Love It - Not for Long Drives

[animorph]

I bought our X specifically as a road trip car for me and my wife. We have 7k miles now, about 6k miles on Supercharged long trips. AP2 was the main attraction. I have little tolerance for long driving stints in older cars and used to arrive very tired. Simply using TACC has made the driving something I actually look forward to now. Steering the X is easy. I turn on Autosteer once in a while, but it's still not as smooth as our manual steering.

We switch drivers at each Supercharger. We rarely have to charge for more than 30 minutes due to the current Supercharger spacing. We don't need to drive slower than the ICE cars. We get a chance to walk around and stretch, and my smallish bladder does not become a problem. I enjoy trying some of the different restaurants I usually wouldn't eat at if one of my favorites was nearby. Many times we can stop overnight at a hotel with a supercharger. And we can travel 12 hours a day, about 20% charging I would guess, and not feel worn out when we stop. Much better for us than 5 hours each of full manual driving with one gas stop. Makes me tired just thinking about it. While I wouldn't mind faster charging, it is quite tolerable as is.

 

[Olle]

Many times we can stop overnight at a hotel with a supercharger.

You mean hotel with destination charger?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

You mean hotel with destination charger?

Most of the Superchargers that I've been to on I-70 and I-80 are located at hotels. When driving back from the Gigafactory last summer, we stopped at a hotel with a Supercharger and filled the car to 90% while checking in and unloading the bags. The next morning, we returned the car to the Supercharger during breakfast and charged the rest of the way to 100%.

Destination chargers at a hotel would be nice...but a Supercharger can be even better.

 

[FlyF4]

Range was the most important factor in getting my X. That's why I went with the 100 kwh battery and 20" wheels and the non-P version. 100% charge gives me 304 miles. In my long distance driving recently I traveled 600 miles each way, only having to stop twice....... And between AP2 and getting the charging break, the driving was comfortable with no range anxiety, and I arrived quite refreshed.

Amen to that. Same reason we have the same car as you do. I understand the OP dislikes. I imagine it applies to people whom want to get from point A to point B as fast as possible. That is not us. Frankly, I think it increases risk of accidents due to lack of rest. We find that 3-4 hours is as long as we want to go without stopping. We enjoy the trips more and arrive more relaxed. Certainly a more safe drive by having more rest breaks.

So bottom line (yeah, sarcastic humor coming), my worry is not range anxiety, it is "shopping anxiety". The wife's drug habit is that she has to stop and shop for a "fix" every few hours while I rest and eat. Thus, a car with greater range isn't going to help me at all.

 

[mkspeedr]

After a road trip to LA and back to San Jose this weekend. I would be happy with a P120D. The 97 degree temp, 4 people and AC impacted my range a lot.

 

[TexasEV]

If range is your concern, then perhaps you'd be happier with a non-P.

 

[David29]

I also drive long distances in both my S and X and find the Supercharger experience both rewarding and infuriating, depending on my situation. In a lot of cases it can add a level of relaxation to the trip, but in others it can be a complete annoyance. I was once driving from Portland back home through heavy rain and wind. Passing over Shasta included snow. I had to charge much more than usual, and because of the weather, I couldn't enjoy the stops very much. It got dark and I was ready to be home.

It's worth it to me, but I can see where it doesn't work for some others.

Agreed. We have not taken very many long trips (overnight trips), but we have made it work and it is indeed a mix of reward and annoyance, depending on the experience. We are older and I am retired, so indeed we do find we need to stop for "bio-breaks" more often than younger people like my son who can drive from Boston to Washington DC with only one stop! That would take us 3 or 4 stops at least, leaving aside the charging. We have been fairly successful at using the stops for bathroom, coffee, and food to do the charging we needed, and have mostly avoided wasting time while awaiting the charge, but it does not always work out. This past weekend, we drove from the Boston area to Philadelphia and back (about 325 miles each way), and were able to charge enough without taking longer than we needed for food and bathrooms. It helped that we did stop for a sit-down decent meal at a real restaurant on the way back, vs. the junk food at rest area food courts. So it took longer but was a nice break.

On the other hand, when we did the drive to DC last fall, we did have to wait for charging some of the time, with nothing much else to do but twiddle our thumbs. In retrospect, one of the two such stops was avoidable with better planning.

I enjoy the breaks while charging to split up long trips. Road trip from SF Bay up to Whistler, BC two days each way was not stressful at all despite constant downpour/ whiteout conditions on the passes. As long as you don't run into problems while charging that substantially increase the time then I enjoy the breaks but also wouldn't complain about a 400+mile range battery.

