Model S for 6hr journeys with young family?

[jsteele]

Hi all,

I recently test drove a Model S and was extremely impressed, incredible car! However I wanted to see if you guys could please give some advice as to whether a Tesla could really work as a family car in my situation.

I am based in Aberdeen and do a 6hr drive down to Chester fairly often (every 2-3 months). I can see from a better route planner that this is possible with the supercharger network, likely with 2-3 stops depending on the temperature. My questions would be how reliable are the superchargers and the estimated charging times, and how would other Tesla owners honestly feel about doing this kind of route regularly with a young family?

Another concern I have is that the nearest service centre is 3hrs away in Edinburgh ... would other owners see this as a big problem?

I'm looking at a used facelift model, perhaps a 90d (or potentially a nearly new 75d). Any thoughts on nearly new vs used? I figure a used car will have any niggles ironed out while still coming with Tesla's 4yr warranty.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[DJP31]

A quick look at the Supercharger map suggests that really wouldn't be a problem at all. The network is extremely reliable and as long as you avoid the 2 bay stalls (e.g. Edinburgh) as far as possible you're unlikely to even have to wait before charging. By the time you've unloaded the kids, gone to the loo and grabbed a coffee the car will be ready to go.

The usable battery isn't much different between the 90D and 75D, and some of the 90 batteries are the ones that seem to have suffered slightly more degradation than others. So although charging might be slightly quicker (and we are talking a matter of a few minutes) I doubt you'd see much difference in real world range. Add in the newer technology and that Tesla continually improve the components etc, I'd be going for the newest car that budget allows.

The only negatives I would throw in is that the rear seat is very low to the floor, so not much leg/thigh support. There aren't any grab handles nor a centre arm rest either, so it isn't the most comfortable car in the world to be a rear passenger on a long journey. Certainly nowhere near enough to put you off buying one, but it isn't a class leader in this particular respect.

 

[admiralpatb]

For continuous long-range driving, you will want to consider a vehicle that has Autopilot 2.0 or 2.5 hardware and software. Remember that the AP upgrade is $5,000 at the time of purchase, so you should expect a newer 75D with AP2.0/2.5 to be a little more expensive than an older 90D without. The delta in battery between 75 and 90 is not enough where you would regularly be able to skip a supercharger during long distance driving. Play around with the trip planner between 90D and 75D and see how much time per trip the larger battery would really save.

The charge time estimates from evtripplanner are usually pretty accurate... they tend to be a little higher than what the car says. I've found that the car's estimated travel time with charging is often within minutes of the final travel time. It continually updates as you drive.

Driving a long distance with autopilot truly changes the experience. WAY LESS STRESS.

 

[ckoval7]

I don't have a family myself, but something I see very often on these forums is family road trip success stories. People often mention taking their spouse, multiple young children, and dog on 6+ hour trips and the consensus is that it's an improved experience from what their previous family car had too offer.

 

[realvvk]

Model S is an outstanding long trip vehicle for a family. Smooth, quiet ride (with good tires) and lots of room for people and cargo. Superchargers are so much more pleasant than dirty, smelly gas stations. Also, not sure how it is in the UK, but in the US some gas stations are not open 24 hours, so at night you have range anxiety in an ICE car, which is not there with a Tesla. You always know where you can get your next charge. It forces you to stop and stretch/walk every few hours, which makes a huge difference. As does the autopilot. On a long journey the car basically drives itself. We have done multiple long trips in our MS and have been extremely impressed by it.

 

[Peteski]

I wouldn't have any concerns about the long trips and I would take a newer 75D over an older 90D and preferably get a car with Autopilot (either AP1 or AP2/2.5).

However I would be worried about being 3 hours away from a service centre. That could really bite you one day and I'm not sure I would want the potential hassle. If I'm honest, that would be a deal breaker for me. It's a shame because the electric drivetrain and Autopilot tech is great, but I would want to be within convenient reach of a service centre to deal with any issues and routine service. A 6 hour round trip would be unacceptable for me! I wonder what roadside assistance would be like at that sort of range? Very slow I would expect!

 

[Whisky]

I traveled about 3000 miles in a MX75D with twin toddlers. It was just fine! The supercharger stops almost always went long because of the kids, and not because we needed to stick around longer. MS75D has even better range, so great perks there. One of the reasons we went with the smaller battery was the younger family, and the feeling we'd need to do stops every two or three hours anyway for the kids. By contrast, I've done road trips on the TM3 RWD LR and the car outlasted my bladder and comfort each and every time while traveling alone. I'd never make use of its range with a young family.

There are a few tips and tricks you'll learn, like planning your stops ahead if you have a choice of superchargers, so stopping at superchargers that are better setup for the family. Having AP, though, means you'll arrive refreshed compared to driving full-time. I would add another 1.5 to your trip between charging stops. You've used abetterrouteplanner and that gives you a good idea on times. It's fairly accurate, but the map in your (future) car is the most accurate in estimating how long the trip will take.

