This is my 7th winter with an EV as our 'main' family car.
Seeing people complain about the range drop in winter on ANY Tesla is like listening to the snowflake generation moan about only having 3G connection on their phones when WIFI does down
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We've taken our 75D X (less range than a SR+ 3) to Scotland in winter with zero range concerns. If you really want to know what range anxiety in winter is like go and swap into a gen1/2 24kWh Nissan Leaf for a week, I promise you will never ever 'worry' about range in any Tesla after experiencing true range anxiety!
Gangzoom, totally what you said.
we came from a mk1 30kW LEAF to a 2019 SR+ (One of the first, bought new) and now run a 75D S alongside it too. On anything other than round the doors day the SR+ is like living in an eternal comfort zone compared with the LEAF which was like a fat boy at an all you can eat buffet on the Motorway. It was a great car but terrifyingly inefficient at anything like national speed limit.
the SR+ is now in its third year and still hikes around the country, often with kids and dogs and ‘stuff’ in it and is never in a panic zone. Amd it’s worth pointing out that there are a LOT more Superchargers or 3rd party stops now too.
if I’m ever asked which one to buy my advice is, if you want the pick of the bunch get the LR, if you have a job where someone else except yourself is telling you you have to be there an hour ago then get the LR, if you always have model envy or you want something to tell the grandkids, get the P, if you work for yourself or don’t work much and you want a car that’s never disappointing but you don’t NEED to spend the extra considerable amount of thousands, get the SR+. After the LEAF, it’s like joining the executive flyer programme of range. And if you find yourself stopping a few more times on those longer runs (which most people seem to do about 3 times a year In my experience) then plug it in at a Supercharger, grab a brew and ponder how you’ll spend the money you saved while you sip your coffee.
many people seem to forget why they bought the SR+ and if it doesn’t work for you then you were either a bit lax on your homework, or at the time, it was what you could afford. Having driven the SR+ to various corners of the country, it’s fair to say that unless you head through the middle of Wales or remote parts of Scotland, or have to peel off into Norfolk, it’s pretty hard to even get a mild flap over range in the SR+. Yeah you’ll stop more often but never covered in sweat, praying as you pull up (Can I reference the LEAF again?).
I've noticed that when pushed, many people confess that it’s their partners (who sleep half the time in the passenger seats) who seem to think they stop too often. at the risk of sounding patronising, maybe a quick chat about household finances or a flashback to conversations when buying would help here. It’s not like there wasn’t a reason you got a SR+!
FWIW, the Model S 75D (2017) goes farther but not much and the same rule applies. It was a massive jump to an 85D when I bought it. I didn’t want to cash in Tesla shares so whenever I stop, I open my shares app and remind myself what I did with the extra bit and I feel a lot better!
