Thinking of 60D

[kratos80]

Hi all,
I'm from Vancouver and thinking of getting a MX 60D. I don't do a lot of driving to and from work and performance is not an issue for me. I do want a large family car. We take road trips to Seattle a lot (we are big Seahawks fans), so I'm wondering whether the range will be an issue. it's about 150 miles from Vancouver to Seattle but I'm concerned about cold weather driving and reduced range. When we drive to Seattle during NFL season, it'll be around 30s-40s usually with the occasional day in the 20s. Do you think this will be an issue or should I opt for the 75D or 90D?

 

[kratos80]

Oh, and there is a supercharger halfway between Vancouver and Seattle in Burlington (78 miles from Vancouver). I just don't know whether the 60D MX can make it there in cold weather.

 

[ChadS]

78 miles to Burlington absolutely will not be a problem. I live in the Seattle area and in 150,000 electric miles I have never seen less than 2/3 EPA range.

But, in bad weather you will want to charge in Seattle before heading back. I hope where you plan to park has charging available. Or you can get a CHAdeMO adapter and use another DCFC station while in the area.

Someday there should be a Supercharger in Seattle, but who knows when. The football stadium does have L2 chargers in the parking lot. You might want to arrive early to ensure you get one and to charge longer.

 

[kratos80]

Thanks. They said there are 6 chargers available near Qwest Field, and 24 a bit further away. Level 2 chargers... does that mean it'll charge fairly quickly? I usually have about 5-6 hours to charge (3 hours at the game and give or take an hour or two pre-and post game)

 

[ChadS]

Level 2 chargers... does that mean it'll charge fairly quickly? I usually have about 5-6 hours to charge

They are probably 208v 30a, or about 6kW. If you charge 5 hours, that's 30kWh. That's probably close to 90 EPA miles (though in bad weather that may only take you 60; but it still should be enough to get back to Burlington assuming you don't arrive empty).

It sounds like you can make it work, but you will have to worry about getting a charger and making sure it doesn't get unplugged every time. (Although I guess a CHAdeMO adapter could be a good backup plan). Plus once you get used to driving electric, you are likely to want to take more and longer trips. If a bigger battery is not a financial hardship, you may want to consider it. In addition to the extra range, you will get more longevity and better performance.

 

[travwill]

Remember again, you only start with 90% of rated miles advertised at most. Take off 3-5% for future depreciation mostly in first year.

Then since you live in a cold climate take just 50-70% of that which is generous if you want to be warm, can be less then depending on traffic, conditions, etc. short trips eat up even more. Supercharging isn't as fast as you want typically if your time is valuable.

Coming from a MS 70D, even without road trips, I'd say get the most range you can to enjoy a worry free ownership and flexibility. If you can that is, but lots of inventory deals etc now.

All that said, you'll love whatever you get, just consider the quoted numbers can be far from reality.

 

[Canuck]

Go for the 90 if you can afford it. You can never have enough range and then there's no concern going from the Hope SC to the Kelowna SC in the winter, if you like to go to the interior.

 

[animorph]

Try EV Trip Planner to check your trip. Have to approximate an X somehow since it doesn't have data for the X.

Looks like 75 miles to the Supercharger, 135 miles to Seattle and back to the Supercharger, and 75 miles back to Vancouver. 184 rated miles for the Seattle leg. Maybe a little tight for the X60D if you don't charge in Seattle, but the 75D looks pretty comfortable. That would allow you to buy the 60D and upgrade to the 75 later if necessary.

 

[MikeJer]

If the 1.2s faster 0-60 time isn't important to you (it's not to me), it's really hard to justify spending an extra $10k for the 90D over the 75D for only an extra 20 miles (even less in the winter?) of range. That's a good chunk of money for such little benefit. Each to their own, but the 75D seems like the better value if you need a little cushion beyond what the 60D offers. The good thing is that you can upgrade to the 75D via software if needed!

 

[ChadS]

Agreed that buying less is always a better value if you don't need or want more. And for multi-car families that still have a gas car around, a 60 usually is indeed all they need (though what they want is a larger question. Thank goodness, because if all we consider is needs, we may eliminate Tesla from the equation altogether!).

But the difference between a 75D and a 90D is actually 35 miles. And those extra miles can be very important, because not all destinations are on a direct Supercharger route. I have made trips in my 85 that I wouldn't have taken in a 75, and I have skipped trips that I would have taken with a 100. Even if you calculate that you can make a given trip with the smaller battery - and even if you are correct and make it - boy is it nice to have extra buffer so you don't have to worry. You can use as much HVAC as you want and go as fast as you want, and avoid the nervous eyeing of the battery meter the whole way. You can also have more of a buffer in case the charger you are heading towards is blocked or in use. The additional miles may indeed be less in winter, but that is exactly when you are most likely to need them.

And to be clear, the bigger battery gives you more than just more range. You get:

• Longer battery life (less degradation from fewer cycles given the same miles, and fewer times necessary to charge to 100%)
• Better performance
• Faster charging (you are less likely to have to charge near the top where charging speeds taper off)

Not everybody needs it, but especially to those of us that do all of our driving in these things, that's a significant benefit. We don't need both of our EVs to have a large battery, but one always will.

 

[MikeJer]

ChadS, correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall the X90D having a range of 257 miles. The X75D has a range of 237 miles (the X60D is 200 miles). The difference between the X75D and the X90D is only 20 miles, hence my difficulty in considering the extra $10k for the 90D. Not a good value, at least to me, but each to their own of course.

 

[ChadS]

Sorry Mike, that was my mistake - the difference on the X is 20 miles. (Too late for me to go back and edit my post). I got the 35 mile number from the S. (Interestingly, the difference between the X60 and X75, also a 15kWh bump, is 37 miles).

It is curious that the difference between the S and X rating is so large. Tesla's numbers often don't match the capacity difference. Maybe is different nominal sizes, maybe it's gearing, maybe it's a marketing push towards a specific purchase.

 

[travwill]

ChadS, correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall the X90D having a range of 257 miles. The X75D has a range of 237 miles (the X60D is 200 miles). The difference between the X75D and the X90D is only 20 miles, hence my difficulty in considering the extra $10k for the 90D. Not a good value, at least to me, but each to their own of course.

You could still meet in the middle perhaps if you can find an inventory car with about 1000 miles on it. Typically they are about $5000 discounted right now, minus $750 on average if have to ship it to your local SC. Still get the federal tax break on them too.

You'll have much easier time reselling later most likely with a 90D, much more of a market likely later due to reduced capacity, etc.

 

[MikeJer]

Inventory Xs weren't available when I placed my order. Looking over them now, I don't see any that quite match the somewhat unusual configuration I have anyway.

 

[Super_Popular]

I got a fully loaded $121K X90 for the same price as a 75 and the inventory X's are moving fast.

 

[Morristhecat]

In my MS60, two times I was able to go from Burlington SC to SeaTac Airport and back to the Burlington SC, in the winter. Once it was slightly above freezing, once slightly below freezing. With the MX60, you are looking at about the same range (I only have rear wheel drive while you will have 4 wheel drive). When I arrived back in Burlington, both times I had 20 miles range left. Kind of tight, but doable. Are you comfortable with that? Another thing to consider is, will you drive across the coquihalla in the winter? If so, perhaps a 75 or 90 will be better. In the summer, you will be able to go anywhere with a 60, I just got back from Edmonton myself.