Tesla Model 3 SR+ with 100 mile round trip commute

[mswlogo]

Didn’t read all posts, but from what I saw, there’s absolutely no way you’ll consider an AWD, and I don’t know why people are trying to convince you to do something out of your price range.

From everything I’ve read, researched, discussed with owners of the SR+ They all love the car (except those who have experienced the AWD or Perf) and think it’s super quick and fun.

the range meets your demands, and if you learn how to properly heat the batteries, you’ll be in a great position.

someone mentioned a 5 minute top up at a supercharger, I would argue, even 3 minutes just to warm the batteries in extreme conditions will get you home with range to spare.

don’t stop at a supercharger on the way to work as the battery won’t be in the sweet spot, only on the way home and it will be optimized. It might cost you 1$ depending on your local rates. And take about as long as fuelling up a gas car. (But you’ll be able to sit in your warm car while it’s happening, unlike a gas car)

Keep your tires at the right inflation, and check regularly (the car has a tire inflation page that shows the current pressure)

Don't exceed your 70mph speed you mentioned. On really cold days, keep a pair of driving gloves and just drop your interior temp a few degrees and use the seat heater if you plan not to stop and are worried.

if you used the guidance system on the return trip, the car will tell you if you need to slow down to make your destination (lots of warning I gather). The cars are smart.

Any chance of plugging in, even to a 110V at work? (While unnecessary, it can be piece of mind and help you warm the batteries)

Hope there was some useful stuff in my comment for you.

Cheers.

$42,000 car and you recommended wear gloves to stay warm so you can make it to your destination.
More range is no compromises.

 

[Xebec]

The SR+ will be great for your scenario. You'll have some fun with it - it's a lot more fun to drive than most other vehicles in it's price range and way more fun than anything economy oriented.

The 240V at home will take care of any concerns there. Just stick with the 18" Aero wheels -- removing the caps reduces highway range a bit, and then 19" or larger wheels reduce range even further. The people who are always complaining about range loss are usually running the aftermarket wheels.

Lastly - if it gets cold in the morning.. preheat the car while plugged in for at least 5 (preferably 10) minutes. It'll warm up the battery a little bit (= more regen), and heat up the interior without wasting battery. Yes you can preheat for 30 minutes to get even more regen but not needed at all.

Enjoy the car!

 

[bnikel]

For the record the difference is $9,000
Cheaper to typically charge at home (free for me with Solar)
longer warranty
better audio system (gosh, I sure would want that alone with 100 a mile commute)
AWD (sure would like that with 100 mile commute in snow locations)
72 more miles (less need to stop at superchargers on long cold commutes, probably the difference between never and sometimes)
1 Year Connectivity (live traffic is something I'd want on a 100 mile commute) but that is only $100
Better Acceleration (with optional power boost for even more) SR (spunky) AWD with boost (insane).
More $$$ back on Trade or Selling in the future.
Faster charging at home.
Faster charging at supercharger.

P.S. OP isn't the only one contemplating this same choice and reading this thread.

Absolute no brainer for $9,000
If $9000 for a ~5 year investment will break the bank perhaps OP shouldn't be even considering a Tesla at all.

For the record the difference is $9,000
Cheaper to typically charge at home (free for me with Solar)
longer warranty
better audio system (gosh, I sure would want that alone with 100 a mile commute)
AWD (sure would like that with 100 mile commute in snow locations)
72 more miles (less need to stop at superchargers on long cold commutes, probably the difference between never and sometimes)
1 Year Connectivity (live traffic is something I'd want on a 100 mile commute) but that is only $100
Better Acceleration (with optional power boost for even more) SR (spunky) AWD with boost (insane).
More $$$ back on Trade or Selling in the future.
Faster charging at home.
Faster charging at supercharger.

P.S. OP isn't the only one contemplating this same choice and reading this thread.

Absolute no brainer for $9,000
If $9000 for a ~5 year investment will break the bank perhaps OP shouldn't be even considering a Tesla at all.

Couple of things lol

If the SR+ will work for me then what is wrong with that? I, like everyone else on here will agree with you that the LR AWD is better. But everyone has a budget. Tesla wouldn’t make a 42k car with the expectation that “if they don’t want to spend 52k they just shouldn’t have a Tesla”. Also I listen to podcasts, I could care less about the audio system in the car.

little info about me, I have a family to consider, and if I can make a 42k car work I am not going to spring for spending another 10k just because. I would much rather spend that money on them or put it toward their savings.

The upgrade cost is not 9k for a lot of people. If you pay for it outright you still have taxes which takes it close to 10k, then if you finance it your looking at APR over the course of the loan.

The AWD is less efficient per mile than the SR+ due to the weight so it is actually more expensive to charge. But I did mention I have a 14-50 outlet in the garage to charge nightly.

I think this post has veered off a bit. I think I said early on that it was this or another lease on a civic for me. The question was can the SR+ handle my commute. The AWD LR isn’t an option. If the SR+ can great! If it can’t, then I have to look at other cars because 10+k is not pocket change for most people and I would think is a deal breaker for more than just me...

 

[OCR1]

Trust me, you are not the only one that has been faced with the choice of a less than ideal battery or a big jump in price. Ever since they stopped building the LR RWD model the gap between these two cars has been larger than it really should be. You know your situation better than anyone on the forum and I think by now you have all of the data you need to make an informed decision.

Some of the nudging you are getting is from others who have been in a similar situation and regretted not buying the LR battery after it was too late. But at the end of the day the SR+ will do what you need it to do and I’m sure you will really enjoy the car if you end up going for it.

