Comparing LR AWD to SR+

[MXWing]

I am lucky to get 200 ACTUAL miles on a 3P.

Don't forget the phantom drains, sentry mode drains, and forthcoming camper mode.

And as a fact of life, battery degradation.

You potentially save a lot of grief in many situations just by having those extra miles. Battery also performs better and last longer as you don't need to charge more than 75-80% for day to day usage.

Those who treat their cars really well stay above 20% SOC and below 81% SOC as often as they can.

Much easier to manage this with a 75KW Pack than 54KW.

Paying approx 25% more for approx 50% more batteries is a good value.

 

[SlimJim]

Another issue, albeit minor for most people, is slower charging speed. 32 amp maximum on SR(+), 48 amp maximum on LR/AWD.

smaller battery with slower charging will come out similar to larger battery with faster charging in overall time it takes.

 

[MikeR55]

I guess my only fear is when I do calculations I should end up at my destination with 10 to 15% charge left each time after chargin to 100%- I guess thats pushing it a little bit.

 

[BikerPeaBody]

If you have the money, get the LR range
I didn't have the extra $9 grand or so to do it.
The main benefits to me would be the speed increase(to race other cars at traffic lights and get into trouble) and the larger battery. That's the biggest plus. Less recharges, longer drives. I'm not a big tripper so this isn't a big deal

Mine charges at 32amp at home but that's enough for me to go from 0 to 90% in 4 hours or so, but I never get close to 0 anyway

I have SR+
loving it

 

[joebruin77]

Two other factors to consider:

1) Cold weather
Cold weather will cause more rapid zapping of the battery. Since OP is in LA, cold weather is not as much of a factor, although yesterday it was 35 degrees outside when I woke up and I had to use a lot more energy during my morning commute.

2) Resale value
I read somewhere that one of the most important factors in an EV's resale value is the range of the battery. I wonder if a LR will have better resale value than a SR+ in a few years for this reason. I wonder how much of the $9,000 extra at time of purchase might be recooped in added resale value. Anyone have any info or data on this?

 

[Sophias_dad]

smaller battery with slower charging will come out similar to larger battery with faster charging in overall time it takes.

Sure, but if you are charging mid-day so you can finish your day, that extra 50% in miles/hr of charge speed can mean a lot.

 

[MikeR55]

Rented a Tesla today drove to the destination I always drive to- up a mountain- 70 degrees at start- 30 at end- stuck in traffic for 3.5 hours (usually takes 2 hours) charged to 220 on the SR+ with 19" wheels and ended up with 30 miles still left when I arrived.

 

[Stach]

Rented a Tesla today drove to the destination I always drive to- up a mountain- 70 degrees at start- 30 at end- stuck in traffic for 3.5 hours (usually takes 2 hours) charged to 220 on the SR+ with 19" wheels and ended up with 30 miles still left when I arrived.

Mike, that was a smart way to test it out. So is your mind at ease now and are you sticking with your SR+ order?

 

[MikeR55]

Mike, that was a smart way to test it out. So is your mind at ease now and are you sticking with your SR+ order?

Yeah! SR+ works for me. I'll add a sub woofer and should be set. Does sitting in traffic for 3 hours burn up more than going 80 for an hour?

 

[SlimJim]

Sure, but if you are charging mid-day so you can finish your day, that extra 50% in miles/hr of charge speed can mean a lot.

True.

I imagine if I have a 10 gal bucket filled with cotton vs. a 16 oz beer glass filled with cotton. And I try to saturate the cotton in each container.
I simply cannot turn on the water hose to full blast and expect the beer glass to take all the water in without splashing all over.
I have to trickle the water into the glass while I can run the water in full blast for the 10 gal bucket.

 

[hmmwv]

Yeah! SR+ works for me. I'll add a sub woofer and should be set. Does sitting in traffic for 3 hours burn up more than going 80 for an hour?

No, going 80 for an hour will use way way way more energy than sitting in traffic for 3 hours. But stop and go traffic in any temperature that requires heating do use significant amount of energy.
Here is my experience with the SR+ after 400 miles:
1. Charging is not a problem at all if you have 240V at home, I have a EVSE installed for my Leaf years ago and at over 7KW I can charge from 20% to 80% in 5 hours. With the new update SR+ can SC at 170KW, so unless you go to a V3 SC with no cars sharing the charger you won't see a difference between SR+ and LR.
2. Currently in WA temperature is around 40F and my commute is 38 miles round trip (90% highway), I charge to 80% and it'll take 3 days to go down to the low 20% for me to recharge. So far my average consumption is about 278Wh/mi which isn't bad consider I have to use heating on the commutes (I wish the 3 has a heat pump like my Leaf though).
3. Interior wise I think all the trims have the same interior lights, 2020 cars won't have the door pocket light no matter the trim, not sure about the footwell light though. I also rarely have passengers in the rear so heated rear seats means nothing to me.
4. I'm in the 30 day trial period of premium connectivity and for me it's not worth $10, even standard navigation is good enough, Tesla's premium navigation will show traffic info but it seems to be less complete compare to my phone's Google maps, and you still can't pick different routes, Google Earth is more of a distraction. Music streaming options are limited, and you can't use the browser to play video for passengers on the trip anyway so it won't be much LTE data.
5. I get all weather mats in all of my cars so factory mat also means nothing to me, except needing a place to store them.
6. I do like good speakers and the standard one is just okay, I wouldn't mind spend somewhere around $600-$800 to do some audio upgrade in the future though.
7. I think the SR+ is a great value, the other car I seriously considered was the Accord Hybrid Touring, factoring in WA sales tax incentive (only the SR+ w/o FSD qualify) and federal tax saving the Accord will be $300 more. The looks, technology, and performance is unmatched in the $40,000 range. Even with SR+ I can still beat 90% of the cars at traffic lights.

