Something Is Wrong.  We see observations related to at-home charging all the time, where the EVSE isn't acting right.  A break from the pattern or simply not matching what others online observe is reason for concern.  This was such a post today: "Usually, it takes 12 hours to charge and get 50+ miles charge.  Recently, the charger was blinking and I was getting 25 miles or so maximum..."  That was good reason to ask what's going on.  I jumped into that discussion right away to provide some detail before speculation got out of hand:  1.44 kW is the draw (default 12-amp setting) to expect from 120-volt charging.  That will deliver about 17 kWh of electricity in 12 hours.  At an efficiency of 3 mi/kWh, you can get about 51 miles from that. 0.96 kW is what you'll get at the lower setting (8-amp), which would deliver about 34 miles.  Only seeing 25 miles is a dead giveaway something is wrong.  Stress from using an inappropriate extension-cord is likely the cause of the EVSE showing an error.  12-gauge or heavier cord is required, one designed for higher sustained load.  That is something you must specially purchase at a hardware store.  A regular extension-cord will be under powered.

Road Trip, cost.  It was a legitimate question to ask of my road trip: "What do you think cost was?"  I had considered that long before actually setting out on my adventure, sharing this about the outcome:  My purpose was reconnaissance and observation of the recent major software update from Toyota.  Chargers there still bill by-the-minute and I pushed to 100% twice, the slowest battery level to replenish.  When I actually do a trip up north later this year, I will be away from fast-charging for an extended period and won't have the luxury of time then.  Learning those limits was vital, even if it meant getting robbed blind by the only chargers available.  It's like going to the State Fair for a day of fun.  You don't care how much each food item costs, as long as you stay within the budget allocated for the day... which is exactly what I did for this trip.  btw, my destination objective was coffee & scones.  They are our favorites, an easy justification for the 171 miles of driving each way to collect data from.  It also cancelled out any bias travel direction may have contributed to, since I immediately turned around to return home after that purchase was complete.

While that is a great result, it is still inconvenient, expensive and risky.  PHEV is still the way to go.

Road Trip, range.  The most difficult concept for a new owner to grasp is how estimates are achieved.  Since most people had never paid attention with their gas vehicle, it is an unfamiliar calculation.  Far too many assumptions are made about efficiency, to the point where some will get quite upset upon coming to grips with the process.  They don't realize how many factors are involved and how big of an influence each can be.  It is why I reference "mi/kWh" so often.  Attention needs to be stirred about what is really important.  Range only matters if you are depleting the entire battery-pack.  If you are charging before that, efficiency is what you should be focused on.  That's so you can figure out where to stop next for a recharge.  Of course, if you know your vehicles efficiency, an app can do that for you.  This is what I had to say about that topic, now that I have concluded road trip of my own:  Measured efficiency (including charge losses) was 3.56 mi/kWh.  Knowing we have 65 kWh total available (usable battery-capacity), that calculates to a range of 231 miles for my AWD model.  Since EPA rating is 222 miles, I am going to really come down hard on those trying to stir trouble who claim range estimates are exaggerated or unrealistic.  This real-world round-trip drive clearly proves that they are feeding rhetoric.

That's great, even without taking into consideration that most of those miles were highway with the A/C a majority of the time.

Road Trip, 4th.  This was the chance I had always wondered about, but wasn't sure it would be realistic to try.  Prior to the big software update, you could only DC fast-charge twice within a 24-hour period before speed would be throttled down.  I had already used DC three times and this was about to be my 4th in less than 10 hours.  Dashboard indicated 26% for level of the battery (58 miles estimated range).  True state-of-charge from OCD-II reader showed 29%.  Both showed I was at a very nice point for taking advantage of fast-charging.  Lower is ideal, since that's how you squeeze out the fastest rate.  I was simply looking for something someone with range-anxiety would be more likely to experience.  That was pretty much perfect, as was timing & location.  336.2 miles of that 170-mile round trip brought me very close to home.  Stopping there at the DC fast-charger to find out how fast it could draw charge #4 was a must.  I was quite curious.  Results were not disappointing.  72.1 kW very nice to see.  That's a decent rate for a 100 kW rated battery.  Other vehicles are obviously faster.  Heck, even the other bZ4X battery is faster.  But that isn't the point for this purchase, nor Toyota's intent.  It was a very uneventful road trip... exactly what people hope for.

