Looking for some wisdom for choosing 75D vs 100D

[xilex]

Hi all, new to the forum here. I'm planning to pick up a Tesla S in the next 6 months to supplement my ICE vehicle and wanted to hear some advice/recommendations for choosing between the 75D and 100D. I live in Cypress, CA (near Orange County) and my daily round trip commute is about 20 miles, with some days stretching to 40-60 if I have to travel between work sites more often. It's probably going to be mostly surface streets. At home I will be charging with only a 110V outlet (still renting) and I don't think I'll be allowed to modify it. The Tesla will be leased with the 10000 annual mileage (currently driving about 5000-8000/year).

I'm opting for the S because it can be leased, I feel the instrument cluster is still essential, and this (model S) is preferable over the X. The 75D should be more than enough for daily commute. My questionable desire for the 100D is that in the future I'd like to take 7-12 day road trips to the national parks. I've read some of the threads on various forums discussing the pros/cons. It's doable, but will have some added time, can't really be driving 75+ efficiently, etc. I felt an EV would be more convenient if I were stopping every few miles because every pullout has amazing views, versus putting more wear on the ignition every time. On the other hand, maybe I can just rent a cheap Prius for the drives. Realistically this may only occur once or twice a year, so maybe not worth the extra 20000? What I would do more often is go through the Angeles National Forest, and that round trip is around 180miles long.

Anyway, I'm thinking stick with the 75D. What do you guys think?

 

[Kuhz]

A good rule of thumb is buy the biggest battery you can. A 100D battery (400v) will supercharge faster, last longer, and will resell for more vs a 75D (350v). Having said this, I got a 75D and after numerous road trips I’m yet to complain. There are so many superchargers now I can skip some even with my battery size. So the 20k premium (I know you are leasing) was not worth it for me.

PS: If you’ll need a referral code for free supercharging feel free to reach out.

 

[whitex]

Buy what you need. Especially when leasing and planning to return (if you don't plant to return, you lose the $7,500 as it's added to the residual). 75D has plenty of range to make cross country trips with today's superchargers. Skipping superchargers usually means slower driving, even in 100D, so why bother, unless you are really in a hurry. I drove coast to coast and back in a P85D which has lower rated range than 75D and had no problems. Your biggest challenge will be your charging - 110V is really slow. 100D won't help much as you won't be running out of space in the battery on days you drive 60 miles. Every trip to a store will lower your charge and with your described driving your charging will barely cover your regular daily driving. UNLESS of course you plan to supercharge to supplement, then 100D will allow you less trips to the supercharger (it will store more each time you go).

 

[tranzndance]

I have low mileage use but debated between the 75 and 100. I decided to get the 75. I might regret it when I have to plan a road trip but that doesn't happen enough for me to justify the cost difference.

One consideration is that it might be hard to go back to driving an ICE or cheap Prius after driving the S. In theory, renting for occasional use makes sense but the reality might mean trying to rent a Tesla or comparable EV.

 

[GSP]

The 75D should be fine.

However, 240 V charging may be helpful to cover pleasure driving and other trips beyond your work commuting. If you have a clothes dryer outlet, you could buy the matching UMC adapter from Tesla (10-30 or 14-30 both provide 24 A 240 V charging, which will be plenty). If the dryer is gas, just plug in. If it is electric, the "dryer buddy" third party accessory will automatically switch between clothes drying and car charging.

If 240 V charging is not an option, check your garage outlets to see if they are NEMA 5-20. If so, get Tesla's 5-20 adapter. This allows charging at 16 A instead of 12 A, and that could be enough of a difference to cover your driving.

Have fun with your new S,

GSP

 

[Peteski]

A good rule of thumb is buy the biggest battery you can..

An even better rule of thumb is to buy the biggest battery you actually need. In your case it sounds like the 75D will be perfect. Apart from the obvious cost saving, another advantage of the smaller battery is that it's 150 kg lighter - which is not insignificant when it comes to handling and efficiency. Even though the 100D has more power, acceleration to 60 mph is within a couple of tenths and braking performance will be a little better in the 75D with the lower weight.

 

[sidmini]

Hi Xilex,

From what you say the 75D should be more than perfect for your daily commute and there is no point spending more if you don't need to. For the longer trips I would use EV Trip Planner to work out whether you can make it to your destination comfortably. There are plenty of superchargers so you should be fine. Send me a PM if you want a referral code for free supercharging!

cheers

 

[DriveMe]

Based on your daily commute, save the money and go with the 75D. Invest the extra money in getting better home (or workplace) charging: that will make a much bigger difference for you. Talk to your landlord, offer to cover all expenses.

On a longer trip, yes a 100D could save you a couple of hours. But if it’s only once year, no big deal!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[born2run]

An even better rule of thumb is to buy the biggest battery you actually need.

That assumes you know what you will need. Things change, unforeseen events happen.

 

[xyeahtony]

If you don't drive more than 100 miles a day, the 100D is a waste of money.

I would test drive the X and the S before settling for the S. I made that mistake of not doing so, and wished I got an X instead of an S.

 

[Raechris]

Hi Xilex - welcome. I went through the same debate and ended up with a MS75D. My commute is also 20ish miles and often appointments can stretch that up to 150. I have had no range anxiety and mainly charge at home with a 14 amp L2 using the included adapter. SC closest to me are 20 miles and have never “needed” one such that I could not get home with 5%. In fact new MS come with pigtails for the different dryer outlets now. If you need a code for free charging please PM me.

