Need help with buying decision

[iwannam3]

No one has ever said "Gee, I wish I had gotten a smaller battery and less range".

 

[UncertainTimes]

No one has ever said "Gee, I wish I had gotten a smaller battery and less range".

Gee, I wish I had gotten a smaller battery and less range

 

[RedWhite19]

Its true that everyones situation is different, but just because someone is considering the SR+ does not mean "range is a non issue". People (many many many people) Look at the range and say to themselves 'Oh this car has 250 miles range, thats plenty", not understanding that, no the car does not have "250 miles range" for the average person.

Since the usable range of most EVs for daily use is 90% to about 20 %, that means for practical purposes the rated range is from 225 to 50, or 175 miles of "rated range". Add to that, people in general dont drive like the rated range, so miles dont roll off at a 1:1 clip. 175 miles of rated range is likely around 150 actual miles. That doesnt even count sentry mode, or heating usage, etc.

Now, if you charge every day in your garage, and dont drive more than 100 miles a day, thats fine... but a LOT of people who are considering SR+ are people who are like "dont have charging at home, but I can charge at work" , or "there is a super charger 5 miles from me, and I only drive 25 miles to work and back every day, so since this car has 250 miles range, I can charge up every 9-10 days or so, so that will be fiiiinnnnneeeee".

Then, they buy the car, and realize what I just said above, then come here and start off posting that there is something wrong with their car, they went to tesla but tesla tells them its fine, but "omg why do I only get 160 miles out of my SR+? Its broken, right?"

The reason people tend to "recommend the fastest computer" even if you are only going to run MS word, or a car with more range, is because then you have options. Maybe you only do microsoft word NOW, but you decide you want to start editing photos of your grandkids 2 years from now. Or, maybe you discover you have a knack for streaming youtube videos, and you you start wanting to edit video.

If you bought that $200 chromebook because "I just do word" then you are likely buying another computer. Thats fine too, but thats where the advice comes from. People almost never say things like "Man this TV is too big" or "man my car is too fast" or "My car goes too far on one charge!" but they obviously say the reverse, all. the . time.

As you said, everyones case is different, but the vast majority of people would be served buying a LR car, if they can afford it, even those who "just drive it around town", because, in general, people are looking at the 250 miles range and not understanding that after everything, its really 150 miles range that you are using on a daily basis.

Nice bit of information. While you state that the SR+ only gets 160, does that also mean the LR gets nowhere near the 320+ as advertised? If so, then by how much? I apologize since i tend to be a novice at this, I am just curious. In realty, it’s not going sway me from purchasing a longer range version, as mentioned earlier, I have my daily car i if I ever switched, my daily commute is roughly around 28 miles, so I don’t believe I need that extra range.

Thanks.

 

[UncertainTimes]

Nice bit of information. While you state that the SR+ only gets 160, does that also mean the LR gets nowhere near the 320+ as advertised? If so, then by how much? I apologize since i tend to be a novice at this, I am just curious. In realty, it’s not going sway me from purchasing a longer range version, as mentioned earlier, I have my daily car i if I ever switched, my daily commute is roughly around 28 miles, so I don’t believe I need that extra range.

Thanks.

no he’s saying because it’s recommend to keep your battery between 20-80 or 90% on a long term basis then you only have 70-80% of the advertised range and that in ideal conditions. Account for using AC, sentry mode, etc and real world range drops even more.

 

[one2many]

Well for those that want less range, I have a good deal on a 24kwh Leaf.
Its like a spaceship and a real good car.

40-50-60 Kwh is somewhat standard today, so you can figure it out.
We have done several trips using the entire battery only to get home and
charge it for free. We did one trip that we did two supper charger stops.
I like my car cold in the summer and very hot in the winter. This all
takes juice. Trust me there is nothing more fun that getting on the app
and making it snow inside the car in the summer or get the logs on the fire before I get in.

 

[Urbancowboy]

It's all based on your average Wh/mi. A 320-mile range on a 74kWh pack implies average Wh/mi of 231 (74000/320).

It's really hard to hit 231 Wh/mi unless you're driving 55mph on a flat road in warm weather.

Take something more realistic like 250 and you're down to 296 miles of capacity. Let's assume on a road trip you go from 90% to 10% (charging to 100% takes forever and typically isn't the most efficient strategy) and that takes you to 237 miles of range.

If you have a lead foot you may be closer to 280 wh/mi, in which case you're around 211mi of range (74000/280*0.8).