Agreed as well. Our 70D does not charge as fast (for the same miles) as larger batteries, and of course we can't go as far to start with. But we don't take that many long trips and have tried to enjoy the break time when we do have to wait for a charge. Better planning can help, too. In one case in particular, our DC trip last fall, we could have eliminated or greatly shortened one stop if we had spent more money on a hotel. We stayed in a hotel with no charging ability, but could have paid considerably more and stayed in a place with destination charging. So it was an economic choice as well.

 

[Cowby]

A related question -- realistically, what X would I need to get to match the range of my 2014 P85? Anyone have experience with both a P85 and an X that can comment on how the range of one compares to the other?

100% charge on my P85 is about 255-260 miles rated, though I tend to get a bit less with my highway driving. I probably get somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 to 230 miles off a 100% charge. My for driving, I don't think I would want a Tesla that gets less than 200 with my driving style. If I get an X, I don't feel a need to get a P model, so I can probably get a little better range with a non-P which is good.

Note that most of this driving is interstate travel with 70 MPH speed limit. My driving varies a little; sometimes I cruise at around 68 MPH, other times I might average a bit above, up to maybe 75 MPH.

We have both P85s (on 19" wheels) and P100x (on 20" wheels) and recently took a trip with both at the exact same time (A/C on all the time and both traveling 70-80 mph on highway). I'd say they are neck and neck with the P100x having a little bit more range left over (~10-20 miles differential at final destination). So yeah, get the 100 (P or not, doesn't matter as you'll get the 200 miles easily) size on the X.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Relax, don't worry. We are almost there.

While no doubt charging rates are going up (whenever Tesla is not throttling them... ), batteries are getting larger and infrastructure is growing, we are still long ways from acceptability for the average person. For the enthusiast things are certainly improving fast, but we are willing to accept a lot more anyway than the average person.

Just noting this to manage expectations a little. We're long ways from operating an EV being as easy and convenient as an ICE for long-range driving.

 

[Skotty]

While no doubt charging rates are going up (whenever Tesla is not throttling them... ), batteries are getting larger and infrastructure is growing, we are still long ways from acceptability for the average person. For the enthusiast things are certainly improving fast, but we are willing to accept a lot more anyway than the average person.

Just noting this to manage expectations a little. We're long ways from operating an EV being as easy and convenient as an ICE for long-range driving.

I would say we need the following, based on current Tesla tech:

1) Charge times drop by half.
2) Range increase of 100 miles.
3) Twice as many fast charging stations along highway routes.
4) Prices maybe starting around $30K.
5) Greatly improved home charging options for people without their own garages.
6) Manufacturer PR and car software stop being so overly optimistic about range estimates.
7) Wider array of vehicle types (cars, trucks, minivans, SUVs, and whatever else people want to buy).

Right now, it's mostly doable for the enthusiast (mostly because price is still high and Model 3 is not in full production yet). But I fear for the average driver, it just needs to be as easy or easier to buy and operate an EV than a gas car.

 

[jerry33]

I don't know about that. Other than the price, which is understandably high, and the lack of vehicle variety, also understandable since they've only been shipping cars since 2008, it's been no more onerous to drive on long trips than any other car I've had. Actually, it's been much better because my Tesla doesn't seem to create the same fatigue level. Driving time is about the same as well. On the trips I've made (about 45K miles of trips so far) at most charging stops the charging has completed (completed means that there is enough energy to get to the next charging stop plus some extra) by the time we get back from a pit stop. In a few cases we have to wait another few minutes. Sure, there are some gaps in the SC network, but given that there were about three SCs when I bought the car and now they are approached 400 in North America (369+17+11+surprise ones at last count), I'd say that's excellent progress.

 

[Erleichda]

Notes below:

1) Charge times drop by half.
Will help but only a little. It's really not a huge issue to most by the time you hit the head and grab a drink.

2) Range increase of 100 miles.
Agree. Going from 250 to 305 alone really helped our trips. But it's totally doable at 200.

3) Twice as many fast charging stations along highway routes.
Already in the works.

4) Prices maybe starting around $30K.
This is a great final goalpost for cost; it can be 30-45k now and still won't have enough production to meet demand.

5) Greatly improved home charging options for people without their own garages.
Should be apartment/condo and business driven and will be.

6) Manufacturer PR and car software stop being so overly optimistic about range estimates.
Tesla has been spot on for us. Can't say the same for others. It's really good at predicting range, unlike any ICE I have had.

7) Wider array of vehicle types (cars, trucks, minivans, SUVs, and whatever else people want to buy).
I mean, the Model S really functions as a car/SUV/Wagon. The AWD X is a fantastic minivan that needs an economy version. Trucks are coming. Have you seen this?
https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/2017/6/26/340087-14985139413478773_origin.png