Today I picked up my MSLR in Nashville, TN and drove it 551 miles to New Orleans, LA. I'm not sure why I thought it was a 450 mile drive originally. The route consisted of a supercharger stop in Birmingham, AL, and another supercharger stop in Meridian, MS. I experienced traffic throughout almost the entire first leg, hilly areas, 88-92 degrees in the sun, lower 80s and overcast, and several torrential downpours that lowered the temperature to 75 degrees. I had the car set to chill mode, comfort steering, and comfort suspension. I had the AC set on 67 and a fan speed between 3 and 5. I used the driver's side heat warmer for the majority of the drive. I had music on and set at 5 to 8 range while testing various music. I tried the sound system with classical piano, orchestral music, acapella, techno, rock, metal, rap, pop, and some classic rock. The sound system was amazing for all of it. Feel free to prompt if there are any other settings you are curious about.
At pickup, in Nashville, TN, I had 87% charge and 17 miles on the odometer.
I drove 181 miles to Birmingham, AL through hill country. Weather was overcast, mid 80s with some mist and a little light rain. Traffic on I65 was normal, which is to say bad. It was difficult to keep the car in autopilot both because I was excited, and because of the traffic. I drove 78-85 miles per hour for large stretches. There was intermixed stop and go traffic and some complete stops. At the end of the 181 miles, I had 23% charge remaining.
After supercharging and grabbing some food in Birmingham, AL, I had 86% charge.
I drove 149 miles from there to Meridian, MS through some more hilly areas. I tried to use autopilot a lot more on this leg, but at about the midpoint I experienced heavy rainfall. The rain lasted beyond what I trusted autopilot to handle until around the Mississippi state line. I had autopilot set to 78 miles per hour when I could use it, and went anywhere from 35-65 miles per hour in the rain. Overall average was probably 55 for the rain and 78 for the rest. Unfortunately, I did not grab a picture of the trip for this part of the journey. At the end of 149 miles, I had 34% battery remaining.
After supercharging and a quick bio break in Meridian, MS, I had 90% charge.
I drove the final 221 miles to my house in New Orleans. From Meridian to New Orleans had only some minor hilly terrain. Much less than the first two legs. The rain had subsided by this point, and the sun was getting low. The temperature was low 80s. There was almost no traffic until I got into the outskirts of New Orleans, so I was able to do the entire first 180 miles on autopilot set at 78 miles per hour. It isn't advisable to use cruise control of any sort in New Orleans, so I did my best to keep my speed consistent at 78 for all of the manual driving portions at the end. I arrived at home with 14% charge remaining.
Overall, the drive was extremely relaxing. I didn't make any attempt to get extra range out of the car because the distance between superchargers made it unreasonable to skip either Birmingham, or Meridian. I had a little bit of a led foot for the first leg, but never exceeded 95, and only got that high one time. It is quite easy to go with the flow of traffic and find yourself doing 88 without realizing it. The car is quiet, comfortable, easy to drive, and hugs the road well. I had no issues whatsoever with the yoke, finding the buttons consistently, 3 point turns, using blinkers, using the menu, finding little shortcuts, etc. I found the car quite intuitive and well designed. Fit and finish was also great, though there was one little access panel behind the passenger wheel which I had to have them close and pin before I left Nashville.
| Location | Arrival Charge | Departure Charge | Distance | Total Energy | Avg. Energy |
| Nashville, TN | | 87% | 181 mi | 59 kWh | 329 Wh/mi |
| Birmingham, AL | 23% | 86% | 149 mi | 52 kWh | 349 Wh/mi |
| Meridian, MS | 34% | 90% | 221 mi | 71 kWh | 322 Wh/mi |
| New Orleans, LA | 14% | | | | |
| Total | | | 551 mi | 182 kWh | 330 Wh/mi |
