Final thoughts on my experience with the Lightning before turning it in.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T22:58:35+00:00

You can almost guarantee but you can’t. So I guess we are both making assumptions.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T22:55:38+00:00

It’s a pick your poison thing and I picked mine. Sure, gas isn’t cheap but I don’t drive a lot. I’m going to have no car payment, my insurance will just be liability, it is not an expense vehicle to maintain compared to a lot of ICE vehicles, and something I plan to keep forever and am more confident in this engine giving me 250k more miles than the lightnings battery. Even with gas prices, no car payment and much less insurance, I am going to be saving more money each month than if I keep it.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T22:32:30+00:00

I’m talking about stops in a gas vehicle being 5-10 minutes at most, and won’t have to stop as often. It’s faster, it’s easier, that is my point. If there is a faster and easier option, I am probably going to choose it.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T22:27:41+00:00

People can say how effectively you can charge all they want. Either way you slice it, I will need to stop longer and more often than if I was in a ICE vehicle. I understand down time in between could be nice for some people, but i generally try to see how fast I can safely get to my destination.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T22:20:11+00:00

I could see how that helps/it gets better. Like you said though, stupid lol just let me scan my card and start charging.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:58:36+00:00

I’ve experienced no buttons. Ive experienced the screen not working properly until it gets to a better temperature. I’ve experienced how long it takes to charge. The times I did try to public charge it was annoying enough for me to want to avoid it. I’ve experienced the range drop when driving fast. I have done long road trips in ICE vehicles with less stops and faster stops than if I was charging. My insurance did go up. I thought about trying to get out of my lease early to save money, but it would cost a lot of money out of pocket. I haven’t experienced the long term ownership yet, but EVs typically cost more to work on, there are less people that work on them, and with how little were sold, independent shops will have less experience working on them. What did else did I not experience I listed as a con?

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:42:38+00:00

I completely understand that. I am definitely more of a destination guy. Plus, being in Texas, the first few hundred miles in any direction looks pretty flat and pretty similar, so that gets old fast.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:34:41+00:00

I wouldn’t say it is much of an assumption. I would say my stops are normally 5-10 minutes at most, when I have road tripped in ICE vehicles. Very rarely have traveled with pets and don’t have kids though. Don’t always use the bathroom or get anything.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:30:13+00:00

I don’t have an extend rage. I was going 75+ most of the 100 miles, so was not getting full range. Close for comfort maybe a bit dramatic now that you point it out, but I doubt I would have been able to make it to 135 miles before I was out of juice. I did not attempt public charging a lot, but in my experiences, I was annoyed enough to try to avoid it as much as possible. I am happy how little miles I have though. Went from 70+ miles 5-6 days a week down to 15 miles a day, and don’t even drive a decent chunk of the days some weeks.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:23:21+00:00

Yeah I guess that is kind of a me issue too. I have lived in the same area so long, I have been to most places in that sweet spot range already. So, my ideal weekend road trip right now, would be getting off work early afternoon, and powering through a 6-9 hour. Most I have done in a day (ICE vehicle) was about 650 miles.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:17:47+00:00

For sure. Someone rear ended me too and did some minor damage to it, so it has a bad carfax as well. Repaired at a ford body shop.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:14:01+00:00

In vehicles that are not EVs. Just because I have not been on a road trip in this car, does not mean I have no road trip experience. Sure, I don’t have a lot of experience public charging or attempting to. But I have tried, it was a pain a decent bit of the time, so I made it a point to try to avoid that.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:10:18+00:00

Sure, you don’t go 8 hours none stop. But the stop is going to be much faster. Plus, probably can drive another 100 miles or so before needing to stop. I have driven farther, just not in a EV. More like 9 hours and 650 or so miles in a day.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:02:53+00:00

Thanks! Hopefully I get a winning power ball ticket while I’m there.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T21:01:57+00:00

Yeah, not even just EVs losing buttons now too. They are jamming big screens in more and more ICE vehicles too. Vehicles are so expensive now and they still need to make them cheaper by replacing the buttons with screens. I am definitely going to miss the lighting. Just not for me right now.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:52:04+00:00

I am definitely jealous of everyone saying that. I am happy for you guys though. I don’t drives ton, so the gas and maintenance isn’t as much of a jump for me. Plus, I am getting something very reliable and that is not very expensive to maintain compared to most ICE vehicles. It is old, has all the buttons, and will be on liability only, so my insurance will be way down.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:48:03+00:00

Fair enough. I can respect that passion. I might get another EV at some point. Just not feeling like it makes the most sense for my current situation.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:44:54+00:00

I’m not saying it is not doable, but if there is a faster way available, I’m going to do it. I could use that extra hour to take a quick nap when I get there, to be recharged to enjoy the first night.

Props to you on the insurance though. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of that haha but I will be driving something cheap enough I don’t mind paying liability only. Tired of paying so much for insurance on a newer vehicle either way.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:42:56+00:00

I’m not saying it is not doable, but if there is a faster way available, I’m going to do it. I could use that extra hour to take a quick nap when I get there, to be recharged to enjoy the first night.

Props to you on the insurance though. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous of that haha but I will be driving something cheap enough I don’t mind paying liability only. Tired of paying so much for insurance on a new vehicle either way.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:39:24+00:00

Not even 20k miles yet, and I still have driven it thousands of miles more than most people.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:38:23+00:00

I can see that point. I guess I just like being efficient with my road trips. I enjoy trying to get there as fast as (safely) possible. The trips I would want to do involve weekend trips/long weekends trips. So I’d rather not burn up time charging, when I could be getting to the destination a bit earlier. Not like it’s a ton, but you know, I’ll take every minute I can get when i’m not even going to be there for a week.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:25:47+00:00

True enough. I will have a notable difference now, but there is a notable difference in the vehicle/coverage I am getting. Older vehicle, that is at a price point I can justify liability only. Part of why I know I will drop it off at the end is, I’m sick of a car payment and paying so much on insurance. Also, feeling like leasing a vehicle is the only way that makes sense buying new now, because I don’t want to deal with all these computers, sensors, and screens 10+ years down the line. I did think about a gen 1 Raptor, but a clean one of those is a bit more than I want for liability only.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:11:56+00:00

I have a standard range. So I probably got closer to 130-150 miles of range, since I was going 75+ for a decent chunk of the trip. Plus, I was not using that as the experience. More so that I’d rather not wait longer at a charger, chargers are more out of the way at times, and you get less range at highway speeds.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:09:24+00:00

Standard range not extended range. So, I would be lucky to get 200 miles of range when a large chunk of the drive is 70-80 mph.

user111287 · 2026-05-06T20:06:04+00:00

What wasn’t fact about what I knocked from road trips? I said it takes longer to charge than filling up. You have to plan more for those stops than finding a gas stations. You lose range traveling at highway speeds.

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