I own a 2021 Model Y LR (delivered 12/20) and had logged about 1,800 miles before embarking on a roadtrip in early Feb that covered about 30 US states and pretty much every type of terrain that can be experienced in the continental US - dirt roads, interstates, canyons, steep uphill climbs (and downhill coasting), etc. The car was driven in temps from -15F to about 75F over the course of this trip. Posting the below in the hopes this will serve as a guide on what others can expect on their range during a sustained period of long-distance driving.
Special shoutout to two tools that made this trip (and this analysis) much simpler - Abetterrouteplanner ("ABRP") and TeslaFi. Before diving in, some notes on my driving style:
1. On interstates and open roads, I tried to keep the car on autopilot/cruise control around 65-75mph. I noticed that average speed for a typical "leg" on the open road usually averaged in the high-60s mph on TeslaFi.
2. In most instances the HVAC was on 2 or lower, and oftentimes was turned off entirely if the outside temp was comfortable.
3. Sentry mode (or any of the other battery-consuming modes) were never used. Climate was never used remotely, except to warm up the battery on a handful of exceptionally cold days.
A quick summary of my findings below:
1. My trip odometer in the car reads 331wh/mi over the entire trip, versus the car's rated efficiency of 250wh/mi. (TeslaFi was not logging for the entire trip, so I don't have more detailed data at that level). This included about a week of subzero weather, and a number of days that involved winding climbs up mountains and canyons, many of which were one-way.
2. The legs of the trip in temperate weather (40-70F, about 60% of my total miles driven) had an efficiency of 294wh/mi with an average speed of 49mph.
3. In general, the car's navigation system estimating arrival charge level was NOT accurate. I wouldn't rely on this tool going forward to estimate charge, especially if weather is inclement (see below) or terrain is challenging. ABRP, on the other hand, was quite accurate in estimating my charge on arrival at any given waypoint. ABRP was mostly conservative, and only proved to be overly optimistic on a couple of days where I encountered strong headwinds. in
4. I'm not sure where ABRP pulls map data from, but in some rare instances it would have directed me to drive on roads that were either closed or unmaintained (this is primarily relevant when driving near reservation land in the US southwest, so really a rare occurrence). Waze was the best guide in these areas to sense check if ABRP was actually sending me on a "real" route and not down some ranch road.
5. At full charge, the car's computer estimated 316mi of range versus the 326mi advertised for a MY LR. Anybody else experience this?
6. Wind and rain appeared to have a huge impact on range, and should definitely be considered when on a long trip. For example, check out the drive below that happened in a downpour:
Distance: 139mi
Elevation Gain: -97ft
Wind speed: 15.5mph (angle was perpendicular to car for most of drive)
Avg speed: 64mph (max speed 87mph)
Efficiency: 392wh/mi (55%)
Outside temp: 44F
H
I own a 2021 Model Y LR (delivered 12/20) and had logged about 1,800 miles before embarking on a roadtrip in early Feb that covered about 30 US states and pretty much every type of terrain that can be experienced in the continental US - dirt roads, interstates, canyons, steep uphill climbs (and downhill coasting), etc. The car was driven in temps from -15F to about 75F over the course of this trip. Posting the below in the hopes this will serve as a guide on what others can expect on their range during a sustained period of long-distance driving.
Special shoutout to two tools that made this trip (and this analysis) much simpler - Abetterrouteplanner ("ABRP") and TeslaFi. Before diving in, some notes on my driving style:
1. On interstates and open roads, I tried to keep the car on autopilot/cruise control around 65-75mph. I noticed that average speed for a typical "leg" on the open road usually averaged in the high-60s mph on TeslaFi.
2. In most instances the HVAC was on 2 or lower, and oftentimes was turned off entirely if the outside temp was comfortable.
3. Sentry mode (or any of the other battery-consuming modes) were never used. Climate was never used remotely, except to warm up the battery on a handful of exceptionally cold days.
