A Day Trip from Bellevue to Vancouver BC in my MS-85kWh

[Francis Lau]

I took a day trip from Bellevue to Vancouver BC in my MS-85 and it is remarkable how range-anxiety free it was. I have done this trip about 6 times in the past 18 months since I got my MS in Dec 2012. Prior to the Burlington Superchargers, I had to stay a night and do a bit of planning. I remember sitting at a level-2 charger for 4 hours to be able to get home. Now with the Burlington Superchargers and this latest trip, I charged for 15 minutes on the way up and 10 minutes on the way back home. And all this on a single-day trip.

It is easy to forget how much better it has gotten in the past 12 months.

 

[SteveW25561]

Hey Francis. We do the the opposite: from Vancouver to Bellevue a couple times per year. Same experience.

 

[tokuro]

+1. I have done the same I must agree. Bellevue/Seattle to Vancouver BC drive is easy one. I also do day trips to Portland where i'd park the car in one of free chargers while we take street train with a day pass. I love those superchargers.

 

[Jackyche]

I do the same trip on the Roadster fairly often. But eventually I'll be in a Model S. I'm still debating 60 or 85. The Roadster's range is more than enough for me around town.

So, my question is, on a Model S 85:
a)do you drive 5mph above the speed limit? Meaning some stretches are 75mph. This kills the range on my Roadster, I assume the same for MS. I drive 60mph on the Roadster all the way through.
b)when in town, do you still have to find a charging station? Basically, the question is, the amount of charge from Burlington SC, is that sufficient to go around town in Vancouver and back to Burlington?

thanks.

 

[tokuro]

I drive just like any other car (meaning I go with traffic flow, perhaps a bit faster than the rest). I am typically in the carpool lane or driving after a fast car around me. I have 85.

 

[SteveW25561]

I'd strongly suggest an 85 -- the supercharging makes all the difference, plus the extra buffer allows you explore the city and not worry much about charging. When we go from Vancouver to Bellevue, I can still drive around for a couple days, then head back to Vancouver via the Burlington supercharger. I will often choose to top off at the mall or hotel so I can have more buffer, but it's much more comfortable than I'd be in a 60.

 

[Ugliest1]

So, my question is, on a Model S 85:
a)do you drive 5mph above the speed limit? Meaning some stretches are 75mph. This kills the range on my Roadster, I assume the same for MS. I drive 60mph on the Roadster all the way through.

I'm not very good at tracking all the numbers to eke out the best efficiency, and I've realized I don't want to be. My experience on the last 2,500 mi from Victoria, LA, Palm Springs to Las Vegas is the difference between 65 and 75 isn't much at all, going by the orange kw meter. Cruise control all the way, except for performance verifications and fun pedalling. Depending on the speed limit, I'll just go about 5mph faster as long as the kw meter stays around 20. If it creeps up (or headwinds shoot it to 40 kw!!!) I'll slow down, but I also ignore small temporary increases because of road inclines.

The superchargers are un*&%^$&*believable for long trips. It's a better, more relaxed way to travel. My blog is in the signature block.

 

[Blurry_Eyed]

I took a day trip from Bellevue to Vancouver BC in my MS-85 and it is remarkable how range-anxiety free it was. I have done this trip about 6 times in the past 18 months since I got my MS in Dec 2012. Prior to the Burlington Superchargers, I had to stay a night and do a bit of planning. I remember sitting at a level-2 charger for 4 hours to be able to get home. Now with the Burlington Superchargers and this latest trip, I charged for 15 minutes on the way up and 10 minutes on the way back home. And all this on a single-day trip.

It is easy to forget how much better it has gotten in the past 12 months.

+1 on this as well. Same experience as Francis. Prior to the Superchargers, I had to do planning and think about charging for a trip to Vancouver B.C.. Now, we just jump in the car and drive to Vancouver with no thought about where we need to charge to get back home in the same day. Zero range anxiety now (we do have an 85kWh pack) for that travel route! Thank you Tesla!

 

[Francis Lau]

Jack

I drive anywhere from speed limit to 80. I would go for 85 as range is the one downside of an electric car. In Richmond, I charge if it is convenient ie Aberdeen mall where it is a prime parking spot. Otherwise, I don't charge. An hour on a level 2 charger is 10 minutes on the super charger so it is not worth hunting for a charger. I find that I have lots of capacity to drive in Richmond and Vancouver so charging is optional.

