Range at Motorway Speeds

[Adopado]

I've been a car nut since I was a teenager, and always active on car forums and my first impression on here is a good one, everyone very helpful.

My personal car is a 2013 Mercedes C63 AMG, so my test drive in the Model 3 (Long Range), had a lot to live up too, but it managed it very well, and as I keep saying the performance was way better than I was expecting and was probably what convinced me over other EV's, certainly more entertaining that my Company Vauxhall Insignia.

I have found it a fascinating and enjoyable experience to get acquainted with driving electric. In the case of the Tesla there's the obvious headline performance that, though impressive, is not going to be a constant feature of everyday driving. However, the real life usage aspects of the constant torque delivery make driving a pleasure in everyday situations. Pulling out into traffic from junctions smartly but with no drama (the traction control doesn't get in the way, no clutch, gears) or seeing a chance to overtake and just pressing the pedal knowing that you are not going to be embarrassed by a hesitant auto change or alternatively not having to drop multiple gears to blast past with max revs and noise ... you just go! And, hey, my experience is from driving the SR+ not the Performance!

Then there's the new world of "one pedal driving" ... it's entertaining to see if you can get to your destination without using the brakes .. and save some charge into the bargain. You become as adept in lifting off the accelerator with gradual control as you do with pressing the pedal .. in fact for really smooth progress that is an essential (quickly acquired) skill. Some people think that as we move towards electric vehicles it will kill what we love about cars ... I have found it to be quite the opposite!

 

[Tony Hoyle]

I have a fairly regular journey of 250 miles, Cheshire to Kent - virtually all motorway (M6/M1/M25/M20), barring a few miles either end of journey. I would be interested to know if an M3/LR could manage this journey in one hit - I am a very sedate driver and happy to poodle along at 60-65mph if it would make this mileage feasible.

250 is doable on an LR, done it a few times myself. The continual roadworks on the M6 help In summer it might even be called easy.

If I was doing that in winter I'd either (a) go via a supercharger somewhere near the destination, effectively dropping the distance a few miles for safety, or (b) plan a couple of quick 5 minute topups, again to create a safety margin (enough time for a cup of tea or a game of 2048).

 

[Joelly]

(enough time for a cup of tea or a game of 2048)

whats your high score?

 

[JimGreen]

I totally get what you say about driving them being like a game with yourself v the car, balancing the off throttle braking and trying to minimize the need to actually use the brake, I found myself doing this during my test drive.

 

[Jason71]

I have a fairly regular journey of 250 miles, Cheshire to Kent - virtually all motorway (M6/M1/M25/M20), barring a few miles either end of journey. I would be interested to know if an M3/LR could manage this journey in one hit - I am a very sedate driver and happy to poodle along at 60-65mph if it would make this mileage feasible.

its a long enough journey that no one will be able to give you a definitive answer since there are so many variables. The speed is a big one and if only doing 60-65mph that will really help but then there is AC/heater, no of people, temperature, head wind, rain, roadworks etc.
look on A Better Routeplanner play with the variables it is likley to give you a better idea than anyone on the forum unless they also drive the exact same journey

 

[Homer's Dad]

250 is doable on an LR, done it a few times myself. The continual roadworks on the M6 help In summer it might even be called easy.

If I was doing that in winter I'd either (a) go via a supercharger somewhere near the destination, effectively dropping the distance a few miles for safety, or (b) plan a couple of quick 5 minute topups, again to create a safety margin (enough time for a cup of tea or a game of 2048).

Thanks for the reply. Gratifying to know that it is doable. I don't normally stop during this journey and would quite like to continue with that. I agree that the many speed restricted stretches , particularly on the M6, would considerably lower the average speed over the entire journey. I must confess to sitting on the fence regarding an EV, Tesla or otherwise, though I have to admit the Tesla M3 really does seem like the future - I think if they were to re-introduce the LR/RWD version (which I assume has a longer range than the AWD) that would hasten my decision, but that could well be years away.

 

[tess19]

View attachment 510150
one thing that no one is mentioning, if you did need to charge enroute (awful weather, chargers out of action, charge points at work full) then its only a 10 minute stop at the supercharger.

I totally agree. A 5-10 min stop to go to the toilet is nothing compared with the money saved on diesel. IMHO

 

[freekie]

You'll love the M3, and all its whooshy loveliness! A little extra thought and planning from time to time but the compromises are small for what you get back. Be sure to arrange for a charge point at home if you have off street parking. This means you can be confident of having your expected range ready to go when you set off in the morning.

Home charge point also enables the luxurious charging scheduling in relation to you leaving in the morning with a prewarmed cabin and defrosted windscreen - bliss. One of my favourite features alongside not going to ‘petrol stations’ and never having to consider fuel costs!

 

[freekie]

Thanks for the reply. Gratifying to know that it is doable. I don't normally stop during this journey and would quite like to continue with that. I agree that the many speed restricted stretches , particularly on the M6, would considerably lower the average speed over the entire journey. I must confess to sitting on the fence regarding an EV, Tesla or otherwise, though I have to admit the Tesla M3 really does seem like the future - I think if they were to re-introduce the LR/RWD version (which I assume has a longer range than the AWD) that would hasten my decision, but that could well be years away.