A quick summary of my findings below:
1. My trip odometer in the car reads 331wh/mi over the entire trip, versus the car's rated efficiency of 250wh/mi. (TeslaFi was not logging for the entire trip, so I don't have more detailed data at that level). This included about a week of subzero weather, and a number of days that involved winding climbs up mountains and canyons, many of which were one-way.
2. The legs of the trip in temperate weather (40-70F, about 60% of my total miles driven) had an efficiency of 294wh/mi with an average speed of 49mph.
3. In general, the car's navigation system estimating arrival charge level was NOT accurate. I wouldn't rely on this tool going forward to estimate charge, especially if weather is inclement (see below) or terrain is challenging. ABRP, on the other hand, was quite accurate in estimating my charge on arrival at any given waypoint. ABRP was mostly conservative, and only proved to be overly optimistic on a couple of days where I encountered strong headwinds. in
4. I'm not sure where ABRP pulls map data from, but in some rare instances it would have directed me to drive on roads that were either closed or unmaintained (this is primarily relevant when driving near reservation land in the US southwest, so really a rare occurrence). Waze was the best guide in these areas to sense check if ABRP was actually sending me on a "real" route and not down some ranch road.
5. At full charge, the car's computer estimated 316mi of range versus the 326mi advertised for a MY LR. Anybody else experience this?
6. Wind and rain appeared to have a huge impact on range, and should definitely be considered when on a long trip. For example, check out the drive below that happened in a downpour:
Distance: 139mi
Elevation Gain: -97ft
Wind speed: 15.5mph (angle was perpendicular to car for most of drive)
Avg speed: 64mph (max speed 87mph)
Efficiency: 392wh/mi (55%)
Outside temp: 44F
HVAC: 67F, avg. fan level of 1.5
On some drives with headwinds, consumption was close to 500 wh/mi, even with minimal elevation gain and at much slower speeds.
Any tips to help improve range that I may be missing would be welcome. While I drive slightly slower than I might have in an ICE car (I tried to avoid staying over 80mph for any sustained period of time to conserve battery, even when the speed limit was 75 or 80), I don't think I'd be willing to drive significantly slower on the open road just to get more miles on a charge.
Special shoutout to two tools that made this trip (and this analysis) much simpler - Abetterrouteplanner ("ABRP") and TeslaFi. Before diving in, some notes on my driving style:
1. On interstates and open roads, I tried to keep the car on autopilot/cruise control around 65-75mph. I noticed that average speed for a typical "leg" on the open road usually averaged in the high-60s mph on TeslaFi.
2. In most instances the HVAC was on 2 or lower, and oftentimes was turned off entirely if the outside temp was comfortable.
3. Sentry mode (or any of the other battery-consuming modes) were never used. Climate was never used remotely, except to warm up the battery on a handful of exceptionally cold days.
A quick summary of my findings below:
1. My trip odometer in the car reads 331wh/mi over the entire trip, versus the car's rated efficiency of 250wh/mi. (TeslaFi was not logging for the entire trip, so I don't have more detailed data at that level). This included about a week of subzero weather, and a number of days that involved winding climbs up mountains and canyons, many of which were one-way.
2. The legs of the trip in temperate weather (40-70F, about 60% of my total miles driven) had an efficiency of 294wh/mi with an average speed of 49mph.
3. In general, the car's navigation system estimating arrival charge level was NOT accurate. I wouldn't rely on this tool going forward to estimate charge, especially if weather is inclement (see below) or terrain is challenging. ABRP, on the other hand, was quite accurate in estimating my charge on arrival at any given waypoint. ABRP was mostly conservative, and only proved to be overly optimistic on a couple of days where I encountered strong headwinds. in
4. I'm not sure where ABRP pulls map data from, but in some rare instances it would have directed me to drive on roads that were either closed or unmaintained (this is primarily relevant when driving near reservation land in the US southwest, so really a rare occurrence). Waze was the best guide in these areas to sense check if ABRP was actually sending me on a "real" route and not down some ranch road.
