Electric F-150 Lightning -- Our Weekend Test Drive

[Jerryr]

I will always have an EV. It’s fun to drive, quick, nimble, comfortable and a dream to drive. The light handling and awesome adaptive cruise and steering assist of our Nissan Leaf makes the 2-1/2 hour drive to our cabin stress free and relaxing. It is and will continue to be our daily driver. It’s also the go to dinner car for us.

I feel we have the perfect mix of vehicles.
1- A Nissan EV for 90% of our driving needs with a 225 miles of range on a charge
2- A Lexus RX450h Hybrid for longer road trips and when we need to carry 4 adults comfortably. In almost 8 years we’ve only put 25,000 miles on it.
3- A Ford F-350 diesel beast to tow our 5th wheel and to cart big stuff from Home Depot

For road trips over 2 hours and 100 miles one way we don’t use the EV normally. For those trips we have a hybrid. For the 125 Mile 2-1/2 hour drive to our cabin the EV makes this trip for about $3.50 in electricity, about the price of one gallon of gas.

Our first hybrid was almost 20 years ago, a 2005 Prius that got 50 MPG. I sold it to my Brother in Law and he drove it for another 10 years.

We then bought a Lexus CT200h hybrid that’s based on the Toyota Prius drive train. Another great car. We traded that in on a Lexus 2015 RX450h which we still have.

Here is a picture I just took at our cabin after washing the love bugs off the Leaf after making the 60 mile round trip into town to buy groceries. . Our Lexus RX450h is at the main house sitting in the garage. The Reflection is at our cabin since I just installed a new Dometic toilet and bidet seat in it. It’s currently plugged into the 50 amp outlet that we share with the EV charger.

LIFE IS GOOD!

[NB Canada]

I will always have an EV. It’s fun to drive, quick, nimble, comfortable and a dream to drive. The light handling and awesome adaptive cruise and steering assist of our Nissan Leaf makes the 2-1/2 hour drive to our cabin stress free and relaxing. It is and will continue to be our daily driver. It’s also the go to dinner car for us.

I feel we have the perfect mix of vehicles.
1- A Nissan EV for 90% of our driving needs with a 225 miles of range on a charge
2- A Lexus RX450h Hybrid for longer road trips and when we need to carry 4 adults comfortably. In almost 8 years we’ve only put 25,000 miles on it.
3- A Ford F-350 diesel beast to tow our 5th wheel and to cart big stuff from Home Depot

LIFE IS GOOD!

If I could afford it I would have that lineup as well but those 3 cost more than my house
I think for most an EV is a challenge both to find and to pay for

[Mediocrity]

I will always have an EV. It’s fun to drive, quick, nimble, comfortable and a dream to drive. The light handling and awesome adaptive cruise and steering assist of our Nissan Leaf makes the 2-1/2 hour drive to our cabin stress free and relaxing. It is and will continue to be our daily driver. It’s also the go to dinner car for us.

I feel we have the perfect mix of vehicles.
1- A Nissan EV for 90% of our driving needs with a 225 miles of range on a charge
2- A Lexus RX450h Hybrid for longer road trips and when we need to carry 4 adults comfortably. In almost 8 years we’ve only put 25,000 miles on it.
3- A Ford F-350 diesel beast to tow our 5th wheel and to cart big stuff from Home Depot

For road trips over 2 hours and 100 miles one way we don’t use the EV normally. For those trips we have a hybrid. For the 125 Mile 2-1/2 hour drive to our cabin the EV makes this trip for about $3.50 in electricity, about the price of one gallon of gas.

Our first hybrid was almost 20 years ago, a 2005 Prius that got 50 MPG. I sold it to my Brother in Law and he drove it for another 10 years.

We then bought a Lexus CT200h hybrid that’s based on the Toyota Prius drive train. Another great car. We traded that in on a Lexus 2015 RX450h which we still have.

Here is a picture I just took at our cabin after washing the love bugs off the Leaf after making the 60 mile round trip into town to buy groceries. . Our Lexus RX450h is at the main house sitting in the garage. The Reflection is at our cabin since I just installed a new Dometic toilet and bidet seat in it. It’s currently plugged into the 50 amp outlet that we share with the EV charger.

LIFE IS GOOD!

If you're happy, that's all that matters!

I test drove a Tesla Model S a few years back. It was pretty fun. Just not practical for me.

We're planning to get my wife a hybrid next, when it's time.

[SolarPoweredRV]

How about the elephant in the room....the lithium battery. They don't last forever (claims vs real life), they aren't cheap to replace, lithium isn't easily or ethically sourced (South America being the primary location), and the batteries aren't easily recycled.

Society should dictate how society advances. Not a government (CA, MA, & WA with a dozen others currently considering) forcing them into a mode of transportation, under the 'green' or 'environmentally friendly' agenda.

Solar isn't 'green' or 'environmentally friendly'. Clearing out fields and farmland to put in solar farms, is the opposite of environmentally friendly. Not to mention the heat the panels put off, and birds being vaporized flying over them.