This assumes range-efficient tires. It's easy to push 300+ wh/mi with high-performance tires like PS4S, which is less than 200mi of range.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

I have committed myself to purchasing an M3, but can only financially justify one of either the LR without FSDC or the SR+ with SFDC. I do not need the extra range that LR offers for my daily lifestyle, so I am leaning towards the SR+ with SFDC. I have to chose between one or the other, and am struggling with the decision. I would appreciate any comments from experienced owners on which you think is the better option.

One option is look for a low mileage 2018 LR RWD with EAP or FSD. Yes they exist, and no you can't buy mine (and it isn't low mileage anyway)

 

[iwannam3]

Gee, I wish I had gotten a smaller battery and less range

You are typing it, not saying it. Unless you move your mouth when typing.

 

[jjrandorin]

Nice bit of information. While you state that the SR+ only gets 160, does that also mean the LR gets nowhere near the 320+ as advertised? If so, then by how much? I apologize since i tend to be a novice at this, I am just curious. In realty, it’s not going sway me from purchasing a longer range version, as mentioned earlier, I have my daily car i if I ever switched, my daily commute is roughly around 28 miles, so I don’t believe I need that extra range.

Thanks.

Like @UncertainTimes said, (and @Urbancowboy ) its the same basic math. A LR AWD with 18s is around 320 rated range. A Model 3P with 20s is rated range 299.

Since "daily usage" is going to be recommended from 90% to 20% a LR with 18s, daily usage would be 288 to 64 miles, or 224 miles. Since miles likely wont roll off 1:1 (since as I mentioned, hardly anyone drives in the EPA rated style) those 224 miles are likely more like 200 ish miles.

Note, most of these considerations are "daily use" not trip mileage. The difference may not sound like much, but it gives quite a bit of "buffer" for things like sentry mode (1-2 miles an hour drain) and the fact that, in winter, most people are going to lose about 20-30% of range (yes, even in Los Angeles "winter" your car will go likely 25% less miles, especially if its raining, even for the mild winters we have here in southern california).

I know it doesnt matter to you, and I am not trying to convince you. I am just trying to answer your question.

EDIT-- I will add one more thing.. an example based on my own usage.

I have a 80 mile round trip commute to work, from Temecula CA to Oceanside CA. I have been driving the same commute back and forth since I moved to temecula which was 7 years ago. I have been working at the same location for 14 years. I mention this to say that I am familiar with my commute, its the same commute, etc.

Anyway, I bought my model 3P in Dec of 2018. Commuting to work, from Dec to march my average wh/mi was around 315 or so. From march to around October my wh/mi is around 260, for the exact same commute, driven the exact same way.

My 80 mile round trip to work takes between 81-82 rated miles, to close to 130 rated miles, depending on weather, which is impacted mostly by time of year. Even mild california "winters" drive my rated mile usage up on my regular commute, and rain drives it up even more (rolling resistance etc ).

I am not complaining at ALL. just explaining how, my 80 mile round trip commute can take up to 130 miles off my car, and I start each morning with 270 ish. On average, my 80 mile commute takes around 105-110 rated miles, but the range is what I mentioned earlier (80-130). People here in california tend to think "we dont have weather out here so that doesnt effect us", but it does... just not as bad as someone with "real" weather like snow.

 

[UncertainTimes]

You are typing it, not saying it. Unless you move your mouth when typing.

<Moves mouth while typing this>

 

[hellocar]

I've noticed that most of those who say not to get FSD do not have it, and that most of those who have it recommend getting it.

I think there’s a fair number of us who, like me, have it and do not recommend it for most folks.

 

[jjrandorin]

I think there’s a fair number of us who, like me, have it and do not recommend it for most folks.

People who like something are (almost) never as passionate online about those who dont. Couple that with the fact that many veterans here on both sides are more than "over" the "discussion" on "is FSD worth it", and what you are left with is mostly people who dont like it posting they dont like it.

 

[Michelle_eriw]

I think people who spent $8k on a few party tricks are pretty motivated to confirm their bias and justify the purchase.

And those who opt not to spend $7 or $8 grand are pretty motivated to justify their decision as well.

 

[one2many]

I would send this to the the boss of EV. He says if you do not have the money
to do LR and FSD then take the LR. I know we are all looking forward to the kinky
mode of FSD. IT WILL COME, but just get the miles to explore the ground universe
until that software is here.