5. At full charge, the car's computer estimated 316mi of range versus the 326mi advertised for a MY LR. Anybody else experience this?
6. Wind and rain appeared to have a huge impact on range, and should definitely be considered when on a long trip. For example, check out the drive below that happened in a downpour:
Distance: 139mi
Elevation Gain: -97ft
Wind speed: 15.5mph (angle was perpendicular to car for most of drive)
Avg speed: 64mph (max speed 87mph)
Efficiency: 392wh/mi (55%)
Outside temp: 44F
H
I own a 2021 Model Y LR (delivered 12/20) and had logged about 1,800 miles before embarking on a roadtrip in early Feb that covered about 30 US states and pretty much every type of terrain that can be experienced in the continental US - dirt roads, interstates, canyons, steep uphill climbs (and downhill coasting), etc. The car was driven in temps from -15F to about 75F over the course of this trip. Posting the below in the hopes this will serve as a guide on what others can expect on their range during a sustained period of long-distance driving.
Special shoutout to two tools that made this trip (and this analysis) much simpler - Abetterrouteplanner ("ABRP") and TeslaFi. Before diving in, some notes on my driving style:
1. On interstates and open roads, I tried to keep the car on autopilot/cruise control around 65-75mph. I noticed that average speed for a typical "leg" on the open road usually averaged in the high-60s mph on TeslaFi.
2. In most instances the HVAC was on 2 or lower, and oftentimes was turned off entirely if the outside temp was comfortable.
3. Sentry mode (or any of the other battery-consuming modes) were never used. Climate was never used remotely, except to warm up the battery on a handful of exceptionally cold days.
A quick summary of my findings below:
1. My trip odometer in the car reads 331wh/mi over the entire trip, versus the car's rated efficiency of 250wh/mi. (TeslaFi was not logging for the entire trip, so I don't have more detailed data at that level). This included about a week of subzero weather, and a number of days that involved winding climbs up mountains and canyons, many of which were one-way.
2. The legs of the trip in temperate weather (40-70F, about 60% of my total miles driven) had an efficiency of 294wh/mi with an average speed of 49mph.
3. In general, the car's navigation system estimating arrival charge level was NOT accurate. I wouldn't rely on this tool going forward to estimate charge, especially if weather is inclement (see below) or terrain is challenging. ABRP, on the other hand, was quite accurate in estimating my charge on arrival at any given waypoint. ABRP was mostly conservative, and only proved to be overly optimistic on a couple of days where I encountered strong headwinds. in
4. I'm not sure where ABRP pulls map data from, but in some rare instances it would have directed me to drive on roads that were either closed or unmaintained (this is primarily relevant when driving near reservation land in the US southwest, so really a rare occurrence). Waze was the best guide in these areas to sense check if ABRP was actually sending me on a "real" route and not down some ranch road.
5. At full charge, the car's computer estimated 316mi of range versus the 326mi advertised for a MY LR. Anybody else experience this?
6. Wind and rain appeared to have a huge impact on range, and should definitely be considered when on a long trip. For example, check out the drive below that happened in a downpour:
Distance: 139mi
Elevation Gain: -97ft
Wind speed: 15.5mph (angle was perpendicular to car for most of drive)
Avg speed: 64mph (max speed 87mph)
Efficiency: 392wh/mi (55%)
Outside temp: 44F
HVAC: 67F, avg. fan level of 1.5
On some drives with headwinds, consumption was close to 500 wh/mi, even with minimal elevation gain and at much slower speeds.
Any tips to help improve range that I may be missing would be welcome. While I drive slightly slower than I might have in an ICE car (I tried to avoid staying over 80mph for any sustained period of time to conserve battery, even when the speed limit was 75 or 80), I don't think I'd be willing to drive significantly slower on the open road just to get more miles on a charge.