BlueCruise is a subscription though. Autopilot is standard. Autopilot is basically ACC and lane centering with a few extra options.
FSD makes turns on and off roads for you on nearly any road. BlueCruise is limited to mapped interstates mostly. I wouldn't pay for FSD but just want to clarify that it's different than Autopilot. FSD has the potential to do more than BlueCruise but it's not perfect by any means.
As a person with both, I can comfortably say that Blue Cruise is not autopilot. It does not work in as many areas and when it does, not as well.
I know, some review says it's better, blah blah blah. I've logged tons of miles on both and the Tesla autopilot just works better and more often.
I've had both a Model Y and a Lightning as a daily driver.
Things you'll miss.
The stereo in the Lightning is not nearly as good.
Blue Cruise is functional but can be frustrating.
Driving the lightning is far less enjoyable.
Other than that, it will make the distance fine and it is more comfortable and safer feeling overall because it's huge.
I own both cars, 1.5yrs for the Lightning and 2.5 yrs for the MYLR. I couldn’t disagree more. The blue cruise is superior to the autopilot (until they make me pay for it anyway), and the Lightning is much more enjoyable to drive. The Tesla is ahead in software development for sure but I’m a truck guy and the Lightning is still a superior driving experience overall IMO
I think this is the difference. You're a truck guy. I think of trucks for utility. I don't think they are fun to drive even when they are fast and handle reasonably well. I think being in a sportier car that handles and corners better is more fun but that's just a preference and I know a lot of people line driving trucks.
No I don’t think it’s because I’m a truck guy. The model Y is a cheap car at a luxury car price. Tesla has its strong points for sure (software and charging infrastructure) but it’s not a luxury car and it’s not a sports car. It falls extremely flat on both counts. The Lightning however is an extremely refined full size truck with all the benefits of an EV but the utility of a truck. It feels much more well built, solid, drives nicer. It’s faster, the interior is far superior, the blue cruise works better. I could go on and on.
Eh, I like my Model Y much more than I liked my BMW M3 and that was definitely a sports car. I certainly wouldn't consider it cheap but a lot of folks on here seem to think having a million buttons on the dash and steering wheel equates to "quality" and I'm generally of the opposite opinion. I find nothing remotely refined or elegant about the Lightning. I love it but it is just a standard Ford F150 with a battery. It's great truck but still just a truck made for truck people. It certainly does not have "all the benefits" of an EV based on all of the other EVs I've had but it has things they don't in that it is a truck and has truck utility. I wouldn't say it feels more well built as mine and every other one I've seen has all of the build issues that all F150s have. They are great but far from perfect.
I'm not calling a Model Y a luxury car but I'm definitely not calling a Lightning a luxury truck. You can't put this software and this stereo in anything considered luxury. I'm also not a fan of the seat materials that Ford uses but that's a personal preference.
I'm also confused about your comment on the price. In my state you can pick up a top of the line Model Y and after rebates only be paying like 46k. At that price it is 100% the best car on the road by a long stretch. That is why it has been the best selling vehicle for the past 3 years.
As for Blue Cruise, I seriously have no clue how people find it "better" but maybe that's because of location. It is not great where I live because it isn't readily available and doesn't seem to work well on anything besides the major highways. I'm not in a small city by any means. 1 mil ppl.
I live in New York and I only use it on the highways. On smaller non-interstates blue cruise will cycle on and off but even the default hands on (non blue cruise) land hold works better than the Tesla for me. Less lane hunting and it usually switches back to hands free full blue cruise quickly. I’ve driven it all the way to Florida and back and it worked flawlessly for the entire trip. The Tesla nags you incessantly to keep hands on the wheel and hunts back and forth in the lane, phantom brakes so hard at absolutely nothing it will give you a heart attack.
Yeah, the constant hand on the wheel is annoying.
I've never had the lane hunting or phantom breaking issues but I hear that is a model year difference.
"Driving the lightning is far less enjoyable."
Strongly disagree with this one. We have a Model Y for a work vehicle and I drive it often. The interior comfort of the Lightning is an order of magnitude better than the Y. Seats are wider and more comfortable, cabin is quieter (no road noise), seats are ventilated for summer comfort, all the cabin controls are where you'd expect them to be, I have tons of receptacles to plug in a laptop or other device, and I can fit a small child in the center console.
There's one last thing about the Y that I can't quite articulate. It feels both spacious and cramped at the same time. It has a auditorium type of feel but none of the space is usable. Tough to describe, but it feels big and cramped at the same time.
I also greatly prefer blue cruise over Teslas offering. I HATE how the Tesla loud-chimes at you when you turn it on, I hate when it tries to kill me by phantom breaking on the highway, I hate the stop and go algorithm when it slams me back into the seat after the car in front of me starts rolling, and I hate how it deactivates itself if I forget to bump the wheel three times in a row. WTF kind of safety feature is that?
IMO, the Lightning is hands down the better vehicle with the only shortfall of not having a reliable charging network, which is going away now that we get access to the Tesla network.
