Model 3 Mid Range, Trip Test #2

[JeffKeryk]

Went to our home in Petaluma again today, 90 miles each way from Los Gatos. Fly up 280 (70 to 90 mph), across the GG, through Marin (hi Robin WIlliams) and up to the wine country. Nice ride.
Left home with 216, which is about 90% charge, got there with 48% or 116 miles (I think). At Petaluma we picked and sprayed weeds, thanks to the recent rains. I hate weeding, but the result is so rewarding.
My return plan was to drive south past SF then charge for 5 to 10 minutes and buzz on home.
Well, the car said we could make it all the way with 26 miles to spare. I did keep it under 80 most of the way. Got home with 11% and 16 miles (I think).

It will take 6+ hours to charge at home (240V, 32A). But basically free fuel vs $40 for the GS and $55 for the Tundra.
I am learning how these cars work; how you manage your range anxiety. Our Mid Range RWD is pretty efficient.
We probably drove about 10 miles in town, getting lunch and stuff.

If I charged to 100% before starting, it would have been a breeze with miles to spare.
I would not like to drive to LA with this car, but I could. The Long Range cars (Model 3 and Y) are rated at 330 miles, which makes them pretty darn good for a day trip. I think my car is rated at 260; that ain't gonna happen unless your are on a route with a lotta regen.

I am pretty jazzed with today's experiment. The downside is, getting home on E means I have to charge for an hour to get 30 more miles. If I had to be somewhere right now, this could be a problem. I might need a Supercharger, another vehicle, something.
Probably the best choice would be to start at 100% or stop and grab a coffee at a Supercharger for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

[ecotourist]

There is a learning curve to driving a Tesla on a long trip. I've learned a lot and I expect there is more to go.

And a Tesla is not at its best a long drive.

Some useful discussion:
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2023/04/27/why-buy-model-y/

 

[Torrid]

I like the RWD for its lighter weight which handles better and like you mentioned, makes more efficient use of the battery it does have. My wife mentioned wanting to get an ID.Buzz eventually so I may just drive it instead of worrying about buying a Performance and then I’d also keep the GTI.

 

[DwightFrye]

I think a range of 400 miles is not too far in the future for a lot of EV's. At least those that are built and sold as more than an inexpensive urban commuter vehicle. A range of 600 miles is the target but that's probably still a decade away.

Range anxiety is a real thing and planning is essential. There are a lot of Teslas and other EV's on the road now and I'm not seeing regular reports of people "running out of juice" on the side of the road. So EV's owners are figuring out how to own them and not have major issues. But I also see that for a lot of people having an ICE vehicle as well as an EV is a good solution, provided they can afford both. EV's are not in their infancy now but aren't much past baby steps either. But give them time.

 

[Cujet]

That mirrors my experiences. The model S can make it to Miami and back, 200 highway miles round trip. If we drive slower than traffic, which can be quite fast, and start out near 100%. We’ve made it back every time. Barely.

 

[JeffKeryk]

What surprised me was the accuracy of the mileage calculations. Based on a lot of information, they are way off. They were pretty much spot on.

 

[UncleDave]

Jeff, couldn't you have charged even a little at your rental house?
You were there a couple hours right?

 

[ammolab]

My friends in Texas visit us in New Mexico each summer. They used to have a Tesla and a ICE BMW. 800+ miles across West Texas and NM in the BMW was a snap…now they have two Teslas.

This ain’t California! The 800 mile trip last summer took much planning and about 6 extra hours in the model 3. Teslas are good, but not for everyone, everywhere.

 

[SaberOne]

I have friends with the model-3 and they like it for around the Phoenix Valley. I went over to the Scottsdale and drove one myself. When discussing the mileage thing with the salesman, I was encouraged by the increasing number of charging stations. I didn’t much care for the ride quality, but I really like the acceleration! Another perk is all those cameras for 360 coverage. Not too sure I would be happy with it on a road trip out of town. Can’t justify having two cars, so there’s that.

At my age, I’m not sure I’ll even need another car. Then again, I’m driving a 4000-pound 6.2 V8, so I guess it depends on future gas prices. Also, my friend that owns a tint shop says there is still a high number of vandalism on electric cars, especially the Tesla’s since that’s the one that haters can readily identify.

 

[UncleDave]

What surprised me was the accuracy of the mileage calculations. Based on a lot of information, they are way off. They were pretty much spot on.

When you say that - do you mean the correlation of estimated arrival SOC %'s or simply the accuracy of miles driven when compared against various 3rd party computations?

 

[UncleDave]

My friends in Texas visit us in New Mexico each summer. They used to have a Tesla and a ICE BMW. 800+ miles across West Texas and NM in the BMW was a snap…now they have two Teslas.

This ain’t California! The 800 mile trip last summer took much planning and about 6 extra hours in the model 3. Teslas are good, but not for everyone, everywhere.

It took them an 6 extra hours. Im curious....

What are the destinations cities - let's see what it can theoretically be done in.

Interesting even with the additional time they still choose two EV's vs a EV ice combo.

