Electric700
Active Member
I'm the OP on this thread. I've had the car for about 4-5 months now so my perspective is better.
It's summer now, so all these problems have miraculously gone away but I still feel that this still a big issue for cold climates if we're to consider the car to be an all out replacement for an ICE. Elon talks about 200 mile range, but the current model doesn't have it in the winter.
The reality is that the P85D has a -25C, comfy and warm, normal highway speed winter range of around 170-180 km. You can extend by cutting heat and being the slowest car on the road, but that makes it a pretty miserable car to drive. Is this an issue for normal driving around town on a day-to-day basis? Heck no. In fact, it's a really great winter car for daily use.
But, come January & February next year, I'm not even going to attempt to use the Tesla on long trips. I'll use one of our other vehicles.
For it to be a practical tripping vehicle in really cold weather, where you can be comfortable and travel normal speeds, you need at least 120kwh. And 150 would be better.
What about preheating the car for 25 minutes in the winter while connected to the charger before your trip? That will help with range since the battery will already be heated to the correct temperature before you start out, and you can do that from the app. For destination charging on longer trips, check out Find Us | Tesla Motors.
Another resource is plugshare.com.
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