Realistic range...it would be great if it was more accurate

[Trunk Gap]

If I charge my MS to full (270 miles), I still only get...maybe 180 miles, even on the highway (although I do drive fast so imagine driving briskly, not flooring it everywhere, but I do like to maintain a fast speed/80+ on mexican highways). Is this normal?

Also, is there a way to get the battery indicator to be more real based on my actual driving? I dont want to get in the car and have it say 270, when I know after i drive 30 miles its going to be at 210.

 

[Sousagil90D]

I agree with you, I have the same problem. Since I got the car i've been trying to realise how many km I can actually make. I have 452 at 100%, but I believe I can only make 350km. I don't know what typical is suposed to mean, but certainly it does not take into account my driving style.

 

[msnow]

If you bring up the Energy App on the 17" screen you can see your estimated actual range based on your past or current driving conditions.

 

[Krugerrand]

If I charge my MS to full (270 miles), I still only get...maybe 180 miles, even on the highway (although I do drive fast so imagine driving briskly, not flooring it everywhere, but I do like to maintain a fast speed/80+ on mexican highways). Is this normal?

Also, is there a way to get the battery indicator to be more real based on my actual driving? I dont want to get in the car and have it say 270, when I know after i drive 30 miles its going to be at 210.

Do you really need it to say something different than it does? You seem to already know how far you can drive via your style and also know that if you slow down the car will go further. And actually, this is no different than a gas car with a digital readout of how many miles one has left based on how much gas is in there car. If suddenly you start driving more aggressively the digital readout drops like a rock and you get nowhere near what it originally said you would.

Lastly, I have no idea what's normal on a Mexican highway.

 

[Trunk Gap]

But as I recall, it fluctuates too much based on exactly how you're driving at that moment/small sample, vs taking in a larger sample size of your overall driving style.

It seems no matter how I drive, I cant get more than 200...so why does it even say 270 in the first place, does anyone get anything near that, and how?

 

[MDMGSO47]

If I charge my MS to full (270 miles), I still only get...maybe 180 miles, even on the highway (although I do drive fast so imagine driving briskly, not flooring it everywhere, but I do like to maintain a fast speed/80+ on mexican highways). Is this normal?

Also, is there a way to get the battery indicator to be more real based on my actual driving? I dont want to get in the car and have it say 270, when I know after i drive 30 miles its going to be at 210.

I live in NC as well and also have a heavy foot, but have found that the rated miles are accurate absent a big elevation change.

I am curious, though. Where in NC do you find "mexican highways" where you can drive 85+? I see Mexicans on the highways, but no Mexican highways. (;>)

Driving anywhere in NC at 85+ will result in getting caught and losing your license.

 

[No2DinosaurFuel]

Use evtripplanne.com if you have a specific trip in mind. They are way more accurate than the indicator on the tesla. Also keep in mind the range on your dash is no different than the fuel indicator in your gas car. You only get an estimate nothing more. It may vary wildly depending on many factors just like the petrol car on the yester years.

Use evtripplanner when possible. For everything else just multiple the rated range by 0.8 for summer driving and 0.5 for winter driving and you should be good.

 

[msnow]

But as I recall, it fluctuates too much based on exactly how you're driving at that moment/small sample, vs taking in a larger sample size of your overall driving style.

It seems no matter how I drive, I cant get more than 200...so why does it even say 270 in the first place, does anyone get anything near that, and how?

If you look, you can set it to various sample distances (instant, 5, 30, etc). It's actually pretty accurate.

 

[Logan5]

Given Tesla's data collection it should be easy to calculate more realistic ranges based on existing driver experiences. If they have metrics for a sample of drivers travelling between various points they should be able to calculate what the average driver achieves as well as make adjustments for differing driving styles identified in that data. This would be useful what drivers are experiencing in real driving situations is vastly different from what Tesla has estimated.

I can think of two benefits to this that could be made available to drivers. First, it could provide a better display and power consumption settings that adjust on the fly to maximize range without comprising the drivers experience. And second it could inform the AP software by possibly providing a setting that is optimized for efficiency.

 

[number12]

Given Tesla's data collection it should be easy to calculate more realistic ranges based on existing driver experiences. If they have metrics for a sample of drivers travelling between various points they should be able to calculate what the average driver achieves as well as make adjustments for differing driving styles identified in that data. This would be useful what drivers are experiencing in real driving situations is vastly different from what Tesla has estimated.

I can think of two benefits to this that could be made available to drivers. First, it could provide a better display and power consumption settings that adjust on the fly to maximize range without comprising the drivers experience. And second it could inform the AP software by possibly providing a setting that is optimized for efficiency.

