Completed a 2,700 mile road trip through the southeastern US last week with 4 passengers and luggage in my 2020 Tesla Model S Long Range.
Here are a few key observations from the trip.
RANGE
Trip route extended from North Carolina to Texas, with an extended visit to two major cities in Alabama.
Range varied from a low of 280 miles to a high of 320 - 330 miles on this trip. Variability in miles remaining caused me to switch the range indicator on the instrument panel from miles to % charge remaining. I also paid far more attention to Wh / Mile than I normally would if driving the car locally.
My range really dropped significantly on I-10 through Louisiana for some reason. Adjusting my speed to 70 MPH was necessary to maintain 300+ range.
Although I did not encounter wait times at any of the Superchargers on my route, I noted fewer open stalls than I have encountered during previous road trips. I actually skipped a few recommended stops due to congestion in certain spots, such as Baton Rouge, LA.
On older Superchargers which seem to be prevalent on I-10, higher utilization yielded a slower charging rate - extending my time at the Supercharger more than planned.
On the plus side, I managed to hit a charge rate of close to 250 KW for the first time ever during repeat visits to the Supercharger in Montgomery, AL.
AUTOPILOT
Enhanced Autopilot performance was significantly worse than I remember from previous long road trips. The slightest rain shower caused EAP to disengage. I also encountered phantom braking, random disengagement in construction zones, and unpredictable behavior during lane changes into the passing lane. Lane changes were sometimes abrupt on exit lanes. One thing I particularly dislike when using EAP in an exit lane is that EAP does not automatically adjust vehicle speed to conform to the speed limit in the exit lane.
RIDE QUALITY
Prior to my trip I replaced the OEM Goodyear tires with Continental PureContact tires on 19" wheels.
The improvement in ride quality I experienced with Conti tires was far greater than I had expected. The majority of bumps on the highway were audible but otherwise mostly imperceptible.
Tire noise was no better or worse than tire noise produced from tires on other vehicles I've owned. Conti tires may be slightly louder than Goodyear OEM tires on the highway, but if so the difference is minor.
PAINT
I observed no paint or glass damage during the trip. My white Model S has been driven 22k miles over the last 2 years with no major chips or defects appearing in the original OEM finish.
INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM
I encountered no vehicle resets or blank screens during this trip. I haven't had to reset the car in several months.
Streaming, TuneIn, and Spotify playback was flawless with no crashes.
With latest Tesla software installed, I found the interface provided on the center display for identifying alternative superchargers on my route to be more complicated than necessary. I would really prefer to keep all Superchargers visible on the screen at all times instead of only having visibility to Superchargers on the most current segment of my route.
I continue to find the seatbelt warnings on the vehicle navigation screen appearing in the left instrument cluster extremely irritating. I frequently lost visibility to the NAV map in the left instrument cluster because my rear passengers were shifting in their seats during this long trip. I wish there were a way to disable this seatbelt warning "feature."
Another annoyance I encountered was the occasional "window open" false alarm in the Tesla app. Upon examination, I consistently found that the vehicle windows were closed despite the warning messages I received in the Tesla app.
SUMMARY
In spite of some minor annoyances above, I was generally pleased with the performance of the Model S on this 2,700 mile roadtrip. Handling, acceleration, and ride comfort remain top-notch. ADAS features performed well and kept me out of trouble.
I am looking forward to my next opportunity to put the Model S to the test on the nation's highways.
Here are a few key observations from the trip.
RANGE
Trip route extended from North Carolina to Texas, with an extended visit to two major cities in Alabama.
Range varied from a low of 280 miles to a high of 320 - 330 miles on this trip. Variability in miles remaining caused me to switch the range indicator on the instrument panel from miles to % charge remaining. I also paid far more attention to Wh / Mile than I normally would if driving the car locally.
My range really dropped significantly on I-10 through Louisiana for some reason. Adjusting my speed to 70 MPH was necessary to maintain 300+ range.
Although I did not encounter wait times at any of the Superchargers on my route, I noted fewer open stalls than I have encountered during previous road trips. I actually skipped a few recommended stops due to congestion in certain spots, such as Baton Rouge, LA.
On older Superchargers which seem to be prevalent on I-10, higher utilization yielded a slower charging rate - extending my time at the Supercharger more than planned.
On the plus side, I managed to hit a charge rate of close to 250 KW for the first time ever during repeat visits to the Supercharger in Montgomery, AL.
AUTOPILOT
Enhanced Autopilot performance was significantly worse than I remember from previous long road trips. The slightest rain shower caused EAP to disengage. I also encountered phantom braking, random disengagement in construction zones, and unpredictable behavior during lane changes into the passing lane. Lane changes were sometimes abrupt on exit lanes. One thing I particularly dislike when using EAP in an exit lane is that EAP does not automatically adjust vehicle speed to conform to the speed limit in the exit lane.
RIDE QUALITY
Prior to my trip I replaced the OEM Goodyear tires with Continental PureContact tires on 19" wheels.
The improvement in ride quality I experienced with Conti tires was far greater than I had expected. The majority of bumps on the highway were audible but otherwise mostly imperceptible.
Tire noise was no better or worse than tire noise produced from tires on other vehicles I've owned. Conti tires may be slightly louder than Goodyear OEM tires on the highway, but if so the difference is minor.
PAINT
I observed no paint or glass damage during the trip. My white Model S has been driven 22k miles over the last 2 years with no major chips or defects appearing in the original OEM finish.
INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM
I encountered no vehicle resets or blank screens during this trip. I haven't had to reset the car in several months.
Streaming, TuneIn, and Spotify playback was flawless with no crashes.
With latest Tesla software installed, I found the interface provided on the center display for identifying alternative superchargers on my route to be more complicated than necessary. I would really prefer to keep all Superchargers visible on the screen at all times instead of only having visibility to Superchargers on the most current segment of my route.
I continue to find the seatbelt warnings on the vehicle navigation screen appearing in the left instrument cluster extremely irritating. I frequently lost visibility to the NAV map in the left instrument cluster because my rear passengers were shifting in their seats during this long trip. I wish there were a way to disable this seatbelt warning "feature."
Another annoyance I encountered was the occasional "window open" false alarm in the Tesla app. Upon examination, I consistently found that the vehicle windows were closed despite the warning messages I received in the Tesla app.
SUMMARY
In spite of some minor annoyances above, I was generally pleased with the performance of the Model S on this 2,700 mile roadtrip. Handling, acceleration, and ride comfort remain top-notch. ADAS features performed well and kept me out of trouble.
I am looking forward to my next opportunity to put the Model S to the test on the nation's highways.