Road Trip, picnic.  There's a small town at the midpoint between the last major city along the main corridor through the state and the highway I was traveling on.  It hosted a DC fast-charger and two level-2 chargers at a beautiful park along the river, by a small dam.  It was a great place to grab food somewhere and have a picnic while recharging.  So, I did.  The opportunity is nice, but quite expensive.  The remote location has a connection-fee and you get billed by the minute.  That's a rather outdated approach.  The first DC experience this morning cost only a fraction of what this will cost.  But that's fine.  Someday it will be upgraded.  Others have already.  I was just happy to have it available for my exploration today.  This is what I posted online as I was wrapping up the stop:  49% of the battery (dashboard value) took me 112.5 miles.  That's a solid 22 miles per 10%, making for an easy on-the-fly estimate of available range.  I stopped to charge again.  Ending that session at 80% is plenty to get home from here.  Seeing 47.6 kW as the draw upon plugging in made me still have impression of faster being better, but this trip made it obvious how fast more important it is to simply have more available chargers.  Time to get back to driving.

Road Trip, unexpected.  I stopped for lunch.  There was a lone DC fast-charger, but it was convenient and didn't appear to have any demand.  So, I took advantage stayed for a nice meal.  It was just about done charging as I was paying the bill.  That meant there was more electricity available than I had originally planned.  That unexpected opportunity to drive to the farthest anticipated destination was realistic.  I got there just fine too.  I was a steady drive north on a country highway I have traveled on many, many times over the years.  At the turnaround point, 170.5 miles had been driven.  16.37 kWh was used to get me back up to 100% at that previous recharge.  I was  now at 70% and efficiency has been outstanding. 3.7 mi/kWh on the highway (65 mph) with A/C running is awesome.

Road Trip, curiosity.  I simply wanted to know what was realistic, in 2023 prior to infrastructure investments.  bZ4X is an awesome vehicle for anything you would normally do.  Road trips are far from any routine.  If your destination is only a few hours away and you have the ability to recharge there, no big deal.  So, I embarked on an excursion that would eventually become exactly that.  Currently, it isn't.  But I could still give it a go.  So, I did and posted:  I started the journey at 100%.  First stop, 34.7 miles used 11% dashboard.  True SOC started at 95.3% and ended up at 83.9% when I parked.  Really wanting to give the software update a try, I stopped at our premiere suburb city.  (They are attempting to get 115 chargers in place by year-end!)  There are 4 DC fast-chargers by food & entertainment.   First charger faulted 3 times (with a loud clunk).  Blah.  The second next to it worked fine.  Despite such a high SOC, the 4X AWD was still able to pull a rate above 13 kW.  That's a good top-off while I walk for a snack.  Got it back up to 100% in 40 minutes.  Stay tuned for updates.

Ford Loses Billions.  That's the big news lately.  BEV are expensive and being competitive requires sacrifice.  Ford's choice has been to sacrifice profit, quite different from Toyota.  You'll obviously get more vehicles on the road by accepting an loss from each sale.  That's what Ford wants.  The goal for Toyota is to simply refine the technology among a small sampling of owners across a wide variety of markets.  In other words, it's a matter of deciding how to deal with risk.  Though such dissimilarity with approach, both have long-term goals in mind.  With all that said, business itself must continue.  Both automakers share the same idea in that regard.  Each is coming up with plans to use hybrids for their transition.  With so many others just hoping for the best with BEV, seeing the alternative of diversifying instead is refreshing.  There's no saying a dramatic switch to all-electric will go smoothly.  In fact, there is pretty much a guarantee it won't.  Some don't share that assessment though.  Some feel the opposite: "Madness really, it's blindingly obvious full EVs will undercut hybrids on price before they can even get a new hybrid to market."  I found that conclusion nonsense.  What part is obvious?  I replied with:  Interesting choice of words.  One must turn a blind-eye toward the rising price of lithium and growing obsession with range.  It's a combination of EVs facing new challenges.  No longer is it just a matter of proving the technology viable.  There is a very real benefit for plug-in hybrids to address the struggle for business with change and to endorse overnight recharging.  With Ford's upcoming Ranger hybrid, there is an expectation for a plug-in model to follow.  Like it or not, PHEV both compliment & promote BEV purchases.  Being blind to profit-loss by focusing only on engineering continues to be a failing of EV enthusiasts.

