A few months ago, I took a big step and bought our family’s first battery electric vehicle (BEV)!
Now, after driving it 2 months and 2500 miles, I wanted to offer some reflections and analysis as the year closes out.
My Old Gas Car
For the past decade, I’ve been driving a 2007 mid-sized SUV made by Toyota. It has over 210,000 miles and now has some mechanical issues, and we thought it could transition to be a starter car for my kids, the oldest of whom just turned 16. Now, because my older car was built before iPhones even existed, it doesn’t have any of the features most cars have today like: Bluetooth, speakerphone, backup camera, blind spot warnings, etc. So just about any newer car feels like a spaceship to me!
Jumping to an EV, then, is several leaps in technology for me. Below, I’ll walk through my thought process on choosing an EV, but just in case you’re wondering, I settled on a used Ford Lightning XLT, and so far I love it!
The EV vs. ICE Debate
As someone who enjoys using technology and thinking about its impact on society and people, I’ve long been intrigued by electric vehicles (EVs).
Early on, EVs seemed to carry the promise of an overall cleaner, more sustainable method of driving. They release fewer emissions which reduces smog, and they can be powered by renewable sources like solar and wind rather than oil and gas. Theoretically, this appears to align with the theological vision of Genesis 1-2 where God commands humanity to make things from what he has made, while also caring for and preserving his creation.
However, as you are no doubt aware, EVs have become a political minefield. The further left one goes, green ideas are sometimes spoken of in quasi-religious terms. Instead of a Christian doctrine of creation care, one often finds an unhealthy type of earth worship. Thankfully most people appropriately reject those more extreme ideas. However, for some on the right, EVs get lumped in with a lot of radical ideas and then rejected without much deeper thought. Beyond this simple left/right debate, there are the genuine concerns on both sides that EVs may not be as “green” or sustainable as first thought because of their batteries and the precious metals they consume. Ironically, blue-leaning states that are more favorable to EVs generally having higher electricity rates, while red-leaning states have lower prices which make EVs more affordable to operate. Finally, Tesla owner Elon Musk’s recent behavior has disrupted these ideological fault lines even more.
I wish I could avoid this debate, but since my old car now has over 200,000 miles and needs repairs beyond its value, I have to make a choice. And that choice, whatever it is, comes with social and theological implications. Given all the trade-offs, it seemed to me that having one EV and one ICE car is a good balance that allows our family to work toward reducing energy usage, while also being realistic about the world we live in and our family’s current needs.
Below are some of the questions I considered as I went:
The Range Question: How Much Do I Need? (Not Much)
In almost any conversation about EVs, someone will ask, “How far can it go?” At first this was a big question for me as well, but the more I worked on it, I realized that range isn’t really a big factor for me in considering an EV.
Of course, the reason people ask this question is that for ICE cars, we know there will always a gas station nearby that can refill it quickly, while EV chargers are less common, and they take much longer to “fill up” the battery. The good news is that while the earliest EVs like the Nissan Leaf could only go 60-80 miles (in 2009), today’s EVs often have around 300 miles of range and the charging infrastructure has vastly improved.
However, that “300 miles” number is somewhat complex (or even misleading). I live in Dallas, and I have family in San Antonio, which is around 270 miles away. One night think that I could make that trip with a full battery, just like I can with a full tank of gas. But where ICE cars get better gas milage on the highway (see graph), BEVs are less efficient on the highway at higher speeds. Driving 75 mph on a highway, might reduce the EV’s range to 220 miles, which for my family visit, would mean I’d need a stop and recharge somewhere along the way.
Most people make a stop every few hours anyway, so in my case, a 270 miles trip with a 30-minute stop for lunch and charging wouldn’t be a big problem. But over the course of a longer road trip, an EV’s range and charging needs can significantly add to the overall trip time. At first, this prospect really worried me and turned me off to EVs.
But then, I analyzed my own driving patterns, and realized that on a daily basis, I only need 50-60 miles of range per day for work commute (30), kids pickup (15), and grocery run (8). In my case, even a Nissan Leaf’s 73 miles would work for me. Now, we do take 2-3 road trips a year, but they are almost always under 300 miles. Then, on the rare year where we needed to go longer, we could take my wife’s ICE vehicle.
So for me, the main consideration is daily range, not overall range. Put another way, range is not an issue for me 363 days out of the year.
The Energy Question: How Much Will I Save? (About 66%)
Once I realized I only needed 50-60 miles a day, and overall range wouldn’t affect me, I wanted to learn about charging. Everyone says that EVs save money, but how do I calculate that?
The first thing to know that is that while ICE cars are understood in terms of miles per gallon (MPG), EVs are ranked miles per kilowatt hour (m/kWh). A “kilowatt hour” is a unit of power that a battery can store just like a gallon of gas is a unit of power a tank can hold. So how do those compare? The EPA determined 1 gallon of gas is equivalent to 33.7 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, and they use that to calculate something called MPGe (the ‘e’ is ‘equivalent’). If an average EV gets 3.0 m/kWh, the EPA sticker on the car will say it gets 101.1 MPGe.
