Sanity Check - Daily trip 110km/70 Miles

[Konowl]

Looking to get my sanity checked. I've got a round trip daily commute of 110km (70miles). 30km (20 miles) of that is 65-70mph (highway), rest is slower highway/roads between 40-60 mph. Charger IS available at work ($), and secondary vehicle to an ICE vehicle. I'm in Ottawa, Canada which has hot summers and cold winters. Days can be -20 celcius (-4 farenheit).

Would this trip be doable in a 2017 FFE? I do have the ICE available for those really cold days, and do have a charger at work that would cost me money. That being said, range is always a worry for me.

 

[jmueller065]

I don't think anyone on here yet has a 2017 FFE to really know for sure.

My experience with a 2013 FFE in winter in Southeastern Michigan says your range will go down to about 60% (or less) on those really cold days. If you can charge at work you're golden since you can devote all your battery to 1/2 your commute (although with the larger battery it will take longer to charge up, even on a Level 2, at work).

 

[triangles]

I'll pretty much 2nd what jmueller065 said. I'll also add that my 2014 FFE is rated a 76mi. My worst case winter range (translating to metric) at about -14 to -10C would be around 40mi. doing some math with the 118mi range of the 2017 FFE that means your worse case scenario would be around 62mi. Freeway speeds greatly reduce your range. Since you don't have all freeway in your commute, I think you should be able to get 70 mi range with minimal conservation effort most of the time. However you are probably flirting with the limits especially as the battery ages. You might want take the ICEmobile when its really cold or pay to charge at work. I said 40mi above but I've never gotten less than 48mi range in winter and I still had 3 or 4 miles on the GOM. I guestimated 40 miles based on more freeway and less rationing of the heater. Take this with a huge grain of salt. It's all pure speculation since no one who has one has posted any real world winter range yet. Depending on charging costs at work you could do a partial charge to give you an extra 20 or so miles to give you a little cushion for making it home on those bitterly cold days.

FYI I don't know if this is true or not I've read that it's not good to charge the battery when the battery temp is below 0C. If my car has been sitting in frigid temps I usually drive a few miles before charging to make sure the battery is warmed up. But that rarely happens because I usually plug in when I get home. If this really is an issue I'd hope ford is smart enough to run the battery heater to heat up the battery before charging. I'm probably being overly paranoid.

 

[EVA]

Yeah the roundtrip feels a little on the close side for roughly 100 mile range car. In the winter, for certain you would have to charge at work. In 8 hours you would likely have more than enough to get home. If the charger isn't available at work - you might have trouble getting home.

 

[Konowl]

Thanks for the input. It sounds liek for the cold 3 months in winter I'd have to charge at work (which is only a buck an hour). I'm also 5 minutes from an Ikea with free charging if need be, and in the summer/spring/fall I think I could make it to work and home without even needing to recharge. Going to take the risk and get the car. Now to decide if I want leather and the colour LOL.

 

[EVA]

Get leather, it is worth it. Don't bother with the tri-coat white, the pearl is nice, but it is way overpriced.

 

[kalel14]

Keep in mind that if you are charging a depleted battery at home every night, you will need to install a real charger at home. An outlet plug-in will not get it done overnight.

 

[EVA]

Keep in mind that if you are charging a depleted battery at home every night, you will need to install a real charger at home. An outlet plug-in will not get it done overnight.

Actually that's more important than leather. The cost can be anything from $500 to $2,000, depending on your garage and electricity situation. Be sure to count that in the equation.