1200 miles in a new Tesla

[McLovin]

Drove a fully loaded RWD Long Range Model 3 from Seattle to San Diego.

An interesting car, for sure. Some impressions:

1. It’s a great looking car, inside and out. The fit and finish seemed very good. I’d read things about bad panel gaps etc. but this one seemed very well made. I’ve seen a million of them, but never paid much attention, but up close it’s a bigger car than I thought.

2. It’s not inexpensive. $58K plus tax and license.

3. The full Autopilot tied to Navigation is pretty amazing. For now, it only works in that mode on the highway, but it works very well. It won’t camp in the fast lane, instead it pulls over and cruises in the next lane. If it comes up on a slower car, it turns the signal on, pulls out and passes, signals and goes back to its lane. It’ll automatically take off ramps and get on other freeways etc.

4. Even when not on Autopilot, the active safety features work well. If there’s a car in your blind spot and you try to change lanes, it’ll nudge you back into your lane.

5. The Suoercharging stations are everywhere and charge fast. They vary, but I was charging at a rate of around 400 miles per hour.

6. The car is fast, no doubt. They say 60 in 5 seconds, but it feels even faster than that.

7. I’m going to say that like the first iPhone was the future of phones, Tesla’s probably are the cars of the future. A lot of their design and functions will be copied.

8. I do like that it doesn’t need to be warmed up. It may be silly, but cold start short trips have always bothered me a bit. The mechanical simplicity is also nice. No engine, no coolant, no oil, no transmission etc.

8. It’s a great car for a lot of people. Is it a car for the traditional “enthusiast?” Probably not. At least until a new generation of enthusiast, who was not raised on internal combustion, comes around.

[MysticLlama]

Bounce around in a 3 Performance long enough to get comfortable with tossing it around and it's good for an enthusiast.

Also feels like getting away with something when the cop didn't hear you from around the corner.

[island911]

Long Range... not the car's sweet spot.

How long did the trip take? Did you average your MPH with charging stops?

[Rinty]

One of the guys in my local BMW motorcycle club has one, and he quite likes it. He commutes from about 50 km out, to City Hall where he works, and doesn't even plug it in there.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by island911

Long Range... not the car's sweet spot.

How long did the trip take? Did you average your MPH with charging stops?

If he can go 350+ miles then take 45 minutes to charge I think that is a car I can road trip with.

We just drove to the North Carolina Mountains in our E30. Trip was 700 miles one way. We broke the drive up over 2 days so the Tesla would have worked fine for us.

The trip back we did in one day but stopped for a long lunch on the way back, then went for a walk before getting in the car for 5 more hours. Again going 350 miles then stopping for an hour is a typical road trip for us.

I really want to get rid of the i3 and get a Model 3. Wife loves the i3 and it works perfectly for us. Plus it was cheap and is cheap to keep so we will run it into the ground over the next few years.

[MysticLlama]

Have done a couple of mediumish road trips in the Performance.

310 mile EPA range, figure 280 if going over 70, minus a little more since it was 35-38 degrees.

Leave Seattle, stop in Vancouver at the Fred Meyer for a coffee and 15 minute or so charge. Drive to Eugene and stop for 45 to an hour at a brewery and charge. Hit a diner in Grant's Pass for a snack and about a half an hour charge. Get to Medford, drive around for a couple of days (no Superchargers), hit a winery for about an hour and a charge on a level 2 charger, then reverse the trip.

Seattle to Medford in really cold weather and charging added < 2hrs, most of which was spent eating or something that you'd normally do on a 9hr drive unless just bombing it and eating in the car. Add autopilot to take the super boredom edge off some sections and it's a very worthwhile tradeoff.

One of the keys is to add a stop somewhere and try to charge in the 20-80% range, or 15-90% range, etc. to avoid the margins where it charges quite a bit slower. The extra 20 minute detour to do that can save 2x 20 minute top offs. Having a destination charger would also be a big help, especially when it's cold and can preheat when shore powered. They've added on route battery heating since that trip, and boosted Supercharger power from 125kw to 150kw in places, both of which shave a bit of time.