 

[BIG ACH]

On the other hand, maybe I can just rent a cheap Prius for the drives.
Anyway, I'm thinking stick with the 75D. What do you guys think?

LOL - yeah right... Trust me, you're going to find any and every excuse to drive you Model S

 

[N..8]

Hi all, new to the forum here. I'm planning to pick up a Tesla S in the next 6 months to supplement my ICE vehicle and wanted to hear some advice/recommendations for choosing between the 75D and 100D. I live in Cypress, CA (near Orange County) and my daily round trip commute is about 20 miles, with some days stretching to 40-60 if I have to travel between work sites more often. It's probably going to be mostly surface streets. At home I will be charging with only a 110V outlet (still renting) and I don't think I'll be allowed to modify it. The Tesla will be leased with the 10000 annual mileage (currently driving about 5000-8000/year).

I'm opting for the S because it can be leased, I feel the instrument cluster is still essential, and this (model S) is preferable over the X. The 75D should be more than enough for daily commute. My questionable desire for the 100D is that in the future I'd like to take 7-12 day road trips to the national parks. I've read some of the threads on various forums discussing the pros/cons. It's doable, but will have some added time, can't really be driving 75+ efficiently, etc. I felt an EV would be more convenient if I were stopping every few miles because every pullout has amazing views, versus putting more wear on the ignition every time. On the other hand, maybe I can just rent a cheap Prius for the drives. Realistically this may only occur once or twice a year, so maybe not worth the extra 20000? What I would do more often is go through the Angeles National Forest, and that round trip is around 180miles long.

Anyway, I'm thinking stick with the 75D. What do you guys think?

Xilex, the only suggestion would be to look at the 12k or 15k lease. I also lease a 75 and drive about 65 miles per day for work. I went with the 15k lease which gives me about 40 miles per day every day of the year to drive without going over. If you go with the 10k you will get 38 miles per day but only 5 days a week, this doesn't give you much room for vacations or weekend driving.

 

[Infoe]

I went with 100d because i wanted it and did not really need it but then im buying and plan on keeping car 5-7years. If i were to lease id go 75 without even batting an eye.

 

[jacksdavim]

I have low mileage use but debated between the 75 and 100. I decided to get the 75. I might regret it when I have to plan a road trip but that doesn't happen enough for me to justify the cost difference.

One consideration is that it might be hard to go back to driving an ICE or cheap Prius after driving the S. In theory, renting for occasional use makes sense but the reality might mean trying to rent a Tesla or comparable EV.

This is a very good point. I bought a model S supplement my sports car (BMW z4m). I figured I commute to work in the Tesla and enjoy the sports car more on the weekends. Not a chance, the BMW has been collecting dust since I got the Tesla, and it’s now on the market. Once you go electric you will never go back.

 

[lvrouter]

I've had my 2018 75D for a couple of weeks now. I considered the 100D but simply couldn't justify the cost for the range, which I don't need. Not sure I ever plan a long trip (I have an ICE SUV and we like to bring everything we own with us!) but obviously we could take it using Superchargers. Performance improvement is NOT worth it, IMHO, the 75D is stupidly fast. The 75D is incredible and I like the fact it's significantly lighter. Of course, like others here, my two ICE vehicles are collecting dust. They seem so clunky to drive now.

 

[arcus]

It all depends on how frequently you plan to make those road trips. Then again, it reminds me of the argument that people make when justifying a purchase of the large SUV so they have it available when the family is in town - twice a year maybe

We just came back from a nearly 5000 miles long road trip in our S75 and there were no issues. There's more and more superchargers added on a daily basis, so within the next 2-3 years it will be even easier. Sure, 100 will allow you skip some of the superchargers along the way, but that's a 20k of an additional expense that you will be lugging around for the rest of the year without using it.

The battery tech keeps improving and the price per kWh goes down. If you don't have an immediate need for the extra range, save the money for the time that it is more affordable or when you need it. Model 3 already comes with LR batter using the newer cells. So will Next Gen Roadster. Eventually all the models will benefit from the newer tech.

 

[mknox]

A good rule of thumb is buy the biggest battery you can. A 100D battery (400v) will supercharge faster, last longer, and will resell for more vs a 75D (350v). .

Agree. This was the basis for my original Model S and Model X purchasing decisions. I was also concerned about the normal and expected degradation that would occur. When I sold my 2013 Model S 85 with 100,000 miles, the battery had the capacity of about what a 75 would get at that time.

 

[Hood7]

I’ve had my S75D for almost 4 months, and have a ~26 mile roundtrip daily commute and it was indeed the right choice for me. Got over the range anxiety after about a month and have never come anywhere close to running out of electrons. Haven’t roadtripped yet but very excited for one that’s coming up and have scoped out the super chargers along the way - I’m sure eventually I won’t even spend much time prepping/planning for such trips, I’ll just let the onboard trip planner route me appropriately to my destinations via superchargers.

Like others have said, your main constraint is the home charging situation. 110 is just not going to be great, consider investing 500 bucks or so to install a 15-40/dryer outlet if landlord will allow.

 

[MacGreiner]

I road trip regularly in my 70D. Completely doable and 19 Mile less range than the 75D.