SR Purchasing Doubts

[seattlite2004]

Hey everyone! The lease for my Prius Prime expires at the end of March and im looking to purchase the standard range. But I am d having a little doubts. Everyone says buy the range you can afford and this is right within my price range. I live in Upstate NY (Oneonta, near the baseball hall of fame) and we have crappy winters here and there. After researching the 3 for about a year, reading massive amounts of threads from this group, Facebook, watching YouTube and several other sites, I am having doubts because of the range in the winter. My commute to work is only 10 miles RT. I can plug in at home and we have several local chargers nearby with a new supercharger coming in very soon. I only drive around 100-200 miles a week. Depends if I'm hiking or not. When I do hike, there are slow local chargers near to where I hike(picture shows chargers and the green blob is where I hike), but my friend is willing to "lend" me his car for those days in the winter when I need more range(just my day off when I hike). We take long trips sometimes, but everything I have simulated on A Better Route Planner has us making those places, even in the colder weather. So that's good.

Am I overthinking this or should I go for it? The only thing that scares me is the loss of range in the winter. Right now, it's 28°F and snowing. I've heard the loss of range in the winter could be up to or near 50%. That's a significant amount of miles taken off. We have an ICE car for the longer trips in the winter if that helps.

Thanks for all your help!!

Stash

View attachment 501828

If you want a Tesla...well..you'll want a Tesla. But, if you want an EV with enough range that falls within your budget...there are some options. If you are willing to entertain other EV options...you can find a 2020 Bolt LT or Premium trim for at least 30% off MSRP so at around $30K or less for a 60kWh battery before any fed/state rebates. If you want to look at used....2017/2018 Bolts will probably be below $20K.

But...if you want a Tesla...well...you gotta pay to play.

 

[qdeathstar]

Why? Because you wish you had more range and better 0-60? If so, where is your regret going to end? You can get the LR AWD, but then you'll be slower than a LR AWD with boost, so you'll regret not getting that. Then there's the Stealth, then the Performance, but wait, there's the Model S that can go further and faster, so you'll regret all your Model 3 purchases.

The model three performance outperforms the model S base and is 20k cheaper.... so no, I don’t think I would regret base s vs performance.

And having more battery than you need is wasteful. As a matter of fact, I saw a video with Musk where he was asked about how to address the shortage of batteries that could hinder the EV movement, and his solution was to push more owners to get the SR models because that's all they really need and it's less wasteful in batteries.

Maybe, but there is also limited infrastructure to consider. If everyone need to continuously charge the you need infrastructure to accomplish the charging at peak demand, which would led to waste in the form of access capacity. Also, charging to 100 percent isn’t good for the battery.

So if you take joy in doing what's right for the environment, and helping the EV movement, then you'll take pleasure in getting a SR-/+, and you'll save some serious bucks on top of it.

We don’t really know if EVs are better for the environment. If you actually cared about the environment you would take the bus, train or bike. I want the lwawd for the premium interior and performance.

So enjoy your SR+ for those reasons above and quit letting the LRAWD/Stealth/Performance people make you feel inadequate because they like to come on here to justify in their own minds the extra cost for buying a more expensive M3 at the expense of your happiness.

Lol bro, like I should be happy with my two speed....

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Why would you even suggest getting a base Model S, lol! I didn’t. Go big or go home!

The model three performance outperforms the model S base and is 20k cheaper.... so no, I don’t think I would regret base s vs performance.






Maybe, but there is also limited infrastructure to consider. If everyone need to continuously charge the you need infrastructure to accomplish the charging at peak demand, which would led to waste in the form of access capacity. Also, charging to 100 percent isn’t good for the battery.



We don’t really know if EVs are better for the environment. If you actually cared about the environment you would take the bus, train or bike. I want the lwawd for the premium interior and performance.



Lol bro, like I should be happy with my two speed....

 

[Metalmanstan]

I do agree that nothing new came close to the $35K SR (esp last year w/ fed tax credits). Now there might some contenders that still qualify for the full $7.5K

Do you mean like the Niro and Kona? You think those are worth as much as the 3? I never thought of that because of the technology in the 3 and the supercharger structure.

 

[qdeathstar]

Why would you even suggest getting a base Model S, lol! I didn’t. Go big or go home!

I mean, you can stretch yourself from 35k to 65K if your really committed.. getting to 80-100k is gonna be really difficult with a loan shark...

 

[JBHemlock]

I think you'd definitely be fine with it. ICE drivers are used to thinking about range between fill ups, so you think about "how much do I drive in a week", etc. With a plug in EV, however, think in terms of range between charging stations. So, if you can charge at home, just plug it in when you're at home. With a 10 mile RT commute, you won't ever notice a range problem.

