How I went on a 1,200-mile road trip in an EV – and survived

Estonian World’s executive editor Sten Hankewitz drove his fully electric Ford Mustang Mach-E – his Pony, as he affectionately calls it – from central New Hampshire to Toronto and back; not only did he survive, but having driven an EV actually helped keep him sane during the long solo drive.

When Estonian World’s editor-in-chief, Silver Tambur, asked me whether I wanted to drive to Toronto to cover KESKfEST, an Estonian festival at the almost-finished diaspora centre, Keskus, my first reaction was, “hell to the no”. Six hundred miles there and six hundred back, Jebus, I’d go insane and then some. Added to the fact that I drive an electric vehicle – a Ford Mustang Mach-E that I affectionately call my Pony – that trip had all the hallmarks of a doomsday journey, ending with me somewhere in the middle of nowhere with an empty battery and no one to save me.

But it got me thinking. What if this is the perfect test to see if it’s possible to undertake a lengthy road trip in an EV? A few years ago, I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal chronicling four drivers on four separate EV road trips. None of them were happy with the experience. Whether hindered by range limits or broken chargers, all ran into headaches and concluded that we simply weren’t ready for mass EV adoption.

So, today being 2026, are we ready now? Well, truth be told, I don’t know if I can answer this question. After all, driving from central New Hampshire to Toronto isn’t quite an expedition into the wilderness. Charging hubs were plentiful along the corridor, so as long as I kept an eye on my range, getting truly stranded seemed unlikely – if not impossible. 

Then again, there were still risks and challenges. What if the charger doesn’t work? Will I make it to another one? Will that one work? Will it be fast enough? Will I make it to Toronto today? Considering it’s a 600-mile trip that without the charging stops would take at least ten and a half hours, every minute was important and accounted for. I had to make it to Toronto by the evening as the event was going to start the next morning. So, plenty of things could’ve still gone wrong.

Plan on more stops rather than fewer

And so I figured, let’s do it. Best case scenario, I get to meet new people, report on an important event, write this very article, and meet my Canuck friend Jason whom I hadn’t seen in twelve years. Worst case scenario… It rubs the lotion on its skin?

Let’s start with some stats on the Pony. Mine is the Premium trim with an extended-range battery, which is 91 kWh. Its official range is 300 miles (480 km), but that really depends on where and how one drives it. Contrary to the gas-powered car, an EV uses more electricity on the highway and less in the city at slow speeds. So when I normally get on a mixed city-highway drive anything from 3.3 to 3.7 miles to the kWh (16.8-18.9 kWh/100 km), driving on a highway at speeds 70 mph+ (112 km/h+) will surely drain my battery faster than normal.

Taking that into the account, I had Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, plan me a route from my home to Toronto. I had initially thought that if it’s 600 miles, give or take, two charging stops should be more than enough. Good thing I listened to that Terminator incarnation that strongly advised to plan for three to four. Even if I had started with a 100% full battery, I would’ve not made it with only two stops. In fact, three would’ve been cutting it close. Four stops, however, turned out to be the optimal plan.

I started from my home at 8:05 in the morning. I had 84% of the battery and it showed my range as 244 miles. I had decided my first stop will be near Concord, the beautiful capital of New Hampshire, where I arrived at 9:28. I had done 60 miles and my power usage was 4.1 miles to the kWh (15 kWh/100 km), which was very good, but I had really driven on small slow country roads.

The next charging spot I had picked in Latham, NY, near Albany, the rather hideous capital of New York State. I left Concord at 9:57 AM with 90% of battery and 266 miles of range, and arrived in Latham at 1 PM. I had done 144 miles since Concord, and the Pony showed 114 miles left, 41%, 3.5 miles to the kWh. So, along the way, I had lost eight miles of range – which, again, wasn’t too bad.

Highway drive can consume more energy than you think

I departed Latham at 1:35 PM with 85% of battery and 243 miles of range. But now I was on the interstate, so I wasn’t constrained by meager speed limits. It’s 70 mph+ most of the way now, at least until the Canadian border.

Arrived at my third charging stop in Syracuse, NY, at 3:39 PM, with 30% of battery left and the range showing as 80%. I had done 143 miles – so I lost 20 miles of range, doing, on average, 2.8 miles to the kWh (22 kWh/100 km). This meant, at highway speeds, my battery had the potential range of only 254 miles.