 

[ammolab]

It took them an 6 extra hours. Im curious....

What are the destinations cities - let's see what it can theoretically be done in.

Interesting even with the additional time they still choose two EV's vs a EV ice combo.

They are lazy road trippers…it might be done a bit quicker…
Katy Tx to Edgewood NM. Standard range model 3

 

[UncleDave]

They are lazy road trippers…it might be done a bit quicker…
Katy Tx to Edgewood NM. Standard range model 3

This is current season weather on a 60KW standard range 3.

If it were my route Id bias a little bit longer waiting but fewer stops, to me a sub 10 min stop is annoying.

Id route my trip like this and plan dinner during the 51 min stop.

Even though they have a base car the trip is totally doable and even has redundancies.

 

[JeffKeryk]

When you say that - do you mean the correlation of estimated arrival SOC %'s or simply the accuracy of miles driven when compared against various 3rd party computations?

State of charge. Left LG with 216 miles, 90% SOC. Arrived Petaluma wih 116 miles and 48% SOC. Started for home expecting to charge somewhere; the computer estimated getting home with 5% SOC; I was surprised. I took it relatively easy; GG and SF were a crawl... Around San Bruno it calculated 22% SOC upon destination. So I upped the ante and flew home, say 80+ MPH.

I was under the impression that all the freeway travel would quickly consume the battery and kill range. But to my surprise, 90 + 90 + 10 (around Petaluma) = 190 miles, flying up and down 280 blaring the AC was pretty close to the 216 I started with. Add the 16 remaining and the numbers look good. I have been led to believe the Model 3 Mid Range is an "around town" car. It's much more than that. I did our regular Petaluma trip powered by the sun vs gasoline. I will use this car more and buy another.

Anyone looking for a clean little Lex GS350?

 

[ecotourist]

This is current season weather on a 60KW standard range 3.

View attachment 156071

If it were my route Id bias a little bit longer waiting but fewer stops, to me a sub 10 min stop is annoying.

Id route my trip like this and plan dinner during the 51 min stop.

View attachment 156070


Even though they have a base car the trip is totally doable and even has redundancies.

On our long trip (4100 km) we started off with 100%, charged overnight to 90% and aimed for a minimum 15% residual at the next Supercharger. For a first trip, I wasn't comfortable with arriving with only 10%. We were driving in mountainous terrain and had high cross winds so the estimates were often off by a couple of %. We could have slowed down I suppose and have come in closer to the estimate.

One thing that made a difference to our comfort was the high reliability of the Superchargers. You plug in and it charges. And in all cases (all but one station at one 8 station Supercharger) each of the stations was all in good operating order. In that case there was even another Supercharger within a city block.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Anywhere around the SF Bay Area you do not need to be concerned about charging. There are Superchargers everywhere.
Of course they are right off freeways. Easy peasey.

 

[JHZR2]

I need at least 140 miles each way so your experiment woukd t help me much in real use. And then I’d be stuck with the same issue of sluggish charging.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I need at least 140 miles each way so your experiment woukd t help me much in real use. And then I’d be stuck with the same issue of sluggish charging.

On a Model 3 or Y Long Range (330 rated range) you would be fine. You might need to charge for 10 minutes but no more.
Our Mid Range (260 rated range) could do it with a similar 10 minute charge but the Long Range is the better way to go IMO.
Say you started out with 300 miles. You drive the 140, start for home, drive another 100+, then charge for 10 minutes to gain close to 100 miles. Done. Maybe charge for 5 minutes or not at all.

Of course it depends on your Supercharger availability. Or the charging capability at your destination. 240V NEMA 14-50 will get you 30 to 50 miles per hour. A 150kW Supercharger will charge the Model 3's batteries from 0-80% in 20 to 30 minutes. And there are 250kW chargers but they are not as common.

In my case it makes sense because of our solar installation and high CA gas. Heck, rag is almost $5 per gallon in Petaluma. Crazy...

When the Model 3 first came out you could get a Long Range RWD, which would be a great car. Later in 2018 the Long Range required AWD Dual Motor.

 

[97prizm]

I think a range of 400 miles is not too far in the future for a lot of EV's. At least those that are built and sold as more than an inexpensive urban commuter vehicle. A range of 600 miles is the target but that's probably still a decade away.

Range anxiety is a real thing and planning is essential. There are a lot of Teslas and other EV's on the road now and I'm not seeing regular reports of people "running out of juice" on the side of the road. So EV's owners are figuring out how to own them and not have major issues. But I also see that for a lot of people having an ICE vehicle as well as an EV is a good solution, provided they can afford both. EV's are not in their infancy now but aren't much past baby steps either. But give them time.

Mercedes Benz just showed off the longest battery range yet of 700 miles. That is vw diesel passat manual transmission range. I'd still rather have the diesel passat over the ev any day.

 

[Cujet]

Mercedes Benz just showed off the longest battery range yet of 700 miles. That is vw diesel passat manual transmission range. I'd still rather have the diesel passat over the ev any day.

Not believable range numbers. However even half that on a real world highway trip would be flat out excellent.