Real world range in layman's terms

[McXtravert]

Hi all, newbie to the forum.

I'm in the market right now for an EV to replace my ICE Golf GT TDI for the daily commute which I know the M3 SR+ will happily do (100 miles a day).

Every month or so I take a trip between Cambridgeshire and Edinburgh and want an EV that can do the trip on 1 charge stop (coincide with human bio break and food stop).

I've read mixed reports that the M3 SR+ will get 180 miles out of a full charge despite the claimed Tesla marketing of c.260.

I've searched the UK forums and unless I've missed it, cannot find a good estimate of "real world" range in miles. I get climatic conditions, wind speed, driving technique etc come into it but if I'm dropping £40k+ I would like to know if the SR+ meets my basic criteria. As you can imagine the Tesla reps quote the standard marketing bunf.

Alternative I'm looking into is the Mach-e (I already have a mustang so I'm not interested in 0-60 as that box is ticked with more noise).

 

[Big Dunc]

Our model S has an 85 kw battery. Tesla say that it will do around 300 miles. In the real world, 200 is realistic.
I am not sure on the battery size of a SR model 3, but keep in mind that the 3 is lighter / smaller than the S so should be more efficient.
Anyway, two thirds of what Tesla claim should be easily achievable.
Keep in mind though, that Supercharging is quick. I often do long trips. By the time I have been to the gents, bought some junk food or a coffee and scanned my e mails, the car is ready to go again.
Also keep in mind, that the car charges much quicker when the battery is nearly flat than it does when nearly full. Therefore it is quicker overall to stop twice and do half a charge on each occasion, than it is to stop once and wait until it is fully charged.

Edited to add we are test driving a mach e tomorrow, not to replace the Model S, but to compliment it. We get the 0-60 noise from a TVR

 

[Lord Farquad]

 

[Delvino]

There are obviously lots of variables, but my last long trip was 140 miles in an SR+ and it used 60% (started at 100, returned at 40) - if my maths is right (no guarantee), that gave me a theoretical range of roughly 230, based on (140 / 60 ) * 100 = 233.

 

[Lord Farquad]

I think if you’re happy cruising at 60mph the car has a good range. Equally if you’re doing longer trips it then becomes a balance between range, charging speed and efficiency. I’m these regards the M3 SR+ is easily a match for anything other than a M3LR. That YouTube channel I posted has this week ran a 2000km road trip challenge between a M3SR+, Mach E LR AWD and a Taycan. The M3 was quickest.

 

[tsh2]

Actual data from a trip Cambridge to the lakes end of August. A couple of stops to pick up people on the way, one supercharge stop at Keele. Started from a charge to 100% just before.

 

[Fred2]

Hi all, newbie to the forum.

I'm in the market right now for an EV to replace my ICE Golf GT TDI for the daily commute which I know the M3 SR+ will happily do (100 miles a day).

Every month or so I take a trip between Cambridgeshire and Edinburgh and want an EV that can do the trip on 1 charge stop (coincide with human bio break and food stop).

I've read mixed reports that the M3 SR+ will get 180 miles out of a full charge despite the claimed Tesla marketing of c.260.

A Better Routeplanner has loads of knobs for estimating the impact of rain, cold etc. For st neots to edingburg it seems to think 2 stops in a range of conditions - the main limiting factor in terms of getting there with one stop is that you'd need supercharger closer to half way, bit that isn't quite how it pans out

 

[tsh2]

I've not tried to investigate why, but ABRP was pessimistic for my route above, by maybe 10%.

 

[MrT.]

Hi all, newbie to the forum.

I'm in the market right now for an EV to replace my ICE Golf GT TDI for the daily commute which I know the M3 SR+ will happily do (100 miles a day).

Every month or so I take a trip between Cambridgeshire and Edinburgh and want an EV that can do the trip on 1 charge stop (coincide with human bio break and food stop).

I've read mixed reports that the M3 SR+ will get 180 miles out of a full charge despite the claimed Tesla marketing of c.260.

I've searched the UK forums and unless I've missed it, cannot find a good estimate of "real world" range in miles. I get climatic conditions, wind speed, driving technique etc come into it but if I'm dropping £40k+ I would like to know if the SR+ meets my basic criteria. As you can imagine the Tesla reps quote the standard marketing bunf.

Alternative I'm looking into is the Mach-e (I already have a mustang so I'm not interested in 0-60 as that box is ticked with more noise).

