Cold feet - TM3 as sole car?

[Bleedblue82]

Hi folks - would love some advice!

Just put in a reservation for an AWD LR today. If we go through with it, this would be our solo car, replacing a much loved BMW 328 AWD. We live in the middle of a major city (Boston) and only put 20-60 miles on in an average week, although that’s likely to increase next year.

I’m sitting here with a case of cold feet. Sure, it’ll work for our average use case, but for one of our 3-5 annual long trips (CT, VT, or DC) will we be cursing ourselves? How will it handle in snow? What are the odds that we will be unable to find a charger? All the usual things in going from ICE to electric I gather.

We are pushing to upgrade as the tax credit means our downside risk is lower than it will be, but I’m nervous on embracing the electric life. Should I be?

Many thanks!

 

[tomas]

Hi folks - would love some advice!

Just put in a reservation for an AWD LR today. If we go through with it, this would be our solo car, replacing a much loved BMW 328 AWD. We live in the middle of a major city (Boston) and only put 20-60 miles on in an average week, although that’s likely to increase next year.

I’m sitting here with a case of cold feet. Sure, it’ll work for our average use case, but for one of our 3-5 annual long trips (CT, VT, or DC) will we be cursing ourselves? How will it handle in snow? What are the odds that we will be unable to find a charger? All the usual things in going from ICE to electric I gather.

We are pushing to upgrade as the tax credit means our downside risk is lower than it will be, but I’m nervous on embracing the electric life. Should I be?

Many thanks!

Look at the supercharger map in the areas you travel on your road trips. If that’s ok, you are ok.

 

[cwerdna]

Besides Superchargers, also use Plugshare to look for level 2 (J1772) stations and Tesla "destination chargers" (see Tesla filter). Sure, they're WAY slower than Superchargers, but if you're going to be at a particular place for many hours...

 

[mrrross]

no sweat, you will be absolutely fine.

 

[SM18]

I was expecting to read that you were in the middle of nowhere with a long commute or something. You shouldn't have even the slightest issue in your situation. I also think you'll be amazed by how well Tesla AWD works. Gas cars are physically incapable of adjusting traction at the same level and rate. You have an electric motor on each axle checking and adjusting traction ~1000 times/second. I look forward to your first post after you've had time to reflect on ownership of your new Tesla and can laugh off the initial worries.

 

[jrreno]

Hi folks - would love some advice!

Just put in a reservation for an AWD LR today. If we go through with it, this would be our solo car, replacing a much loved BMW 328 AWD. We live in the middle of a major city (Boston) and only put 20-60 miles on in an average week, although that’s likely to increase next year.

I’m sitting here with a case of cold feet. Sure, it’ll work for our average use case, but for one of our 3-5 annual long trips (CT, VT, or DC) will we be cursing ourselves? How will it handle in snow? What are the odds that we will be unable to find a charger? All the usual things in going from ICE to electric I gather.

We are pushing to upgrade as the tax credit means our downside risk is lower than it will be, but I’m nervous on embracing the electric life. Should I be?

Many thanks!

So we began our solo EV life with a Model S 85 purchased in June of 2014. At the time the Supercharger network only stretched up the east coast but I could get to my children’s houses in PA and North Carolina. Western NY was a little challenge. Tesla installed their Supercharger network at such a rapid pace that within a year we could go to most of destinations without any hassle.
We put 117,000 miles on that car including a trip around the US and into Canada that was 13,000 miles long. We never ran into range issues due to the Supercharger network. In August of this year we took delivery of our 100D which will also be our only vehicle.
The Tesla NAV system has improved to the point where I usually agree with it’s routing. Put in your destination and it figures out the SC stops and how long you need to charge at each one. Because of the early limitations I am in the habit of double checking it to make sure I agree but as I said I’m usually ok with the routing.
It does help to think through longer trips. For instance we may take a day trip that will have arriving home with a low charge and have a long trip planned for the next day. In that case I might charge at home at a faster rate than normal, plan on putting on a bit more charge at the last SC on the way home or plan on hitting a close by SC on the way out. Whatever fits the schedule. Also make sure you arrive at your destination with enough charge to make it to the nearest SC on the way out or plan to charge at your destination.
When we travel I use the Tesla destination charger map to pick out places to stay overnight. Starting the day with a full charge is a wonderful thing, just like being home!
Can’t help with the winter driving question as I have not had the AWD in the snow yet.

 

[TexasGator]

Bleedblue - strongly encourage you to rent a model 3 via Turo (its like airbnb for cars). In TX, you can find cars for ~ 125/day - hopefully there would be some similar around your area. That way, you could rent for a day or 2, and put the car through a long term "test drive", look for supercharger or other charging options, etc. We did a 24 hour rental before ordering ours (first EV), and it made us much more comfortable. Like most folks above I believe you will be fine, but nothing beats first hand experience. Good Luck!

