[POLL] 60 kWh owners : Do you wish you had purchased more range?

[u00mem9]

I traded an 85 for a 60 because I wanted the AP2 hardware. I never came very close to using all of the 85 and after 8 months with the 60 I can say the same for it. I guess if they ever offer the 75 upgrade for a few hundred dollars I might do it but even then I'm not sure.

Regret that decision?!?! Or maybe you didn't have AP1? My worst fear that the moment is some moron totals my AP1 S60 and I have to replace it with a new one.

BTW, I did shell out 2k for the 75 upgrade...but mostly because that was my football number, if you know what I'm talking about.

 

[WutHappened]

Mine was originally an MS 60, then I bought the upgrade to the 75 for a long trip. After the trip I realized that I didn't need it after all. My trip was in California so there were plenty of superchargers around and never went over 200 miles between charging. My daily commute is 80 miles/day roundtrip and it the 60 was fine.

 

[Maximilien]

It is enough when you are not in a hurry. There are plenty of superchargers for 60 kwh.

But if you need to save time for charging, then it could be.

I personally can live with 60 but I upgraded partially due to the badge "75" looked cooler.

 

[jsrawa]

Our MS60 (original, not upgradable) was bought for my wife's typical 50-100 miles shuttling day (kids here, there and everywhere) - it works well, even in the cold and has capacity for forget to plug in without panic.

BUT, the car is gorgeous to drive, and we have free supercharging - but we effectively cannot use it as getting from CO to anywhere via Supercharger with this capacity is both scary (how close to zero it will go) and time-consuming (having to recharge at EVERY charger).

With hindsight I would have gone for a 90 (100 not available then) - but then again likely that would have pushed it completely out of reach.

If you can, buy the range - I personally think this will help with enjoyment of the vehicle and resale as other longer range options become available (not least of which being M3).

How much do you find elevation influences your range in CO? I'm planning to move to CO and don't know how a 60 or standard range 3 will do with the winter plus elevation.

 

[ev-now]

How much do you find elevation influences your range in CO? I'm planning to move to CO and don't know how a 60 or standard range 3 will do with the winter plus elevation.

It does make quite a difference - but then again so does regen going down the mountain. Honestly I've not measured it carefully, so cannot provide any detailed insight.

I know if I gain altitude via gentle slope it seems to do better. I have route I can drive which is a 48 mile loop with a steep hill in one part of it. Remaining range is better if I climb slowly, and come back down that hill vs. climbing the hill and returning on the more gentle slope.

 

[ev-now]

I personally can live with 60 but I upgraded partially due to the badge "75" looked cooler.

Can always debadge - much cheaper ... (and easier to clean).

 

[ev-now]

If it helps, it doesn't matter what size battery you have. If you're using appropriate logic in your planning, it's almost always faster overall to stop at every charger.

Kind of true, and kind of not. I was talking about Supercharging, and there were many gaps where the MS60 needs to be charged well above 80% (and therefore is slower) - where a higher capacity battery would still charge fast as it would be well within 80% of capacity.

I was surprised to develop range anxiety AFTER purchase, had no concerns going in - but regarding long-range travel, I'm pretty timid now. I have drifted into a S/C with a claimed 4 mile range, at midnight ... was sweating pretty good on that run!

 

[croman]

I save 1 hour each way going from Chicago to upstate NY. Skipping the way out of the way "Cleveland" Supercharger is a god send. Couldn't do that with a 60D. Can do it with a 75D. I've had a leaf so I'm used to squeezing out each electron. A 100D would just make it less stressful and actually possible to do this in the winter. I've done it in March but never between Jan and March.

I did make one leg of this exact trip with the 60D and making it from Erie PA to Ithaca NY was 223 miles and I made it with 7 rated miles even through the mountains but saving a whole hour each way with the 75D made $2k a no brainer. We are going to watch the eclipse in downstate IL in 2 weeks and having a 75D provides a lot of flexibilty. The 40 miles is really more useful than I initially thought for road trips. Never used it in day to day other than now I charge every 3 days instead of 2.

 

[u00mem9]

Kind of true, and kind of not. I was talking about Supercharging, and there were many gaps where the MS60 needs to be charged well above 80% (and therefore is slower) - where a higher capacity battery would still charge fast as it would be well within 80% of capacity.

I was surprised to develop range anxiety AFTER purchase, had no concerns going in - but regarding long-range travel, I'm pretty timid now. I have drifted into a S/C with a claimed 4 mile range, at midnight ... was sweating pretty good on that run!

The flaw in your logic was not realizing the 60 charges quickly PAST 80% because it's actually a 75

 

[DFibRL8R]

Can always debadge - much cheaper ... (and easier to clean).

