My first long trip

My experience on my first long trip

This post may be of interest to new owners . . .I will try to be objective.

The trip was roughly 200 miles south, then 100 miles east and then 200 miles north.

I started by charging my M3LR up 100% which showed me as having a range of 355 miles i.e. not the advertised 374 miles !

Arriving at my first destination I had driven 195 miles and the battery range showed 145 mile i.e. the battery had gone down by 210 miles for an actual 195 miles driven (not bad and better than I expected after a previous 3 weeks experience of local driving where I was/am getting an approx 70% of actual driven miles from input charge miles). That experience taught me that, in future I can confidently drive 300 miles before needing to charge up.

Comfort: The seats were OK at best (but that view is coloured by my experience in my previous car where the seats were a £thousands extra and supremely comfortable (hugging me like a long lost friend).

I scuffed the front (19”) alloy wheel in a car packed village (that’s the second scuff in 3 weeks). I had my previous car for 3 years and never scuffed them once. I strongly suspect that the wheel design or choice of tyre lends itself the alloys betting scuffed.

The sat nav was a NIGHTMARE. After coming off the motorway it took me along miles of narrow country lanes. That first evening, driving to a favoured restaurant using the sat nav I did 10 miles. Driving back, after asking for directions the journey took 7 miles on main roads (no country lanes). Next day I called Tesla and they said they get my maps updated (I got a software update notice 24 hours later). Using that same sat nav to take me to a hotel in Reading on Friday night . . . it never found the hotel. It took me to a country road and said “you have now reached your destination”. Now home and looking at google earth the hotel was the other side of a hedge 200 yards west of where I was! I’ve looked long and hard and there does not seem to be a setting telling the sat nav to stick to A and B roads and avoid C roads .

(AS previously reported) . . the Supercharger charge up were super fast which was great, a huge relief as I was worried about what the rattle snake (aka wife) was going to say about sitting there for hours.

Now home and planning a return journey.

Featured Image Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

 

[MrT3]

That experience taught me that, in future I can confidently drive 300 miles before needing to charge up.

That may be optimistic in cold weather with wind and rain.

 

[candida]

in future I can confidently drive 300 miles before needing to charge up.

Hmmm. Take some sandwiches, a packamac, a thermos, and a red warning triangle. And a very long extension lead.

I scuffed the front (19”) alloy wheel in a car packed village (that’s the second scuff in 3 weeks). I had my previous car for 3 years and never scuffed them once. I strongly suspect that the wheel design or choice of tyre lends itself the alloys betting scuffed.

The US threads are full of people complaining about scuffing and fanbois saying learn how to drive; but like you, I have never, ever scuffed a car so badly as this one. I think 2 things are in play: first, ridiculously low profile tyres are becoming de rigueur; second, the Model 3 is broadest around the waistline (like this owner), and it's just impossible to see the rear wheels through the mirrors or to judge from the (delightful) ridge on the front wings. It's still our fault, but there's nothing worse than that graunch of metal against concrete

The sat nav was a NIGHTMARE.

Yup, hopeless in routing and the route display is impossible.

Comfort: The seats were OK at best

Genuinely hated the first month. Got used to them then; I'm 13k miles on and don't notice.

Is it time you got rid of that Macan pic @Forty_Two or will it forever be your button laden figure hugging long lost friend??

 

[Jason71]

I started by charging my M3LR up 100% which showed me as having a range of 355 miles i.e. not the advertised 374 miles !

I am guessing we have been over this but 374 is WLTP range which Tesla are legally mandated to put on their website. The range shown in the car is The EPA range. No one drives is a way that will match the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure. It is just there for comparison between cars. Based on the above you cannot even match the less stringent EPA range ( not surprisingly) . So why would you want the car to show an even less realistic range in the display than the one it is showing now?

 

[jazzpill]

Overall doesn’t sound like a very pleasant journey.

 

[ElectrikFred]

So, I am on week 4. M3SR. 700miles. Two ‘long’ trips. One was 240 mile return - I had to do a charge which I was very disapointed with, and scared myself to death trying basic autopilot. Second, 120 round trip…..AWESOME! Once I discovered that 250 Wh/mi is ‘normal/realistic’…ie the car only does about 240 on a ‘full tank’, and once I watched one good video on autopilot I was done. The car is amazing!! Love it!! Smile every time I accelerate! Enjoy people!

 

[Adopado]

Why the exclamation mark beside the “as advertised “ expectation of range? This has been explained to you repeatedly and should be no surprise.

You have still not taken any account of the advice passed on to you by longer term Tesla drivers. The range you achieved is applicable to that particular journey and on those types of road and in those weather conditions. You absolutely cannot draw the conclusion that you can drive confidently for 300 miles unless those other factors remain the same or similar. It seems that you desperately want to have a clear number that you can attribute as the cars range. The truth is that your range will vary depending on those other factors. With more trips under your belt you will soon be able to judge which trips will afford a longer range and which a shorter range. However, the likelihood is that those trips won’t match the range numbers beside your battery icon.

You never mentioned if you tracked your trip on the Energy Graph which was pointed out as likely to be of more help than the battery icon figure alone.

 

[WannabeOwner]

This has been explained to you repeatedly
You have still not taken any account of the advice passed on to you by longer term Tesla drivers
You absolutely cannot draw the conclusion that you can drive confidently for 300 miles

I've given up

 

[Forty_Two]

I've given up

That's great news for me

 

[browellm]

The Timewaster Diaries for the EV age. You should have your own slot in Private Eye.

 

[tonyzzz]

I like the rattle snake part

 

[Casss]

Can I offer a somewhat blunt, but objective take on wheel kerbing?

Pothole damage is often unavoidable… and largely down to the tyre and wheel combo… that is a fair cop.

But….

