Actual Usable Range?

[Sisco]

I'm trying to figure out whether I need the LR or I could squeeze into a MR for cheaper/sooner.

Here's my concern:
419km range, charged to 90% (100% damages the battery) is 377km. Winter/Hilly driving (ski trips)is -30% which is now 263km. You don't want the battery to go less then 10-20% ideally, so now we're down to 223km.

I make a drive from New Westminster, bc to Osoyoos, bc quite often. Even with a stop at the Hope, bc supercharger the distance is still 247km.

Is this over the top conservative or realistic for winter driving?

 

[TexasEV]

Get the long range.

 

[eprosenx]

I'm trying to figure out whether I need the LR or I could squeeze into a MR for cheaper/sooner.

Here's my concern:
419km range, charged to 90% (100% damages the battery) is 377km. Winter/Hilly driving (ski trips)is -30% which is now 263km. You don't want the battery to go less then 10-20% ideally, so now we're down to 223km.

I make a drive from New Westminster, bc to Osoyoos, bc quite often. Even with a stop at the Hope, bc supercharger the distance is still 247km.

Is this over the top conservative or realistic for winter driving?

A couple other factors:

Is the 419 km the factory rated range? I probably would not expect to get that since my driving style is a little more aggressive than EPA standards. Also, is one direction of the trip uphill mostly? That is a massive draw.

Additionally, over the life of the car it will loose a little range.

On the other side of the coin, I think for a long trip like that I would have zero issues charging the car to 100% occasionally. I have done it a few times myself.

I have the LR and I love it. Daily driving I get nowhere remotely close to running it out of battery, but there are a few "weekend destinations" I go to regularly that will push its range. We don't have a ton of superchargers in Oregon yet (at least not in places useful for me mostly) and I really like always having plenty of buffer for the unknown.

 

[Kermee]

I'm trying to figure out whether I need the LR or I could squeeze into a MR for cheaper/sooner.

Here's my concern:
419km range, charged to 90% (100% damages the battery) is 377km. Winter/Hilly driving (ski trips)is -30% which is now 263km. You don't want the battery to go less then 10-20% ideally, so now we're down to 223km.

I make a drive from New Westminster, bc to Osoyoos, bc quite often. Even with a stop at the Hope, bc supercharger the distance is still 247km.

Is this over the top conservative or realistic for winter driving?

As someone who is nearby you (Richmond, BC) and with the information you've provided, definitely get the LR. New Westminster to Osoyoos, with the elevation changes and colder temperatures, you're going to see a huge hit on efficiency. MR will be fine with the Hope Superchargers inbetween, but having the LR will definitely soothe range anxiety.

 

[Uncle Paul]

You will learn how to optimize your range when necessary.

On your long trip, you can time your initial home charge to finish close to when you are leaving. That way your battery will be warmed up and your charge will be at 100%.

Charging to 100% is not harmful if you only seldom do it, and if you do not let your Tesla set for a long time at that state of charge.

If you are at risk on not making it, your computer will ask you to slow down to conserve charge. Then you can decide if it is better to continue on, but with reduced speed, or make a short stop at a convenient Supercharger along the way.

Owners, pretty quickly, learn the capabilities of their cars, and plan accordingly.

 

[stickmanpar]

Yesterday I drove home in a snow storm and my 35 mile 50 minute commute was nearly 3 hours. I used 90 miles of range with the lights, fog lamps, rear and front defroster going most of the time and the car heated to 70 degrees. I usually charge my battery for 120 miles of range for the 70 mile roundtrip. Fortunately I charged the car for 250 miles anticipating snow that day - othewise I would have run out of power in the bumper to bumper traffic.

Has anyone else experienced this much battery drain ?

 

[TexasEV]

Yesterday I drove home in a snow storm and my 35 mile 50 minute commute was nearly 3 hours. I used 90 miles of range with the lights, fog lamps, rear and front defroster going most of the time and the car heated to 70 degrees. I usually charge my battery for 120 miles of range for the 70 mile roundtrip. Fortunately I charged the car for 250 miles anticipating snow that day - othewise I would have run out of power in the bumper to bumper traffic.

Has anyone else experienced this much battery drain ?

Welcome to winter. Your range was decreased by cold, driving through snow, and using the heater. The lights and defroster had nothing to do with it. Turn the temp lower and use the seat heaters to lessen the hit on range. Most importantly, charge your car! There is no reason to start the day with less than 90% charge. Some people who obsess over the battery unnecessarily may only charge to 70 or 80% (except in a snowstorm, even they know better than that). But charging a 310 mile range car to 120 miles? You’re asking for trouble, as well as throwing off the algorithm that estimates how much range you have.

 

[crackers8199]

Here's my concern:
419km range, charged to 90% (100% damages the battery) is 377km.

you can charge to 100% for trips. the recommendation against charging to 100% is for normal every day use...doing it once in a while for long trips is fine.

 

[SniperP3D]

I picked my P3D up on Saturday and immediately noticed an unusually high rate of battery consumption. I charged to 262 miles of range in Fremont and barely made it 150 miles (all highway) to the Fresno supercharger with 8 miles of range left using cruise control at 70-75 mph (70 is the speed limit out here). I tested the range again and drove 28 miles (flat valley) on cruise control at 70-75 mph and used 50 miles of range. Did another shorter 10 mile drive same highway same speed and used 15 miles of range.

 

[Big Earl]

I picked my P3D up on Saturday and immediately noticed an unusually high rate of battery consumption. I charged to 262 miles of range in Fremont and barely made it 150 miles (all highway) to the Fresno supercharger with 8 miles of range left using cruise control at 70-75 mph (70 is the speed limit out here). I tested the range again and drove 28 miles (flat valley) on cruise control at 70-75 mph and used 50 miles of range. Did another shorter 10 mile drive same highway same speed and used 15 miles of range.

Wind will also negatively affect range. Traveling at 70 MPH into a 15 MPH head wind uses as much energy as traveling at 85 MPH with no wind.

I prefer to change the battery display to percent instead of miles.

 

[GregRF]

Check out the chart here:
Estimated range and battery specs for Tesla Model 3 Mid-Range - Teslike.com

LR ~535km (no longer available)
LRD ~497km
MR ~467km

 

[ggnykk]

I'm trying to figure out whether I need the LR or I could squeeze into a MR for cheaper/sooner.

Here's my concern:
419km range, charged to 90% (100% damages the battery) is 377km. Winter/Hilly driving (ski trips)is -30% which is now 263km. You don't want the battery to go less then 10-20% ideally, so now we're down to 223km.

I make a drive from New Westminster, bc to Osoyoos, bc quite often. Even with a stop at the Hope, bc supercharger the distance is still 247km.

Is this over the top conservative or realistic for winter driving?

You need the long range for sure, no doubt.
Long range model also supercharge a lot faster than mid range.