Out of Spec EV range test - Lightning/Cybertruck/R1T/Silverado

[Nolander]

Even in a New England winter I can easily get 2.0 or 2.1 at 70 MPH

Man I am in Maine, got the truck in January and after 3,200 miles an averaging 1.7. On the highway I'm 1.6 averaging 79 mph. State roads 2.1 ish.

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[VAF84]

I think the video is a great review. Getting that 70mph comparison is probably the most useful piece of info for an EV buyer going forward. I feel that the info be plastered on the window sticker of every EV. Anyway, I’m glad they put this together.

IMO at the end of the day the Silverado has the range specs that I think most truck people need to really consider switching to an EV.

I’m waivering on keeping my LER because I can only get about 220 miles of highway, which is really about 175 once you take into account removing the top and bottom 10%.

If I’d understood what I know now based on real life experience, I probably wouldn’t have bought the Lightning because most of my driving is highway miles and longer distances.

However the Silverado range is the sweet spot. About 300 miles of useable highway miles without having to drive like grandpa, and about 160 miles of useable towing range. This is more in line with what I thought I was getting with the LER before figuring out the epa range was horse manure, and understanding that going over 55mph was a range killer.

 

[Dinozero]

That’s a really good call out. The Silverado is in the low .3 range. Actually rated lower than Cybertruck and about equal to R1T. F150L is .4 so a good chunk higher.

So really at the end of the day it seems the Lightning trade offs are most impacted by higher speeds and wind, but undeniably the best truck with a traditional cabin (the CT interior should be compared to an R1T not F150).

Guess we just all need to drive like Grandpa.

F150 cabin is *chefs kiss* perfect.

Does anyone know if the Silverado EV cabin is the exact same size as the ICE cabin? (I'll google after asking this..lmao)


Edit: Silverado interior

2024 Chevy Silverado EV Dimensions - Interior

	Silverado EV WT	Silverado EV RST	Silverado 1500
Front Headroom (in. / mm)	41.9 / 1,063	43.9 / 1,114	43.0 / 1,093
Rear Headroom (in. / mm)	39.7 / 1,009	38.7 / 982	40.1 / 1,019
Front Legroom (in. / mm)	44.8 / 1,139	44.8 / 1,139	44.5 / 1,131
Rear Legroom (in. / mm)	44.3 / 1,126	44.3 / 1,126	43.4 / 1,102
Front Shoulder Room (in. / mm)	64.9 / 1,649	64.9 / 1,649	66.0 / 1,677
Rear Shoulder Room (in. / mm)	63.8 / 1,621	63.8 / 1,621	65.2 / 1,655
Front Hip Room (in. / mm)	62.0 / 1,575	62.0 / 1,575	61.2 / 1,554
Rear Hip Room (in. / mm)	61.5 / 1,561	61.5 / 1,561	60.2 / 1,530
eTrunk Volume (cu. ft. / L)	10.7 / 303	10.7 / 303

A few more thoughts on the Silverado EV. I love my Lightning, but I can fully admit after comparing ALL the Ev trucks. The Silverado EV is the most "2nd choice" interesting one to me. I've owned Silverado's and enjoyed them just like I enjoy my F150. I found both my Silverado and F150s to be better than any RAM I owed.

I really like the Silverado EV range, and I like the weird things like the back glass folding down.

What worries me.. is that the range was not obtained with really any huge tech advances. It's a little more aerodynamic but it's less efficient because of that HUGE weight of the battery. Isn't it like 2,000LBS heavier than a Lightning? Yikes!

That makes the truck astronomically more expensive to buy, and presumably a lot more expensive to ever need to repair or replace those batteries.

I'm just not sure how the Silverdo EV is going to sell. Neither is Chevy.. that's why it's been on hold forever.

If they can match the feature to feature of an F150.. but with 70-100 more miles of range.. I can see maybe paying a 10k premium for that... maybe?

 

[jmc6020]

Man I am in Maine, got the truck in January and after 3,200 miles an averaging 1.7. On the highway I'm 1.6 averaging 79 mph. State roads 2.1 ish.

I think the numbers you are seeing are typical. Maine is colder than Massachusetts where I do most of my driving and 79 mph versus 70 will see a decent drop in efficiency as well.

 

[Grumpy2]

Battery construction, management, and cooling are the big unknowns in my view. Time will tell the best battery winner/loser. We need MickeyAO to get busy and publish results....