Yes the tyres are stretched on these cars, yes the tyres are low profile, no there’s no rim protection, but they don’t kerb themselves. It’s entirely possible to avoid doing so… just stop hitting kerbs. If you’re used to parking your car like you’re docking a tug boat using your tyres as a bump stop that’s a bad idea anyway because you can damage the tyre.

Those who are struggling with kerbing - do you normally (before tesla ownership or in other cars) drive around bumping every curb with your tyres when parking/driving as a matter of course?

 

[Adopado]

Can I offer a somewhat blunt, but objective take on wheel kerbing?

Pothole damage is often unavoidable… and largely down to the tyre and wheel combo… that is a fair cop.

But….

Yes the tyres are stretched on these cars, yes the tyres are low profile, no there’s no rim protection, but they don’t kerb themselves. It’s entirely possible to avoid doing so… just stop hitting kerbs. If you’re used to parking your car like you’re docking a tug boat using your tyres as a bump stop that’s a bad idea anyway because you can damage the tyre.

Those who are struggling with kerbing - do you normally (before tesla ownership or in other cars) drive around bumping every curb with your tyres when parking/driving as a matter of course?

I think for some people it is a surprisingly wide car and with not the tightest turning circle, so it is more of a challenge. When I look specifically at wheel rims these days, on cars that are just a few years old, they frequently show significant scuffs and scrapes.

 

[Casss]

I think for some people it is a surprisingly wide car and with not the tightest turning circle, so it is more of a challenge. When I look specifically at wheel rims these days, on cars that are just a few years old, they frequently show significant scuffs and scrapes.

I don't think that's the reason generally, but maybe in some cases. The model 3 is 4mm wider than a standard focus - not exactly a barge, and probably only 20mm wider than the average car width in the UK which obviously includes a lot of supermini's which are increasingly wider also as is the general trend.

We all have moments parking every now and again, and unavoidable damage is part and parcel of driving, especially with wheels - it happens. But the fact this comes up so often with Tesla's makes me think it's more that; A) maybe it's their first car with stretched/low profile "performance" tyres, and/or B) they're in the habit of using their tyres as a kerb bumper to help them park / make it quicker and aren't aware of this. Each to their own but an objectively bad practice.

My point is I don't think this is a "shortcoming" or "design flaw" of the cars, it's just that some won't adapt their driving style to suit the car, and instead choose to blame the car. If someone wants to use their tyres as a parking guide they can feel through their butt cheeks instead of using their mirrors that's fine - but those people should change the stock tyres and accept the aero hit in order to keep parking their car like a boat.

 

[15Peter20]

I went from a Land Rover Defender, with which the kerbs are used as parking aids, to a Model 3 and have somehow managed to adapt so that I avoid the kerbs. The kerb magnet switch in the M3 is set to 'off', if that helps.

 

[MrT3]

But the fact this comes up so often with Tesla's

Many people do report scrapes in the first few days of ownership which is probably a combination of long wheel base for the length of vehicle, fast ratio steering and a poor turning circle.

I suspect it is the same for new owners of other vehicles but with no wheel protection from the tyres on the Tesla it means even a slight brush against a kerb is visible damage rather than a lucky escape.

 

[markgyork]

@Forty_Two thanks for posting. We've only managed two decent-sized roadtrips (i.e something over 100 miles one way) so far in our 6 months of ownership (thanks Covid!) and it's interesting to hear others' experiences. And yes, we curbed one of the alloys within a week of ownership (thankfully all the others have remained untouched). Hoping to try installing the Mayde alloy covers at some point this year to try and offer some better protection against curb rash.

Our first (York to Henley) was a breeze. Rugby services' supercharger meant we arrived at our destination with 60% charge and only needed a slight top up before setting off home - plenty of options including a nice 50kw charger a short walk away. With our supercharger miles still counting the whole 400+mile trip cost me only £11 in charging (and if I'd planned a little better by charging at a Tescos podpoint we could have done the whole thing completely free).

Our latest (York to Norfolk) was a little more complex, mainly down to the satnav being difficult to read in certain situations. In general we find it's OK on city/country roads, but motorways and a-roads can be very confusing, especially roundabouts. I took the wrong turn a bunch of times as I couldn't work out from the orientation (I tried them all) which exit we should have been on. Have spotted quite a few bits of stone-chip damage since getting back too. Charging wise though - granny charged the entire time whilst at our holiday cottage and it worked a dream, though I was glad I bought a massive extension lead to use as the building was a good 10m from the parking spot.

We went on both trips with two little ones (4 and 1) and we JUST about fit in everything we needed (travel cot in the backseat footwell, pram/balance bike/luggage/beach stuff in the boot, more luggage and coats/blankets in the front boot). I'm learning that for longer trips away it's easier to stay away from one massive hardcase bag and go for lots of smaller/squishier bags to fill up the front boot, underfloor storage, footwells etc and maximiser the space. It's surprising how much you can fit in what can be a very awkward boot space to pack.

 

[prabhu]

Fully loaded model Y (both frunk and boot), two adults and two children had the lowest avg usage, 185 Wh / mile at 18c/70 mph with AC. For the whole trip of 177 miles, the use was 275 Wh / mile and mostly on autopilot. I believe it must be possible to do better than this by reducing the max speed.

 

[Jason71]

I believe it must be possible to do better than this by reducing the max speed.

It is, mainly due to reduced drag and its a squared relationship. At 60mph a reduction of 14% you would use in theory close to 26% less energy.

 

[ElectrikFred]

Regarding Range - has anyone compared Chill mode vs Standard? Chill has clearly less acceleration, so I am naturally forced to drive in a more ‘chilled’ way…..but does this translate to better range? Or if I just drove ‘less like a madman’ in Standard mode, would I just get an equivalent range? Thoughts?