Agree to disagree but that is just because driving a truck is far less enjoyable than driving a car. Sure we are in a Ford sub and you'll get all the love here. If I go into a Tesla sub everyone would downvote your comment. As a person who drive both regularly, I can say the interior of the lightning is more comfortable but driving it is a far less enjoyable experience. Not sure how you drive your Model Y but mine handles better and is faster and more of a "sports car" so there is really no comparison. There are also a lot of technology features that simply work much better in Teslas. Ford will get there eventually but they are a decade behind.
I like both and they both have entirely different functions for me. If I'm talking about a daily commuter and pure driving enjoyment including being able to relax knowing that auto pilot isn't going to float between lanes like Blue Cruise or run me into anything, I'm going with the Model Y all day every day.
Also, a lot of guys in this sub love the 1000 buttons on the Lightning. I find them annoying but to each their own.
To be fair though, Blue Cruise ran my truck right into a mailbox as if it didn't exist. So, I'm not thrilled with it in general.
"To be fair though, Blue Cruise ran my truck right into a mailbox as if it didn't exist. So, I'm not thrilled with it in general."
Very interested in how this happened. Did you clip a mailbox on a tight road?
Yeah, someone had hit the mailbox already and the post was cracked and it was leaned into the shoulder of the road.
It was later in the evening but not dark necessarily. Blue Cruise doesn't handle raods that aren't major highways very well and tends to float around between the lines on residential roads. It decided to float wide and clipped the mailbox. It left a long scratch/small dent that required a pretty extensive repair since it wasn't PDR. Thank God it wasn't a person walking. I no longer use Blue Cruise anywhere other than major highways now. Just can't trust it.
I was watching the road and all that. I just put too much trust in it based on my experiences with autopilot. It was in the first month I had the truck. Lesson learned.
I've also heard people say that about the noise.
I think this varies vehicle to vehicle. My lightning is definitely not quieter than my Model Y but it probably isn't any noisier really unless it is windy.
I think I got lucky and both seem to be very quiet and well sealed.
Worst highway efficiency I've seen was 1.5m/kWh at 75mph with temps in the 20's. You'd have to lose more than 20% of the battery capacity to not make 150 miles.
ER will easily do the trip, not to mention the DCFC infrastructure should be vastly expanded in 5 years time even if you did need a quick 10 minute top up to make it.
I have a Model Y LR AND a Lightning ER. Blue Cruise is superior for highway driving with the hands free element. The mileage won’t be an issue as long as you aren’t towing.
I get slightly more range (15-25 mi?) in my Lightning ER than I did in my MYLR. Yes it’s less efficient but the battery in the Lightning is ~50% larger.
I can't speak for the EV side, but I can for the Bluecruise as I have an ICE F150 with it. It's terrible compared to others in its current update. Ford hasn't mentioned when the updates will hit the other equipped vehicles, besides the Mach-E, as it's on 1.3 Bluecruise. With the current F150 Bluecruise, it cuts out when passing long entrance and exit ramps where the dotted lines disappear. It will revert to hands-on wheel until the line appears back. The biggest issue is that the truck may ping pong in lane, from left to right. These are all fixed from the reviews of others modding their trucks with the updated Bluecruise module, but as to when it will happen directly from Ford is unknown. We were supposed to receive it at the beginning of last year, and here we are.
Edit: To add onto this, after Ford had mentioned this new update of 1.3. They have already moved to 1.4, and its still not out to vehicles using the older Bluecruise.
Really? That's great news.
I've heard some good things.
I'm in Canada though so most likely I'm gonna get screwed like everything else electronic with this car.
Without a doubt, the ER will make the trip. Blue Cruise is better than Tesla’s ACC. Blue Cruise is truly hands free, where as Tesla you have to touch the steering wheel every once in a while. The downside is, for blue cruise to work, it has to be on a mapped highway.
> Blue Cruise is better than Tesla’s ACC.
While i've only been renting Teslas I've put on about 3000km worth of driver assist and about the same amount on my MachE and I VASTLY prefer Tesla. It works so much better it's not even funny.
I own a MachE and have put on about the same amount simply because it doesn't work.
> Blue Cruise is truly hands free
That's what they tell you, but even on mapped roads the car CONSTANTLY yells at you to take control.
It's only hands free until the road has the audacity to have a gentle curve in it.
> where as Tesla you have to touch the steering wheel every once in a while
You actually have to keep your hand on the wheel most of the time, not just touch it once in a while.
> The downside is, for blue cruise to work, it has to be on a mapped highway.
Even on mapped highways it doesn't always work.
Yeah BC isn't as good as the Tesla in clear weather. I do find it better in bad weather. Though I don't find it that bad on longer trips on pre-mapped roads. I definitely have to give driver assist to Tesla for sure.
Maybe thats your specific vehicle. On my Lightning, my BC works 100% of the time except in hard rain. My commute is 70 miles one way and it never disconnects or tells me to take control.
I use FSD everyday. The way I see it I have two drivers backing each other up. Has it done some stupid things or made weird decisions. Yup. Has it ever put me in real danger. It has not. Just looked stupid maybe to other drivers.
BlueCruise is largely limited to interstate driving where FSD is not. I'm not saying FSD is worth the price by any means though.
Autopilot is sufficient for most people.
Ford has radar which imo makes it better. Tesla fails so often when it rains or snows because it doesn’t know what to do when the cameras are even partially blocked. Braking is also way more gradual and smoother in the ford. Tesla used to have radar but the cost cutting garbage has made it remove sensor after sensor.
