That's what I was explaining to my wife - even if the SR is rated at 244, we won't actually get that in real life, as there are a lot of factors that go into that 244 EPA rating. For example, if we're driving in crappy weather, if I drive 75 mph w/ the A/C or heater blasting (v. 65), the car is fully loaded w/ the kids and suitcases, etc.
I also explained how batteries degrade over time (such as the battery on my father-in-law's 6-year old phone we just had to replace). I also explained how our friends/family who have Teslas (Model S and LR RWD Model 3) have confirmed they don't get the advertised range, and the owner of the S believes her car is already experiencing some battery degradation (although she supercharges often).
Even then, my wife keeps asking - say that 244 is actually only 150-175 (in a worse case scenario). That still gets you to and from work. On weekends (and w/ three kids), how often do we drive more than 150-175 miles? And in such a situation, why don't we just take her ICE vehicle?
To be clear, my wife's not pushing for the SR. She just wants us to really think through this purchase. Again, we both agree we'd prefer the LR to ease any range anxiety we may have, and we can comfortably afford the LR AWD. She also agrees we should get the car we truly want, and that we would have the least regret about/enjoy the most. At the same time, $8,000 is not chump change.
I do think everyone's needs are different, and there's not necessarily a right or wrong answer here (given our use scenario). Just wanted some additional input/data points to help us through this process.
@bayareaever, thank you for the input!