[McLovin]

Did the trip in 2 days.
The stated range for the Long Range model is 325, but it felt like it comes up way short of that if you’re cruising at 80 mph.
I had a full charge in Portland, and was running on electric fumes by Grants Pass, which is around 250 miles. But that was a lot of heavy mountain and high speed driving.
Easily made it from Bakersfield to San Diego, starting with maybe an 80% charge.
Super charging stations seem to take around 45 minutes for a full charge.

[McLovin]

Right, it charges very quickly to 80% or so, then slows down a bit.
I believe the computer calculates your charging stops based on not waiting for a full 100% charge.

[island911]

So...



Wait, did I carry the 1...

My daughter, who worked at Tesla for three years, has a dual motor extended range 4WD Model 3. It's a beautiful car, fast as hell, and fun to drive. But it's an appliance. Has no soul. My DD is an E92 BMW M3, a car with total soul.

I'd like to own a Tesla, but I have to own cars like the M3 and the 911.

[MysticLlama]

Except for the part where the e92 (yes, Competition package) feels sorta like a dump truck after having driven only the 3 for a few weeks.

Also, at least with mine, 'soul' means just yet another part to replace. The e46 was a way better car in that respect.

The e92 sure is prettier though.

[island911]

I'll say that it's impressive that such a trip can happen.

I can't help but think of the time I was driving my wife to SeaTac for a flight to LA for a 10-day work stint she had. On the way to the airport I said, you know, I could drive you down. About 30 seconds of logistic thought and that's what we did. None of the logistics had to do range and refueling. There is something very nice about that.

Oh, and we did drive in a bit of high mt snow on the way back. Fun in a Cayenne. Again, not even a thought about running the heat or elevation and temperature effects affecting range.

[MysticLlama]

As far as running around town, the car is charged every morning to 85%, and I can't really see not being able to do something on short notice. Worst possible case is hit the Issaquah or Centralia supercharger stations on the way out.

I can't think of the last time I randomly drove one of the gas cars over 100 miles.

It's also kinda nice that a 0-100% charge is $8.

I really did think the range was going to get to me, and didn't get a shorter range version for exactly that reason, but it's fairly unfounded. The M3 required a gas stop every 4.5 days commuting, it could never quite make a full work week, the Tesla is just charged every day. I don't mind stopping for lunch or a snack a couple of times on the 2x in 6 months I've driven it out of town.

[McLovin]

Well, those calcs have to be made, for sure, but the car does all of it.

You just plug in your destination and it maps out all the stops for you.

While 1000 mile runs from Seattle to LA are certainly doable in a Tesla without too much fuss, at this point (with current range and Supercharger availability), it is easier and faster in an IC vehicle, for sure.

[biosurfer1]

The complaint heard around here regarding electric cars doesn't have much to do with the cars, it's the charging. There are lots around here and more being built, and 75% of the time it's no problem, but there are times when you pull up and all the stalls are being used, so a 45 minute "fill up" can be extended to hours waiting if you get there at the wrong time.

It's a problem that will self correct in time as charging tech gets faster and more stalls get built but in the meantime, if you do hit the wrong time, it can be very annoying.

[MMARSH]

I have a model S and had a model 3 has a loaner for 4 days....I love my model S and personally wouldn't trade it for a Model 3. But I'm seriously trying to talk my wife into a M3P. Its funny, for cars with no soul, the instant torque all the time, really makes these a kick to drive.

Great video with Randy Pobst at Buttonwillow. I dont think he cared for it.....Actually he helped with the tuning with Tesla...

https://youtu.be/aywleQX5lyA

[island911]

So these are great track cars now?

With a champion driver and track tires they did chase down that 90's convertible Camaro on the first lap out. so...

Also, I don't understand his comment that people don't expect the Tesla to handle well.
One of my first observations about the Tesla was that the ridiculously low CG (heavy batteries down low) must be great for handling.

[MMARSH]

Apparently the M3P gets around very well. The track model was built with extended track time in mind, so none of the overheating issues that plague a model S....several videos where they compare it to BMW M3s. It was supposed to be faster then the BMW around Thunderhill. They seem to be pretty capable.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by island911

So these are great track cars now?

I heard that if you want to track a tesla you need to get the dry sump version

[jyl]

I'd lease one, maybe. I don't see buying one, because I'm not highly certain that Tesla the company will be around for the next 5+ years.