 

[Randall Stephens]

Battery construction, management, and cooling are the big unknowns in my view. Time will tell the best battery winner/loser. We need MickeyAO to get busy and publish results....

Well, we know how well our batteries are doing with all the bad modules. I’m curious how the lfp switch will affect that

 

[davehu]

From 10,000 feet....

The truck with the bigger battery will have the longest range. D'uh.

If you make the shape of your truck more aerodynamic, it will help the range. Ditto things like tires, wheel covers, etc. D'uh, D'uh.

Do people buy a 5 Series BMW over a Volvo XC60 because of range? They have no idea what the range or size of the gas tank is usually.

PS Range will improve over time for all EVs as battery chemistry is tweaked, along with a hundred other things from heat pumps to tires. Enjoy the moment.

one note that has to be considered. I have not had time to watch the entire video but didn't see anyone comment but the longer range of the silverado is because of battery size but how much extra time does it take to get to 300kw vs 131?

 

[Bills R Electric]

one note that has to be considered. I have not had time to watch the entire video but didn't see anyone comment but the longer range of the silverado is because of battery size but how much extra time does it take to get to 300kw vs 131?

I reserved a 400 mile range Quad motor Rivian in April 2019
I reserved a 500 mile range Tri-Motor CyberTruck in Nov 2019

They both kept being delayed..and delayed...and delayed, so I placed a reservation for the 2023 Lariat ER. Which came in before Rivian or Tesla could deliver their long range models.

With the "only" 320 mile range Lightning, the range is fine - except long trips from Virginia-Maryland-Central PA-Central New York. There is a stretch where the only DCFC are in Bath NY. Which when I arrived all 4 were bricked. Aaaahh. I could not make the next stop on my route. I had to go 50 miles out of my way to a DCFC, and then back again, and then restart my trip. I would have loved to had more range on that trip.

Now with the Tesla adaptor coming soon, I don't think range will ever be an issue again. 320 miles should suffice 99% of the time.

 

[Nikos]

Spoiler Alert - Silverado wins but only because of its massive battery. Efficiency is close to the Lightning. Makes me wish Ford had put a bigger battery in this thing.

No. I didn't wish Ford put a bigger battery in the Lightning. Kyle can be aggravating some times. The Lightning weighs 8500lbs+. That Silverado picks at 10000lbs. This is insane. Driving around in behemoths.
The other thing to consider is that it will take longer to charge to 80%. If you don't like the 40 min wait at the charger, definitely you will not like the 60 min+ for the 215KW battery to charge. Find me a charger that will do that.
All these promises that we will develop a charging network with EV Go, ChargePoint, etc, are just promises. They quickly reverted to Tesla for help. Wait until you have to be inline to charge after a Silverado.
But, who cares, especially Kyle, who tried to be as objective about the test, only to point the obvious. The bigger battery got the range. I would have come to the same conclusion even before I drove any of those trucks. I am happy with my Lightning.
Wait until RAM come out with the RECHARGE PHEV. Get ready for another test.
It just how things work. You have to stay relevant. All of us want to have a pie and eat it too. What a conundrum.

 

[Maineiac12]

No. I didn't wish Ford put a bigger battery in the Lightning. Kyle can be aggravating some times. The Lightning weighs 8500lbs+. That Silverado picks at 10000lbs. This is insane. Driving around in behemoths.
The other thing to consider is that it will take longer to charge to 80%. If you don't like the 40 min wait at the charger, definitely you will not like the 60 min+ for the 215KW battery to charge. Find me a charger that will do that.
All these promises that we will develop a charging network with EV Go, ChargePoint, etc, are just promises. They quickly reverted to Tesla for help. Wait until you have to be inline to charge after a Silverado.
But, who cares, especially Kyle, who tried to be as objective about the test, only to point the obvious. The bigger battery got the range. I would have come to the same conclusion even before I drove any of those trucks. I am happy with my Lightning.
Wait until RAM come out with the RECHARGE PHEV. Get ready for another test.
It just how things work. You have to stay relevant. All of us want to have a pie and eat it too. What a conundrum.

If you improve the on board charging system you can have a bigger battery and the same charging speed (or faster) than today.

Of course, better batteries can solve this too. But if EV trucks are going to become more mainstream they have to solve the range issue and they can’t do it just by making smaller vehicles because the majority of customers prefer full size trucks.

