Just passed 21k miles on my 2022 SR. I haven't taken any long road trips but we do a lot of local highway driving, often doing 150+ miles a day. In the winter I plan on about 170 miles of highway range (checks out with what people are saying with the 1.7-1.8 miles/kWh for winter) and this summer I've been surprised, I did one day of 220 miles and still had some range left. I typically charge to 80% each day, but when I know a longer 150+ mile day is coming I'll charge to 100%.

 

[RickKeen]

I have not had occasion to drive my F-150 Pro SR on any long trips except when I brought it home from the dealer. So the shorter range battery is a non-issue for me for 99% of my usage.

The only time I ever had range anxiety was towing a 6000 lb boat. The Nautique dealer is apx. 45 miles from my house. Mostly 70 MPH freeway. I figured leaving the house with 80% charge would be plenty. But towing the boat on a cold MN March day into some heavy wind, I was down under 1 .0 mi/kwh for the trip to the dealer with the boat. Typical winter rate of about 1.7 mi/kwh on the trip back after dropping the boat and trailer. Got back to my house with about 10 miles of range estimated remaining.

Oh, I forgot to say - totally enjoying the hell out of the $20k that came in the glove box of the Pro-SR.

 

[mags]

This thread was really helpful when making a decision to buy a Pro. Picked one up a week ago!
Thanks!

 

[USA EV]

This thread was really helpful when making a decision to buy a Pro. Picked one up a week ago!
Thanks!

Congrats! And welcome!

 

[hturnerfamily]

You'll see just as many 'concerns' with range with ER owners as you ever will with SR owners - it's all in your perspective, your desires, your needs, where you are traveling, how you drive, etc... there is no 'single' answer for anyone... but, the biggest concern is not the vehicle's battery size, or 'range', it's the DCFC Charging Network infrastructure. Range anxiety is really Charge anxiety.

I have no issue with my PRO, and no need to 'upgrade' to an ER, at the price, and 'only' for 70-90 more 'miles'... it's not that big of a difference in the big picture.
I have towed our 3,000lb camper for over 20,000 miles in our 40,000 plus miles on the truck. I've never been 'stuck'. I've never 'run out' of power. I've never been in a situation where I couldn't reach my destination. You have to plan, yes. Plan, plan, plan, when towing. But, that won't change even if you have an ER...

 

[JRT]

Yup, I agree know your use case and research you travel areas ahead of time, do this even before buying to see what charging is available. I can't say for sure but since this thread was mid last year, the status and availability of EA and fast charging on my South East travel has not improved. To me nothing has dramatically improved since 2021 when I stated driving my first EV, a SR Mach-E. 30k on the Mach-E in 2 years showed I needed more range for my use case for sure. The promise of Tesla may help some, but time will tell if they can maintain quality with potentially significant influx of other EVs. God help them if Bolts keep flooding stations like I see in Atlanta EA stations.

 

[John Becker]

My Lariat SR was the perfect choice for me. My expectation is to never use a DCFC unless or until they become more reliable. I'll drive my ICE on road trips until then.

 

[Newton]

I would agree that there is a difference between the way that the SR and ER drive. My first tests in a Lightning were on the Platinum and Lariat ER models, and I was not that impressed. It was OK, but getting back into my gas Lariat was somewhat of a relief, the Lightning ER was not what I expected compared to my EV6 and E-Golf. It just felt, heavy and a bit noisy with the sunroof and all that.

When the crazy prices subsided a bit we went back to look at a Lariat SR (no XLTs available) and the handling was not an issue, I really liked it in fact. It is only in retrospect (after eventually buying it when the price dropped) that I even remembered my reactions to the first test drives and realized that those were extended range Lightnings. I can't say for sure that was the difference, but those were 'Meh' and I love my Silver ER Lariat, so take it as you will.

Range has not been an issue for me, but I haven't driven that far. The main reason for getting it was that getting home involves sitting hours waiting for a ferry so climate control is a requirement - you can't run your gas car in the ferry line or on the ferry. With the extreme climate we are now experiencing here (highs and lows) that is important. I also like the ability to power the house in an outage, and for an islander the space and frunk are just pure joy (compared to an e-golf!) Using climate control takes hardly any battery all things considered.

The EV6 is my long range car, it charges really fast and actually has the 270 miles of range that they claim. I might try road tripping the Lightning this spring and see how it compares.

 

[Maxx]

I have had mine for 13 months/8K. My overall average for my Pro was 2.5 mi/Kwh before winter and now sits at 2.4 mi/Kwh. Most of my drives are less than 15 miles round trip with weekend drives that is usually between 20-140 miles. I have had close to zero DCFC because we use an ICE for any trips passed the range of the truck. So the truck has been perfect for me.

I like as little automation and tech as possible which made the Pro a no-brainer. More payload, less weight and much better price when I got it was an icing on the cake. And remember the range difference is not what you see in the spec sheet. The range only matters on long trips when you are on the highway which shrinks the difference significantly.

Less batteries means statistically smaller chance of battery failure (I hope battery GODs don't smite me for this).

I was worried about seats being so crappy I would not be able to live with but it is much better than I expected. It is comfortable and still looks like day 1. On longer over 90F summer trips, you may want a fabric cover but we were OK without it.

Other folks with more experience on road trips have given you an idea but once superchargers kick in, I may even take mine on longer trips.

Unless your daily use makes the range limit a little too close for comfort, I would highly recommend SR.

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