I decided to take my first road trip to let my kids see the new Model S that they missed meeting by one day. The trip is the regular monthly round-trip i need to take, and the reason I bought the Model S 85kWh battery. The trip covers the length of the Willamette Valley in Oregon, a driving distance of 240 miles round trip. The terrain is mostly flat, with a few moderate hills (500-600 foot elevation). Speed is mostly interstate driving at 65, with a slow-down to 60 in Salem.
I knew that today would be more battery-intensive than the regular run, since I planned on giving a few spirited test rides. So the night before, I made sure to get a range charge. In the morning, the rated rage on the instrument cluster said 275 miles. I knew there would be a J1772 charge involved on the way back home, so I was ready for a fun day.
For the outbound trip, The city driving to get to the highway was the most 'costly' in terms of Wh per mile. But once I got going, I was settling right around 370 Wh/mile, plus or minus passing a truck. After about 10 miles into the journey, my rated range on the Energy display told me I have 193 miles at the 30-mile average. OK, cutting it close, but OK.
When I arrived at my destination, before taking the spirited test rides, my rated range on a 30-mile average was 122 miles, averaging 363 Wh/mile. That's kinda close, actually, to what I needed. Maybe because I had the A/C set to 68 degrees and Auto cut some of my range. The dashboard range showed 129.
My kids called me no less than three times on my way down, so know when to jump out of the house to see me roll up to the driveway. The kids loved it! My girls, who needed a booster seat in my Saturn to get the shoulder belts to fit, were giddy that they didn't need them in the Tesla - "It's perfect!" they said! +1 for making my kids feel special, Tesla.
I stopped first at a local Wal Mart, for a short meal, and thinking I would have the Model S drink off a Blink J1772 charger while I shopped… not a long stop, just to prove it could be done. Not surprisingly, I got DOUBLE ICEd! Two shoppers ignored the "EV Charging Only" signs for both chargers. Meh. I stopped to snap pics. Two bystanders asked me why I was taking pictures, and I told them. I was polite, saying that: those spots were for EVs only, I have an EV, and I needed the charge to get home. I wasn't angry, upset, or vengeful, just documenting.
My first Tesla Time was showing the car to the bystanders, who were more angry than I was at me being ICEd. I wasn't about to double-park my new Model S at a Wal Mart, so on to better places.
I stopped off at a friend's house on the way back to give another test drive. I was already down to 65 miles of rated range on the dash. I need 120 actual miles to get home. I was already committed to a slow charge for dinner, so didn't feel stressed one bit. Time to charge. I dropped in at the AeroVironment charger in Springfield, OR. I don't have their charging network card yet (another late delivery due to the holidays, I'm sure!), so I had to call them to turn on the charger. I had a nice dinner and coffee waiting for the slow 30A charge to get me enough miles to get home. Well worth it, considering the Tesla Grins I was able to generate on those kWhs I spent.
After three hours, my rated range went up to 119 miles. I needed 91 miles to reach home. I figured that was enough. It wasn't. The elevation back from Eugene to Salem was too much. I stopped at Woodburn to load up another hour of charging, adding 16 more miles rated. The rated range was still about 45, more than double what I needed to get home, all in standard range driving mode. I did get to see the acceleration limit when I dropped below 50 rated miles of range.
The outside temperature had dropped to 36 degrees F. I got this warning when I stopped and put the car in park: "Battery Low: There will be significantly less energy available from your battery if it gets colder. We recommend charging now."
It was needed! When I arrived home, I had 13 miles left! This was all in Standard driving range, and at no time was I uncomfortable, or experienced any impact on my needs.
My next run is going to be using back roads, so my kWh/mile will be much higher at 55 mph speeds.
Thank you Tesla, for making the technology!
I knew that today would be more battery-intensive than the regular run, since I planned on giving a few spirited test rides. So the night before, I made sure to get a range charge. In the morning, the rated rage on the instrument cluster said 275 miles. I knew there would be a J1772 charge involved on the way back home, so I was ready for a fun day.
For the outbound trip, The city driving to get to the highway was the most 'costly' in terms of Wh per mile. But once I got going, I was settling right around 370 Wh/mile, plus or minus passing a truck. After about 10 miles into the journey, my rated range on the Energy display told me I have 193 miles at the 30-mile average. OK, cutting it close, but OK.
When I arrived at my destination, before taking the spirited test rides, my rated range on a 30-mile average was 122 miles, averaging 363 Wh/mile. That's kinda close, actually, to what I needed. Maybe because I had the A/C set to 68 degrees and Auto cut some of my range. The dashboard range showed 129.
My kids called me no less than three times on my way down, so know when to jump out of the house to see me roll up to the driveway. The kids loved it! My girls, who needed a booster seat in my Saturn to get the shoulder belts to fit, were giddy that they didn't need them in the Tesla - "It's perfect!" they said! +1 for making my kids feel special, Tesla.
I stopped first at a local Wal Mart, for a short meal, and thinking I would have the Model S drink off a Blink J1772 charger while I shopped… not a long stop, just to prove it could be done. Not surprisingly, I got DOUBLE ICEd! Two shoppers ignored the "EV Charging Only" signs for both chargers. Meh. I stopped to snap pics. Two bystanders asked me why I was taking pictures, and I told them. I was polite, saying that: those spots were for EVs only, I have an EV, and I needed the charge to get home. I wasn't angry, upset, or vengeful, just documenting.
My first Tesla Time was showing the car to the bystanders, who were more angry than I was at me being ICEd. I wasn't about to double-park my new Model S at a Wal Mart, so on to better places.
I stopped off at a friend's house on the way back to give another test drive. I was already down to 65 miles of rated range on the dash. I need 120 actual miles to get home. I was already committed to a slow charge for dinner, so didn't feel stressed one bit. Time to charge. I dropped in at the AeroVironment charger in Springfield, OR. I don't have their charging network card yet (another late delivery due to the holidays, I'm sure!), so I had to call them to turn on the charger. I had a nice dinner and coffee waiting for the slow 30A charge to get me enough miles to get home. Well worth it, considering the Tesla Grins I was able to generate on those kWhs I spent.
After three hours, my rated range went up to 119 miles. I needed 91 miles to reach home. I figured that was enough. It wasn't. The elevation back from Eugene to Salem was too much. I stopped at Woodburn to load up another hour of charging, adding 16 more miles rated. The rated range was still about 45, more than double what I needed to get home, all in standard range driving mode. I did get to see the acceleration limit when I dropped below 50 rated miles of range.
The outside temperature had dropped to 36 degrees F. I got this warning when I stopped and put the car in park: "Battery Low: There will be significantly less energy available from your battery if it gets colder. We recommend charging now."
It was needed! When I arrived home, I had 13 miles left! This was all in Standard driving range, and at no time was I uncomfortable, or experienced any impact on my needs.
My next run is going to be using back roads, so my kWh/mile will be much higher at 55 mph speeds.
Thank you Tesla, for making the technology!
