I debated the LR vs SR+ all over the place. Here's what I tell people who are interested in electric cars, because the FIRST thing that is asked is range-related questions. I ask this:
How much do you reasonably drive in one day? Figure out that number. Now double that number. (standard government rules -- emergencies, unexpected stuff, etc)
I have yet to have someone remotely come close to 200 miles. But for those people, long range is good.
Everyone else is just fooling themselves into thinking cross-country trips really require long range. They don't. I've got the SR+ and done the trips and noticed that even if I had LR I would still basically be using the exact same stops -- I get more range, but the reality is the stops are not spaced for long ranges, they're spaced for SR+ ranges. Now having said that, the LR has the speed advantage though because we might be stopping at the same stops, here's the math
SR+ will be empty charge, but require ~70-80% til next stop, meaning longer recharge time
LR will be empty charge, but only need ~50-60% til next stop, super-optimal speed-charging
So it's not really about the range so much as it is about the conveniences in my book. And anyone thinking they need LR for city travel is really fooling themselves for the most part. Regarging to "fullish" (70-80% typical nightly "full" as I call it) more than makes up for any city travel. And bear in mind I said to double the number when you do the city travel. That's proven to be true for me. I've overdriven all to hell in my first months of owning my M3 SR+ and barely ever hit 100 miles in a single days worth of working and shuttling my kids around to everything in creation. I had a week where my wife's car was broken (gas cars! ugh!
) and did virtually everything including shuttling her around and never had a problem. It was actually coming pretty close to pushing the limits, but I was doing an excessive amount of driving that hasn't been matched -- something that I would definitely call abnormal levels.
I like the idea of LR and if you have the money, by all means, get it. But if you're realistic about your city travel AND you don't have an excessive need to leave 10-20 minutes earlier on supercharger stops while traveling, that's an easy savings. I don't regret it.
Side note: I'm the kind of person who likes rest stops when traveling. 30-40 minutes for a recharge is fine for me compared to 10-20. Often it's mixed with food stops, walking, etc. I am often not marching to a deadline when I'm traveling.