Range at Motorway Speeds

[JimGreen]

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..... ???

 

[ACarneiro]

I’d expect around a 200 mile range at generous speeds

 

[freekie]

I got about 230 miles in a single journey in heavy rain (uses more power). Speed varied from 20 miles/h (traffic jam motorway roadworks) up to xx. It’s a great car. Let me know if you’d like a referral code for free supercharger miles.

 

[Jason71]

I agree 200 miles in an LR will be fine. if you are saying you cruse at 70 ( as opposed to average 70 which implies much higher cruising speed). Check out a better route planner. you can put in your journey and car and play with temperature, speed, weather etc and see what comes out. A Better Routeplanner

 

[JimGreen]

I got about 230 miles in a single journey in heavy rain (uses more power). Speed varied from 20 miles/h (traffic jam motorway roadworks) up to xx. It’s a great car. Let me know if you’d like a referral code for free supercharger miles.

Many Thanks for taking the time to reply, better that I get some "real world" information prior to signing on the dotted line. Any help is greatly appreciated, my first attempt at going green.

I'd be very silly to decline your kind offer of a referral code, that would be great. Yes Please.

So far things are all looking positive, i had a test drive in the base model and the performance and looks are what I was looking for, but the option of the Long Range version have made it a reality.

My current company car is a Vauxhall Insignia, which has met my requirements perfectly, but we are looking to promote our company in a more environmental friendly way and the Model 3 is a logical replacement.

 

[JimGreen]

I agree 200 miles in an LR will be fine. if you are saying you cruse at 70 ( as opposed to average 70 which implies much higher cruising speed). Check out a better route planner. you can put in your journey and car and play with temperature, speed, weather etc and see what comes out. A Better Routeplanner

I generally have my cruise control set at 75mph, I leave my home in Hull around 6am, so the roads are fairly quiet, but my overall average is probably 50mph.

 

[Adopado]

So far things are all looking positive, i had a test drive in the base model and the performance and looks are what I was looking for, but the option of the Long Range version have made it a reality.

My current company car is a Vauxhall Insignia, which has met my requirements perfectly, but we are looking to promote our company in a more environmental friendly way and the Model 3 is a logical replacement.

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.

 

[JimGreen]

Thanks Adopado, I loved the 1hr test drive I had at the Leeds Dealership, they'd already put in a test route that took me on both motorways and A Roads, and lasted close to an hour, well it would have done if I hadn't been hooked on the acceleration (Must limit that though...LOL) the performance was impressive and the range seems to fit what I need. Now just waiting for a couple of lease options to come back and we're good to go. White, 19" Sports Wheels, Black Interior.

 

[Joelly]

Thanks Adopado, I loved the 1hr test drive I had at the Leeds Dealership, they'd already put in a test route that took me on both motorways and A Roads, and lasted close to an hour, well it would have done if I hadn't been hooked on the acceleration (Must limit that though...LOL) the performance was impressive and the range seems to fit what I need. Now just waiting for a couple of lease options to come back and we're good to go. White, 19" Sports Wheels, Black Interior.

Hi Jim, it certainly sounds like a model 3 would fit your needs perfectly. In terms of range on the performance over LR then there’s not much in it in the real world. Maybe someone else can confirm exact differences?

I would highly recommend trying out your journey on “a better route planner” google it and have a play around with best case (tail wind, no rain, decent temperature and sticking to the speed limit) and worst case (head wind, heavy rain, low temperature and high speed) and everything in between. Realistically you probably wouldn’t be going 20% over the speed limit in these poor conditions (reference speed means 100% compared to speed limit, therefore 120% would be 84mph on motorway). Having had a quick check, you’d be fine in almost all conditions unless you’re doing 85+ in torrential rain with a greater than 20mph headwind.
It would certainly be worth installing some charge points at work, preferably 7kw chargers at that and also a 7kw charger at home.
Should save you a ton on fuel so looks like a great option.
If you’ve got any other questions feel free to reach out to me.

 

[MrBadger]

240 miles driven as if was an ICE - Ie normal heat/ac use and normal motorway speeds. No significant rain but around 8C and half done in dark.

That equates to around 290Wh/mile which is achievable this time of year. Will be less when it warms up so better than 240 miles will be achievable.

My referral code is in my profile if you have not been sent one already.

 

[jeee]

I commute regularly from Leeds to Hull in a performance model 3. I can get there and back on a full (80%) charge and have approximately 60- 70 miles left in the battery when I get back. I do have aircon and self drive on which can use significant battery and do tend to be a but spirited sometimes with my right foot but overall I would be doubtful that in the current weather etc. you would be able to do Manchester, Hull, Manchester in a single charge.

 

[JimGreen]

Thanks so much to everyone for your advice, and Referral Code's.

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.

Due to my high annual mileage (25k) the leasing price is relatively high, but taking into account my annual fuel costs it evens out very well, in a car I feel I'll enjoy driving.

 

[JimGreen]

I commute regularly from Leeds to Hull in a performance model 3. I can get there and back on a full (80%) charge and have approximately 60- 70 miles left in the battery when I get back. I do have aircon and self drive on which can use significant battery and do tend to be a but spirited sometimes with my right foot but overall I would be doubtful that in the current weather etc. you would be able to do Manchester, Hull, Manchester in a single charge.

That wouldn't be a problem, as a company were going all EV and having charge points installed at our depot.

 

[cezdoc]

Model S example: range in "Typical" miles: 220, real world single-trip year round range: 175 miles, i.e. about 20% less (this is what I call the Abington challenge, which is getting from Aberdeen to Abington supercharger on one charge: in winter it means charging to 100% and arriving with less than 5%). I would expect the Model 3 to be similar (i.e. 80% of typical range) on longish motorway trips.

As mentioned above, abetterrouteplanner is a great tool for checking real world range and it's pretty accurate. What you need to check is a worst case scenario: low temperatures, rain, headwind.

If you are prepared to drop your speed to 55/60 on the few filthy days each year it will mitigate against the worst conditions. The good news is that the car Nav will tell you if you can't make it and recommend a lower speed, so you have plenty of warning if range is an issue. This has a much bigger impact than driving style or cabin heating on long trips.

The other thing to watch for is starting from cold both outbound and return, this will impact range although not much on a 200 mile return trip. If you were able to charge at work then none of the above would be an issue. @JimGreen I see you just posted about that so sounds like range is a non-issue

 

[Homer's Dad]

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.

 

[JimGreen]

Yep, will be fitting chargers at work but your advice on "Real World" ranges and reduction in speed in poor conditions is a good base line to work too.

 

[MrBadger]

Worth getting up to speed with typical charge types and power. Many people equate that to mph (how many miles per hours charge) but important to be aware those numbers are based upon efficiency of car/driver so a 28mph charge may well be less than 20mph real world range in winter.

So 8 hours on a typical 7kW charge point you might find at work may give 160 miles added range in winter. So an additional topup still may be needed especially if keeping say between 15-85% battery usage.

 

[JimGreen]

Good Point..........

 

[Joelly]

Yep, will be fitting chargers at work but your advice on "Real World" ranges and reduction in speed in poor conditions is a good base line to work too.

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.

PS, on a good day you could probably do it without charging.

 

[JimGreen]

Thanks Joelly...... Really Appreciated.