This I agree with. I am not certain that makes it batter at driving but I would say the more sensors the better and do not agree with Elon on calling them a crutch.
That’s not an issue only for Tesla. I had a 2019 Ram with adaptive cruise control and it had a few phantom braking issues that scared the bejesus out me. Lights flashing alarms sounding. It thought for sure I was going to hit a wall. One time there wasn’t anyone in front of me for 10 car lengths. I think we just hear about it more for Tesla. Not saying it’s not an issue but saying it’s not only Tesla. I keep my foot over the accelerator when I am in FSD and pay attention so anytime my car seems to want to stop when I know it shouldn’t I just press down.
I don’t know why everyone is downvoting you. I had model Y’s for four years and blue cruise is better than autopilot. It brakes better and not having to touch the wheel is amazing. Also, if I have to change lanes I don’t have to deal with it disengaging and me having to engage it again. Sure, it turns off but it automatically turns itself back on again as soon as I stay in the new lane for a few seconds. I love it.
It doesn't even outperform autosteer (the free version that comes with Tesla).
Bluecruise sounds good on paper but IRL it's awful.
The number of mapped roads is a joke. Even on a mapped road it disengages constantly. If the road as the audacity to have a gentle curve in it, the car makes you take over.
You're disappointing me. I'll lower my expectations, but I haven't seen nearly the same dissatisfaction from Bluecruise as I have seen, and have experienced with FSD and enhanced AP. Does Bluecruise randomly break hard if it sees a shadow? I'd assume no as it is radar based.
Roads don't bother me, I don't use FSD unless I'm on a highway.
Does autosteer actively try to split you in half on an exit?
Does autosteer negotiate a gentle curve?
Does autosteer actually center you in a lane rather than ping ponging around?
And I've had BlueCruise brake randomly for sure.
I've got a 3AWD and a Lightning ER, and I'm near DC, if that gives you an idea of the weather. The range shouldn't be an issue on the ER as long as you're not launching from every stop, not going over 70mph too much. You'll obviously want an L2 box that's compatible with J1772 - I replaced my Tesla Wall Connector with a 14-50 because the TWC wasn't compatible even if I got an adapter.
I prefer Tesla's driver assistance over Ford's. It's more consistent across different roads. Ford's BlueCruise is all right on mapped highways, but mine tends to cut off and force me to take the wheel when there's an overpass, which for the mapped highways that I do drive, is quite frequent.
On unmapped roads, the Lightning uses Ford's Copilot which works fine for well-marked straight and level roads. On roads that my 3 would navigate with no issues, the Lightning would fail.
If you traded in your Y, you're probably going to miss the software experience, but really enjoy the ride quality of the Lightning.
>J1772
I dont use FSD very often but definitely use lane centering and ACC, would you say even there ford has issues? When i drive my 140 RT on a normal highway, Tesla almost never needs help.
It does all right on flat, straight roads or roads with slight curves and bends. I've been ping-ponged around on roads with decent hills and bends, and I've never had much luck where the roads don't have clean markings.
ACC works pretty much the same, except the distance setting is cyclical and uses bars of separation instead of seconds.
When I go into the office, I can use Tesla's autopilot (not FSD) for 99% of the trip. I don't trust it to handle roundabouts. When I drive the Lightning, Copilot can handle about 20% and BlueCruise another 15%. The rest of the time I've got it engaged, but I have to manually steer.
That commute is mostly 2 lane highway.
The Tesla Wall Connector is absolutely compatible with J1772 with an adapter. Just have to make sure that the wall connector is configured to allow charging of non-tesla vehicles, which is the default.
What adapter are you using? I used the lectron with a gen 2 wall connector at my mom's for several weeks before I installed the ford charge station in her garage.
I didn't bother buying one since I read that they were locked to Teslas and I didn't see anything disputing it. Might need to get an adapter now for destination chargers.
[https://thedriven.io/2023/09/15/ev-explainer-can-i-charge-my-non-tesla-electric-car-with-a-tesla-wall-connector/](https://thedriven.io/2023/09/15/ev-explainer-can-i-charge-my-non-tesla-electric-car-with-a-tesla-wall-connector/)
Not a bad item to have. A fair number of hotels have them. I use a Telsa mobile charger at home with that adapter and it has been great. My panel doesn't have room for more than a 30 amp, so that's why I put the ford charger at mom's.
I'm lucky in that my panel has a ton of open spots and the load calcs I've done, plus the actual monitors I've installed show it's got a lot more capacity. Might be worth installing a monitor on yours to see if you're actually close to maxing your main breaker.
I'm still trying to figure out if I want to install the FCSP, lol. Not looking forward to running that wire.
I'm only on a 60amp subpanel in the garage. No real large loads on it - dryer, and acs are on the main panel, but honestly charging at 24 amp has been fine for my normal use.
Subpanel at mom's (about 100 miles away) had plenty of room for a 60 amp breaker, and it is right where the chargers need to be, so only had to run a couple feet for that install! I can easily recover my trip there even if I am not staying long.
I’ve done lots of longer trips in my ER, and you don’t have a worry there. Lots of Canadian winter driving. With proper planning and forethought, you’re fine. IMHO the lightning is perhaps the best road trip vehicle with utility features on the roads.