With a MIC 2021 SR+, and driving at the speed limit where possible, this summer I have been getting 200-220, when mainly motorway driving. That is plenty for me (when asked the inevitable question about range, I now answer that the battery is bigger than my bladder, which is all that matters). Range will drop significantly at illegal speeds. And hopefully you are aware that range will also drop below 200 miles in the winter time.

 

[Adopado]

I've read mixed reports that the M3 SR+ will get 180 miles out of a full charge despite the claimed Tesla marketing of c.260.

Tesla are only allowed to use the recognised WLTP range figures for their vehicles. It's not some devious ploy! Just as the consumption figures for any car frequently don't seem to match the advertised numbers (I've never owned one that did) this is similar for EVs. The difference is that in the ICE cars I've had there was never ANY circumstance in which the MPG was achievable whereas with an EV, in extreme circumstances, you can actually beat the claimed figure but equally you can miss it by a wider margin even than an ICE car ... on the positive side, this morning I travelled 50 miles in my SR+ and if the consumption were to be extrapolated to a 100% to 0% would give me about 280 miles of range and I've had over 300 sometimes! However, please now expunge those numbers from your mind as they do not mean that you will ever drive 300 miles in an SR+ unless making a one-off Youtube video!! But why you ask ...

Firstly, this is not hooning around ... secondly it's on country roads that are 30,40,50 mph and some town driving at 20 to 30mph with no dual carriageway. You will not get anywhere near the WLTP range on a motorway trip ... even if never going above 70mph. On motorway journeys you need to charge up where there are chargers ... Superchargers. You can't expect a Supercharger to be in exactly the place you need it when empty so you may plan to stop at say 15% or 20% battery ... so you see you have a much lower range anyway on the motorway PLUS you are forgoing 20% of your range even if you started at 100% ... and most trips commence with less than that! And do you want to arrive at your destination with no battery left? Of course you need some when you get there or are able to immediately plug in. Then you've got winter low temperatures with lower efficiency ... you see where I'm going with this!

An SR+ is ideal for 100 miles a day ... charge at home and you will never need to visit a public charger and never think about range constraints. But ... from Cambridge to Edinburgh you will need to be prepared for multiple stops. Look at Abetterrouteplanner as suggested above.

 

[Avendit]

Final thing to add to this - don't underestimate how much range is added in a toilet halt. At least in our LR an SC always adds more than we strictly need by the time we navigate the kids in and back out of a services - because its plugged in the whole time from when you getting out of the car, cross the carpark, into the building, back over the car park and then unplug, its actually a fair bit of time vs the mental 'time in bathroom' at least I used to assign it.

ie a stop isn't as painful as you think.

 

[Alistairuk]

Hi all, newbie to the forum.

I'm in the market right now for an EV to replace my ICE Golf GT TDI for the daily commute which I know the M3 SR+ will happily do (100 miles a day).

Every month or so I take a trip between Cambridgeshire and Edinburgh and want an EV that can do the trip on 1 charge stop (coincide with human bio break and food stop).

I've read mixed reports that the M3 SR+ will get 180 miles out of a full charge despite the claimed Tesla marketing of c.260.

I've searched the UK forums and unless I've missed it, cannot find a good estimate of "real world" range in miles. I get climatic conditions, wind speed, driving technique etc come into it but if I'm dropping £40k+ I would like to know if the SR+ meets my basic criteria. As you can imagine the Tesla reps quote the standard marketing bunf.

Alternative I'm looking into is the Mach-e (I already have a mustang so I'm not interested in 0-60 as that box is ticked with more noise).

Similar journey I did a few months ago from Glasgow to Watford I needed 3 stops - one at Gretna, one at scotch corner and one at Grantham - Gretna was 5-10 mins while I ran to toilet, Grantham was the time it took me to get a Burger King for lunch and scotch corner was around 20 minutes max. From Edinburgh I’d assume you’d get away with either 1 at Grantham or 2 (scotch corner and Grantham) - you shouldn’t have to spend more than 30 mins total charging time between the two though.

(This is an SR+ starting just under 80%)

Stick to around 70 and you’ll be able to do it - you get far better range on one long journey than you do on lots of short ones driving around town - if you floor it or exceed speed limit throughout you’ll deplete your range quickly

The biggest inconvenience is super chargers not lining up with your optimum distance

 

[tsh2]

ie a stop isn't as painful as you think.

