First, my navigator says thank you!OK, you've got a navigator with taste! (i.e., your spouse ).
Now for the secret weapon: supercharge.info.
Let's take this from the top, literally:
- There's that mileage/percent battery full number at the top of the screen. The car gets that number by grabbing the number of kW-hr's available in the battery and multiplying it by the Official Range of the car. You got a tailwind? You driving at 90 mph? You going uphill forever? This number is the least accurate. For me running around the East Coast where 80 mph is not a lifestyle, it's roughly OK, but no winner.
- Energy Screen, Take One: Tap the triple-dot at the bottom of the screen. One of the icons says Energy. There's three tabs: Pick the right-most one, labeled (I think) Consumption. This one averages out your actual energy consumption of the past N number of miles you've been driving. Accelerate like mad? It's in there, and it's averaged in. Run ten miles downhill with a tail wind? It's amazing how much energy regen will dump into the battery. It'll display two numbers: The "rated", which is roughly that number at the top of the screen, and the average of what you're currently doing, what with hills and all. You're expected to look at this graph and do some mental math of sorts. If you've got 80 miles to go and it says you've only got 60 miles at the rate you're going, then there's Trouble. (Highly unlikely, that last, as you'll see in a moment.) In terms of guessing how far you can get, tons better than #1, above.
- Energy Screen, Take two: The first tab. A weird looking plot if ever there was one, but it includes all sorts of interesting factors as to what's affecting your range. How fast you're going. Weather. Outside temperature. HVAC usage. And so on. So, if you're wondering why your range is decreased and the HVAC is the cause, then maybe it's time to turn on the seat heaters and get the internal temperature set point off of 80F. More accurate than #'s 1 and 2.
- The Car's Range Estimator. It's weird, but true: When you're got NAV active and you're on a trip, there's that little box at the bottom of the screen with your estimated arrival time and the #of battery when you get there. That last is where Tesla has truly done their magic. Going over a mountain and down the other side? It's in that %battery number. Your current driving habits? It's in that %battery number. Weather, as in headwinds/tailwinds/rain/whatever? It's in there. IT'S ALL IN THERE. One Single Blame Number. And it's as accurate as Tesla can make it. It's got all that's in #3 plus whatever NAV can predict about what you're doing and where you're going. So, Now You Know.
This is precisely what I was hoping to see! Understanding what I’m seeing in these graphs/charts makes me SO much more comfortable than just seeing a range or energy level. Now I’m going to go out, sit in the car, and learn to see what you describe in #3.
Thank you all. Again.
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