Wind turbines aren't 'green' or 'environmentally friendly'. Digging out the earth, and filling the void with concrete (all performed by diesel powered equipment) & materials trucked to the site via diesel powered tractor trailers, is the opposite of environmentally friendly. Not to mention the relatively short lifespan of the blades, and they can't be recycled. Instead, they're chopped up into smaller pieces and buried. Oh, and the birds again.

I'm not against electric vehicles. I'm against a government forcing an agenda on people, when the infrastructure isn't there or ready for it.

Those that live in CA, answer this: road maintenance is funded through gas tax, so where's the money going to come from when less (or no gas) is sold?

Let me address each one of your points...

The Lithium battery, it doesn't last forever; well, neither does your Gas Engine or Transmission. Most new cars have a 3 year or 36,000 mile Warranty. EVs have an eight year/100,000 mile warranty on the batteries and electronic components (meaning the battery pack).

The battery minerals (Lithium) are not ethically sourced: to your exact point about South America being the source of Lithium... I am not aware of any wide spread exploitation going on in South American Lithium producing countries. Additionally, the next largest source of Lithium is in Austraila and I am not aware of any wide spread exploitation going on there either.

Yes, the Lithium and other minerals are mined and transported using primarily Diesel, however, so is Gasoline and Diesel.

The batteries are very recyclable, upwards of 95% of the batteries can be economically recycled. Two companies actively recycling Lithium Ion batteries in the US are Redwood Materials and LiCycle. When was the last time you were able to recycle a gallon of Diesel?

Government has always steered the economy in the direction they want it to go. Why do you think the IRS tax code is so complicated, because, Governments want people and business to do certain things. Why do you think that businesses can write-off vehicles that have a GVWR of 6,000 lbs (I think the number is 6k, if not 6k, then close to it)? Because, they want to encourage businesses to buy large trucks (think UAW and Ford). By the way, the Government is Society.

Solar panels don't just get placed on fertile farm land, they can be placed on rooftops and carports. Solar panels are also an excellent way to make a Brown Field site economically productive. Additionally, there is a lot of research in Agri-Voltaics where the land can still be used for farming, or grazing, beneath the Solar panels. We also have thousands of acres of Desert in this country that can be used for Solar farms that have minimal impact on the land.

I have to admit that there is currently an issue with decommissioned Wind Turbine blades that are not currently being recycled. However, there are companies that are working to solve this very solvable problem.

The problem you mentioned with birds "Being vaporized" does not happen with Solar Farms, that issue is with Concentrating Solar Plant (CSP), where they aim a bunch of mirrors at a standing tower to generate intense heat to drive a conventional turbine generator. There are very few Concentrating Solar Plants in the world and the economics of Solar panels make them unlikely to continue to be built. Birds can fly just fine over a conventional Solar Farm.

As far as road maintenance goes, States are beginning to assess taxes/registration fees on EVs to compensate for the lost Gas Tax revenue.

I think that both EVs and the charging infrastructure to support them are both going to increase over the next few years. The Infrastructure will be there.

[NB Canada]

When I can buy a new EV for 20k I will get one. Of course without government subsidies (still my money)
Until then it will never happen

[Hokensalem]

When a EV can produce the horsepower and torque my Power Stroke produces then maybe I will consider one. EV's will never replace gas or diesel. Sounds like Liberal BS to me.

[Riverbug]

When a EV can produce the horsepower and torque my Power Stroke produces then maybe I will consider one. EV's will never replace gas or diesel. Sounds like Liberal BS to me.

I don't think the horsepower and torque will be the issue at all for EVs. It will be the limited distance of travel while towing before re-charge is required that will be the issue. It will take some advancements in technology to be able to get battery size and weight down (while increasing capacity), before a 1 ton can be replaced. Hybrid seems a logical first step. But who knows what they'll come up with in the coming years.

[huntindog]

I don't think the horsepower and torque will be the issue at all for EVs. It will be the limited distance of travel while towing before re-charge is required that will be the issue. It will take some advancements in technology to be able to get battery size and weight down (while increasing capacity), before a 1 ton can be replaced. Hybrid seems a logical first step. But who knows what they'll come up with in the coming years.

I think that heat may be an issue as well. my neighhbors Hellcat put out a ton of power, but even he would admit that it would fail miserably as a TV.. His job is as a diesel engine mechanic for a city bus operation.

It is one thing to put down impressive 0-60 times in a lightweight automobile. Quite another to put that kind of power down for an extended time climbing up a mountain weighing in at 30K or more.

[offtohavasu]

Just got this alert. What's a few thousand more electric cars on the grid?

[hayman]

EV's have their place. Just not in my garage. Dr. is 150 miles away, grocery store 50 miles. The price of electricity will go up when all vehicles are electric. Don't raise the price of gas & diesel to promote EV's. Hayman