 

[Penfold]

The only thing I would ensure you look into are what child seats/boosters you want to use. When we had child sets with straps it was fine as could get the isofix connected and backup seat belt strapped just about and use the straps to secure our children. But once we moved to high back booster seats it’s really tight with the seat belt connector so we had to change seats to get a narrower base to enable us to use them. The kids are only just able to get the belts connected and the majority of the time we belt them up as need to push the seat base away from the buckle. Don’t let this put you off but just make sure you try/test your seats. Some people have used seat belt extensions which I just tried out but personally I don’t like them. They do the job but I am not keen (personal choice). We have a Model S. Not sure if the X has better belt space, probably not sure can’t be sure

Good luck with your purchase and enjoy an awesome car.

Range anxiety goes within about 2 minutes of ownership.

 

[jsteele]

Thanks for all the advice, really helpful. It seems the long distances shouldn't be an issue and autopilot would more than make up for any slight increase in stopping time.

I am still a bit worried about Aberdeen being 3hrs drive from the nearest service center. It would be fine to do the trip once per year for a service, but as Peteski pointed out it could really come back to bite me if I was unlucky with faults/issues - any experience from the UK with the mobile service team?

 

[Peteski]

The only thing I would ensure you look into are what child seats/boosters you want to use. When we had child sets with straps it was fine as could get the isofix connected and backup seat belt strapped just about and use the straps to secure our children. But once we moved to high back booster seats it’s really tight with the seat belt connector so we had to change seats to get a narrower base to enable us to use them. The kids are only just able to get the belts connected and the majority of the time we belt them up as need to push the seat base away from the buckle. Don’t let this put you off but just make sure you try/test your seats. Some people have used seat belt extensions which I just tried out but personally I don’t like them. They do the job but I am not keen (personal choice). We have a Model S. Not sure if the X has better belt space, probably not sure can’t be sure

Good luck with your purchase and enjoy an awesome car.

Range anxiety goes within about 2 minutes of ownership.

I can confirm that the X does have plenty of space for child seats and belts, at least with the latest 5 and 7 seat configurations. A friend of ours also struggles a bit with his S in this respect. Having had an S loaner for a day while my X was being serviced, it did remind me how much better the X is for hauling small kids around. But they are both very capable family cars.

 

[Peteski]

Thanks for all the advice, really helpful. It seems the long distances shouldn't be an issue and autopilot would more than make up for any slight increase in stopping time.

I am still a bit worried about Aberdeen being 3hrs drive from the nearest service center. It would be fine to do the trip once per year for a service, but as Peteski pointed out it could really come back to bite me if I was unlucky with faults/issues - any experience from the UK with the mobile service team?

I think the problem you would have with mobile servicing is that they will be based 3 hours away at the Aberdeen SC. Obviously that's not your problem, but it would make it hard work for them to get to you if you needed roadside assistance. For example I think the emergency wheel swap service is limited to a 50 mile radius of the SC. Plus the mobile service is limited in scope, so many issues would require a trip to Aberdeen anyway. It's a risk for sure. So far I've been lucky in the first year with our MX, but I have had a couple of trips to the SC for minor issues. But for me that just means a 15 mile journey.

 

[cezdoc]

Hi @jsteele & welcome!

I'm based in Aberdeen (there are a few of us up here!) & can confirm the Chester trip will be fine (I have an S70). I've done Aberdeen-South Wales several times in summer & winter (passing Chester on the way) and it's one of the better-served UK routes in terms of Superchargers, in fact you have the luxury of choosing between different stops on the M74/M6 rather than doing fixed hops. Warrington is the only 2-bay Supercharger on the route and is the only one to avoid if you don't want to risk queuing. That said, last week I queued at Gretna (4 bays) for the first time ever but this could have been avoided by using Tebay (8 bays) & Abington (6) (it was also lunctime on a Saturday so probably peak usage time).

I've found abetterrouteplanner charge times/energy usage forecasts at different temperatures are pretty accurate. Cross-check trip times with something like Google maps though as ABRP doesn't seem to account for typical traffic delays. The good news is that if there are hold-ups you tend to use less energy (travelling slower) so charge times go down a bit.

The enforced charging breaks are actually preferred by my family. Autopilot (I have the first version) is also very good for motorway driving.

As for service support, so far so good for me (coming up to 3 years next month). The Edinburgh service centre has an excellent reputation and they support customers all over Scotland including the NW highlands. Anything warranty-related and they will send a driver up to collect the car and drop off a loan vehicle (if your car can't be driven it will be taken on a trailer which also brings the loaner). This has happened twice to me, both times the car was driveable but not for long distances. I've had one service to date and they also did a free collect and deliver for that too. I'm not 100% sure if they offer a mobile technician yet (will make some enquiries).