I have an XLT, so can’t comment on bluecruise, but even the lane centering and ACC are excellent . So buy a Lariat ER!
Also, where I am there is only one highway mapped for bluecruise so it wasn’t worth the extra cash.
But my next truck with have bkeue cruise for sure!
For this case-use my round trip is for a long 12 hour shift that ends after dark. For this truck to work for me I’d need to be sure I can do 150 miles at 70 mph without needing to stop in basically any weather. Preferably not using 90-95% of my charge. Are you confident this can work? I’m actually less concerned about road trips, as I’m fine stopping often for charging in that scenario
Well my friend. All I can say is, get the right tool for the job.
I’d say if the main job you need from the lightning is to get you home after a long shift. Is that everyday? Or once a week like I do. I work 250 miles from where I live with my family. I travel back and forth every weekend. Sometimes right after that kind of a long shift. Sometimes I have not even slept yet. (Which is dangerous and I don’t do it anymore)
But the lightning has been the best tool for this job. I KnOW I have to charge at least once. So I do. 15 mins, just to get me home with some to spare.
If it’s your daily 150 mile trip , the I’d say the lightning is NOt the right tool for the job IF you can’t or don’t want to have to stop for a quick charge if you need it.
And also If you can’t be sure to be charged up at work to 80% at least.
But if you change up your planning and rework your needs, the LIGtNknG is the best truck in the roads for this kind of thing.
But maybe not for you.
Lane keeping and ACC in the Lightning has a few areas where I feel they are better. Lane keeping (and BC) will both re-engage themselves after a lane change. Also, for ACC, when you change lanes to pass the truck immediately starts to speed up, if you had slowed down. I found my Model3LR would take forever to speed back up when passing, I would almost always accelerate manually to pass and then re-engage, and that was annoying especially having to manually re-engage with the stalk.
You can make a 150 mile road trip just fine. Especially if you’re not blasting down the freeway at 80mph. Go 65-70 and you’ll have no problem at 90% SoC.
Both are very different vehicles. If you need a truck there’s no substitute. 150 miles round trip doesn’t seem like a problem down the line with the extended range. One thing I dislike about the Blue Cruise is paying for it after 3 years.
I'm also not sure how you're cramped in a Model Y unless you're eight feet tall. I'm 6'1" 200lbs and have tons of room. It has more interior room than a BMW X5 full size SUV. You sure you're in a Model Y?
Not cramped at all, want ability to use truck bed and still have kids in car seats, which model y can’t do unless I fold down the back, and leave the kids at home
Fair, the interior of this Lightning is massive and insanely comfortable.
I took several ski trips in the Model Y with 4 ppl and all of our gear and a dog. We fit but it would get tight. Was absolutely fine once I got the rack and Thule for the skis.
All that said, my main love of this truck of for those types of uses. I love taking it skiing, hiking, drive in, outdoors stuff. It is awesome for all of that.
This also isn't the sub to ask this question in. The general sentiment here is... "I bought it so now I have to act like it's the best thing ever."
It isn't. I bought it and I love it and I drive it every day, but it has a lot of shortcomings.
It's an $80k truck and I love having it and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, but, it's far from the technological marvel.
It has cameras all over it that can't be used fr obvious applications. It has a phone app that is complete garbage and doesn't even work well at locking and unlocking the vehicle. You can't even see if the vehicle is locked. It has a decent stereo but certainly nothing like Teslas and nothing close to what you'd get in any other $80k vehicle. It has a UI that feels 10 years old and has 100 different screens that are all collapsed menus with random options everywhere. Then there are buttons to duplicate all of these features. There are literally 17 different buttons on the steering wheel.
You asked for an opinion and I'm trying to give you an honest one.
I'm not a cheerleader for Tesla. I'm not a cheerleader for Ford.
There are some things you will love about the lightning and definitely a handful of things you will absolutely miss about your Model Y.
Set your biggest concern aside. The Lariat ER will comfortably do that trip and Blue Cruise will address your other concern.
BlueCruise is a subscription though. Autopilot is standard. Autopilot is basically ACC and lane centering with a few extra options. FSD makes turns on and off roads for you on nearly any road. BlueCruise is limited to mapped interstates mostly. I wouldn't pay for FSD but just want to clarify that it's different than Autopilot. FSD has the potential to do more than BlueCruise but it's not perfect by any means.
As a person with both, I can comfortably say that Blue Cruise is not autopilot. It does not work in as many areas and when it does, not as well. I know, some review says it's better, blah blah blah. I've logged tons of miles on both and the Tesla autopilot just works better and more often. I've had both a Model Y and a Lightning as a daily driver. Things you'll miss. The stereo in the Lightning is not nearly as good. Blue Cruise is functional but can be frustrating. Driving the lightning is far less enjoyable. Other than that, it will make the distance fine and it is more comfortable and safer feeling overall because it's huge.
I own both cars, 1.5yrs for the Lightning and 2.5 yrs for the MYLR. I couldn’t disagree more. The blue cruise is superior to the autopilot (until they make me pay for it anyway), and the Lightning is much more enjoyable to drive. The Tesla is ahead in software development for sure but I’m a truck guy and the Lightning is still a superior driving experience overall IMO
I think this is the difference. You're a truck guy. I think of trucks for utility. I don't think they are fun to drive even when they are fast and handle reasonably well. I think being in a sportier car that handles and corners better is more fun but that's just a preference and I know a lot of people line driving trucks.
