To Long Range or Not to Long Range...

[TehDoak]

So, when the prices were announced, I was pretty well convinced I should get the long range version "First Available" version. Partly because I felt that it would "Guarantee" the full $7500 fed rebate, partly because I know my situation is changing as my wife and I will be moving at 2x in the next two years (Wife's fellowship then her getting a full time job), and partly because my plan is to keep the car for 10 years and wanted to have the extra range as who knows what my situation would be.

However, my wife has a SUV. This is what we use for nearly any long range trips as it has more cargo room and is a very comfortable, quiet ride. I work 100% from home (for now) and I am putting maybe 100-150 miles on my car a week depending on the errands I need to run. The furthest I drive on a regular basis is to a costco about 60 miles away once a month. And even then, there is a supercharger not too far from the costco and a car charger at the whole foods across the street.

I don't anticipate ever taking a job where the commute was over 50 miles each way daily. I'm in IT and more telecommute gigs open daily. As I was doing the math, even if I planned to keep the car 10 years, after tax and interest on 9k would add up to $9600 on a 5 year loan. So, over 10 years, thats 960 a year. That's $80 a month for a feature that currently I would utilize maybe utilize 2-3 times a year? That seems....steep? And looking at the "Depreciation" of the battery on the S, it doesn't look like the range will drop to something like 150 miles. And it also appears that as long as I take delivery of my car in Q1/Q2 of next year, I should be fine for the rebate.

Am I missing something obvious here? Or does taking the long range in a two car household where one is a long range SUV make little sense?

 

[hingisfan]

Your logic makes sense to me.... I travel via superchargers 7 or 8 times per year and I'm not convinced the extra 9k usd is worth it to me to miss the odd SC stop, and make SC stops quicker. Also, I'd be very interested in trading in my 3 for a Y when the time comes, and I doubt I would get the 9k back in resale.

 

[Phrixotrichus]

Am I missing something obvious here? Or does taking the long range in a two car household where one is a long range SUV make little sense?

Well for a 2nd car the long range is probably unnecessary.

 

[voize_reazon]

The mass majority of my driving for the Model 3 will be around town, so the smaller battery would work just fine. The rub is, both my wife and I have family that live a little over a 100 miles away. We make that trip often and the 220 mile range is just enough to scare me off. I am planning to fork over the extra $$ for the additional range. I also have very high hopes for this car and plan on having it for a long time. I'm sure some longer road trip vacations will be in our future.

 

[Shock-On-T]

So, when the prices were announced, I was pretty well convinced I should get the long range version "First Available" version. Partly because I felt that it would "Guarantee" the full $7500 fed rebate, partly because I know my situation is changing as my wife and I will be moving at 2x in the next two years (Wife's fellowship then her getting a full time job), and partly because my plan is to keep the car for 10 years and wanted to have the extra range as who knows what my situation would be.

However, my wife has a SUV. This is what we use for nearly any long range trips as it has more cargo room and is a very comfortable, quiet ride. I work 100% from home (for now) and I am putting maybe 100-150 miles on my car a week depending on the errands I need to run. The furthest I drive on a regular basis is to a costco about 60 miles away once a month. And even then, there is a supercharger not too far from the costco and a car charger at the whole foods across the street.

I don't anticipate ever taking a job where the commute was over 50 miles each way daily. I'm in IT and more telecommute gigs open daily. As I was doing the math, even if I planned to keep the car 10 years, after tax and interest on 9k would add up to $9600 on a 5 year loan. So, over 10 years, thats 960 a year. That's $80 a month for a feature that currently I would utilize maybe utilize 2-3 times a year? That seems....steep? And looking at the "Depreciation" of the battery on the S, it doesn't look like the range will drop to something like 150 miles. And it also appears that as long as I take delivery of my car in Q1/Q2 of next year, I should be fine for the rebate.

Am I missing something obvious here? Or does taking the long range in a two car household where one is a long range SUV make little sense?