My 60 came with no badge in Feb 2013, I think they started adding bages later. After 4.5 yrs and 96k miles I have mixed feelings. When my S was new, the only Superchargers were in California. My early road trips involved a lot of pre planning and use of sketchy 110 outlets at hotels and RV hookups. My how things have changed! Of course, most driving is local and the 60 has more than enough range for daily use. It's road trips where you want the additional flexibility (skip a charger that has worse food options) and speed of charging (faster fill up to 99% with a bigger battery). That said, I hate the idea of hauling around all of that extra weight and lithium for the convenenience on road trips. Now the Model 3 will be using a more advanced battery technology and the weight of the 3 is drasticly lower than the S and X. I will be getting the larger range 3 having proven to myself that a Model S 60 can be a great road trip car with some minor inconveninces. Model 3 owners with the smaller battery should have no problem taking road trips with the excellent SC network, getting better every week.

 

[DrivingRockies]

How much do you find elevation influences your range in CO? I'm planning to move to CO and don't know how a 60 or standard range 3 will do with the winter plus elevation.

I'm in Colorado and have not regretted. Wyoming Superchargers should be more than close enough. Going up to Silverthorn can be tight in the winter if going from the Loveland charger and not stopping in Denver. I traveled to New Mexico in 40-50 degree weather and a bit of wind. It wasn't terribly bad, but definitely a 100% 60KW battery charge is needed in the X.

 

[SMAlset]

After owning a 60 kwh for 3 years my conclusion is simple - more range is always better.

Not that the range has been a real issue, especially with the supercharger network around here in Norway.

I do regret not putting in the extra bucks for an 85, in 2014 the difference was like 8000 USD, not that much compared to the jump from 75 to 100 now. If not for the real need for range, it does give you peace of mind knowing you have an extra range buffer available.

Got a 75D on the way now, the 15 kwh extra will do wonders for ease of mind for my long distance driving.

the more range - the better in my opinion.

We're kind of in a different situation. We have a 75D and not that it's been a problem for us with the 75D capacity for where we live and daily drive, but hubby has said he now thinks he would have gone with the 90D that was available at the time, his only "sort of regret" about the car. For daily use we only charge to 80% (204 range miles) and not drop lower than 20% (40 range miles). We also use our cabin overheat protection daily during our hot summer days so that does affect the range a bit. Even though we don't do much long-distance drivin (our longest trip was only 230 miles one-way and only one stop for lunch), it's been a slight inconvenience to charge at home due to our current set up; at least we are able to "not charge" for a few days at a time usually. We've been using our mobile UMC and adapter with our NEMA 14-50 so I think that has something to do with maybe wanting a higher range and less frequent charging. Right now it gets unpacked and packed back up for storage in the car every time we charge at home. We bought the Tesla wall mount cable holder and plan to order the 14-50 corded charging cable soon which will more or less be permanantly mounted then so that should make charging at home a much quicker plug in. Otherwise charging at home is great since we do it when we don't need to use the car.

Range - cost - convenience. A balancing act we all do.

 

[SMAlset]

I save 1 hour each way going from Chicago to upstate NY. Skipping the way out of the way "Cleveland" Supercharger is a god send. Couldn't do that with a 60D. Can do it with a 75D. I've had a leaf so I'm used to squeezing out each electron. A 100D would just make it less stressful and actually possible to do this in the winter. I've done it in March but never between Jan and March.

I did make one leg of this exact trip with the 60D and making it from Erie PA to Ithaca NY was 223 miles and I made it with 7 rated miles even through the mountains but saving a whole hour each way with the 75D made $2k a no brainer. We are going to watch the eclipse in downstate IL in 2 weeks and having a 75D provides a lot of flexibilty. The 40 miles is really more useful than I initially thought for road trips. Never used it in day to day other than now I charge every 3 days instead of 2.

From the looks of the SC map, Ohio could use some more SCs. I know when I looked at going to my moms, I'd have to drive past her town a decent number of minutes to then reverse course. So totally get the out of the way Cleveland supercharger comment.

 

[croman]

From the looks of the SC map, Ohio could use some more SCs. I know when I looked at going to my moms, I'd have to drive past her town a decent number of minutes to then reverse course. So totally get the out of the way Cleveland supercharger comment.

Maumee rocks. The 24 hour Meijer is a bit sketchy late at night but its nice to have a 24 hour something nearby a supercharger. I regret to say there are no late night coffee options. I had to use Taco Bell and while the drive through operators flipped when they saw my car (which was hilarious), the coffee was atrocious.

I'm fine with the spacing of superchargers on my route now that they have built a supercharger in Painted Post, I might have been able to continue with a 60D.

 

[dknisely]

At first, I thought 60 would be adequate, but once we started making a lot of short roadtrips here in the Seattle region, I quickly learned that the SCs are only just good enough to reach most destinations with zero charge, and no spare to actually DO anything (or make it back) unless some form of destination charging is available. Sadly, from Vancouver to Olympic National Park to the Cascades and central WA, even the supply of (very slow) destination charging is very poor and (worse) unpredictable until you get there. I've learned the value of 120 V charging when you have the luxury to hook up overnight, but after the upgrade to 75, it is still very, very tight. Chademo or any fast non-SC charging is non-existent in this region.

Even if I take into account the planned SCs (with no construction evidence in sight), it won't help much, so this will be the case for at least 1-2 more years min.

If you live in the SF or LA area, go for 60, but elsewhere, I wouldn't.

I would definitely pop for the 100D today. It might drive us to a M3/310 model.