Like others have said, however, the difference between an SR and an SR+ is not a lot, so that's something to think about. The SR+ has a much more luxurious interior, and it might end up being worth it for you. It was for me.

Performance wise, however... These are all crazily fast cars. I've personally never driven a car that was this much fun to drive, and I normally compare it to riding a motorcycle in terms of acceleration and thrill. Sure the Performance version is faster, but even the base SR will still make you feel like your eyeballs are popping out of your head. Especially coming from a Prius!

 

[Yang_H]

As crazy as it sounds, there is equipment to do exactly that! Truckers are restricted from idling in most areas to reduce air pollution, so when sleeping in the cab they need a heat source. Espar heaters burn diesel and heat the cab. Mercedes Sprinters use them to pre-heat the engine coolant in cold weather. My RV uses one for cabin heat. Eberspaecher - Airtronic Air Heaters Air cooled Corvairs had a gasoline powered heater.

That heater looks extreme compact and streamlined. It'll be awesome if someone can find a way to integrate it into Model 3. I'm willing to pay couple grands to get it done so my SR+ winter range would increase by 20% or more. Just having consistent range under different temperatures is a big plus.

 

[vickh]

I mean, you can stretch yourself from 35k to 65K if your really committed.. getting to 80-100k is gonna be really difficult with a loan shark...

not if you go used... about the same price as new 3s

 

[vickh]

Do you mean like the Niro and Kona? You think those are worth as much as the 3? I never thought of that because of the technology in the 3 and the supercharger structure.

yes SCs and tech are hard to compete with . But you get AWD with Kona and Hyundais are pretty reliable though

 

[vickh]

I think you'd definitely be fine with it. ICE drivers are used to thinking about range between fill ups, so you think about "how much do I drive in a week", etc. With a plug in EV, however, think in terms of range between charging stations. So, if you can charge at home, just plug it in when you're at home. With a 10 mile RT commute, you won't ever notice a range problem.

Like others have said, however, the difference between an SR and an SR+ is not a lot, so that's something to think about. The SR+ has a much more luxurious interior, and it might end up being worth it for you. It was for me.

SR interior is the same as SR+.

Good point about the fill up concept vs EV's its only relevant if you can't charge at home/work.

 

[qdeathstar]

not if you go used... about the same price as new 3s

yea, let’s try to stick to comparing apples and oranges not apples and xylophones...

 

[JBHemlock]

SR interior is the same as SR+.

I thought the base SR had cloth seats, etc. if the actual difference is just the range, it’s not so big of a deal.

 

[qdeathstar]

I thought the base SR had cloth seats, etc. if the actual difference is just the range, it’s not so big of a deal.

you loose heated seats and autopilot...

 

[Watts_Up]

yes SCs and tech are hard to compete with .
But you get AWD with Kona and Hyundais are pretty reliable though

The Kona is only FWD, for both the ICE and the EV versions.

 

[Celledral]

All my range anxiety went away with a 50A outlet installed.

 

[Mr X]

Full charge in my SR+ right now in "LA Winter" (40-50 degrees at nights average) 213 miles


When I got it 4 months ago in the warm fall, full charge was showing 236-239 miles


I was going to get an SR but waited and saved a little for SR+ and am glad I did. Not much of a price difference for what you're getting


Autopilot is definitely needed to improve the quality of your life


SR+ or bust. You'll be just fine

 

[jonquiljo]

All my range anxiety went away with a 50A outlet installed.

Very good point. I am sitting on the installation of a wall charger right now - basically because I am in the middle of a million other things. I bet when I get that installed (sitting in a box in my garage) that I will feel a lot easier about how far I go and when.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

Just Do It. © Nike, Inc.

 

[hmmwv]

With OP's driving pattern he/she'll be fine even with a first gen LEAF.

 

[JBHemlock]

Very good point. I am sitting on the installation of a wall charger right now - basically because I am in the middle of a million other things. I bet when I get that installed (sitting in a box in my garage) that I will feel a lot easier about how far I go and when.

Honestly, you'll be surprised at how well you can charge an SR or SR+ with even just a 120v outlet. Both SRs are extremely efficient in terms of miles per kwh compared to other model 3s (and the model 3 in general is extremely efficient, anyways). I haven't installed a 240v outlet yet, so I'm charging mine from a 15A 120V outlet and I can keep up with my 50 mile RT commute. I'm running at a very slight deficit, but if I can get a couple of hours at work on a charger it makes up for that. Ditto with charging over the weekend. I live in Seattle, so it's cold but not heinously cold. I suspect if I was in New York, it might be a different story.