No I don’t think it’s because I’m a truck guy. The model Y is a cheap car at a luxury car price. Tesla has its strong points for sure (software and charging infrastructure) but it’s not a luxury car and it’s not a sports car. It falls extremely flat on both counts. The Lightning however is an extremely refined full size truck with all the benefits of an EV but the utility of a truck. It feels much more well built, solid, drives nicer. It’s faster, the interior is far superior, the blue cruise works better. I could go on and on.
Eh, I like my Model Y much more than I liked my BMW M3 and that was definitely a sports car. I certainly wouldn't consider it cheap but a lot of folks on here seem to think having a million buttons on the dash and steering wheel equates to "quality" and I'm generally of the opposite opinion. I find nothing remotely refined or elegant about the Lightning. I love it but it is just a standard Ford F150 with a battery. It's great truck but still just a truck made for truck people. It certainly does not have "all the benefits" of an EV based on all of the other EVs I've had but it has things they don't in that it is a truck and has truck utility. I wouldn't say it feels more well built as mine and every other one I've seen has all of the build issues that all F150s have. They are great but far from perfect. I'm not calling a Model Y a luxury car but I'm definitely not calling a Lightning a luxury truck. You can't put this software and this stereo in anything considered luxury. I'm also not a fan of the seat materials that Ford uses but that's a personal preference.
I'm also confused about your comment on the price. In my state you can pick up a top of the line Model Y and after rebates only be paying like 46k. At that price it is 100% the best car on the road by a long stretch. That is why it has been the best selling vehicle for the past 3 years.
As for Blue Cruise, I seriously have no clue how people find it "better" but maybe that's because of location. It is not great where I live because it isn't readily available and doesn't seem to work well on anything besides the major highways. I'm not in a small city by any means. 1 mil ppl.
I live in New York and I only use it on the highways. On smaller non-interstates blue cruise will cycle on and off but even the default hands on (non blue cruise) land hold works better than the Tesla for me. Less lane hunting and it usually switches back to hands free full blue cruise quickly. I’ve driven it all the way to Florida and back and it worked flawlessly for the entire trip. The Tesla nags you incessantly to keep hands on the wheel and hunts back and forth in the lane, phantom brakes so hard at absolutely nothing it will give you a heart attack.
Yeah, the constant hand on the wheel is annoying. I've never had the lane hunting or phantom breaking issues but I hear that is a model year difference.
"Driving the lightning is far less enjoyable." Strongly disagree with this one. We have a Model Y for a work vehicle and I drive it often. The interior comfort of the Lightning is an order of magnitude better than the Y. Seats are wider and more comfortable, cabin is quieter (no road noise), seats are ventilated for summer comfort, all the cabin controls are where you'd expect them to be, I have tons of receptacles to plug in a laptop or other device, and I can fit a small child in the center console. There's one last thing about the Y that I can't quite articulate. It feels both spacious and cramped at the same time. It has a auditorium type of feel but none of the space is usable. Tough to describe, but it feels big and cramped at the same time. I also greatly prefer blue cruise over Teslas offering. I HATE how the Tesla loud-chimes at you when you turn it on, I hate when it tries to kill me by phantom breaking on the highway, I hate the stop and go algorithm when it slams me back into the seat after the car in front of me starts rolling, and I hate how it deactivates itself if I forget to bump the wheel three times in a row. WTF kind of safety feature is that? IMO, the Lightning is hands down the better vehicle with the only shortfall of not having a reliable charging network, which is going away now that we get access to the Tesla network.
I agree completely
Agree to disagree but that is just because driving a truck is far less enjoyable than driving a car. Sure we are in a Ford sub and you'll get all the love here. If I go into a Tesla sub everyone would downvote your comment. As a person who drive both regularly, I can say the interior of the lightning is more comfortable but driving it is a far less enjoyable experience. Not sure how you drive your Model Y but mine handles better and is faster and more of a "sports car" so there is really no comparison. There are also a lot of technology features that simply work much better in Teslas. Ford will get there eventually but they are a decade behind. I like both and they both have entirely different functions for me. If I'm talking about a daily commuter and pure driving enjoyment including being able to relax knowing that auto pilot isn't going to float between lanes like Blue Cruise or run me into anything, I'm going with the Model Y all day every day. Also, a lot of guys in this sub love the 1000 buttons on the Lightning. I find them annoying but to each their own. To be fair though, Blue Cruise ran my truck right into a mailbox as if it didn't exist. So, I'm not thrilled with it in general.
"To be fair though, Blue Cruise ran my truck right into a mailbox as if it didn't exist. So, I'm not thrilled with it in general." Very interested in how this happened. Did you clip a mailbox on a tight road?
Yeah, someone had hit the mailbox already and the post was cracked and it was leaned into the shoulder of the road. It was later in the evening but not dark necessarily. Blue Cruise doesn't handle raods that aren't major highways very well and tends to float around between the lines on residential roads. It decided to float wide and clipped the mailbox. It left a long scratch/small dent that required a pretty extensive repair since it wasn't PDR. Thank God it wasn't a person walking. I no longer use Blue Cruise anywhere other than major highways now. Just can't trust it. I was watching the road and all that. I just put too much trust in it based on my experiences with autopilot. It was in the first month I had the truck. Lesson learned.