But would it let Tesla sell more cars or make more money hence having a higher stock price? If the answer is no it will probably not happen. And that goes to everything. (Including retrofits)

 

[TexasEV]

Talk to the EPA. The "rated range" which Tesla advertises and displays on the screen is the EPA rated range-- meaning the range when the car is driven on the EPA test cycle. There's not a lot of high speed driving on that test, but when I drive 65 it approximates the EPA range. If you drive 80+, you're going to get a huge range hit. You know what it is, so adjust accordingly.

 

[Zaphod]

If I charge my MS to full (270 miles), I still only get...maybe 180 miles, even on the highway (although I do drive fast so imagine driving briskly, not flooring it everywhere, but I do like to maintain a fast speed/80+ on mexican highways). Is this normal?

Also, is there a way to get the battery indicator to be more real based on my actual driving? I dont want to get in the car and have it say 270, when I know after i drive 30 miles its going to be at 210.

You don't say what Model S you have. 270 I think would be an 85D? Is the display showing ideal range or rated range? What kind of Wh/mile values are you seeing for usage?

As others state, the faster you go beyond 65mph will really impact your range. Also as Krugerand states, this is really no different than in an ICE car, but for whatever reason is not as perceived to impact range there.

 

[SmartElectric]

Switch the display to report percentage of charge remaining.

Us Canadians and others in cold climates can use this kind of conversion factor for an 85 kWh pack:

90% summer = 300 km at "brisk" highway speeds
90% winter = 250 km at highway speeds with heating fully on

If you need a bit more range, range charge to 100%.

So, the solution is to use the percent multiplied by a factor of 3 in summer and 2.5 in winter.

 

[ken830]

If you want the range estimate to match your driving style, then use the Trip App set at 30 miles.

Having the battery meter adjust according to driving style is a horrible ideal because then you lose an absolute battery meter. An absolute battery meter as it stands today gives you an indicator of battery degradation and a fine-scaled reading of energy capacity. Other EVs do adjust the range meter according to driving style and everyone calls those GOMs (Guess-O'-Meter) because they do a horrible job at actually estimating anything.

Driving about 70MPH on the highway and mixed city conditions, I get about 280-290 Wh/mi, so the EPA range estimate is pretty close. I'd bet you're underestimating how aggressively you drive. Your guess of about 180 miles on a full charge is 500Wh/mi. That's really high.

 

[democappy]

If I charge my MS to full (270 miles), I still only get...maybe 180 miles, even on the highway (although I do drive fast so imagine driving briskly, not flooring it everywhere, but I do like to maintain a fast speed/80+ on mexican

Getting 180 on 270 rated is absurd. You would have to be going really fast the entire time or doing a lot of mountain driving. I don't think I have ever consumed energy at that rate for more than a few minutes, but I also don't drive 85+mph all day long. If you are truly getting 180 on 270 you are driving in a manner that shows battery range is not your main goal.

As others have mentioned, just switching your gauge to showing the real value over last 15 or 30 miles would show you what you want anyways.

 

[bak_phy]

Using EVtripper.com driving 100 miles with a net elevation of 321ft in a MS 90D with an EPA range of 270 at
62mph uses 100RM and goes 270 miles on a full charge
74mph uses 120 and goes 225
81mph uses 134 and goes 201
89mph uses 150 and goes 180
96mph uses 167 and goes 162
111mph uses 207 and goes 130

The large drop of in range isn't particular to electric cars. It's just physics.

democappy getting 180 miles of range seems about right given his driving style

 

[Canuck]

Switch the display to report percentage of charge remaining.

I agree. It's the only way to drive an electric vehicle when it comes to dealing with range. The car will still give you a higher range estimate at your destination, unless you drive really nicely, but it's easy to adjust it in your head based on speed, elevation changes, temperature, etc.

 

[bak_phy]

The trip planner graph updates depending on your driving style. I've found it's been fairly accurate after you've driven for a bit.

 

[gabeincal]

I get a reported 210mi at 100% SOC and usually get more out of it than that (say when i go to charge with 100mi remaining, I've done 116-118 since last charge). You have a heavy foot. Do you guys complain when your gas car can do 300mi on one tank and then 250mi because you were heavy footed?

 

[ecarfan]

It seems no matter how I drive, I cant get more than 200...so why does it even say 270 in the first place, does anyone get anything near that, and how?

Go 60-65mph on a level road with no rain or headwind in temps at least somewhat over freezing and you will get the range number shown by the battery icon.

Go 80+ and you cannot possibly get anywhere close to that range number.

Use the Energy screen in the center display during a trip where you have nav running and it will factor in the greatly increased energy usage because of the way over legal speeds you travel on highways and show you a pretty accurate estimate of your energy usage during your trip.

NOTE: ICE vehicles also use far more energy traveling at 80+ compared to going 60-65. Most people don't notice the difference because when their tank gets low they stop and fuel up in a few minutes and continue on. Life driving an EV doesn't work like that...