 

[DouglasR]

Francis,

I just returned from my fourth trip to the Bay Area. The first time there were no superchargers; the second time there were two; the third time there were six; and this last trip they added Vacaville. My experience is the same: it gets better and better, with not a thought about range on this last trip. I drive about 5 mph over the limit, which is as fast as I'm comfortable going (don't like tickets).

The only time range came into the picture was when I was down in the Bay Area for several days. Usually I stay with my brother, who has a good NEMA 14-50 outlet. This time I stayed at the Panama Hotel in San Rafael. It's about a mile from the Tesla Service Center, where I charged up a couple of times. They were quite happy to run me back to the hotel, although I mostly walked because I had to walk the dog anyway.

I'm looking forward to the completion of the supercharger network across to South Dakota, because I want to drive to New York to see my grandkids. I think the supercharger network is on track to make that quite doable. Where I see the bigger problem, at least in the near term, is with destination charging. It will be a bit of a scramble for some time to line up charging when you reach your destination and intend to stay for a few days.

 

[Francis Lau]

I have done many trips to Vancouver BC and Portland. I will be driving to Gonzaga U in July but I have not driven to the Bay Area yet. I look forward to finding time to do it. From what you are saying, it sounds simple now. I was at last year's TMC conference and took a ride back in another Model S and there were no SCs north of SF so we had to charge for several hours at the end of each leg and we even slept in the car at Burgerville; something like from 11 pm to 3 am.

 

[DouglasR]

I have done many trips to Vancouver BC and Portland. I will be driving to Gonzaga U in July but I have not driven to the Bay Area yet. I look forward to finding time to do it. From what you are saying, it sounds simple now. I was at last year's TMC conference and took a ride back in another Model S and there were no SCs north of SF so we had to charge for several hours at the end of each leg and we even slept in the car at Burgerville; something like from 11 pm to 3 am.

Yes, it has been easy the last two times. Last fall I made the return trip without an overnight stop. I left at about 6 am and got home about midnight. I also took a brief nap in the car while at a supercharger -- I didn't need food, but the nap was delicious.:wink:

 

[hull22]

I just placed an order for an S60, moving to the Bellevue area next month. I really don't expect to drive down to Portland, Northern California, or Eastern Washington at all, but do plan to drive occasionally to Vancouver. I didn't add the Supercharger since it is only 140miles to Vancouver. Thought that I could just drive the 140miles to Downtown Vancouver and charge there or stop in Blaine to charge a little. Now, I'm thinking about adding the Supercharging option instead of waiting to add it later. The question now is whether or not I could get by with just the 60 and not the 85. I expect to drive outside the Seattle area only a few times a year at most and didn't want to get the 85 simply for resale value. Our 2nd car has an ICE. Thoughts?

 

[howardc64]

Did the Seattle to Vancouver run once in our S85. Here is my experience

- Charged to 200+ at Burlington. Can't remember exact (maybe 210-215?) but I usually don't wait for full charge due to the slowed down charge rate
- Went to Surrey just before Vancouver
- Got back to Burlington with like 40+. I usually like to give my self bigger buffer than this.

The hills after Burlington to the border eats a bit of range. It was also rainy and between winter/spring so heater and defrost ate some range too.

Curious what range you guys have left after getting back to Burlington from Vancouver without charging in Vancouver? I only went to Surrey on my trip and didn't go to downtown which would have been further. I'll probably do a close to full charge to be safe.

 

[wcalvin]

Simple range extension: slow down

Simple range extension: slow down. (Miles assumes an 85 starting at full.)

 

[Francis Lau]

I just placed an order for an S60, moving to the Bellevue area next month. I really don't expect to drive down to Portland, Northern California, or Eastern Washington at all, but do plan to drive occasionally to Vancouver. I didn't add the Supercharger since it is only 140miles to Vancouver. Thought that I could just drive the 140miles to Downtown Vancouver and charge there or stop in Blaine to charge a little. Now, I'm thinking about adding the Supercharging option instead of waiting to add it later. The question now is whether or not I could get by with just the 60 and not the 85. I expect to drive outside the Seattle area only a few times a year at most and didn't want to get the 85 simply for resale value. Our 2nd car has an ICE. Thoughts?