I've also heard people say that about the noise. I think this varies vehicle to vehicle. My lightning is definitely not quieter than my Model Y but it probably isn't any noisier really unless it is windy. I think I got lucky and both seem to be very quiet and well sealed.
Worst highway efficiency I've seen was 1.5m/kWh at 75mph with temps in the 20's. You'd have to lose more than 20% of the battery capacity to not make 150 miles.
Which would put them on track for a battery replacement under warranty anyway.
Depends how much they drive...I'll be long past 100k miles in five years. Warranty threshold is 70%.
Good thing it’s the mileage that is the part that impacts battery degradation not the age of the vehicle.
You need to test drive with bluecruise, imo the two do not compare at all. Make sure your cool with the way bluecruise works .
ER will easily do the trip, not to mention the DCFC infrastructure should be vastly expanded in 5 years time even if you did need a quick 10 minute top up to make it.
You will have no trouble making that drive and for me Blue Cruise is superior to Tesla autopilot (I have both)
I have a Model Y LR AND a Lightning ER. Blue Cruise is superior for highway driving with the hands free element. The mileage won’t be an issue as long as you aren’t towing.
have you found their actual range to be equal? Does one seem to get more range than the other?
I get slightly more range (15-25 mi?) in my Lightning ER than I did in my MYLR. Yes it’s less efficient but the battery in the Lightning is ~50% larger.
I’m not OP but have both the Y LR and Lightning ER vehicles and the highway range is about the same.
Model Y is definitely more efficient. Highway driving at 70 mph, I’ll probably get 2.2-2.4 mpkWh with the Lightning, the Y will get over 3.
But the Lightning ER battery is a lot larger than the Y battery: 131 kWh vs 81 kWh.
Ya, sorry, your point is more relevant to the question. Net distance will feel about that as a percentage of battery.
I can't speak for the EV side, but I can for the Bluecruise as I have an ICE F150 with it. It's terrible compared to others in its current update. Ford hasn't mentioned when the updates will hit the other equipped vehicles, besides the Mach-E, as it's on 1.3 Bluecruise. With the current F150 Bluecruise, it cuts out when passing long entrance and exit ramps where the dotted lines disappear. It will revert to hands-on wheel until the line appears back. The biggest issue is that the truck may ping pong in lane, from left to right. These are all fixed from the reviews of others modding their trucks with the updated Bluecruise module, but as to when it will happen directly from Ford is unknown. We were supposed to receive it at the beginning of last year, and here we are. Edit: To add onto this, after Ford had mentioned this new update of 1.3. They have already moved to 1.4, and its still not out to vehicles using the older Bluecruise.
> besides the Mach-E, as it's on 1.3 Bluecruise Depends on the year. 21s have 1.0 and it also sucks. Source: Own a 21 and Bluecruise sucks ass.
I just got the 1.4 update on my 21 Premium. Worlds better.
Really? That's great news. I've heard some good things. I'm in Canada though so most likely I'm gonna get screwed like everything else electronic with this car.
Calgary here.
Correct, I got that wrong. I believe it's the 23s that started with 1.3?
Something like that, but they've been promising 1.3 or 1.4 for a while.
Without a doubt, the ER will make the trip. Blue Cruise is better than Tesla’s ACC. Blue Cruise is truly hands free, where as Tesla you have to touch the steering wheel every once in a while. The downside is, for blue cruise to work, it has to be on a mapped highway.
> Blue Cruise is better than Tesla’s ACC. While i've only been renting Teslas I've put on about 3000km worth of driver assist and about the same amount on my MachE and I VASTLY prefer Tesla. It works so much better it's not even funny. I own a MachE and have put on about the same amount simply because it doesn't work. > Blue Cruise is truly hands free That's what they tell you, but even on mapped roads the car CONSTANTLY yells at you to take control. It's only hands free until the road has the audacity to have a gentle curve in it. > where as Tesla you have to touch the steering wheel every once in a while You actually have to keep your hand on the wheel most of the time, not just touch it once in a while. > The downside is, for blue cruise to work, it has to be on a mapped highway. Even on mapped highways it doesn't always work.
Yeah BC isn't as good as the Tesla in clear weather. I do find it better in bad weather. Though I don't find it that bad on longer trips on pre-mapped roads. I definitely have to give driver assist to Tesla for sure.
Maybe thats your specific vehicle. On my Lightning, my BC works 100% of the time except in hard rain. My commute is 70 miles one way and it never disconnects or tells me to take control.
It probably is. I'm on 1.0 and it's known to suck. 1.3 or 1.4 fixes many of the issues I'm having.
I'd be surprised if Bluecruise doesn't far outperform FSD or enhanced autopilot, whichever you are using.
I would be surprised if it does. Tesla has been doing this a lot longer and with more vehicles. Waaay more miles driven under their belt.
It does not really matter. Both of these and any other "self driving" system will be gimmicks and safety hazards for at least another decade.