 

[chracatoa]

I pull a large trailer with a Sequoia. When pulling a large trailer like that, I get 9 mph. Effectively, a range of 240 miles for my large SUV. Almost never did more than 300 a day anyway - I usually can't drive more than 6 hours (which includes slow roads).

I did a couple of 2000 mile trips with this setup. It's worst in places like Montana or Utah where even gas stations may be 50 miles away or more. The worst day was when we drove 8 hours, stopping for lunch and dinner, and filling it up twice.

My point is, if you time those with superchargers, you'll be fine.

 

[Terthen]

You’ll be fine and will never miss going to the gas station. Go for it!!

 

[Lunares]

A Better Routeplanner

here's an example boston to DC route. As you can see you pretty much never need to charge more than 15 minutes in one place, but you may need to stop in a few places. You can skip a charger if you want to stay longer at one place, or if you are worried if it's cold and need a bit more charge.

This is also a pessimistic route assuming a large energy loss due to being cold outside + traveling at high speed.

A Better Routeplanner

here's a optimistic plan.

 

[JohnSnowNW]

We've been BEV only for a little over a year now.

Our MX is rated at 53 fewer miles than your AWD M3, and we see colder temps and more snowfall. We also take bi-annual 1300 mile trips with my wife and 3 kids through areas with considerably less Supercharger density.

You'll be fine.

 

[jamnmon66]

Drove my 3 from Denver to Central Pennsylvania over the summer. No problem. One of the best road trips I ever had. Supercharging takes longer than a gas fill-up but it's far from a deal breaker. EAP significantly reduces driver fatigue. We love it so much that my wife bought one too and we don't have a 3rd car. I think you'll be fine.

You'll be happier if you have an adequate charging solution at home. We share a HPWC in the garage for the two cars but I'll be installing a second one next week for convenience. We just top off one the batteries every night & never think about the battery unless we're on a road trip.

 

[MXWing]

Among many reasons, the most significant reason on why I could NEVER consider a iPace/Bolt is every car I consider a primary car.

A car good enough to go where I need without range anxiety.

Sure a little bit of time needs to be planned for supercharging but its so infrequent I don't want to deal without a Tesla for 99% everyday driving life.

 

[Jdcorbitt3]

I just did a 500+ mile road trip(Ocala to Atlanta). I stopped once each way. We passed several SCs on the way. When we stopped, we also ate. The car was ready to continue the trip before our meal was served. We have two Teslas now and no ICE. It is far more convenient, especially in the winter time to have an EV. You never have to stand outside, in the cold, pumping gas. If you are supercharging in the middle of a blizzard, you are only outside to plug and unplug your car. Otherwise you are in a toasty car that you do not have to shut off.

John

 

[woodisgood]

You will wonder why it took you so long.

 

[RedModel3]

My M3 is my only car, and it has not been a problem. I drove from Nashville to Wisconsin and back just a month after I got the car, and charging was effortless. $77 for electricity for the entire trip. Where you live, there should be even more superchargers than in the cornfields of Illinois. I haven't gone through a winter yet with this car, but I had a Volt for two years. Be prepared to experience a huge dip in range when it gets cold, or when you use a lot of heat, windshield wipers, etc. If you used "winter driving rules" to fill up your gas tank, you'll still want to think in those terms for charging. Can you charge overnight at home? That would be ideal. Just plug it in at night, charging to no more than 70% for daily use - maybe in your case 50%. Then for a long trip, charge it fully before you leave. That's it.

Handling should be better in winter because of the weight distribution of the battery. ICE cars have all the weight in the front. Check out Bjorn Nyland's model S videos in Norway.

Once you get used to your electric car, you will NEVER want to go back to ICE.

 

[Olle]

Being a long term S owner I can tell you I would much rather have a Tesla as my only car than an ICE car. Every time I travel somewhere where I need to rent an ICE I can't believe how inconvenient and gross it is to fill gas compared to plugging in at the destination when an opportunity arises. Driven my Tesla a lot up north in deep snow, handling was great. With 3 having even more range than the Ss I've had, I can imagine its even more convenient of a car.

 

[Bleedblue82]

Thank you all for your responses! This is very reassuring to hear. I think my takeaway is that it requires a bit more planning than an ICE car, but not so much that the car range becomes the sole topic on road trips.

One more question. Anything I should be concerned about in keeping my Tesla outside? Our parking spot is not covered sadly. Yes, it will be exposed to snow and ice, but not to much direct sunlight or anything. And we are assuming we can install a charging station - that’s a must for us.

Thanks again!

 

[Unpilot]

Get a charging station that is at least level 2 (30 miles put in an hour) and leave every day with a full tank.

 

[Dan Detweiler]

The key to minimizing winter range drop is to use the pre-heat feature on the phone app. While still plugged in pre-heat the car for about 10-15 minutes before starting your drive. It will still get less range but it won't be as severe as taking off with a cold battery.

Dan