Range Anxiety Planning for All Electric Household

[adam61]

Let me start by saying I LOVE my Model Y as does my wife. I owned a Model 3 before that I traded in I also enjoyed. Driving our ICE Vehicle (2015 Genesis Sedan) feels so antiquated by comparison. So it's time to replace the Genesis later this year and we are really struggling with the get another ICE vs go all EV. The decision is an absolute slam dunk for 95% of our driving. We have 5-10 mile commutes to work and sometimes need to visit sites 30-50 miles away (maybe once a month) but all easily doable on a home charge. Where we are struggling is the longer trips.

We take 4-6 trips in a typical year and they are typically to 1 of 3 locations:

-Parents house (340 miles each way)
-Sister's House (205 Miles each way)

Both require pretty specific super charger locations as they are pretty rural locations otherwise you need to add both the 20-30 minute charging time and another 20 minutes out of the way adding a good hour to the trip each way. There's also the "anxiety" piece that if it's a holiday weekend there can be longer waits, broken superchargers, etc.

Our budget is about $60-70k. I feel like if I could afford the Model S that would be the solution since it's the size we need and adds quite a bit of range over the Y to give flexibility, but now that they are 100k instead of 80k I don't think I can swing it. What have others in this situation done? I want to get it right and we keep going round and round. Thanks so much!!

 

[E90alex]

Rent an ICE vehicle for the long trips.

Or get a PHEV. The new Volvo PHEVs and BMW X5 45e get like 30+ miles EV range and the upcoming X5 50e should get 40+ miles.

Even with a Model S you won’t be able to do that 340mile trip without charging. You don’t get anywhere near 400 mile quoted range in the real world.

 

[lowtek]

Also don't forget you can charge once you get there with the standard AC charger, just plan for 1 day to get a full charge if you're empty

 

[Mr. Nuke]

Both require pretty specific super charger locations as they are pretty rural locations otherwise you need to add both the 20-30 minute charging time and another 20 minutes out of the way adding a good hour to the trip each way.

For something that happens "4-6" times a year, that doesn't seem that inconvenient to me.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Let me start by saying I LOVE my Model Y as does my wife. I owned a Model 3 before that I traded in I also enjoyed. Driving our ICE Vehicle (2015 Genesis Sedan) feels so antiquated by comparison. So it's time to replace the Genesis later this year and we are really struggling with the get another ICE vs go all EV. The decision is an absolute slam dunk for 95% of our driving. We have 5-10 mile commutes to work and sometimes need to visit sites 30-50 miles away (maybe once a month) but all easily doable on a home charge. Where we are struggling is the longer trips.

We take 4-6 trips in a typical year and they are typically to 1 of 3 locations:

-Parents house (340 miles each way)
-Sister's House (205 Miles each way)

Both require pretty specific super charger locations as they are pretty rural locations otherwise you need to add both the 20-30 minute charging time and another 20 minutes out of the way adding a good hour to the trip each way. There's also the "anxiety" piece that if it's a holiday weekend there can be longer waits, broken superchargers, etc.

Our budget is about $60-70k. I feel like if I could afford the Model S that would be the solution since it's the size we need and adds quite a bit of range over the Y to give flexibility, but now that they are 100k instead of 80k I don't think I can swing it. What have others in this situation done? I want to get it right and we keep going round and round. Thanks so much!!

Have you planned out the route with abetterrouterplanner.com? It’ll tell you how long the drive will be. I’ve never worried about the time to charge on long routes since I need a pee break or food every once in a while anyways and I can do that while charging.

 

[wws]

If there are any CCS charging locations that are more conveniently located than Superchargers, you can buy a CCS adapter for $175 (+tax).

 

[1965Falcon]

I'm kind of in the same boat. We are now a two EV family and our main trips are to see other family in supercharger deserts. My solution? I had 30 amp 220 plugs in installed in their garages (well, I did them myself since in both cases the breaker boxes were right there and capacity wasn't an issue). They both think it's cool and I bring beverages to compensate for the overnight charging. It's always an overnight trip, so I could have got away with even a 20 amp 220 socket... you just need to bring a mobile charger and the right adapter. When we first got our model 3, there was only one supercharger in between. Now there are 5... so eventually there will be one close I'm sure and it will be a non issue.

 

[Prodock]

How remote are you talking? When we visit upper Michigan we have to plan and we use a mobile charger where we are staying. Trips to our sons house 180 miles away in rural NC have two different superchargers we drive by depending on the route. We also use plug in to the 110 at his house if needed. Either way if it wasn’t for needing a truck to pull our 22 foot boat, we’d be a two and half EV family (we also have an ICON golf cart).

 

[DblOSmith]

Rent an ICE vehicle for the long trips.

Or get a PHEV. The new Volvo PHEVs and BMW X5 45e get like 30+ miles EV range and the upcoming X5 50e should get 40+ miles.

Even with a Model S you won’t be able to do that 340mile trip without charging. You don’t get anywhere near 400 mile quoted range in the real world.

I second this. Just rent an ICE vehicle if you absolutely must.

 

[dafish]

While it will take some time to execute, my plan is to have one PHEV and one EV. If you can hold out on your decision the forthcoming CX-90 and then CX-70's should both be impressive PHEV SUV's.

 

[stesta5074]

I installed a charger at work (20 amp) and my parents house (11 kw). Have to go to a supercharger for a few minutes and watch Netflix once per month, instead of from my couch. I would watch Netflix 2 hours a week in my car instead of my couch if it meant I never had to wait for 3 hours for a $600 oil change at Mercedes.

 

[stesta5074]

While it will take some time to execute, my plan is to have one PHEV and one EV. If you can hold out on your decision the forthcoming CX-90 and then CX-70's should both be impressive PHEV SUV's.

I thought that too and then got rid of the ICE car eventually because spider webs covered it. I would go through A LOT of inconvenience in my Tesla to never deal with ICE crap accelleration, bad braking, worse safety and pay multiples in expenses. I'd think about it and maybe rent a phev for the trip to see if you like it.

 

[DblOSmith]

I installed a charger at work (20 amp) and my parents house (11 kw). Have to go to a supercharger for a few minutes and watch Netflix once per month, instead of from my couch. I would watch Netflix 2 hours a week in my car instead of my couch if it meant I never had to wait for 3 hours for a $600 oil change at Mercedes.

So true. I remember waiting for almost an hour for a oil change at a quick lube joint. Madness.

 

[dafish]

I thought that too and then got rid of the ICE car eventually because spider webs covered it. I would go through A LOT of inconvenience in my Tesla to never deal with ICE crap accelleration, bad braking, worse safety and pay multiples in expenses. I'd think about it and maybe rent a phev for the trip to see if you like it.

I tow 6,000 lbs 500 miles frequently. That's not happening with an EV of any kind but a PHEV mid-size truck, like the expected '25 ranger PHEV, will do nicely.