Dead End.  The attacks from "vastly superior" owners are statements to their lack of concern for the masses.  Mainstream priorities of no interest to their niche mindset.  Being better is vital, so they simply don't care.  They dismiss.  It makes their rhetoric easy to ignore.  What is far more difficult is the onslaught of attacks trying to undermine plug-in hybrids.  That crowd tries to mislead.  They post misinformation on a regular basis, blending it into discussion in a subtle manner to keep messaging alive.  It's a narrative that persists with little attention.  Every now and then though, something disrupts that to make their efforts standout.  Today, it was the reveal that Mazda would be ending production of their only BEV in favor of PHEV.  That obviously really upset some purists.  This particular post to that affect stood out: "PHEVs are a dead end business model.  Electrified by 2030?  RIP Mazda.  The end is near.  You won't be missed."  It is that same theme of doom & gloom we often see aimed at Toyota.  They express a sentiment of imminent failure.  There is no sense of transition.  They world of purists is a binary one.  You go straight from ICE to BEV.  Ugh.  Nothing else matters.  There are no barriers to overcome.  It's just they declare a technology viable, then you must switch directly to it.  There is no in between.  Again, ugh.  I responded to today's nonsense with:  That misses the point.  Using a technology to bridge is quite valid.  Since when is a jump-off-the-cliff approach from ICE to BEV a sound business choice?  If a so-called "dead end" is leveraged to provide a means of reducing disruption by providing an easier transition, where is the problem?  Take off the rose-colored glasses.  The market is clearly facing from infrastructure challenges that will still take many years to address.

Done!  Just under 3 hours, including tire rotation.  The plan is to go over to sales across the street to say "Hi" to my salesperson and give him the update.  Then, I will head over to the nearby new construction (actually, it is a grocery store that has temporarily halted building) to try out the DC fast-charger already operational there.  It is a new brand, currently the only CCS from that them in the state of Minnesota.  So, I'll get a brief opportunity with that while checking out the software update.  Following that, it's off to earn my paycheck.  Time to play more with the 4X will come later.

Updated In Progress.  Already well aware of what it will provide, it's basically just a matter of waiting.  I will login to work, grab a coffee, eat donut, while also mentioning online that my update is in progress.  I posted this following:  My turn for the software update.  It's anyone's guess how long it will take.  They had it connected for the download right away.  That was 15 minutes ago...  Being at 4,987 miles made it incredibly convenient to get tires rotated at the same time.  There was a new 4X in the bay being prepped for purchase.  That was nice to see.  Stay tuned.

Software Update.  My appointment is scheduled for tomorrow.  I wanted to jump on the opportunity right away, but we had people from out of state visiting at work.  I couldn't miss that.  It is really nice getting to spend some time with remote co-workers in person.  So, I had to setup the work to be done after that.  Timing should still work out well.  Tomorrow is Wednesday.  I have plans to take advantage of a Friday off from work to go try out the software update.  A day up north would be great.  I'm not sure how far I will go, but the chance to explore what is available for DC fast-charging and even level-2 options could be handy.  In the Fall, hope is to travel even further for some time to relax.  The changes to DC usage will be interesting.  Rather than being limited to 2 per day, it will get increased to roughly 3.85 times based on a complex algorithm that takes a variety of inputs into account.  Factors like temperatures, depth of discharge, duration of recharge, and obvious speed will all play a role.  Supposedly, there is an influence of level-2 use in between DC sessions will be at play as well.  Getting to see % on the dashboard will be handy.  I figured it was only a matter of time.  Percent display had been requested for the original PHV too.  Toyota delivered it back then.  They made it an option you had to select in Prime.  So, giving the KISS approach an initial try before providing it for bZ4X made sense.  What did they have to lose?  Getting it now demonstrates how customer feedback is responded to.  This automaker listened to complaints & suggestions.  Anywho, I'll be thankful the range estimates will be more accurate.  The generic awareness approach was freaking people out... since they assumed the big drop would happen regardless of what setting they selected.  Ugh.  Know your audience.  Hopefully, my update won't take long.  Fortunately, my vehicle is extremely close to 5,000 miles.  So, I will be able to get the tires rotated at the same time.