View attachment 626729 View attachment 626730 Hey everyone, this is my first post so thank you for giving me a place to air my concerns. I know this post is going to be pretty long. Currently I do not have a Tesla but I am looking to get one within the first half of the year.
Recently I was dead set on a Long Range Model 3 because not only does it have a bigger battery, but I care a lot about the the interior so the Premium upgrade was also worth it to me.
However with the announcement of the Standard Range Model Y, I did some research and found that all of these models come with the Premium Interior. Being that the SR Model Y is $5000 less than the LR Model 3 I was looking at, all of a sudden this Model Y that I wasn’t considering became much more appealing, especially because it has a lot more space.
What’s got me hesitant is the 100-mile difference in range. Currently in my Lancer I get about 250 miles on a full tank. I don’t have a long commute to work by any means but Iive in an apartment complex that doesn’t have EV charging or a way I can plug in overnight. I live in Central Florida and while there are a great amount of chargers including where I work, but I would still have more confidence in a bigger battery.
Once I spec out the SR Y to my desired configuration (Metallic Blue paint, Induction wheels, standard Autopilot, black interior), there is a $2000 difference between the SR Y and a similar spec (only difference being the Aero wheels) LR 3 (which works out to about a $30 difference on monthly leasing payments).
I would love if any experienced Tesla owners can help me out with the following questions:
- Is it worth spending up to $5000 ($60/mo. on a lease) more for the Long Range?
- Do the Induction wheels decrease the range compared to the Gemini wheels on the Model Y?
- Does the SR battery charge quicker than the LR batteries?
- Do the Y and 3 have a similar suspension and if so is the ride quality on bigger rims negatively effected?
- Is range anxiety overrated? Does it really
Thank you for your time, I greatly appreciate the help. I have attached my ideal specs for both models which I’m open to tweaking to safe costs. Thank you for letting me get all of this off my chest.
One mistake many prospective tesla owners make is, they see the range of the car, and they think they will be able to drive that range, or charge to that range, all the time, and it doesnt work that way.
You will, in general, charge from somewhere around 20-30% to somewhere around 80-90%. Miles also will not roll off at a 1:1 basis, just like most ICE vehicles do not get their stated MPG unless driven like the tests, which most dont.
To over simplify, a tesla with a 244 mile range will be charged in general to a maximum of 90% of 244, which is 220 mile (when new). It will in general be discharged to no lower than 20%, which is 49 miles. 220 mile start minus 49 miles left = 171 miles of "actual" range a person might have access to, driving that car in general terms.
You wont get EPA range unless you drive about 50MPH on the freeway (miles wont roll off at 1:1, so 171 rated miles is going to be somewhere between 120 to 170 miles (given weather, temperature etc).
So, the question is not "is 244 miles enough for me". The question is "is 120-170 miles range enough for me on a regular basis". Because you dont have EV charging at home, the answer is likely "no". If you had home charging, you could reasonably assume, as long as you didnt drive more than 120 -140 miles a day on a regular basis, you would be fine. You dont have home charging, so what you need to be asking yourself is, am I ok with going somewhere to charge every 3-4 days vs every 5-6 days?
The calculations for the long range version are the same, but the battery is bigger so the numbers are bigger. To spare you all the numbers instead of it being 120-170 miles, you could simply add roughly the difference in the two cars range, so roughly 100 miles. (220-270 miles).
You can NOT (repeat, can NOT) look a the range of the car and say "it goes 244 miles on a charge, my commute to work and back is only 20 miles, so I can just charge once every 10 days or so and I will be fine", cause thats not how it works as I explained above.
TL ; DR, decide if 120-170 miles range (when new, not counting any battery degredation that will occur over the years) is ok for you. If so, then perhaps the SR Y will be ok. Since you dont have home charging, you should be looking at as much range as possible, and if you want a Y, save up longer and get a Long range Y.... but its not my money.