Air quality air quality - children’s lungs - you don’t need to wait until the future - it’s here

 

[Joelly]

Home charge point also enables the luxurious charging scheduling in relation to you leaving in the morning with a prewarmed cabin and defrosted windscreen - bliss. One of my favourite features alongside not going to ‘petrol stations’ and never having to consider fuel costs!

can you schedule pre warmed cabin even if you're not plugged in?

 

[freekie]

can you schedule pre warmed cabin even if you're not plugged in?

Not 100% sure but I think you might be able to. The car needs to have at least 20% battery remaining. Tesla recommendation is to keep car plugged in when not using if this is possible. I plug it in most nights but not all. Separately, you can definitely preheat car and defrost the windscreen remotely from your phone.

 

[Jason71]

can you schedule pre warmed cabin even if you're not plugged in?

you can pre-heat using the app but not schedule unless you use a third party service like Teslafi

 

[Adopado]

can you schedule pre warmed cabin even if you're not plugged in?

I just switch on from the app a few minutes before leaving (even if not plugged in, unless range is a concern) ... a delight in the winter!

 

[Alan J]

you can pre-heat using the app but not schedule unless you use a third party service like Teslafi

Yup I do the same 5 Mins really warms the Cabin and Defrosts the Car.

 

[ACarneiro]

Yep. This is the screenshot of smugness

 

[Mart74]

I have an M3P. Over Christmas I drove 795 miles, Oxford - Edinburgh return. It was pretty cold, the car had four people in and a boot full of luggage, heaters on, phones charging and my daughter watching DVD's (powered from the car) pretty much the whole time.
We cruised at 70-75 the whole way, apart from the odd bit of traffic.

Power averaged at 345wh/mi

200 miles will be fine


Recently I did motorway journey, 150 miles for 60% charge, slightly slower as quite a bit of traffic. A full charge would have got 250 miles

 

[Paul UK]

You may be interested in our long range M3 real world range experience on long trips:

My wife runs her heated seat when its cold, we always use auto setting on the climate control 19 - 20C. I use FSD 90% of each journey.

Just over 275miles range at 5C when mixing slow lanes, 50mph A roads and some fast dual carriageway driving.

Early Saturday morning Heathrow return trips, virtually all on dual carriageways or M25, at around 12C. 220 road miles with 64 -67 miles range remaining (60 road miles). Range 280 real road miles. We drive at the speed limit.

On a recent 200 mile return day trip we used 10 more miles of range on the way out compared to back. We were driving onto a strong South Westerly.

We are pretty convinced that temperature makes more difference than anything else.

Slide the little box at the bottom right hand side of the screen to see your watts/mile. I tell my wife I use less watts than she does, priceless.

 

[Tintin825]

I'm seriously considering the Tesla Model 3 (Long Range) as a company car, i commute between Hull and Manchester on a daily basis, along the dreaded M62 travelling at Motorway Speeds of 70mph and a bit, the journey is 100 miles each way.

Taking into account the my constant and relatively high speed and the distance i'll be travelling, how close to the claimed range should I be able to get, or will travelling at this speed reduce the range significantly..... ???

I stumbled across this earlier which maybe of interest;

 

[LukeT]

Not wishing to poopoo what others are saying but for my 200 mile commute I wanted a bit of contingency for bad weather, only charging to 80 or max 90% to stick within battery "best practice", getting home with enough left "just in case", driving a bit on the fast side plus some future battery degredation. My Model S will do it fine, but in the dead of winter there's not that much spare.

So if you can install a charge point at both home and work I would do that to kill off any range concerns in case you need a little more somewhere along the way. It's really nice to have a routine whereby you've always got plenty and no need to worry about it.

 

[Fraank]

Hey Jim. Here's some data from a 180mile journey at the weekend (Swansea to London).

You can see the second half of the journey had better efficiency - for a few reasons. I had the Reading roadworks (30miles at 50mph), London traffic (amazing how slow battery goes down in a city), it was warmer outside and elevation was more favourable.

I left home at 99% and arrived at 23%.

Not sure if you know this, but you shouldn't charge to 100% too often as it will speed up battery degradation (just like a phone battery will last longer if charged to 80), so your figures would need to be on 80% charge ideally. Some may say 90% is ok, depends how long you keep the car perhaps.

Another point is you mention 19" wheels, this will give you as much as -8% to -10% range than 18"+Aero. My results above are with 18" and no Aero (-4% hit or so), and tyres at 39-40psi as I like the added comfort. So again, other factors to consider when we all offer our results! 45psi will of course get you better results, and still provide a little more comfort than the C63 I'm sure, but perhaps not the Insignia depending on it's setup!

As someone mentioned, if you plan for a 5min supercharger stop, and it turns out you don't always need it - you can't go wrong. A destination charger, even better.

We all make a compromise or two with these cars, be it the extra planning or charging stops - but the important thing is, it's worth it! As you can see I'm 7000 miles in, and still think it's a truly fantastic car.