 

[Daragh]

Maybe its just me being more mellow as I get older but I'm no longer in a huge hurry to get to my destination when on longer trips, so an extra recharging stop every several hours is perfectly ok with me as needed. So far I've been keeping my battery between 20% and 80%, most of the time its actually been between 50% and 80% (cause Fordpass App only goes does to 50% for preferred charging) and I like to keep it plugged in to use preconditioning departure.

It's never been above 80% since I took ownership and it had 135 miles on it when I bought it new. As an engineer I can tell you one of the worst things you can do to a battery is use it at the extreme ends of its charge capacity regularly or leave it there for long continuous periods of time. That said do it every so often won't do much harm if any and like everything else in life there will be a gaussian distribution on battery longevity over the user base .

Point is I didn't buy my Lightning for its range capabilities, nor did I buy it for its towing capabilities. I bought it because it works perfectly for me and my needs and I'm a Ford guy! I love driving pickup trucks, I've had an F-350 Powerstroke, several F-250 powerstrokes and now the lightning, by far I enjoy driving the lightning the most, other trucks filled any needs then and the lightning fills my needs perfectly now. Throw in I also hate going to the gas station and the cost of gas/diesel, love the ride quality and being able to refuel at home! Its is my daily driver around town and helps me on my diy and honey do chores at the weekends, bringing the kids to their sports and it lets me sit on the tail gate and drink a beer or five in the warmer days and tailgate at my preferred college team (Go Wolfpack!!) If you need 300+ miles of range on a regular basis then maybe the Lightning is not the best option for you and that's perfectly ok, you need to pick what works for you. As the saying goes "If my grandma had wheels she'd be a bike but she doesn't!" In my opinion the Lightning does perfectly well what I bought it for, maybe the other trucks would too, except for the cyber thing, I mean really?? That things just an attention seekers dream! But again to each their own.

If you are a lightning owner congratulations you own what I believe is a truck that was electrified and runs on electricity, if you own one of the others congratulations you bought an electric truck and best of luck to you.

OK rant over, never meant to write that much!

Keep your electrons free and flowing! They are attracted to positivity

 

[davehu]

I reserved a 400 mile range Quad motor Rivian in April 2019
I reserved a 500 mile range Tri-Motor CyberTruck in Nov 2019

They both kept being delayed..and delayed...and delayed, so I placed a reservation for the 2023 Lariat ER. Which came in before Rivian or Tesla could deliver their long range models.

With the "only" 320 mile range Lightning, the range is fine - except long trips from Virginia-Maryland-Central PA-Central New York. There is a stretch where the only DCFC are in Bath NY. Which when I arrived all 4 were bricked. Aaaahh. I could not make the next stop on my route. I had to go 50 miles out of my way to a DCFC, and then back again, and then restart my trip. I would have loved to had more range on that trip.

Now with the Tesla adaptor coming soon, I don't think range will ever be an issue again. 320 miles should suffice 99% of the time.

you misunderstood my point. II was asking how much longer is the charge time for the extra 70kw battery?

 

[Randall Stephens]

If you watched the video you would know they had a guy running that test. He died before the Silverado reached 100%.

 

[Dinozero]

I reserved a 400 mile range Quad motor Rivian in April 2019
I reserved a 500 mile range Tri-Motor CyberTruck in Nov 2019

They both kept being delayed..and delayed...and delayed, so I placed a reservation for the 2023 Lariat ER. Which came in before Rivian or Tesla could deliver their long range models.

With the "only" 320 mile range Lightning, the range is fine - except long trips from Virginia-Maryland-Central PA-Central New York. There is a stretch where the only DCFC are in Bath NY. Which when I arrived all 4 were bricked. Aaaahh. I could not make the next stop on my route. I had to go 50 miles out of my way to a DCFC, and then back again, and then restart my trip. I would have loved to had more range on that trip.

Now with the Tesla adaptor coming soon, I don't think range will ever be an issue again. 320 miles should suffice 99% of the time.

This is a good point. Ford was basically first to market which many folks forget.

 

[Bills R Electric]

you misunderstood my point. II was asking how much longer is the charge time for the extra 70kw battery?

I get it.

Charging speed does matter. If the GM takes 3 hours to charge that bathtub of a battery, that is not ideal.

Heck, I wish my Lightning charged a lot faster. Someday....maybe the new Lightning will charge twice as fast. When it does, it will be become even more mainstream. Those trips you take several times a year will no longer require an hour at a Wawa waiting while it charges.

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