Heavy stop and go traffic

[v12 to 12v]

Here is a photo we took shortly after delivery. This was an unexpected squall while on the Olympic Peninsula. We had the 21's on and they did much better than we expected. Precise control of the accelerator and regen in these hilly, icy situations were a great benefit.

Yes, we used the seat heaters. Summer is like having bonus miles!

 

[Saphire]

Wow! V12 I would've been a nervous wreck taking delivery and driving in those conditions on the first day. I've watched several videos of the Roadster in snow and it handled very well so hopefully MS will do as well. As of yesterday I changed my delivery date to September, so I can ease I to winter. Looking forward to heated seats!

 

[olanmills]

I would say that using the heated seats over the heater is not really necessary unless you are trying to maximize range (like on a long trip or something) or you are just enthusiastic about maximizing efficiency.

Plus the regenerative braking benefits from the stop-and-go.

While this is sort of true, I wouldn't really put it in these terms. Just like with an ICE car, stop-and-go driving with the Model S is still very bad for efficiency compared to smooth driving. Accelerating takes a lot of energy, so if you are constantly accelerating to say 15-20 mph and then braking (even regen only), you will get much worse Wh/mile than if you were driving a steady 40 mph, for example.

Of course, as others mentioned, it's still way better than an ICE car because you are not needlessly running an engine when you are not moving.

 

[brianman]

I would say that using the heated seats over the heater is not really necessary unless you are trying to maximize range (like on a long trip or something) or you are just enthusiastic about maximizing efficiency.

In a pre-supercharger, pre-HPWC era this was absolutely huge for not making me hate the car's range when using a mere 110V/12A at home during winter.