BTW, given the terrain around Seattle, a 75 @ 100% can be counted on to have a practical range of about 180 miles with any kind of reserve. I wouldn't count on my original 60 to make more than 120-150 max.

For commuting and day-to-day, 60 is plenty.

 

[ev-now]

The flaw in your logic was not realizing the 60 charges quickly PAST 80% because it's actually a 75

The flaw in that reply is that it is not a limited 75kWh battery, it's an original MS60 ....

 

[Scott-P]

At first, I thought 60 would be adequate, but once we started making a lot of short roadtrips here in the Seattle region, I quickly learned that the SCs are only just good enough to reach most destinations with zero charge, and no spare to actually DO anything (or make it back) unless some form of destination charging is available. Sadly, from Vancouver to Olympic National Park to the Cascades and central WA, even the supply of (very slow) destination charging is very poor and (worse) unpredictable until you get there. I've learned the value of 120 V charging when you have the luxury to hook up overnight, but after the upgrade to 75, it is still very, very tight. Chademo or any fast non-SC charging is non-existent in this region.

Even if I take into account the planned SCs (with no construction evidence in sight), it won't help much, so this will be the case for at least 1-2 more years min.

If you live in the SF or LA area, go for 60, but elsewhere, I wouldn't.

I would definitely pop for the 100D today. It might drive us to a M3/310 model.

BTW, given the terrain around Seattle, a 75 @ 100% can be counted on to have a practical range of about 180 miles with any kind of reserve. I wouldn't count on my original 60 to make more than 120-150 max.

For commuting and day-to-day, 60 is plenty.

Interesting. I have a 60 and live in Tacoma. I frequently ski at Crystal in the Winter (140 miles, round trip), and have routine commutes up to 90 miles in a day, and I have never had any serious issue with range (OK, I really sweated the first trip to the mountain to ski, since there is no real charging there or on the way, after making it back with 35% at a temperature of about 30F, I have never worried again). I am sure that out on the Olympic Peninsula (or up in the Cascades) it is possible to get far enough away from charging to be a problem, but with a bit of fore thought even that has worked out well. Now, if I were driving to Lake Chelan or someplace like that on a regular basis, I'd want a 90 or 100.

It appears this is really about how you use the vehicle and what your expectations are--which is probably true of most things... In any case it is good to hear all the perspectives.

 

[CameronB]

Just a few months into MS 60D life, but so far 60 seems plenty good. I went on a 800 mile (round trip) road trip last weekend. In California (though on coast/101 vs I-5) and the SuperChargers were pretty easy: 15 mins, 30 mins (I extended the range more than I needed a bit because I wasn't finished with my food) and then 15 mins more at the 3rd Supercharger. So 1 hour-ish of charges made it 6 hours for an otherwise 5 hour drive (each way). If I upgraded to 75, I could probably skip the last mini charge and save 15 mins of charging. But I make these trips only 3 times a year so total yearly time saved for me is probably 3-4 hours. If things change, I might spring $2k for the 75 upgrade. It's nice to have as an option. But no real feeling I will do that soon. Except for these 3 times a year longer road trips, my other driving is usually with 2 hours of my home and enough Superchargers where a quick 20-30 mins gets me by. My daily work commute is 30 miles a day so no problems there either. It all depends on your situation, driving needs (distance and speed), weather and location and availability of SCs.

 

[Mickie]

I save 1 hour each way going from Chicago to upstate NY. Skipping the way out of the way "Cleveland" Supercharger is a god send. Couldn't do that with a 60D. Can do it with a 75D. I've had a leaf so I'm used to squeezing out each electron. A 100D would just make it less stressful and actually possible to do this in the winter. I've done it in March but never between Jan and March.

I did make one leg of this exact trip with the 60D and making it from Erie PA to Ithaca NY was 223 miles and I made it with 7 rated miles even through the mountains but saving a whole hour each way with the 75D made $2k a no brainer. We are going to watch the eclipse in downstate IL in 2 weeks and having a 75D provides a lot of flexibilty. The 40 miles is really more useful than I initially thought for road trips. Never used it in day to day other than now I charge every 3 days instead of 2.

What would you say your average speed was for the Erie to Ithaca trip was?

I'm also considering the drive down to Carbondale for the eclipse!

To the OP--the only semi-regular long trip I embark on is to our "ranch" in Peshtigo, WI. It's a 250 mile trip, so, I imagine if I were hypermiling the entire way I could make it with my 75D unlocked? I'm pretty sure driving 55mph in 70mph zones and making minimal use of climate control would drive me more nuts than a 15 minute restroom/ drink break in Sheboygan or Green Bay. I'd much rather do 80+mph in comfort and hit a charger once there and once back, so yeah, 60kwh for all my intents and purposes is suiting just fine.

I'm holding out to see if the $2k upgrade drops even further, as it'd be an unnecessary luxury at this point, and would be better spent on adding RFS which I'm starting to wish I got in the first place.

 

[caltechkid]

Love my 60D...no reason to pay to upgrade to the 75D. Road trips to/from Vegas/San Diego/Tahoe all without any noticeable inconvenience.