You definitely don't need long range.
I have an S75D in country the size of the 48 states but with only 12 superchargers.
The long range might save you 15 minutes on a road trip once a year. Spend the difference on premium pack or AP or wheels or paint.

 

[Chopr147]

Am I missing something obvious here?

Yes! As an S and a Lexus owner I can tell you, the ICE will sit in the driveway anytime you travel. Unless you really need the space you will find ways to use the Tesla instead of your SUV. Coming from experience believe me, it will happen

Before I purchased I remember reading on this forum several people saying get the biggest battery you can afford. I got the 60 because I leased and wanted to keep costs down. I don't regret it but there have been a few times I wanted more range. I can upgrade but why put another $2000 into a car I will return in 2 years.

 

[lukex4]

I was having the same dilemma at first but because in Québec we have one of the lowest per capita amount of Superchargers of all state/province (that have at least 1 Supercharger) it's a no brainer to go with the bigger range.

Hopefully by the time the Model 3 is available in Canada (end of 2018) the upgrade price will be a little bit more cheaper (PUP and/or battery).

 

[eSpiritIV]

I drive about 80-90 mile trips to my parents to visit. I think in 5-10 years i can still make it with no problem. Especially if i just plug in when i get there, an have a few extra miles of juice on my way home.

I agree if 10 years is your plan, you might enjoy EAP or even full autonomy better by then

 

[SageBrush]

OP: are you thinking of the LR Bolt (that does not exist, and does not a charging network ?)

 

[ummgood]

It probably depends a lot on where you live too. I live in Austin and unfortunately currently there are not as many superchargers as I would like in the area. I would guess 90% of the time I'll be fine with the short range but my in-laws live about 70 miles away and I often drive around when I get there and it would be cutting it pretty close. There are no superchargers on the route I take to get there AND if I did need to stop at the supercharger on the way it would probably add another 30 minutes in addition to the 30 minutes spent at the supercharger. I have 3 kids and sometimes I make the trip just to pick up the kids from the grandparents after work so I might not even have a full charge when I leave and when I get there and get the kids I turn around and drive home all within minutes. I wouldn't want to have to stick around for several hours so I can charge before coming back.

With all that said I really want the faster 0-60 time because this is partly my midlife crisis car and I want it as fast as possible haha.

 

[kzod]

My way of looking at it is if you pay for EAP, it's foolish not to get the longer range. Even though I assume FSD will never come, just a solid EAP can make a road trip much more pleasant, as long as it doesn't put you to sleep (which is my biggest fear, lol). I agree with the other poster, why would you ever want to take the SUV on a road trip with a Tesla in your driveway. As a base car however, I think it is perfect as a city car or short trips.

 

[socbrian]

The mass majority of my driving for the Model 3 will be around town, so the smaller battery would work just fine. The rub is, both my wife and I have family that live a little over a 100 miles away. We make that trip often and the 220 mile range is just enough to scare me off. I am planning to fork over the extra $$ for the additional range. I also have very high hopes for this car and plan on having it for a long time. I'm sure some longer road trip vacations will be in our future.

I am in same boat as you, have a 109 miles journey to one side and 170 to the other. Granted there is super chargers on the way, I think longevity of the battery (not needing to charge to 100%) will be better to have the LR.

 

[gregincal]

The only thing I'd say to the OP is this. We used to take my wife's SUV 100% of the time on any trip where we drove together until I bought my Model S. And then suddenly we wanted to take the Tesla on any trip where it was feasible, because it was so much nicer to drive.

That said, $9000 is $9000. Obviously in your situation the short range battery will work just fine.

 

[SageBrush]

I am in same boat as you, have a 109 miles journey to one side and 170 to the other. Granted there is super chargers on the way, I think longevity of the battery (not needing to charge to 100%) will be better to have the LR.

If I did that trip often I would agree.
I have about twice a month for a while, so Supercharging is more than fine.

 

[Xenius]

If it were me, I wouldn't pay the 9k extra for that range.