 

[ElectricIAC]

For the record the difference is $9,000
Cheaper to typically charge at home (free for me with Solar)
longer warranty
better audio system (gosh, I sure would want that alone with 100 a mile commute)
AWD (sure would like that with 100 mile commute in snow locations)
72 more miles (less need to stop at superchargers on long cold commutes, probably the difference between never and sometimes)
1 Year Connectivity (live traffic is something I'd want on a 100 mile commute) but that is only $100
Better Acceleration (with optional power boost for even more) SR (spunky) AWD with boost (insane).
More $$$ back on Trade or Selling in the future.
Faster charging at home.
Faster charging at supercharger.

P.S. OP isn't the only one contemplating this same choice and reading this thread.

Absolute no brainer for $9,000
If $9000 for a ~5 year investment will break the bank perhaps OP shouldn't be even considering a Tesla at all.

Resale is kind of arguable as the most base cars appear to be holding their value best overall dollar for dollar.

 

[pl8dlikafiddle]

For the record the difference is $9,000
Cheaper to typically charge at home (free for me with Solar)
longer warranty
better audio system (gosh, I sure would want that alone with 100 a mile commute)
AWD (sure would like that with 100 mile commute in snow locations)
72 more miles (less need to stop at superchargers on long cold commutes, probably the difference between never and sometimes)
1 Year Connectivity (live traffic is something I'd want on a 100 mile commute) but that is only $100
Better Acceleration (with optional power boost for even more) SR (spunky) AWD with boost (insane).
More $$$ back on Trade or Selling in the future.
Faster charging at home.
Faster charging at supercharger.

P.S. OP isn't the only one contemplating this same choice and reading this thread.

Absolute no brainer for $9,000
If $9000 for a ~5 year investment will break the bank perhaps OP shouldn't be even considering a Tesla at all.

You make great points, and I’m sure there are many others that agree with you. But to many others, the SR+ fits the bill.

I see a lot of SR+ bashing around here...and it’s getting ridiculous.

Believe it or not, there are people that only purchase what they need regardless of their financial situation.

Your list of items are all “wants”, and I can guarantee you the SR+ sound package is better than the Civic OP is coming from....and $9000 buys a lot of electricity and snow tires.

 

[Ol'Blue]

In response to mswlogo;

I feel like you’ve entirely missed the point of the OP’s requests, along with the point I was making.

I would recommend re-reading and taking time to do informed and objective replies rather then seat of the pants “this is wrong/right because it is for me” type answers.

My reply was in regards to helping someone understand their options and solving extreme situations. Someone may need to do as I recommended even in a long range car in some environments.

 

[Lostb0y]

Standard Range Plus owner here. 104 miles per day average in Minnesota winters. No issues.

 

[Chetanh]

hey there! Yes I do have a garage and the car will be parked in the garage and charged overnight. I am having a 14-50 outlet installed.

do you think I am going to have to frequent the supercharger? I was hoping to only have to use in rare instances.

You will not have to frequent SC or use use it all all. There are 2 SC's on my 100 mile (almost) commute and i have no uae for it well i used it once when i forgot to charge at home.

With kids pick up drop off and swimming lessons etc for kids, SC stops are not an option for me.

 

[Knightshade]

The concern I have with the SR+ is that while 250 miles of range seems very reasonable, what will the range be in 3-5 years after battery degradation? And how much of a hit will the car take on resale value if the final range drops down to more like 200 miles? For now nobody really knows. But if the car battery degrades that much it may make it too low to be considered a viable commuter car.

Look at the Nissan Leaf. It started off at 73 miles. But with battery degradation some of the older models can barely go 35 miles now. How much is a car with 35 miles of range worth?

To be fair- the battery management and cooling on the 1st gen Leaf was utter garbage. It should not be used an an example of anything, ever, unless it begins with "Don't ever do this..."

Tesla degradation is at least an order of magnitude better based on 7+ years of data from the S- and the 3 should be even better than that.

 

[ElectricIAC]

To be fair- the battery management and cooling on the 1st gen Leaf was utter garbage. It should not be used an an example of anything, ever, unless it begins with "Don't ever do this..."

Tesla degradation is at least an order of magnitude better based on 7+ years of data from the S- and the 3 should be even better than that.

If you mean planned obsolescence. Yes. It was a crappy way to build it, TeslaBjørn has some data on this in both cold and hot climates.

 

[hcook24]

I would target a used RWD long range... there will be a ton of them on the market when the Y becomes more widely available, and they'll probably be right in your price range. In fact I've seen a few listed in groups online. Good luck!

 

[youngmcdonald]

Time to lock the thread.

 

[eblancha1]

I have a 2020 SR+ live in ri and work 40 min away. I have no regrets,. We live in a society that u always have to have the best. If not for sr+ I would own another Prius. Go for it love the car amazing.

 

[CertLive]

All of these cars are fast. I went for the SR+ because the point of an EV for me is efficiency and the SR+ gives you the most miles not in total but more for your electrons and I would then use less for the environment. Because of the centre of gravity and top class traction control I did not regret my choice. I just did 1000 miles over the Scottish highlands and the car didn't slip once in rain, snow, wind. If you are a person who gets over the insane boost quickly then any of them will make you smile. Tesla is the only EV I would currently recommend because of charging simplicity. Just make sure you are careful when you pick it up and get everything sorted there.

 

[CertLive]

If you mean planned obsolescence. Yes. It was a crappy way to build it, TeslaBjørn has some data on this in both cold and hot climates.

TeslaBjørn turned his Tesla into an ice cube and it still worked. Tyres like rocks I was very impressed.