Range on Highway for Model 3

[peninsula]

Does anyone have a good estimate for "typical" highway driving range for the standard and higher capacity battery models? Would I be able to make it 200 miles with the standard model if I'm not driving at night?

 

[Rogue one]

just to many variables to get an exact answer, speed,elevation change, weather (temp, rain, snow). The same things effect an ICE car just in different ways I rarely achieve my cars EPA ratted range. Temp and speed make the largest impacts on range. I would take a guess and say you could achieve EPA rated range with moderate speed (65-70 mph) mild weather (70-80) little change in elevation, and little to no head wind. (Head wind is effectively the same as driving faster.

 

[dragonxt]

You can hit your EPA range in most situations, just drive 50MPH

Apart from that like @Rogue one said there are far too many factors that influence this

Among City, Highway, and Idle, I probably get around 150 miles of range in my Model X

 

[JeffK]

In a year and half I'll tell you what the range is like in a performance model driven at 80 mph on the highway.

 

[Troy]

Hi. Based on survey data, the average energy consumption of the Model S is 316 Wh/mi in the USA (source: see cell Q1 here). The Model 3 consumption is expected to be 79.7% of Model S consumption based on the following calculation:

EPA highway dyno test efficiency:
Model 3 80: 172.2 Wh/mi (454.64 mi / 78,270 Wh = 172.2 Wh/mi, Source for 454.64 mi and 78,270 Wh: Page 7)
Model S 100D: 216.1 Wh/mi (455.37 mi / 98,400 Wh = 216.1 Wh/mi, Source for 455.37 mi: Page 27, source for 98,400 Wh: WK057)

Model 3 80 vs Model s 100 consumption= 172.2 Wh/mi /216.1 Wh/mi = 79.7%. Therefore we can use 316 Wh/mi*79.7%= 252 Wh/mi as the Model 3 average.

Usable battery capacity of the Model 3 is expected to be as follows when the car is new:
55 kWh pack: 53,963 Wh (This is my estimate based on 55.5*78,270/80,500=53,963)
80 kWh pack: 78,270 Wh (This was confirmed in an EPA document. See page 6 footer here)

The average range numbers would be like this when the car is new:
Model 3 55: 53,963 Wh/252 Wh/mi= 214 miles
Model 3 80: 78,270 Wh/252 Wh/mi= 311 miles

However, we need to consider battery degradation too. Based on survey data, the capacity drops to 94% at 80K miles (see the image here). So, the remaining usable capacity at 80K miles would be as follows:
55 kWh pack: 50,725 Wh
80 kWh pack: 73,574 Wh

Therefore the average RWD Model 3 range would be as follows after 80K miles:
Model 3 55: 50,725 Wh/252 Wh/mi= 201 miles
Model 3 80: 73,574 Wh/252 Wh/mi= 292 miles

However, these are average numbers throughout the year. It will be lower in winter. Btw, dual motor versions will have 8-12 mi more range.

 

[SageBrush]

Does anyone have a good estimate for "typical" highway driving range for the standard and higher capacity battery models? Would I be able to make it 200 miles with the standard model if I'm not driving at night?

How fast do you drive (and are you willing to slow down ) ?
What is the net elevation change ?
Is it raining ?
How much battery reserve do you want at the end of the trip to cover the unexpected ?

 

[kenbefound]

I like to use cruise control whenever possible & our local interstates are very hilly. So if I set a Tesla cruise control to 65 mph, when I go down hills will the regenerative feature keep the car at 65 and gain range? Or would I need to apply the brakes to cause regeneration and slow the car down?

 

[Shock-On-T]

I like to use cruise control whenever possible & our local interstates are very hilly. So if I set a Tesla cruise control to 65 mph, when I go down hills will the regenerative feature keep the car at 65 and gain range? Or would I need to apply the brakes to cause regeneration and slow the car down?

The regen will be strong enough that you don't need braking.
You get a bit less than half the energy back with regen braking, so flat roads give better range than hilly roads.

 

[KarenRei]

Here's probably your best bet:

Model S | Tesla

Scroll down to the Model S range calculator. Pick a model - say, the 75D. Look up its EPA range (in the case of the 75D, 259mi). Now play around with the parameters and see how it varies from EPA range. Scale that by your M3's EPA range. If you want to have the option for higher speeds than 70mph, change your region to "Other Europe"; it'll let you pick speeds up to 120 kph (74.5 mph) (but then you'll have to translate temperatures and ranges back to US figures)

Caveats: this is for cruising. Some energy (although not much) will be lost for acceleration / deceleration where regen is not required. Any regen on M3 will waste about 30-40% of the energy used** (although on highway driving, except in very rugged terrain, should not make a significant difference). The calculator assumes that the cabin and pack are both preheated and the tires are warm. It assumes that the road is dry and not covered in snow, that there are no winds, and that you're driving at sea level. The calculator assumes no pack degradation; a typical Tesla pack degrades around 4% in the first year, but much slower in each subsequent year (5 years degradation ~= 6-7% total)

** Assuming slightly higher motor / generation figures than S, given that M3 is PMAC.

 

[Flekoun]

Highway speed - 120kph/ 75 mph with larger battery = range of 250mile / 400 km ... that is my guess.

 

[kenbefound]

The regen will be strong enough that you don't need braking.
You get a bit less than half the energy back with regen braking, so flat roads give better range than hilly roads.

So unlike an ICE car that will accelerate down a hill when using cruise control, a Tesla will keep the speed at whatever I set it by automatically regen braking?

 

[DrivingRockies]

So unlike an ICE car that will accelerate down a hill when using cruise control, a Tesla will keep the speed at whatever I set it by automatically regen braking?

True.

 

[kenbefound]

True.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[DrivingRockies]

Awesome, thanks!

It is, too! Most fun I've ever had driving in the mountains. If only I always had the road to myself...

 

[Electroman]

So unlike an ICE car that will accelerate down a hill when using cruise contro

Hmm.. I thought the traditional dumb cruise control maintains the speed uphill or downhill.. I remember vaguely that has been my experience, although I would have used that in my ICE cars not more than 5 or 6 times since I started driving..

 

[Saghost]

Hmm.. I thought the traditional dumb cruise control maintains the speed uphill or downhill.. I remember vaguely that has been my experience, although I would have used that in my ICE cars not more than 5 or 6 times since I started driving..

On most cars it won't use the brakes, and on many it won't upshift for more engine braking, so most of them will run away given a steep decline.

I'm not sure what will happen if you get a situation that exceeds the max regen on a Tesla, but that's obviously a much higher deceleration rate to begin with.

 

[omgwtfbyobbq]

I heard the "I'm OK driving 55-65 mph instead of 80 mph" version gets the best range.

 

[SageBrush]

I heard the "I'm OK driving 55-65 mph instead of 80 mph" version gets the best range.

Around 450 miles in fact

I'm looking forward to bumping up my Prius dawdling to ~ 70 mph on the highway. That strikes me as a good balance of safety, energy consumption and travel time.

 

[Shock-On-T]

So unlike an ICE car that will accelerate down a hill when using cruise control, a Tesla will keep the speed at whatever I set it by automatically regen braking?

Yes, and it is rock-steady.
So if you set speed to 65mph it will be exactly 65 both up and down hill. It might hit 66 for a second, that's it.

 

[gambit48]

Yes, and it is rock-steady.
So if you set speed to 65mph it will be exactly 65 both up and down hill. It might hit 66 for a second, that's it.

Cool! My experience with ICE cruise control in hills is that they get off... by a lot!