Range expectations X75 vs. X100 - realistically

[animorph]

I got the X 100D mostly to speed up long road trips. A little longer at 100% charge before you have to make the first Supercharger stop, slightly shorter stops at Superchargers, and longer range at destinations without charging.

One other benefit should be fewer cycles on the 100 kWh battery for the same number of miles, compared to a 75 kWh battery. That might increase the battery life a little.

That said, we're waiting for a short range Model 3. It will be used for daily short trips and very occasionally longer trips with maybe one Supercharger stop. We'll take the X for anything longer. So the extra range is pretty useless to us, especially at $9k extra cost.

 

[Yinn]

You want to hear from 75D owners that wish they got a 100D, and 100D owners who wish they saved the money and got a 75D. I'm willing to bet you'll hear more of the former. Aside from that, everyone else including myself is biased to the car they purchased.

With that said, it significantly depends on your driving habits and style. I have a 75D and would have sprung for a 100D if I found one with a significant inventory discount. I could say the same about a P100DL. The reality is that I was constricted by price.

In practical day to day, I don't notice a difference. The couple of times I do are the following:
- Forgot to charge one night and needed to use a destination charger with no nearby supercharger. The 100D has the 72amp charger instead of the 48, which would have reduced the amount of time we needed to charge. More of a - wish I bought the 72amp charger when it was a stand alone option though than 100D relevant.
- Took a road trip from NY to OH and needed one extra stop. If the 75D had an extra 10-20mi of range, we could have made it to the next SC.
- Towed a trailer in the cold (~9 degrees) at highway speeds and watched the mileage drop FAST. It only got about 40% of the rated range. I didn't run out, nor did I need to charge. But it was the first time I had range anxiety post honeymoon period with the car. I've since done the same w/o any anxiety.

With all that said, if I found a 100D on heavy discount; I'd still jump in a heartbeat but it's a nice to have.

 

[unpollo2]

it really depends on your driving style and if you use cruise control/autopilot... and cold weather does have a negative impact but for me it was maybe around 15% decrease nothing near what other people are posting.

with my own driving style in 50 F temps i get around 425 wh/mile in town (176miles at 100% charge, 159 miles at 90% which is the default) but if i use cruise control it dramatically drops to around 375 wh/m (200 miles at 100%, 180 miles at 90%.) on highways with 40 F temps and 1 person and autopilot i was getting around 320 wh/m (234 miles at 100%, 211 miles at 90%.)

now take those numbers in context, if i'm driving in town realistically i started at 90% but that doesn't matter because i won't be hitting anywhere close to the 159 miles in that day. therefore in town driving for the day i have plenty of range. if i'm planning a trip i'll charge to 100% and then just consult betterroute or the tesla onboard map. chances are regardless of 75kwh or 100kwh you'll still have to charge at a supercharger, with the 75kwh you may have to stay 30 minutes longer. play with routes online to see for yourself.

enjoy!

 

[Peteski]

You want to hear from 75D owners that wish they got a 100D, and 100D owners who wish they saved the money and got a 75D. I'm willing to bet you'll hear more of the former. Aside from that, everyone else including myself is biased to the car they purchased.

All comes down to the range that you actually need. The way I approached it was to enter all my longest routes on abetterroute, making allowances for adverse weather etc. It was clear to me that the bigger battery would have been a total waste of money, but for others it might be essential or at least desirable. For my use I'd rather save the money and have a lighter car (around 150 kg less). No point in lugging around extra weight if not needed.

 

[Uncle Paul]

As a side note, people tend to drive their Tesla's more than they expect. Driving pleasure is a big part of this.

Seems as if the pleasure extends to the Supercharging experience. Instead of trying to get to your destination as fast as possible and drive for as long as possible, they tend to restructure the drive to include pleasant places to charge up. Having a nice lunch while charging instead of wolfing down typical gas station convenience food. They take more breaks, walk around, talk to other owners, check their email, or brouse in a shopping mall.

It is a different experience, and after a while, making the drive a pleasant experience becomes more important than seeing how fast you can get to your destination. You arrive much fresher, and don't need a nap to fend off exhaustion. Your legs don't get stiff, no need to rub your neck, bladders are much more comfortable, and with auto pilot you can take a break when you wish from the constant micro adjustments the computer can do for you.

Tesla...it drives like no other.