100 MPG sounds amazing! And truthfully, it is amazing in that an EV is using far less resources to move around than gas. This is especially true if the power is renewable (like solar), but also true even if when using renewable sources because more of the energy can be used for moving the vehicle and less is lost overall (see graph).
However, that still doesn’t give you an easy way to tell you what it costs to run an ICE car verses an EV.
I found that best way to make the ICE vs. EV comparison clear is calculate the cost per mile. For example, if a gas car gets 20 mpg and gas costs $3.00, that means it costs $0.15 per mile. By comparison, is an EV gets 3.0 miles per kilowatt hour and electricity costs $0.15 per kWh, then it costs $0.05 per mile.
| Vehicle | Efficiency | Energy Cost | Cost per mile | Cost 1000 miles |
| Gas car | 20 mpg | $3.00 gallon | $0.15 | $150 |
| Electric vehicle | 3.0 m/kWh | $0.15 kWh | $0.05 | $50 |
Of course, all four of these numbers can vary. Gas and electric vehicles can be much more efficient than 20 and 3.0 respectively, and gas and electricity prices vary over time and by location. In general, though, this shows that most EVs are going to be more efficient (using less energy) and more cost effective (about 1/3 the cost) than gas.
However, this a big catch.
This savings is dependent on cheap electricity, which you can only get at home.
The Charging Question: Where to? (Home)
So how and where do you charge an EV? There are three levels of charging
- Level 1: Traditional plug outlet (120v)
- Level 2: Dryer outlet (240v) – 6-8 times faster than Level 1
- Level 3: DC fast charger – much faster, but varies by location and car
Level 1 charging only adds a few miles of range to a battery for every hour it’s plugged in, so it’s not practical for daily use. Level 2 is great if your home is already wired with a second dryer plug. This allows you to charge overnight using your home’s lower electricity rate.
Level 3 chargers are very fast and make road trips with an EV possible with a little bit of planning. But the catch is that, at charging stations like Electrify America or Telsa, electricity costs between $0.30 and $0.50 per kWh. That means that if you only “fill up” at DC fast charging stations, you could pay rates that are comparable to gas.
| Vehicle | Efficiency | Energy Cost | Cost per mile | Cost 1000 miles |
| Gas car | 20 mpg | $3.00 gallon | $0.15 | $150 |
| At home charge | 3.0 m/kWh | $0.15 kWh | $0.05 | $50 |
| Public charging | 3.0 m/kWh | $0.45 kWh | $0.15 | $150 |
As I mentioned above, these prices this can vary by location. EVs are still more efficient (use less overall energy) and better for emissions, but the price on public charging can be comparable to gas. That means home charging is the only way to save money, but that may mean an initial investment in a new outlet depending on your home’s wiring. I was fortunate in that that previous home owner had installed a level 2 outlet, which meant we didn’t need to spend any additional dollars on wiring, making our transition much easier and more straightforward.
My EV Choice Process
Once, I understood the efficiencies of EVs, as well as the charging process and cost, I needed to consider an EV that I could afford in both in the short and long term.
Many EVs are well over $50,000 new which I can’t afford in the short term. Thankfully, there are some new lower cost models like the Chevy Equinox that are under $40,000, but those are untested over the longer term, so it’s hard to know their overall reliability. So I wanted to find a gently used EV that I could afford, but that also had been around for a few years with people taking them well over 100,000 miles.
Choice #1: Tesla Model Y
Like most people, my first knowledge of EVs came from Tesla. They are ubiquitous where I live, and so earlier this year, I did what they call a “demo drive” to get the feel of it. From an engineering perspective, I really appreciate what Telsa has done, but also like many people, I initially found all the places where Telsa did things differently to be somewhat off-putting. I was certainly willing to try, but I also wanted something my wife or kids could drive without a lot of adjustments. The pros are that it’s a well-tested vehicle, it has the best internal tech, and that it’s very efficient for a mid-sized SUV. The cons were its austere style and that, personally, I wanted to try something non-Tesla.
Choice #2: Hyundai Ioniq 5
On a work trip, I was offered a “upgrade” to a Hyundai Ioniq 5, and because I didn’t need to go far enough to worry about charging, I took it. I was instantly hooked. It has a retro future feel, including several nice 8-bit looking design elements, and all the the crazy acceleration of an EV. However, unlike a Telsa, it feels and drives more like a normal car inside (even supporting Apple CarPlay) which was a plus for me. Another benefit of the Ioniq 5 is that it has a faster charging framework than most other EVs out there. All these pros made it Car and Driver’s EV of the Year for 2023 and a strong contender. One catch for me was that I’ve been doing more home repair work recently and the hatchback has less room than my current SUV, so I wanted to consider something else.