Just make sure that the charge rate is 'as expected' particularly is using a non-tesla charger. Its sad to come back and find the charger has dropped down to 20kW just after the charge started as I had with Ionity once (free vend, obviously)

 

[Alistairuk]

I've not tried to investigate why, but ABRP was pessimistic for my route above, by maybe 10%.

I found ABRP really ers on the side of caution (I’m sure you can play around with all it’s settings), I did however find that the in car system was accurate to within 1-2% of its predictions- whereas ABRP was around 10% sometimes more out.

 

[tsh2]

I agree with trusting the in-car estimation - and I find the graph display very helpful. The only oddity is the 5% penalty for a cold battery (which can cause the line to jump around a bit depending on speed and temperature). I'm now happy to arrive with that showing ~3%, so long as a charge is guaranteed.

 

[Avendit]

Just make sure that the charge rate is 'as expected' particularly is using a non-tesla charger. Its sad to come back and find the charger has dropped down to 20kW just after the charge started as I had with Ionity once (free vend, obviously)

#shudders#. Wouldn't plan on anything other than Tesla for most trips. By the time they are slower, less reliable and have less stations most places, they aren't worth it and I just don't look. Unless heading off piste in the Highlands.

 

[Pauld999]

In my 2021 MIC SR+, during the last few months since collecting the car at the beginning of June, I can easily achieve 220 miles without really having to try. I know that this number will drop in the winter months. I recently achieved 240 miles with 19% remaining but that was an exception.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Hi all, newbie to the forum.

I'm in the market right now for an EV to replace my ICE Golf GT TDI for the daily commute which I know the M3 SR+ will happily do (100 miles a day).

Every month or so I take a trip between Cambridgeshire and Edinburgh and want an EV that can do the trip on 1 charge stop (coincide with human bio break and food stop).

I've read mixed reports that the M3 SR+ will get 180 miles out of a full charge despite the claimed Tesla marketing of c.260.

I've searched the UK forums and unless I've missed it, cannot find a good estimate of "real world" range in miles. I get climatic conditions, wind speed, driving technique etc come into it but if I'm dropping £40k+ I would like to know if the SR+ meets my basic criteria. As you can imagine the Tesla reps quote the standard marketing bunf.

Alternative I'm looking into is the Mach-e (I already have a mustang so I'm not interested in 0-60 as that box is ticked with more noise).

There are a lot of factors and variable which make coming up with a figure not possible. I quite like this explanation and their real world working range which also covers the different displays you get and explains why the number we see in the car isn;t always the same as what we see quoted on the internet.

Tesla Range FAQ

Tesla Range FAQ, we answer the commonly asked questions

tesla-info.com

You can add 10% in the calcs for the LFP batteries as you can charge them to 100% but otherwise it seems to hold true and match my experience.

 

[Adopado]

In my 2021 MIC SR+, during the last few months since collecting the car at the beginning of June, I can easily achieve 220 miles without really having to try. I know that this number will drop in the winter months. I recently achieved 240 miles with 19% remaining but that was an exception.

Yes, a bit of background warmth really helps. What is your journey pattern for those ranges i.e. road types and speeds and what was the longest single leg between charges? We are also finding great efficiency at the moment, 167Wh/mile (about 6 miles per kWh!) today, and that's with A/C on in a non-heatpump 2019 SR+ (but no motorway involved) and on a 100 mile journey with 3 stops for various purposes. We rarely do motorway trips but we have a couple coming up over the next few weeks so it will be interesting to compare... I'm not expecting anything like these numbers!

 

[Drew57]

Yes, a bit of background warmth really helps. What is your journey pattern for those ranges i.e. road types and speeds and what was the longest single leg between charges? We are also finding great efficiency at the moment, 167Wh/mile (about 6 miles per kWh!) today, and that's with A/C on in a non-heatpump 2019 SR+ (but no motorway involved) and on a 100 mile journey with 3 stops for various purposes. We rarely do motorway trips but we have a couple coming up over the next few weeks so it will be interesting to compare... I'm not expecting anything like these numbers!

Yes, even my 2020 LR has achieved around 200Wh/m on some 50-60 mile journeys this week with a/c low & fan 2 or 3. One was 188Wh/m, another 193Wh/m on mostly quiet, twisty roads at 50-55mph.