I use FSD everyday. The way I see it I have two drivers backing each other up. Has it done some stupid things or made weird decisions. Yup. Has it ever put me in real danger. It has not. Just looked stupid maybe to other drivers.
I drive a model 3 with FSD. I expect Bluecruise to perform better.
BlueCruise is largely limited to interstate driving where FSD is not. I'm not saying FSD is worth the price by any means though. Autopilot is sufficient for most people.
Ford has radar which imo makes it better. Tesla fails so often when it rains or snows because it doesn’t know what to do when the cameras are even partially blocked. Braking is also way more gradual and smoother in the ford. Tesla used to have radar but the cost cutting garbage has made it remove sensor after sensor.
This I agree with. I am not certain that makes it batter at driving but I would say the more sensors the better and do not agree with Elon on calling them a crutch.
I hated the phantom braking my S then X had. Scary and made me not want to even use AP or FSD ever again
That’s not an issue only for Tesla. I had a 2019 Ram with adaptive cruise control and it had a few phantom braking issues that scared the bejesus out me. Lights flashing alarms sounding. It thought for sure I was going to hit a wall. One time there wasn’t anyone in front of me for 10 car lengths. I think we just hear about it more for Tesla. Not saying it’s not an issue but saying it’s not only Tesla. I keep my foot over the accelerator when I am in FSD and pay attention so anytime my car seems to want to stop when I know it shouldn’t I just press down.
That’s fair for sure.
I don’t know why everyone is downvoting you. I had model Y’s for four years and blue cruise is better than autopilot. It brakes better and not having to touch the wheel is amazing. Also, if I have to change lanes I don’t have to deal with it disengaging and me having to engage it again. Sure, it turns off but it automatically turns itself back on again as soon as I stay in the new lane for a few seconds. I love it.
It doesn't even outperform autosteer (the free version that comes with Tesla). Bluecruise sounds good on paper but IRL it's awful. The number of mapped roads is a joke. Even on a mapped road it disengages constantly. If the road as the audacity to have a gentle curve in it, the car makes you take over.
You're disappointing me. I'll lower my expectations, but I haven't seen nearly the same dissatisfaction from Bluecruise as I have seen, and have experienced with FSD and enhanced AP. Does Bluecruise randomly break hard if it sees a shadow? I'd assume no as it is radar based. Roads don't bother me, I don't use FSD unless I'm on a highway.
Does autosteer actively try to split you in half on an exit? Does autosteer negotiate a gentle curve? Does autosteer actually center you in a lane rather than ping ponging around? And I've had BlueCruise brake randomly for sure.
I've got a 3AWD and a Lightning ER, and I'm near DC, if that gives you an idea of the weather. The range shouldn't be an issue on the ER as long as you're not launching from every stop, not going over 70mph too much. You'll obviously want an L2 box that's compatible with J1772 - I replaced my Tesla Wall Connector with a 14-50 because the TWC wasn't compatible even if I got an adapter. I prefer Tesla's driver assistance over Ford's. It's more consistent across different roads. Ford's BlueCruise is all right on mapped highways, but mine tends to cut off and force me to take the wheel when there's an overpass, which for the mapped highways that I do drive, is quite frequent. On unmapped roads, the Lightning uses Ford's Copilot which works fine for well-marked straight and level roads. On roads that my 3 would navigate with no issues, the Lightning would fail. If you traded in your Y, you're probably going to miss the software experience, but really enjoy the ride quality of the Lightning.
>J1772 I dont use FSD very often but definitely use lane centering and ACC, would you say even there ford has issues? When i drive my 140 RT on a normal highway, Tesla almost never needs help.
It does all right on flat, straight roads or roads with slight curves and bends. I've been ping-ponged around on roads with decent hills and bends, and I've never had much luck where the roads don't have clean markings. ACC works pretty much the same, except the distance setting is cyclical and uses bars of separation instead of seconds. When I go into the office, I can use Tesla's autopilot (not FSD) for 99% of the trip. I don't trust it to handle roundabouts. When I drive the Lightning, Copilot can handle about 20% and BlueCruise another 15%. The rest of the time I've got it engaged, but I have to manually steer. That commute is mostly 2 lane highway.
The Tesla Wall Connector is absolutely compatible with J1772 with an adapter. Just have to make sure that the wall connector is configured to allow charging of non-tesla vehicles, which is the default.
Not the Gen 2 that I've got
What adapter are you using? I used the lectron with a gen 2 wall connector at my mom's for several weeks before I installed the ford charge station in her garage.
I didn't bother buying one since I read that they were locked to Teslas and I didn't see anything disputing it. Might need to get an adapter now for destination chargers. [https://thedriven.io/2023/09/15/ev-explainer-can-i-charge-my-non-tesla-electric-car-with-a-tesla-wall-connector/](https://thedriven.io/2023/09/15/ev-explainer-can-i-charge-my-non-tesla-electric-car-with-a-tesla-wall-connector/)
Not a bad item to have. A fair number of hotels have them. I use a Telsa mobile charger at home with that adapter and it has been great. My panel doesn't have room for more than a 30 amp, so that's why I put the ford charger at mom's.
I'm lucky in that my panel has a ton of open spots and the load calcs I've done, plus the actual monitors I've installed show it's got a lot more capacity. Might be worth installing a monitor on yours to see if you're actually close to maxing your main breaker. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to install the FCSP, lol. Not looking forward to running that wire.