Obviously if you're stuck at the roadside and need to get going they can only do so much from Edinburgh so normal AA/RAC is recommended. But that also applies if you live next door to a service centre as they are only open during office hours (the tyre replacement service is a nice bonus but not one to absolutely rely on). I should add that phone support is 24/7 as you'd expect.

This is the first car I've owned with a remote service centre and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive (it was a concern at first but has proved much better than hanging around the coffee machine at Arnold Clark!).

Any other questions just shout. Oh and if the man maths works out make sure you get a referral code from an existing owner (plenty to choose from on here ).

 

[cezdoc]

I've just checked and can confirm the Edinburgh Service Centre does indeed have a mobile ranger available, which could avoid the need to travel down Edinburgh (or have a driver collect your car) for some issues.

 

[.jg.]

Whilst you would need to use the Tesla service centre for warranty issues, it would probably be easier (and much cheaper) to use a competent local independent garage for servicing. The servicing is simple and is a subset of an ICE vehicle service (checks of steering, brakes, suspension, climate control, etc.). I have been to the south of France and back with the wife and two children - it was not significantly different from making the trip in an ICE car.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

How patient is your wife? I like Tesla road trips and look forward to the next charging stop so I can eat and walk around or take a nap. My wife for some reason doesn't like stopping at all. She just wants to get to the destination as soon as possible.

 

[.jg.]

My wife for some reason doesn't like stopping at all. She just wants to get to the destination as soon as possible.

My wife's bladder seems to give her about the same endurance as the Tesla.

 

[jsteele]

How patient is your wife? I like Tesla road trips and look forward to the next charging stop so I can eat and walk around or take a nap. My wife for some reason doesn't like stopping at all. She just wants to get to the destination as soon as possible.

Usually I'm actually the one that just wants to just keep driving and arrive as soon as possible! But very happy to be a bit more patient if it means doing the journey in a Tesla, which also does most of the driving for us.....

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

It's important to remember that if you ignore complaints from everybody else, the only thing that matters is whether you're OK with it.

 

[Peteski]

Whilst you would need to use the Tesla service centre for warranty issues, it would probably be easier (and much cheaper) to use a competent local independent garage for servicing. The servicing is simple and is a subset of an ICE vehicle service (checks of steering, brakes, suspension, climate control, etc.). I have been to the south of France and back with the wife and two children - it was not significantly different from making the trip in an ICE car.

No way would I trust any local garage (with zero Tesla experience) with my car. The mechanical parts of the service may be simple, but the rest is alien technology as far as they are concerned! Sure you could get a set of brake pads or tyres fitted, but not much beyond that.

 

[Peteski]

Hi @jsteele & welcome!

I'm based in Aberdeen (there are a few of us up here!) & can confirm the Chester trip will be fine (I have an S70). I've done Aberdeen-South Wales several times in summer & winter (passing Chester on the way) and it's one of the better-served UK routes in terms of Superchargers, in fact you have the luxury of choosing between different stops on the M74/M6 rather than doing fixed hops. Warrington is the only 2-bay Supercharger on the route and is the only one to avoid if you don't want to risk queuing. That said, last week I queued at Gretna (4 bays) for the first time ever but this could have been avoided by using Tebay (8 bays) & Abington (6) (it was also lunctime on a Saturday so probably peak usage time).

I've found abetterrouteplanner charge times/energy usage forecasts at different temperatures are pretty accurate. Cross-check trip times with something like Google maps though as ABRP doesn't seem to account for typical traffic delays. The good news is that if there are hold-ups you tend to use less energy (travelling slower) so charge times go down a bit.

The enforced charging breaks are actually preferred by my family. Autopilot (I have the first version) is also very good for motorway driving.

As for service support, so far so good for me (coming up to 3 years next month). The Edinburgh service centre has an excellent reputation and they support customers all over Scotland including the NW highlands. Anything warranty-related and they will send a driver up to collect the car and drop off a loan vehicle (if your car can't be driven it will be taken on a trailer which also brings the loaner). This has happened twice to me, both times the car was driveable but not for long distances. I've had one service to date and they also did a free collect and deliver for that too. I'm not 100% sure if they offer a mobile technician yet (will make some enquiries).

Obviously if you're stuck at the roadside and need to get going they can only do so much from Edinburgh so normal AA/RAC is recommended. But that also applies if you live next door to a service centre as they are only open during office hours (the tyre replacement service is a nice bonus but not one to absolutely rely on). I should add that phone support is 24/7 as you'd expect.

This is the first car I've owned with a remote service centre and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive (it was a concern at first but has proved much better than hanging around the coffee machine at Arnold Clark!).

Any other questions just shout. Oh and if the man maths works out make sure you get a referral code from an existing owner (plenty to choose from on here ).

Sounds like great support and looks like they've taken good account of customers in the Highlands. I'd be still wary of someone driving my own car on a 6 hour round trip every time it needed looking at, but I'd probably risk it as the car is so good.