2019/20 Raven Long Range Differences?

[OK-S]

G'day Brains Trust,

I may finally be ready to "upgrade" from my 2015 MS to a newer one, and I am settling in on a Raven Long Range model that captured some good updates such as Adaptive suspension and more efficient, permanent magnet front motor.

However, I am finding it a bit confusing to identify what differences there may have been even among the Long Range across 2019/2020.

Specifically, some minor tweaks came out in the later timeframe (mid-2020?) that caused the Long Range to add a "Plus" in some markets. The Tesla release on it made it appear as really minor upgrades, but were there notable impacts on the real-world range? When precisely did these come out? Listings in Australia never added the Plus, so it is difficult to tell.

One September 2019 example I am looking at has a long-distance kWh/km consumption 10% higher than a mid-2020 example. Is the latter typical of Plus improvements or just driving habits?

I note, too, that while my vehicle range display has both "rated" (EPA?) and "typical" (more accurate) - these choices appear to have disappeared in these models. Is the default range in the display now only typical or rated? Fairly accurate?

Any assistance, including cut-in months for any changes, would be most appreciated!

And if you have misgivings about purchasing a Raven Long Range, please do tell!

 

[EVRider-FL]

FYI, your title says 2018/19, not 2019/20 which is what you’re asking about.

 

[DerbyDave]

June 2020 is when the S added Long Range Plus miles to 402, had CCS and 3rd party NACS DC Charging compatibility, and could charge at the V3 Supercharger rate of 250Kw from the prior max of 150Kw.

 

[vcor]

Not sure if you're trying to compare the Raven 2020 and the Pladium? Here's my extensive comparison of the prior major version and what we have today:

Model S Comparison for 2021 – TeslaTap

teslatap.com

 

[OK-S]

Hi Vcor, I am actually just looking at Raven changes. Cheers.

 

[OK-S]

June 2020 is when the S added Long Range Plus miles to 402, had CCS and 3rd party NACS DC Charging compatibility, and could charge at the V3 Supercharger rate of 250Kw from the prior max of 150Kw.

That's really helpful, I was unaware of the charge rate change! Would a 2019 with CCS upgrade and adapter plug bring it to the same level of charge rate or was it more than that?

 

[OK-S]

FYI, your title says 2018/19, not 2019/20 which is what you’re asking about.

You are right! My bad! It is the 2019/20 differences that I am interested in. Thanks for catching it.

Moderator note: Fixed thread title.

 

[beatle]

That's really helpful, I was unaware of the charge rate change! Would a 2019 with CCS upgrade and adapter plug bring it to the same level of charge rate or was it more than that?

Not sure if this is just a wording issue, but the 2019 ravens aren't capped at 150kw. I've done over 175kw at a V3 station, tapering to 150kw around 35%. V2 superchargers are capped at 150kw regardless of the car plugging in.

 

[DerbyDave]

The wiring in the car was changed in June, 2020 to allow the higher 250Kw charging rate.

 

[DerbyDave]

Here is the article on the wiring changes. It does mention that the immediately previous S could take up to 200kw, but not 250kw

Thicker Wires In Model S/X Allow Charging At Up To 250 kW

Tesla updated its online design studio for the Model S and Model X, showing precisely that the newly ordered cars can Supercharge at up to 250 kW.

insideevs.com

 

[OK-S]

Here is the article on the wiring changes. It does mention that the immediately previous S could take up to 200kw, but not 250kw

Thicker Wires In Model S/X Allow Charging At Up To 250 kW

Tesla updated its online design studio for the Model S and Model X, showing precisely that the newly ordered cars can Supercharge at up to 250 kW.

insideevs.com

Nice sleuthing! These intra-model updates are really difficult to nail down to a cut-in date. It looks like June is the key date. Thanks!

 

[OK-S]

So, which would you favor buying assuming +/- $2k price & similar condition; both with FSD activated:
42,000 mi/67k km Sept 2019 build
88,000 mi/140k km August 2020 build (frequent, long freeway trips)

 

[DerbyDave]

Tough choice. For me, I wanted the longest range, because I have range anxiety -- the main reason I was interested in the CyberTruck 500+ mile range as a replacement, which didn't happen. I also only use Supercharging for trips, which is not often enough to worry much about Supercharging or Unlimited Free Supercharging. This may be more important if you travel. The calculated range at 100% is probably something I would compare, and see if there is one that has more battery "wear" on it, or faster degradation. The miles on the car are less important on a Tesla. The battery is the point. All other things being more or less equal, I'd get the newer car, because age is both a factor on the battery, and all the electronics and computers are one year newer, plus some issues may have been corrected during the time between the cars' manufactured dates. Just my thoughts. You may have different priorities.

 

[beatle]

Depending on how many miles you tend to put on a car, you may end up with a shorter battery/DU warranty period on the newer car since it already has 88k miles. I believe the 2020 cars had 8 year / 150k miles warranty. That gives you ~14k miles a year to play with before you hit 150k miles. That's close to average, but something to keep in mind.

The small charging speed bump in the newer cars is nice, but I haven't found myself wanting faster charging on road trips. The speed I get in my 2019 is plenty fast for being able to stop and eat while I fill up to 80% or so, and efficiency is good enough that I generally don't need to stop more than once. If I do, it's a splash and dash. My P85D charged like a slug though, so my 2019 was a welcome bump. In addition, if you find yourself stopping at any V2 chargers, the charging speed/time will likely be nearly identical as the chargers are capped at 150kw - less if you end up sharing output with an adjacent car.