I previously owned a 2022 Ford Lightning Pro when they first came out. I loved the way the truck drove, but the cost of electricity in Massachusetts is awful. At 39 cents per kWh it was $150 less per month to put diesel into my work truck 2021 Silverado 1500 diesel at 28 mpg than to home charge the Lightning. The only way to reconcile that was to put solar on the house, but we knew we’d be moving in a couple years. The short range battery on my Lightning was also a deal breaker, so I sold it a couple months after purchase when they were still impossible to get.
Fast forward to now, we purchased a new home last year and had 14.58 kW of solar panels (36 405 watt panels) installed last month. I specified the solar to provide far more power than we need knowing that I’d want another EV or two in the next 20 years. They estimated our annual need at 8400 kWh, the system is supposed to exceed 16000 kWh. We are on a credits system where we don’t net meter for a check, but for bill credits at retail including delivery. The credits never expire and will keep up with inflation as rates increase. Now that the solar is cranking out power at a rate of 55 kWh on a sunny winter day (average daily use is ~20 kWh weekdays and 35 kWh weekends), I think we can move forward on an EV. My wife’s Tacoma lease is up end of March. The Tacoma has been a great truck, but I also have a 2021 Bronco and a 2001 Expedition for truck duties.
We demoed a MYLR last weekend and I was very impressed. I’m 6’4” 320# and found the car comfortable and easy to get in and out of. I liked the space and driving dynamics, although one pedal at 100% regen may take some getting used to. The trunk space seemed plentiful and I like the extra under floor storage and cargo cover on the 5 seat configuration. There was some wind noise at highway speeds on the demo car, but I pointed out to my wife that there isn’t any engine noise to cover it up like an ICE vehicle. She asked me later if we were going to test drive any of the competition (Mach E, Hyundai EV6 or Ioniq 5) and I said there was no point. The competition doesn’t have the same experience building EV’s, doesn’t have the same supercharger network (yet), and cost more money for desirable trims. We are looking at inventory cars rather than ordering, our spec will be a 5 seat, black interior, tow hitch, 19” wheels. We just need to decide between the gray or the blue exterior. I think the gray would look great with black wheel covers, but the blue keeps calling to me. White could be a possibility but it seems like there are a bunch of white Y on the road. Red and black are right out as my work truck is red and black is too hard to keep clean.
I briefly considered the performance model, I’m sure I’d love the way it accelerates. It would probably be enough to make my wife car sick and my 82 year old folks who we care for part of the year crap themselves. I don’t think the 21” wheels would do me any favors with the crap roads here. I don’t really want to spend the extra money or buy it then downsize the wheels for ride comfort. Rough calculations have the performance ($59773) model costing an extra $7450 compared to the inventory LR (52336). Well qualify for $11K in state and federal incentives and hopefully the extra $1K for my 2019 Cybertruck reservation.
My wife’s normal commute is 1.5 miles each way, sometimes she has to go to court 25 or 70 miles away. We will use the car for trips to Boston for airport runs, sports games, etc. We do a couple trips to northern VT each year, but I’d probably rather have my Bronco on that trip to do some offroad exploring.
That’s where we’re at, thanks for reading.
Fast forward to now, we purchased a new home last year and had 14.58 kW of solar panels (36 405 watt panels) installed last month. I specified the solar to provide far more power than we need knowing that I’d want another EV or two in the next 20 years. They estimated our annual need at 8400 kWh, the system is supposed to exceed 16000 kWh. We are on a credits system where we don’t net meter for a check, but for bill credits at retail including delivery. The credits never expire and will keep up with inflation as rates increase. Now that the solar is cranking out power at a rate of 55 kWh on a sunny winter day (average daily use is ~20 kWh weekdays and 35 kWh weekends), I think we can move forward on an EV. My wife’s Tacoma lease is up end of March. The Tacoma has been a great truck, but I also have a 2021 Bronco and a 2001 Expedition for truck duties.
We demoed a MYLR last weekend and I was very impressed. I’m 6’4” 320# and found the car comfortable and easy to get in and out of. I liked the space and driving dynamics, although one pedal at 100% regen may take some getting used to. The trunk space seemed plentiful and I like the extra under floor storage and cargo cover on the 5 seat configuration. There was some wind noise at highway speeds on the demo car, but I pointed out to my wife that there isn’t any engine noise to cover it up like an ICE vehicle. She asked me later if we were going to test drive any of the competition (Mach E, Hyundai EV6 or Ioniq 5) and I said there was no point. The competition doesn’t have the same experience building EV’s, doesn’t have the same supercharger network (yet), and cost more money for desirable trims. We are looking at inventory cars rather than ordering, our spec will be a 5 seat, black interior, tow hitch, 19” wheels. We just need to decide between the gray or the blue exterior. I think the gray would look great with black wheel covers, but the blue keeps calling to me. White could be a possibility but it seems like there are a bunch of white Y on the road. Red and black are right out as my work truck is red and black is too hard to keep clean.
I briefly considered the performance model, I’m sure I’d love the way it accelerates. It would probably be enough to make my wife car sick and my 82 year old folks who we care for part of the year crap themselves. I don’t think the 21” wheels would do me any favors with the crap roads here. I don’t really want to spend the extra money or buy it then downsize the wheels for ride comfort. Rough calculations have the performance ($59773) model costing an extra $7450 compared to the inventory LR (52336). Well qualify for $11K in state and federal incentives and hopefully the extra $1K for my 2019 Cybertruck reservation.
My wife’s normal commute is 1.5 miles each way, sometimes she has to go to court 25 or 70 miles away. We will use the car for trips to Boston for airport runs, sports games, etc. We do a couple trips to northern VT each year, but I’d probably rather have my Bronco on that trip to do some offroad exploring.
That’s where we’re at, thanks for reading.
