SR+ as sole family vehicle and for long road trips ?

[eustachio]

I've got the fever, and the only cure is a model 3

Seriously- considering trading our 2018 Prius, and financially, the SR+ M3 makes most sense. However, we do take long road trips at least 4-5 times a year, i.e. > 500 miles.

Anyone here doing long road trips with the SR+, and have it as a sole family vehicle? We don't need much storage space, more important is the fact that it will be our only car.

Thanks

 

[Dan123]

Make sure that your intended trip route has superchargers. With an SR+ you will need to stop every 150-180 miles on a road trip, so 500 mile trip will require 2-3 stops.

 

[Evbwcaer]

We have a 2011 Prius and a 2014 S85. We always take the S. One factor is that it has a lot more cargo space, but you'll just enjoy the 3 a lot more.

The supercharging situation is only getting better too, even in 2014 in the cold Midwest, we took the S.

I suspect you will drive the 3 more miles/year than the Prius.

 

[kchang4]

I have a SR+ and I do a 150mil drive about every 2 weeks to visit my parents. I usually charge to 230-238mi, so like 99%. I get to their house with probably....5% or less?

It is doable if you are willing to plan extra for it.

I recently took a trip, 80mi out of where i am, and ended up with < 40% battery. Started at around 220mi. I did end up stuck in traffic for a good 20mins, maybe that bit into my battery consumption? But yeah even an 80mi drive out will require you to charge to make it back.

 

[Lostb0y]

Where do you live? I have the plus and my range seems much better than yours. 150 miles and you’re almost done? I went this weekend round trip 221 miles and had 12% when I pulled into the garage. Didn’t really have the HVAC on at all. It was a nice day.

 

[kchang4]

Wisconsin.

 

[Runebane]

Depends where you go on your 500+ mile road trips. Vegas and back, you'll be fine. But use A Better Routeplanner and plug in your address and your normal destinations. Pick the 3SR+ under settings and it'll be fairly accurate.

 

[derekmw]

Yeah, your range is a bit lower but could be a factor of many things. He's in California and if he doesn't mind driving a little slower (many cars here drive 80mph) he can get numbers more like @Lostb0y mentioned.

It's definitely doable if you have superchargers on all the routes you plan to take, but as it was mentioned, you have to plan on a few more stops. So it's about whether you're willing to take longer to get to your destinations, having to stop and charge.

My wife does not like the stops we have to make as we can usually get from San Diego to Phoenix without ever stopping in a gas car, but in our MS, we had to do 2-3 stops. The only reason she put up with it was because of the 0 cost vs paying gas. But she still didn't like the fact that we had to stop so many times each way. lol

 

[kchang4]

same, my co-workers, friends, parents feel the same about the stops.

 

[Saghost]

I've done long road trips to Houston and Miami and Minnesota with an X75D that's got less rated range than the SR+ with no real problems. It'll take a little longer than it would with an LR, but you'll be fine, and the car will guide where to stop and for how long.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

I have a SR+ and I do a 150mil drive about every 2 weeks to visit my parents. I usually charge to 230-238mi, so like 99%. I get to their house with probably....5% or less?

It is doable if you are willing to plan extra for it.

I recently took a trip, 80mi out of where i am, and ended up with < 40% battery. Started at around 220mi. I did end up stuck in traffic for a good 20mins, maybe that bit into my battery consumption? But yeah even an 80mi drive out will require you to charge to make it back.

In a BEV, getting stuck in traffic can improve your range not hurt it like an ICE.

Anyway, 150 miles is probably towards the top end of what to expect from an SR+ in real life at highway speeds, assuming you got 90% -> 10%.

 

[Evoforce]

Rule of thumb for most users... if you can afford to get the bigger battery, get the bigger battery! However, if you can't, you should be able to make due.

 

[turtlesz]

The LR RWD would be a more enjoyable experience for a road trip. Get long range and skip the paint/interior and FSD if you must. Also you get a better stereo and improvements to the Navi with the full PUP. The SR+ will make it but having the luxury to skip a busy supercharger and longer period of high speed charging really transform the LR RWD into a better primary vehicle. If you plan to keep the car for 5+ years the difference in cost isn't all that much. To put things into perspective we leave our Model X 75D at home and take the Model 3 LR for roadtrips from socal to bay area and Vegas trips due to how efficient it is.

 

[eustachio]

Thanks all. Anyone here who owns a SR+ as sole vehicle?

Thing is, we can afford the LR, but the cost it's more than I've ever paid for a vehicle, seems almost perverse to me

I also think financially, I could be saving/investing that money...

 

[Leafdriver333]

map your travel with superchargers and see if you have one every 150 miles or less.
You will be OK with SR+.
Driving at 80mph drains much faster than 75mph.

 

[ForeverFree]

+1 to every moment on range being king.

On our first Tesla (Model S), I was going to go 60. My wife pushed me to 85.

On our first Model 3, I was going to wait for SR, my wife pushed me to go LR.

Night and day difference. Never a moment of regret. If you're going to take road trips, and you can afford an LR, I'd recommend that you don't save money in a way that you may later rue.

 

[CAAD]

Are those planned stops at under 70 mph, for warm weather, no AC, need a lot of bathroom and stretch breaks? Do it.
The new S with 370 mi range starts to be serious.

 

[lolder]

In a BEV, getting stuck in traffic can improve your range not hurt it like an ICE.

Anyway, 150 miles is probably towards the top end of what to expect from an SR+ in real life at highway speeds, assuming you got 90% -> 10%.

With the HVAC on, if you get into stop and go jams it will lower range. You need to keep moving maybe 20 mph. That's why you need to keep your reserve at about 15% when driving on limited access roads where you can't detour.

 

[Lostb0y]

I do have a ice truck but it’s over an hour away and only use it for moving arcade and pinball for my side business. I live daily with my M3. I can’t tell you how nice it is to never stop for gas. I wake up every morning with a full charge (90%) I have only taken one longer trip thus required super charging. The navigation was 1% off. I’d say excellent! Tomorrow we are traveling 208 miles and I have a hotel with destination Tesla charging.

 

[Wennfred]

Model 3 Standard Range Plus (240 miles) Just completed a 700 mile round trip from San Diego to Vegas and back. Lots of Superchargers in Cali making the trip so much fun. Between stations I was doing 75 - 85 mph. The Nav station was dead on, also used “a better trip planner . Com” to plan the trip. Keep the wh/mi under 250 and you will be ok.

Fred