This one, now, was a long stop, because I had another almost 150 miles to go to the next chosen charging station. So, I left Syracuse at 4:24 PM with my battery 85% full and showing 234 miles of range. Let’s roll!

The fourth and the final charging stop I had chosen near Buffalo, NY, which is already at the Canadian border. I arrived at the station at 6:30, having had done 140 miles since the last charge. I had 30% of battery left and again it showed 80 miles – even though my consumption had gotten a little better, three miles to the kWh (21 kWh/100 km). But regardless of the better average consumption, I had again lost 14 miles of range, compared with what it was when I left Syracuse.

Onwards and upwards – took off from Buffalo at 7 PM with 78% of battery and 210 miles of range. Should be plenty, I figured, as it was only about a hundred miles left until Toronto. 

And turns out – it was. My strategy – charge to about the double the miles you need until your next charger – paid off and then some, so I arrived in Toronto at 9 PM with 43% of battery and 115 miles of range still left. The average consumption was again three miles to the kWh, and on that stretch, I gained five miles of range, compared with the 210 it showed me after the last charge. So all was well in my world.

From my home to Toronto through New York State, it was altogether 587.9 miles. It took me 13 hours – with the charging stops – to cover the distance that in a gas-powered car should’ve taken about ten and a half to eleven. It all made sense – four 30-minute charging stops added the two hours. 

A little fun with the chargers and apps

The drive back was almost as uneventful. Since I decided to mix it up, I drove home through eastern Ontario and Quebec, which was a much better choice, especially Quebec where the roads are smooth (at least in the summer) and the motorists polite (quelle surprise, right!), especially compared with New York State where the roads are horrid and the motorists are assholes. 

There was one incident in Quebec, though, that started to worry me a little, but at the end, it all worked out. The charging station I had chosen near Montreal, in a small town with the wonderfully mouthful moniker of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, only had two fast chargers and they were both occupied when I got there. I found another station not far away, but that one was out of the Ford network and I needed a separate app for that. 

However, when trying to create an account in that app, the only country option there was Puerto Rico, and I definitely wasn’t there, so after some choice swear words and a spike in blood pressure, I gave up on that one and decided to search for a third charger – worrying at the same time that, considering I only have 50 miles of range left, will I actually make it to a station that allows me to charge the Pony?

The road to the third station, though, took me past the first one that I had initially picked, and fortunately, this one had one charger open again – so, panic avoided, the Pony got its much-needed charge and I was happy again.

On the drive back, most of the way from Toronto to Littleton, NH – which is already almost home – was highway, so my average electricity consumption lingered around 2.7 miles to the kWh (23 kWh/100 km). Considerably less than my normal average, but hey, I was in a hurry home. And, since I had again planned on four charging stops, it worked out well. Charged the last time in Stanstead, QC, right before crossing back into the United States, from where I had 204 miles of range for a 147-mile trip. Made it home with 28% of battery left and still 70 more miles of range – mainly thanks to the fact that almost the entire way from Derby Line, VT, to my home, was downhill.

EVs are good for us

So, is it possible to go on a 1,200-mile road trip in an electric vehicle? Damn right it is. Especially in the northeastern United States and the densely populated provinces of Canada like Ontario and Quebec. It’s also worth noting that fast chargers in Canada are somewhat cheaper than in the US. Then again, most things are.

But the most important aspect of going on a lengthy road trip in an EV – especially on a solo journey – is the fact that you are forced to charge your vehicle. I.e., you’re forced to stop, to take a break, to turn yourself off from driving and do something – literally anything – else than fight with other drivers on a busy highway. These breaks may have very well helped me stay sane during these long drives – and perhaps even stay safe and alive. 

Sure, one can say that nothing stops you from taking a break when driving a gas-powered car. Indeed, but do you? When you’re on a 600-mile road trip, it’s your instinct to keep going rather than stop and take a half-an-hour break. You want to get there earlier and then rest, not rest during the trip and get there alive. 

Therefore, I posit that EVs are good for us. Not only are they quiet, quick, agile and very much fun to drive (and very cheap to drive, compared with the internal combustion engine and today’s gas prices), they also make us think about ourselves when we’re on the road. And I like that about them, too.