Choice #3: Ford Lightning
As a person living in Texas who likes to do home projects, I’ve always wanted to get a truck (just finished: learning to tile on our half-bath; next up: turf for the back yard). In the past, I’ve avoided looking at trucks because they are “gas guzzlers,” and not worth it for daily use. However, back when the Cybertruck was announced (2019, what a different time), I was intrigued by the idea of an EV pickup, because I could get the usability of a truck bed but the efficiency of an EV. But Ford ended up beating Tesla to the release, and Ford also managed to offer the F-150 Lightning at nearly half the price with a more traditional vehicle feel and look. I love the smaller size of the Rivian, but it along with the Cybertruck and Chevrolet trucks are much more expensive than Ford’s offering. Now that several Ford owners have driven over 150,000 miles with minimal battery degradation, it gave me more confidence in its reliability.
Reviewing the Ford Lightning EV Truck
Ultimately, I went with a gently used, base model Ford Lightning to fulfill my need/desire for a truck along with the hope of a cleaner driving experience with an EV.
Overall, I absolutely love it. Now, after a few months, here are some specific reflections:
Pros
- Charging: I love never having to go to a gas station. I just plug it in a few days a week, and it’s always ready to go. My base model only has a range of 230 miles, but the most I’ve needed to drive in a day was about 200, so that hasn’t been a worry.
- Truck stuff: I love getting to do things like hauling tools and materials to update an old bathroom or dirt for the yard is fun.
- Frunk: One downside to trucks is not having a trunk for things that need to stay dry or not get jostled around. The Lightning frunk (front trunk) is almost comically big and always enough from our weekend grocery runs. I was even able to get fit two suitcases of family who flew in for the holidays.
- New Tech: All the new technology that I’ve never had like a backup camera is all really fun to finally experience, even if it’s not unique to an EV. One nice thing is that the Lightning has a 360 camera even on the base model which makes parking it much easier.
- Pro Power: This is what Ford labels the outlets that are in the bed and frunk. These can be used for job site tools, camping equipment, or as a backup when the power goes out. This happened to us recently, and I pulled out some extension cords to keep our refrigerator going. Ford also has a way to power your entire house, but that requires an expensive update, so I’ll stick with the essentials for now.
- Tesla Chargers: Ford now has access to the Telsa network, so that will make the eventual longer trip much easier. It requires an adapter, but that isn’t much trouble other than that.
- Car Play: Ford supports Car Play and has good integration with it, meaning I can use Apple Maps or Google Maps for routing and those apps know about the charging state. Most other EVs I tried either didn’t support Car Play or didn’t support sharing charging data
- Normal Car: I personally like that the Lightning functions mostly like a traditional vehicle with knobs and controls. I do use 1-pedal driving, but the rest feels very normal. Also, Telsas and other EVs really stand out as EVs in their looks, but I’d like to be as modest as possible with my vehicle, so I appreciate that the truck looks like most other trucks except for the light bar on the front.
Cons
- Size: The Lightning is a very big vehicle. I wish Ford made a more mid-sized EV truck like the Ranger or even the smaller Maverick. It’s great for hauling kids and stuff, but I don’t need that much all the time. Still, given what I could afford and what’s on the market, and how it’s almost “normal” in Texas, it still seems like a good choice.
- Efficiency: The Lightning averages around 2.3 miles per kWh which is on the low end for EVs. The EPA sticker says that converts to gets 76 MPGe in the city and 61 MPGe on the highway. That’s significantly better than even the best hybrid gas car, meaning it’s using less energy overall even for its size, and is saving us money, though not as much as a smaller vehicle.
- Price: I was able to get a good deal on a used XLT model, but it still feels like EVs need to come down a bit more before more people can afford them and all the tradeoffs they come with.
- Battery/Electricity: Even though EVs are far more efficient than ICE cars and they emit far less emissions, their power still comes from somewhere and the long-term recycling of EV batteries is still unclear. So although I’m glad to be spending less on gas and driving a more efficient vehicle (especially for a truck), I admit I’m not certain of the exact net benefit to God’s good world.
Conclusion
It’s an incredible privilege to be at a place where we could even consider affording an EV. Now, after a few months of adjusting, I’ve can say that I’m really impressed with the Ford Lightning and very grateful to be driving it. It’s probably not the best option for everyone, but so far I haven’t had any issues with it. Our family loves getting around in it and trying to maximize what we’ve been given.
Interestingly, a few friends and family who were formerly anti-EV have said something like, “When I heard you were getting an EV, I though ‘Oooh man, that’s a bad idea.’ But now that you showed it to me, I really get it. This is amazing.”
As amazing as it is, I still hope the technology continues to improve and that it becomes a clearer path for human flourishing in the future.
For now, I’m grateful to get to experience the transition.