SR+ after 2 years

My thoughts after 2 years with our Tesla Model 3 SR+. Delivery 11/12/2019.

First a few stats.

35,000km

147wh/km

Original tyres still good

No warranty issues

I can drive from home, Sydney’s Northern Beaches, to Canberra where my daughter lives and back and not touch the brake pedal once

Nine week trip from Sydney’s Northern Beaches to Tasmania and around, via Canberra and then touring around NSW. Got down to 2km range left at one stage. No problem really because I knew I was heading to a charger. Range and charger access not a problem.

The Pros.

Zero emissions.

Not using fossil fuel.

Very low running costs. $250 for the whole 9 week trip to Tasmania.

Enjoyable to drive, either on the highway or around home in the burbs. You all know about this.

For me and my wife, the SR+ range is good enough.

My granddaughter saying “Poppy, you have a very cool car”.

The Cons.

The turning circle is too large. Much bigger than my previous vehicle, a VW Tourage.

The A pillar is too thick.

Not that I hardly ever use them but the brakes could be better.

Conclusions after 2 years.

Would I purchase an ICE again? Not a chance.

Many people are interested in EVs but it’s the unknown for them. I come from an electrical background so it was an informed decision to purchase an EV.

I do wonder how long it will take people to wake up to PVs on the roof, a battery in the garage alongside the EV and how much money this saves in day to day living. Sure it cost me about $100k, but we had the money and now don’t pay fuel bills for the car and the all-electric house is free of energy costs. $100k added to the cost of a new house these days is not a lot extra. When the penny drops it will be a complete revolution. No wonder politicians are worried.

Just my thoughts.

Merry Christmas.


(“2018 tesla mode 3 long range 2” by jerjozwik is lisensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.)

 

[cafz]

I do not roar away from the lights etc.

Point of order: None of us "roar away from the lights", we rapidly accelerate in serene silence!

 

[Nobody Famous]

Point of order: None of us "roar away from the lights", we rapidly accelerate in serene silence!

until BOOMBOX

 

[AussieOwner]

until BOOMBOX

Apparently boom box isn't legal in Victoria. Unsure about other states.

That's why it hasn't been switched on.

I investigated this with Tesla as thought it would be cool to have, sadly , we don't have it

 

[Shallowal]

20-27k

Wow!!, My 2019 SR+ is still running original tyres at 51,000km. We live in the country though, so just about all our travel is either windy country roads or highways.

 

[djoh]

Wow!!, My 2019 SR+ is still running original tyres at 51,000km. We live in the country though, so just about all our travel is either windy country roads or highways.

My Sept 2019 SR+ has done 39,000 km, mostly city driving (I live in the inner west of Sydney). I replaced my rear tyres a couple of weeks ago. My front types will have to be replaced in ~6 months. I never rotated them, so the wear was quite different front to back.

I still enjoy the occasional "spirited" take off from traffic lights.

 

[bay74]

Thanks for the writeup HarryD. Agree on the turning circle and obtrusive A pillars in particular. To these I'd add that it's quite a loud car on the freeway. Probably not helped by all the panel misalignments, e.g. the rear glass is a few mm lower than the middle roof glass, headlights stick out a few mm along some sides, seals aren't straight and leak, etc... I've also had a few things break, including the rear number plate backing plate and the large rear glass (stress fracture, treated under warranty).

I got ~33k km from my original tyres on my SR+.

Would have loved to have the LR, but the cost... Recent trip to Wilson's Prom required significant detour to Cape Pat' in both directions. Still inconvenient compared with ICE in many places, unfortunately. But fabulous most of the time.

 

[matty_u2]

Thanks for the writeup HarryD. Agree on the turning circle and obtrusive A pillars in particular. To these I'd add that it's quite a loud car on the freeway. Probably not helped by all the panel misalignments, e.g. the rear glass is a few mm lower than the middle roof glass, headlights stick out a few mm along some sides, seals aren't straight and leak, etc... I've also had a few things break, including the rear number plate backing plate and the large rear glass (stress fracture, treated under warranty).

I got ~33k km from my original tyres on my SR+.

Would have loved to have the LR, but the cost... Recent trip to Wilson's Prom required significant detour to Cape Pat' in both directions. Still inconvenient compared with ICE in many places, unfortunately. But fabulous most of the time.

Hi bay74, question re Wilson's prom were you not able to just charge from a standard power point down there? There are plenty of powered camp sites.

 

[bay74]

were you not able to just charge from a standard power point down there? There are plenty of powered camp sites.

Nah because at this time of year we had to take what site we could get. The place was full. With earlier planning (incl. deciding earlier that we'd take the EV) we might well be able to snag a powered site, though I'm conflicted in that we'd be a larger (electrical) load than would be a normal caravan and it's pure diesel power down there. Dunno why they haven't plastered every available roof space with solar yet, presume it's a Government bureaucracy issue given ROI on displacing diesel must be good.