I see mostly these lessons from this trip:
- In the cold, a 110V plug does not gain range. (Possibly firmware updates might improve this.)
- For the cold, you need to replace any old J1772 adapter with a new one
- The existing charging apps are not good enough for finding usable 30+ amp chargers or Nema 14-50 plugs. Or for determining that a trip on that route is not (yet) advisable!
- In order to get a better understanding of the range at various temperatures, I think it would be beneficial if the writers of such reports would add info about the outside temperature, and the Wh/mile consumption they were getting at those temperatures. (Or a calculation of the resulting range with a full charge.)
The lesson I do *not* see *here* is that a Model S would not be usable, in general, for a road trip in the cold (merely a question of additional time needed when charging sufficiently to be able to use good heating). (Especially for the NYT trip, a much more positive outcome was achievable with the Superchargers, had the car been charged sufficiently).
A quote form the other thread of someone making more positive experiences:
I have riven over 3,500 miles in (really) cold weather, including over 1200 miles in mountains far from any superchargers. With just a little forethought and a basic understanding of the car's abilities, such an outcome as this New York Times journalist experienced would never happen. Enjoy -
- - - Updated - - -
After writing the above, I started wondering about this part of the report:
What happened instead is that it was negative four degrees outside (-25*F windchill) and I lost a LOT more range on my way to Dixon than I should have -- I arrived with about 80 miles of range, versus the 170 that I was hoping for. Granted I did drop my fiance off at the airport and run to the bank as well, which likely ate about 30-40 miles.
Are you saying you have never driven at those temperatures before, and/or that you were unaware of the range at those temperatures? That wouldn't seem to require making a road trip. (Aside from the oddness of comparing 170 to 80, and then adding the info that it was actually 120 vs 170, only in the next sentence.)