 

[ivy_]

SR+ owner.

the LR would be nice for distance trips, as there are fewer stops between chargers, or if you are driving for work heavily, especially in the cold.

Beyond that, there are not a lot of differences that justify $9k, in my book.

Drove 82 miles yesterday, in 7 separate hops, in city traffic. Battery went from 90% to 37%. This included some preheating, and I took no steps to conserve power. Temps ranged from 18F to 30F, so I was using a ton of heat and battery warming, at just under 290Wh/m. I had sentry on in some places.

 

[pl8dlikafiddle]

SR+ owner in metro Atlanta, Georgia area.

My last trip was to Winston-Salem, North Carolina in low 30F start of trip (early morning) and arrival around low 40F. Carr was charged to 90% and set for a departure time, therefore it wasn’t completely starting out the trip cold.

Averages consumption was 265 Wh/mi for the trip with low front seat heaters and HVAC set to 70F. Travel speeds were between 60-80mph. If we charged to100% and drained down to 0%, this would have been around 180-190 miles of range - usable range more like 140 miles if you want to avoid either end of the SoC extremes.

Supercharging sessions were around 15-25 mins each, and it was a joy to drive. We’re happy with the purchase, and wife is considering replacing her fairly new Yukon with a long range Y in a few years depending on how our model 3 ages.

We also drove our car earlier this fall from Atlanta to Orlando, Florida and with temps in the 70-80F, we were in the 220-230 Wh/mi consumption range. Plenty of range to make supercharger hops and charging times were still in the 15-25min range to get to the next SC. We have two young boys, so stops every 1.5-2hrs is almost required, and we find the car actually charged too fast during our food stops where I had to bump up the charge limit to avoid idle fees.

In our case, the SR+ is just right. If we lived more than 150 miles from the nearest supercharger, then it may be a problem getting home from a trip during winter.

 

[MikeR55]

No, going 80 for an hour will use way way way more energy than sitting in traffic for 3 hours. But stop and go traffic in any temperature that requires heating do use significant amount of energy.
Here is my experience with the SR+ after 400 miles:

Then thanks to traffic my test was worthless- ha. I had the AC going the entire time- but didn't put on heat til going up the mountain

 

[Fresnel]

How many miles do you drive to work? If it's "a lot" I highly recommend the long range. I leave home at 90% and get home at like 30% in the winter. If I didn't have the long range I would be eating into the no no land of lower then 20% and higher then 90% battery. And that's on a non snow day when I might need to pre heat the cabin more to melt ice.

 

[MikeR55]

How many miles do you drive to work? If it's "a lot" I highly recommend the long range. I leave home at 90% and get home at like 30% in the winter. If I didn't have the long range I would be eating into the no no land of lower then 20% and higher then 90% battery. And that's on a non snow day when I might need to pre heat the cabin more to melt ice.

I live in LA and work from home. I have cabins in the mountains I AirBnB that I go up to check on. Usually 2 hour 110 mile drove. Left yesterday 70 degrees - stuck in traffic for 3 hours before finally getting up to the last 45 minutes up the mountain - temps drop at that point to 40s - 30s at night. I charged to 220 miles and had 30 miles left when I got to the cabin.

AWD LR would probably give me more piece of mind- but it's $9k more and too late at this point to get before end of year.

 

[Fresnel]

I live in LA and work from home. I have cabins in the mountains I AirBnB that I go up to check on. Usually 2 hour 110 mile drove. Left yesterday 70 degrees - stuck in traffic for 3 hours before finally getting up to the last 45 minutes up the mountain - temps drop at that point to 40s - 30s at night. I charged to 220 miles and had 30 miles left when I got to the cabin.

AWD LR would probably give me more piece of mind- but it's $9k more and too late at this point to get before end of year.

Man, 30 miles left is cutting it close. Any more traffic and when your battery degrades a bit that's going to be a little rough. You'll have to do a SC stop each time. But, gotta do what you gotta do. At least you work from home so it isn't a daily thing. And that was charging to 100%?

If there are any LR AWD in stock in your area you might be able to get one before the new year.

 

[MikeR55]

Man, 30 miles left is cutting it close. Any more traffic and when your battery degrades a bit that's going to be a little rough. You'll have to do a SC stop each time. But, gotta do what you gotta do. And that was charging to 100%?

I wasn't charged all the way though only 80% or so (to 218) - so will be more like 60 to 70 left - although that was in dead stop traffic for 2.5 hours- so not the greatest test.

I told my sales guy if an AWD shows up before the year end - I'd consider it- but my order is SR+ so not looking good.

 

[Fresnel]

Those who treat their cars really well stay above 20% SOC and below 81% SOC as often as they can.

I saw some posts from Elon and people talking on youtube about how its actually fine to charge to 90%. The difference between charging to 80 and 90 is too small to worry about. I'm not sure yet if I believe it but that's what I'm seeing.

 

[MikeR55]

An article just came out that says the way to really mess the battery up is with fast charging- and the % charged doesn't really matter. The faster the charger- the worst it is for your battery