 

[HugoBoss]

100D for sure. Range rules, especially in the winter. We have been in situations where we got close to half of advertised range. 75D would have left us stranded. Not many superchargers in Ontario Canada yet. Would rather pay for bigger battery than upgrades. Its what we did.
100D No pup, no enhanced auto pilot or self driving. I can drive myself thank you very much.
Put your money on the battery not on options if you have to choose.

 

[ytwytw]

In -10C weather, 100D is definitely the preferred choice if can be afforded

 

[Mkdiehl]

We live in northern Wisconsin where for the past several weeks it has been bitter cold. Based on the cold, our measurements so far our X75D gets (with range mode on):

1. About 150 miles of realistic range when the OAT ( outside air temperature) is between 0 to 20 F
2. About 120 miles when the OAT is -20 to -5

What size wheels do you have?
Thanks.

 

[PETERPAN]

My X75 is confirmed but I can still change to X100 (at least I think) and I feel like I’m making a mistake not getting the extra range but the extra $17k is a lot especially when you’re already shelling out $100k. Thoughts?

I have X75D (took deliverey in Dec 2017)
Here is what I have experienced so far (four trips to Winter Park so far):
Round trip to Winter park from my home 170 miles
Trip 1) via 6th avenue & I-70 with fully charged battery of 235 miles -- temp approximately 20F when I left Denver: average road conditions on I-70. Reached at the Mary Jane base temp 12F; left with 99 miles range. So, consider temp as well uphill driving for 85 miles distance range used (235-85)= 150
Return: same route back to Denver .... due to Berthoud Pass and I-70 downhill regenerative recharge through breaking worked as it was designed ... back home with 40 miles range left ... (so overall I lost approximately 25 miles range due to temp, steep incline and speed etc.)
(235-170-40 = 25)
Trip 2,3&4: very similar experience; but took 6th ave & HWY 6 and I-70 --- 10 miles better range compared to my previous trip ...

planning to go to Copper this weekend!!! to test the range .... (definitely i think i need to charge at Silverthorne!!!) but will share my exp...

 

[_jmk]

I'm finally taking delivery of X75 next Friday. That range PETERPAN just mentioned seems good enough, 210ml/330km in 16F/-9C, hope I can reproduce something like that. I usually take breaks every 3h anyway and looks like that additional breaks are not needed until temps hit below -15C which is pretty rare even here in Finland.

 

[Saghost]

When I bought my 75D, I couldn't justify spending $10k for an extra 20 miles with a 90D. I think I made the right choice there. $17k for 60 miles is a better deal, but still a heck of a lot of money for range you won't use much.

The pack size has a bigger effect on road trips than I realized, though. Because of the voltage, the 100 pack charges ~15% faster (though the lower efficiency compensates very slightly.)

On top of that, the longer range means you don't have to push as far into the taper for longer legs - which magnifies the charging speed advantage substantially.

 

[_jmk]

How many reports do we have about the taper of the new 75 packs? Few that I have managed to find seem to be indicating things are looking pretty good now, certainly better than a while back.

 

[aaydemi]

I definitely had the same dilemma. I had originally ordered a 75 because I couldn't justify paying $17k for the larger battery. It may be only ~15% more when you're spending $100k, but $17k in a vacuum is a lot of money. If you spent the extra 20 min at the supercharger and put that $17k into bitcoin 3 or 4 years ago...

That being said I ended up finding a 100D inventory car that matched exactly what I wanted for only $10k more and jumped. I felt it was reasonable, as the Model 3 upgrade costs $9k. Definitely keep your eye out for inventory cars, if there are any to be had.

 

[FlyF4]

What did you do? Did you upgrade to the 100?
I agree with most folks about the extra juice in cold weather. I also have a slightly different reason. I think that if you resell the car in later years, the 100 might be more desirable to a purchaser because as time goes on, cars are going to have greater range and you will be competing with that in your resell.

 

[_jmk]

I was personally hoping that 5 years from now they would already have upgrade packs available for the cars, for somewhat more reasonable prices than the current ones. They will probably come out with 120kWh pack soon and that may go for a reasonable price 5 years from now. There is hoping.

 

[lymex2018]

Is it true the battery of 75D is software limited from a 85kWh pack? If that is the case, Tesla may unlock it (at a price) in the future.

 

[5thgear]

My usual weekend drive is 110 miles each way. I have chargers at both ends, so the extra range would be meaningless to me. For my occasional NYC to DC drives (~325 miles) I end up stopping once regardless of the battery pack I have. So again, the battery size makes no difference. However, if there were a battery capacity option above the 100 (120 or 130D) I would have gone for that over the 75D because that would be a more meaningful increase in range.