I Spent An Hour Testing Apple Maps EV Routing With My Ford Mach-E And Found Five Critical Flaws That Make Google Maps And ABRP Far Superior For Electric Road Trips

There’s an old truism in the car world: you don’t really know a car until you’ve tried to break it. Not literally break it, but live with it, take it across state lines, plug it into public chargers at midnight, and trust it when the screen tells you there’s 38 miles of range left and the next charger is 35 away. Somewhere in that process, the shine wears off and reality starts talking. 

That’s what happened to Ford owner Martin Meek Jr., who recently shared his firsthand experience testing Apple Maps’ new EV routing function in his family’s Mach-E. What started as a simple road-trip prep session turned into a master class on where even the most sophisticated tech companies still stumble.

Here’s what Martin Meek Jr., an all-star contributor in the Ford F-150 Lightning Owners Group, had to say:

"Bottom line for this post is TLDR.... Apple Maps EV routing SUCKS!

As some on you know me, I have spent tons of hours using EV route planning with Google, APRP and Ford Nav. I have made lots of YT videos on Martin Rebuilds for lightning specific content including the mess of route planning we all deal with. Its not that in the current form Google, ABRP or Fords navigation is that bad but it could be better. But Apple Maps for EV is a hot mess.

My daughter is taking my my wife's Mach E back to Florida next weekend as I fix her damaged tesla. We spent over an hour last night connecting her paak to the Mach E, then car-play and tried Apple route planning (most of the time was planning, or trying to). This is the first time I've spent significant time trying to route plan with it. She was like "it's really this hard, in my tesla I just click home and it does everything". I told her telsa is far superior in tech, but this Apple mapping is ridiculous.

Observations-

You can't pinch to zoom, completely dumb. 

You can't change charging stops, what in the actual crap! 

It won't show other suggested charging stops along the route during routing. Google and ABRP does this.

Trying to look up charging stations under the "search charging stations" button is worthless, only shows "x distance" out from your location and you can not refresh area. 

Doesn't tell you the length of time at a charging stop in the plan. All the other systems do this. 

For those of you who are apple users and are still using the factory navigation, I didn't understand why until last night. I was just assuming the apple mapping would be much better than the factory nav. Now, I completely get it. Google EV routing, ABRP and even the ford factory nav is light years ahead of apple ev mapping. 

I don't think I am going to send her back to Florida using Apple Mapping software. I think I will have her install and use ABRP instead. For those who are thinking why not use the factory nav, our Mach-E is a 21 and the connected nav is expired.

Ok I'm done griping now, back to work."

Meek’s post reads like a diagnosis from someone who wanted to love the system and just couldn’t. His frustration isn’t born of bias but experience. He’s an enthusiast who lives in both the Ford and Tesla ecosystems and has tried every major EV routing platform. His takeaways are the kind you can only earn through repetition, through late nights syncing phones, connecting apps, and testing routes that should have been simple. And that’s where Apple’s well-publicized partnership with Ford and Tesla’s charging network finds itself under real-world scrutiny.

Fellow Lightning owner Rick Kimminau confirmed that the struggle wasn’t unique. “I completely agree,” he wrote. “I tried Apple Maps traveling from Wichita to Little Rock. It rerouted me through OKC instead of Tulsa with no warning that I was aware of.” That single line underscores the Achilles’ heel of digital navigation: one bad instruction and your trip can go from smooth to stressful in a heartbeat. For EV drivers, rerouting without explanation means potential range loss and uncertainty about where the next charger waits.

Other members of the group chimed in with a mix of humor and disbelief. Andrew Rosenberg commented, “Apple has maps?? Been using Google Maps forever.” Zachary Scott Carpenter recalled the early-2010s fiasco when Apple’s cartography missteps became legend, reminding everyone that mapping isn’t just software, it’s a lifeline. Hunter Brown added his own comparison: “We drove my wife’s Y from NC to Florida recently and I was reminded how far ahead Tesla is. It’s really sad Ford can’t get it together with the connected navigation. I’m on iPhone and would love Google Maps EV support.” His sentiment reflects what many EV owners already know: Tesla’s system, love it or not, remains the benchmark.

In fairness, Apple’s EV routing ambitions make sense on paper. Integration with Tesla’s Supercharger network, simplified CarPlay connectivity, and automatic charging-stop recommendations all sound like game-changing ideas. But execution matters more than theory. If a driver can’t zoom in, adjust a stop, or refresh search areas, then even the best partnerships fall flat. For Apple, a company known for frictionless user experiences, this kind of friction stands out like a squeaky trim panel in a luxury car.

For Ford, the takeaway is equally instructive. Hardware excellence has carried the Blue Oval for more than a century, but in the EV era, software matters just as much as horsepower. Navigation isn’t an accessory anymore; it’s a core function that defines how a driver experiences range, trust, and confidence. The best electric vehicles are as much rolling computers as they are machines, and when the computer stumbles, the whole experience falters.

Apple’s EV routing missteps don’t erase its potential, and Ford’s integration choices aren’t mistakes so much as growing pains. But for the people who rely on this tech every day, from Lightning owners in Kansas to Mach-E drivers heading to Florida, the message is clear. The open road is unforgiving, and navigation, digital or otherwise, has to earn your trust one mile at a time.

Image Sources: Ford Media Center

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.