For example right now on a 100% charge in my S60D I have 214 rated. For 2k more I could bump that up to 244 I think. Not worth it. I haven't made a trip that wasn't doable with my current range.

 

[CLACHAPELLE]

So, when the prices were announced, I was pretty well convinced I should get the long range version "First Available" version. Partly because I felt that it would "Guarantee" the full $7500 fed rebate, partly because I know my situation is changing as my wife and I will be moving at 2x in the next two years (Wife's fellowship then her getting a full time job), and partly because my plan is to keep the car for 10 years and wanted to have the extra range as who knows what my situation would be.

However, my wife has a SUV. This is what we use for nearly any long range trips as it has more cargo room and is a very comfortable, quiet ride. I work 100% from home (for now) and I am putting maybe 100-150 miles on my car a week depending on the errands I need to run. The furthest I drive on a regular basis is to a costco about 60 miles away once a month. And even then, there is a supercharger not too far from the costco and a car charger at the whole foods across the street.

I don't anticipate ever taking a job where the commute was over 50 miles each way daily. I'm in IT and more telecommute gigs open daily. As I was doing the math, even if I planned to keep the car 10 years, after tax and interest on 9k would add up to $9600 on a 5 year loan. So, over 10 years, thats 960 a year. That's $80 a month for a feature that currently I would utilize maybe utilize 2-3 times a year? That seems....steep? And looking at the "Depreciation" of the battery on the S, it doesn't look like the range will drop to something like 150 miles. And it also appears that as long as I take delivery of my car in Q1/Q2 of next year, I should be fine for the rebate.

Am I missing something obvious here? Or does taking the long range in a two car household where one is a long range SUV make little sense?

 

[shrspeedblade]

With all that said I really want the faster 0-60 time because this is partly my midlife crisis car and I want it as fast as possible haha.

I think this is an important factor. If both cars were 5.6 0-60 I would probably NOT be considering the LR, but as it stands now it's like that 9k in an ICE car would be: "upgrading to the V6 over the inline 4 turbo that gets the same or better gas mileage with 50 more horsepower!"

 

[socbrian]

It is also should be pointed out these are estimated range. If it is cold out, or windy the range will be drastically affected. I am on the east coast, so mountains are not a huge deal, but snow and winter is.

 

[CmdrThor]

Model 3 will be the second vehicle for us, replacing a Nissan LEAF with 80 miles of range and dropping. Our primary vehicle for road trips will continue to be our Model X. I definitely don't see the value in spending $9,000 on the long range for our usage. The only time I would take the 3 on a road trip would be if my wife and I had to take separate vehicles for some reason and even then the 220 miles should still get me where I am going (especially compared to my current range in the LEAF).

I am not even sure if I really want Autopilot, I could see just getting a color other than black and probably the premium upgrades package.

 

[CLACHAPELLE]

I replaced my S70 with a 90, because I was afraid to take it on trips. (250 mile range vs 300) There aren't enough super chargers in my area yet. I couldn't drive from Raleigh NC to Asheville, for example, without having to take a major detour through Charlotte. Having a 70 made the dire predictions of my husband true, so I solved that with a bigger battery.

We recently took the S to Atlanta and some pleasant conversations with others waiting for our cars to charge. There was a man who had recently bought a used S60, and he'd left his family at the beach a few hours early. He had to drive at 60mph or less to make it between charging stations. His family was going to meet up with him in a second car to drive the rest of the way home. I couldn't drive below the speed limit on the interstate without popping a blood vessel. Part of the fun is not getting trapped in 3 lanes of traffic that seem determined to keep everyone else boxed. A little nudge to the throttle gets you unstuck, but it does use more energy.

I think it makes the journey more civilized to stop a couple of times and chat with new people. I've learned a lot by talking to owners from all around the country. For example the New Yorkers do all or most of their charging at Superchargers. There are a lot of them up there, but very long wait times. But they don't have a charger in their garage - they don't have a garage.

I know they are building more chargers, so you have to figure where you might want to road trip. How far apart are the chargers?