Welcome to Bellevue. Here are my thoughts:

* I found that I did more road trips than ever before since the Model S is such a joy to drive and so economical for road trips (assuming using superchargers)
* I drove our ICE less and less and actually cringe at driving my Audi for road trips
* At +$2K for just enabling supercharger for 60 Wh battery and +$10K for 85 kWh and SC capability. I recommend getting the 85 kWh. Range is the biggest "worry" for an EV and that is not where I will save on. I think you will be able to sell the car for more as well.

Just my 2 cents

 

[dsm363]

I just placed an order for an S60, moving to the Bellevue area next month. I really don't expect to drive down to Portland, Northern California, or Eastern Washington at all, but do plan to drive occasionally to Vancouver. I didn't add the Supercharger since it is only 140miles to Vancouver. Thought that I could just drive the 140miles to Downtown Vancouver and charge there or stop in Blaine to charge a little. Now, I'm thinking about adding the Supercharging option instead of waiting to add it later. The question now is whether or not I could get by with just the 60 and not the 85. I expect to drive outside the Seattle area only a few times a year at most and didn't want to get the 85 simply for resale value. Our 2nd car has an ICE. Thoughts?

Welcome. You will absolutely want Supercharger access if you plan to drive to Vancouver unless you know you have a hotel there with good charging. Stopping in blaine will mean many hours of charging versus 30 min at a Supercharger. If you simply plan to take your gas car then you are right, not need to add it be agree with Francis. You'll find yourself driving a lot more. The added range and Supercharging access of the 85 kWh version is well worth it I think.

 

[golfski]

I just placed an order for an S60, moving to the Bellevue area next month. I really don't expect to drive down to Portland, Northern California, or Eastern Washington at all, but do plan to drive occasionally to Vancouver. I didn't add the Supercharger since it is only 140miles to Vancouver. Thought that I could just drive the 140miles to Downtown Vancouver and charge there or stop in Blaine to charge a little. Now, I'm thinking about adding the Supercharging option instead of waiting to add it later. The question now is whether or not I could get by with just the 60 and not the 85. I expect to drive outside the Seattle area only a few times a year at most and didn't want to get the 85 simply for resale value. Our 2nd car has an ICE. Thoughts?

I am a recent 60+SC owner in the Seattle area and have no regrets on my choice. For me, the extra 50 miles didn't really unlock much different travel perspectives. I just did a weekend trip up to Whistler and having the SuperCharger in Squamish made the trip super easy, stopping in Burlington and Squamish on the way up and the same on the way back down. I have also driven to Lake Chelan and back, using a SuperCharger in Ellensburg on the way out (out of the way) and was able to skip it on the way back after destination charging. After getting used to the car and learning what wastes energy and what doesn't, I have no range anxiety at all. The 60 kWh is plenty of battery power for the Pacific Northwest, unless you are the heaviest of drivers, as there are so many charging options in the wild. I agree you will travel more in the S, so the warranty is the only consideration to me. I am enjoying my road-tripping and with two young kids it will certainly last, but I expect it will level out and keep me at about 20,000 mi/year. At that rate, my battery warranty will be just a bit over 6 years, so I wasn't sure the 8K was worth the extended warranty. A little bit of my decisions is also based on the hope/expectation there would be a battery swap/upgrades] in the future or I would move onto a Model X as the family hauler as the kids got older. Should I end up traveling 35,000-45,000 miles a year, I would look to upgrade the battery on my 60 or get into the biggest Model X available at the time, which will reduce the mileage consumption on the 60 very quickly.

 

[Canuck]

I am a recent 60+SC owner in the Seattle area and have no regrets on my choice... The 60 kWh is plenty of battery power for the Pacific Northwest, unless you are the heaviest of drivers, as there are so many charging options in the wild... I agree you will travel more in the S, so the warranty is the only consideration to me.

Some other considerations: winter trips with heat/defrost will use more range and doing range charges degrades the battery faster than if the battery is kept in the normal driving range, as the Tesla app will warn you. Running the battery down low also degrades it faster, and travelers will likely have to do that more with a 60 than an 85. Given that the battery will degrade over time, and normal battery degradation is not part of warranty coverage, starting with an 85 will allow for less range charges if you travel a lot, and longer trips after accounting for battery degradation years down the road. Also for travelers, with an 85 supercharing is included, whereas you have to pay $2k for it with a 60. For me, an 85 made more sense since there's a lot of places to travel to in the Pacific Northwest that require that extra range without pushing the battery to its limits, especially during colder weather.