Impromptu road trip today - fun, and VERY informative!

[Zcd1]

On the spur of the moment late this morning I decided to take a quick trip to see a friend who lives about 115 miles away to show him my car, which was delivered on 12/28. Pearl White over Black M3P+

(Newsflash (not): He was blown away!)

Conditions:
Temp: high 20s/low 30s F
Wind: 13-20 mph head/crosswind on the way there, 10 mph crosswind on the return
Speed: 76-79 mph on the superhighway, 65 on the 2 lane, plus about 25 miles of rural/side street driving
Climate control: 66-70 degrees most of the time, though I actually shut it off for about 15 miles on the way home when it looked like I might be be close-ish on range. Driver's seat heat on the entire trip.

When I left his house for the return trip, range showed 193 miles. The drive was actually 117 miles, and I arrived home with an indicated 9% (28 miles) of range remaining. The "Low Battery" warning popped up after I shifted to Park in my garage. :-0 That means that the range to a dead battery was actually 145 miles, or 75.xxx % of the initial estimate of 193 miles.

Now, if I'd been planning the trip, I'd have charged to 100% last night, but actually started at 80%. I visited a Supercharger near the destination, adding about 115 miles. I also plugged in at his house for about an hour, picking up 29 miles.

Takeaways? What a fantastic car! It's SO fast, it handles beautifully, it rides well considering the handling, the front seats are very comfortable, it has a great sound system, the sound-deadening is only so-so, but overall the car is an absolute pleasure to drive. It's as fast or faster than the Audi S6 I drove previously, not quite as comfy, but WAY more fun to drive. I passed a couple of cars on the 2-lane portion - it's just plain hilariously quick when passing!

The other big takeaway is that even with 100% charge leaving, I couldn't do this round-trip drive without a charging stop, because 310 miles x 75% = 232 miles. which means 210-ish miles while leaving a bit in reserve. I'll be interested to see what the range looks like in warmer temps, when I'll be running the A/C, but when the car should be more efficient. Others have mentioned 240 miles, which sounds about right, and which I can easily live with.

I LOVE THIS CAR!!

 

[Matt L]

Your observation on range is spot on. Some here will argue you get the advertised range but I’ve not been able to. I think the various third party range apps are too conservative though. For my driving style I think the car itself -7 to 8% is most accurate.

I’m about to head out on a day trip. The car says I can do the out and back with 90%. The apps say I need to charge. We shall see.

 

[Az_Rael]

Looks like you have a P, so I assume the larger wheels. Those are a hit to range over the 18’s, so yeah, even in summer you probably won’t be getting the full rated range. Also, you have to drive very conservatively to get it (speed limit, slow acceleration and deceleration, etc), something that may be.... difficult to do in the P

I find that if I fill out all the info (weight, wind, temp, cabin temp, speed multiplier, etc) on the 3rd party route planners, they do a pretty good job. EVtripplanner doesn’t have the various wheels yet, but will probably get even better once they add those in.

 

[Dre78]

Good write-up! Thanks for the details. Makes me less anxious about taking a road trip in the future.

Did you happen to view the projected range on the battery sub-menu? Wondering if those numbers are any closer/ requiring less on-the-go math.

 

[Zcd1]

Good write-up! Thanks for the details. Makes me less anxious about taking a road trip in the future.

Did you happen to view the projected range on the battery sub-menu? Wondering if those numbers are any closer/ requiring less on-the-go math.

The "Energy" graph display was very accurate - that's why I turned off the heat for a few minutes!

I posted the question about true range a few months ago, and the consensus was that 3P would do about 240 miles max @ 80 mph in warmer temps. That appears to me to be about right.

Also, nice car!

 

[Zorg]

Took my 3D for a drive in local twisty roads. What a hoot!