YellowstoneLightning
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My wife and I took Lance (2023 Lariate ER) from Southern Montana to Fernie, BC this week and were very impressed with how it went. We got the truck two months ago and have already put over 4,000 miles on it, so we generally knew what we were getting into. The trip went perfectly smoothly both directions, except for being stopped briefly at the border entering Canada.
Our efficiency ranged from 1.4 m/kWh to 1.8, with an average of about 1.7. The 1.4 figure came on our first leg into Butte, MT where we gained about 1,200' of elevation crossing three mountain passes, and the temperatures were in the single digits for most of that time. A few notes on efficiency:
I have put together a range-calculating spreadsheet tool that I use to plan trips here in Montana in the winter. In that tool, I have been using a winter highway efficiency of just shy of 1.7 m/kWh which has been pretty spot on. For those obsessed with range (I am among your ranks), that equates to about 220 on the extended-range battery.
Cold weather: Since I received my truck in November, I only know the cold weather performance of the truck and don't have warm weather performance to compare it against. I don't notice much difference in range between 40 degrees F and 5 degrees F, maybe a few percentage points. Also, I find that mild heat on a low fan setting doesn't affect the efficiency much either on highway jaunts. Where I do see the heat making a big difference is on short around town trips, where the heat energy is a much higher proportion of the total energy used.
Speed: In Montana, highway speed limits are generally 80 mph. I have always driven old beater trucks that couldn't do 80, so I don't really like driving that fast to begin with. On the open highway, I usually keep it between 70-75 for my comfort and efficiency. I see a difference in efficiency even between 70 and 75.
Charging: I have to say, this has been the biggest surprise for me. I have found fast charging to be much less of an inconvenience/adjustment than I expected. Most stops require only about a 50% charge which doesn't take much more time than required to go to the bathroom, get a snack, and check my phone. We found on our trip to Canada that it mostly just felt like it forced a reasonable pace for a road trip. The truck's charging performance has been very good too. When plugged into an EA 350 kW unit we had two sessions that peaked over 170 kw. The charging curve is excellent too, almost always staying over 120 kW until 80%. We had no issues on any of our fast charging stops, except for a Chargepoint in Whitefish, MT that I am guessing only does 200 amps. It says that it is rated for 125 kW, but I believe that it can only achieve that power with higher voltage cars like the Ioniq 5. This resulted in a slower DCFC for the lightning peaking at around 75 kW. We didn't do any fast charging in Canada as the only chargers on our route up there were 50 kW. We got permission from our hotel to use a wall outlet which added about 40% over our stay and we plugged into a free level 2 the night before we left.
Driver Assistance: I love Blue Cruise. It makes highway driving much less tiring and adds to the comfort factor on long trips. The lane keep assist works great as well, although the constant need for input (unnecessary torque on the wheel) is mildly annoying.
Overall: Our first substantial road trip was a resounding success and it makes me confident and excited to road trip this truck more in the future!
Our efficiency ranged from 1.4 m/kWh to 1.8, with an average of about 1.7. The 1.4 figure came on our first leg into Butte, MT where we gained about 1,200' of elevation crossing three mountain passes, and the temperatures were in the single digits for most of that time. A few notes on efficiency:
I have put together a range-calculating spreadsheet tool that I use to plan trips here in Montana in the winter. In that tool, I have been using a winter highway efficiency of just shy of 1.7 m/kWh which has been pretty spot on. For those obsessed with range (I am among your ranks), that equates to about 220 on the extended-range battery.
Cold weather: Since I received my truck in November, I only know the cold weather performance of the truck and don't have warm weather performance to compare it against. I don't notice much difference in range between 40 degrees F and 5 degrees F, maybe a few percentage points. Also, I find that mild heat on a low fan setting doesn't affect the efficiency much either on highway jaunts. Where I do see the heat making a big difference is on short around town trips, where the heat energy is a much higher proportion of the total energy used.
Speed: In Montana, highway speed limits are generally 80 mph. I have always driven old beater trucks that couldn't do 80, so I don't really like driving that fast to begin with. On the open highway, I usually keep it between 70-75 for my comfort and efficiency. I see a difference in efficiency even between 70 and 75.
Charging: I have to say, this has been the biggest surprise for me. I have found fast charging to be much less of an inconvenience/adjustment than I expected. Most stops require only about a 50% charge which doesn't take much more time than required to go to the bathroom, get a snack, and check my phone. We found on our trip to Canada that it mostly just felt like it forced a reasonable pace for a road trip. The truck's charging performance has been very good too. When plugged into an EA 350 kW unit we had two sessions that peaked over 170 kw. The charging curve is excellent too, almost always staying over 120 kW until 80%. We had no issues on any of our fast charging stops, except for a Chargepoint in Whitefish, MT that I am guessing only does 200 amps. It says that it is rated for 125 kW, but I believe that it can only achieve that power with higher voltage cars like the Ioniq 5. This resulted in a slower DCFC for the lightning peaking at around 75 kW. We didn't do any fast charging in Canada as the only chargers on our route up there were 50 kW. We got permission from our hotel to use a wall outlet which added about 40% over our stay and we plugged into a free level 2 the night before we left.
Driver Assistance: I love Blue Cruise. It makes highway driving much less tiring and adds to the comfort factor on long trips. The lane keep assist works great as well, although the constant need for input (unnecessary torque on the wheel) is mildly annoying.
Overall: Our first substantial road trip was a resounding success and it makes me confident and excited to road trip this truck more in the future!