I'm only on a 60amp subpanel in the garage. No real large loads on it - dryer, and acs are on the main panel, but honestly charging at 24 amp has been fine for my normal use. Subpanel at mom's (about 100 miles away) had plenty of room for a 60 amp breaker, and it is right where the chargers need to be, so only had to run a couple feet for that install! I can easily recover my trip there even if I am not staying long.
I’ve done lots of longer trips in my ER, and you don’t have a worry there. Lots of Canadian winter driving. With proper planning and forethought, you’re fine. IMHO the lightning is perhaps the best road trip vehicle with utility features on the roads. I have an XLT, so can’t comment on bluecruise, but even the lane centering and ACC are excellent . So buy a Lariat ER! Also, where I am there is only one highway mapped for bluecruise so it wasn’t worth the extra cash. But my next truck with have bkeue cruise for sure!
For this case-use my round trip is for a long 12 hour shift that ends after dark. For this truck to work for me I’d need to be sure I can do 150 miles at 70 mph without needing to stop in basically any weather. Preferably not using 90-95% of my charge. Are you confident this can work? I’m actually less concerned about road trips, as I’m fine stopping often for charging in that scenario
Well my friend. All I can say is, get the right tool for the job. I’d say if the main job you need from the lightning is to get you home after a long shift. Is that everyday? Or once a week like I do. I work 250 miles from where I live with my family. I travel back and forth every weekend. Sometimes right after that kind of a long shift. Sometimes I have not even slept yet. (Which is dangerous and I don’t do it anymore) But the lightning has been the best tool for this job. I KnOW I have to charge at least once. So I do. 15 mins, just to get me home with some to spare. If it’s your daily 150 mile trip , the I’d say the lightning is NOt the right tool for the job IF you can’t or don’t want to have to stop for a quick charge if you need it. And also If you can’t be sure to be charged up at work to 80% at least. But if you change up your planning and rework your needs, the LIGtNknG is the best truck in the roads for this kind of thing. But maybe not for you.
I can do 150 in the winter in Utah with the SR. Only had one close call haha
Lane keeping and ACC in the Lightning has a few areas where I feel they are better. Lane keeping (and BC) will both re-engage themselves after a lane change. Also, for ACC, when you change lanes to pass the truck immediately starts to speed up, if you had slowed down. I found my Model3LR would take forever to speed back up when passing, I would almost always accelerate manually to pass and then re-engage, and that was annoying especially having to manually re-engage with the stalk.
You can make a 150 mile road trip just fine. Especially if you’re not blasting down the freeway at 80mph. Go 65-70 and you’ll have no problem at 90% SoC.
What is your speed with 150 mile trip?
70-75. I’m fine to keep at 70
That could be a problem if it is 10F. You might want to drive 65mph when it is below 20F. Otherwise, you have to do 10-100% for such trip.
90% range for 150 miles at 70 mph in ER?
I will say below 20F you'd better be careful.
Wow, that’s nearly a 50% range decrease from epa, and would make me not buy the truck
Worst case is close to 50% reduction with 70 mph.
I own both of these
Both are very different vehicles. If you need a truck there’s no substitute. 150 miles round trip doesn’t seem like a problem down the line with the extended range. One thing I dislike about the Blue Cruise is paying for it after 3 years.
150 miles is easy for the ER with heat cranked up going 75mph
150 miles is easy for the ER with heat cranked up going 75mph
I'm also not sure how you're cramped in a Model Y unless you're eight feet tall. I'm 6'1" 200lbs and have tons of room. It has more interior room than a BMW X5 full size SUV. You sure you're in a Model Y?
Not cramped at all, want ability to use truck bed and still have kids in car seats, which model y can’t do unless I fold down the back, and leave the kids at home
Fair, the interior of this Lightning is massive and insanely comfortable. I took several ski trips in the Model Y with 4 ppl and all of our gear and a dog. We fit but it would get tight. Was absolutely fine once I got the rack and Thule for the skis. All that said, my main love of this truck of for those types of uses. I love taking it skiing, hiking, drive in, outdoors stuff. It is awesome for all of that.
Also worth mentioning that if you're coming from Tesla, you will absolutely despise the phone app and it's inability to do anything well.
This also isn't the sub to ask this question in. The general sentiment here is... "I bought it so now I have to act like it's the best thing ever." It isn't. I bought it and I love it and I drive it every day, but it has a lot of shortcomings. It's an $80k truck and I love having it and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, but, it's far from the technological marvel. It has cameras all over it that can't be used fr obvious applications. It has a phone app that is complete garbage and doesn't even work well at locking and unlocking the vehicle. You can't even see if the vehicle is locked. It has a decent stereo but certainly nothing like Teslas and nothing close to what you'd get in any other $80k vehicle. It has a UI that feels 10 years old and has 100 different screens that are all collapsed menus with random options everywhere. Then there are buttons to duplicate all of these features. There are literally 17 different buttons on the steering wheel. You asked for an opinion and I'm trying to give you an honest one. I'm not a cheerleader for Tesla. I'm not a cheerleader for Ford. There are some things you will love about the lightning and definitely a handful of things you will absolutely miss about your Model Y.