SR Plus - should I buy?
All,
I’m super excited about my SR+ and I’m picking up the vehicle on 10/23 if everything goes well with shipping. I have already ordered bunch of must have accessories. Tesla wall connector is getting installed soon.
My biggest concern is the range increase that Tesla announced. I’m going crazy thinking about canceling the order to get more info. Does any one know if there are any other changes other than 10 mile increase?
I didn’t want to spend 9k over SR+ because I couldn’t justify the cost! But all the videos and articles I read claim that SR+ delivers only 170 real world range. Is this true? I travel for work and I drive 500 miles one way. Of course this is not a daily commute. I do this only once a month, sometimes twice.
I’m super excited about my SR+ and I’m picking up the vehicle on 10/23 if everything goes well with shipping. I have already ordered bunch of must have accessories. Tesla wall connector is getting installed soon.
My biggest concern is the range increase that Tesla announced. I’m going crazy thinking about canceling the order to get more info. Does any one know if there are any other changes other than 10 mile increase?
I didn’t want to spend 9k over SR+ because I couldn’t justify the cost! But all the videos and articles I read claim that SR+ delivers only 170 real world range. Is this true? I travel for work and I drive 500 miles one way. Of course this is not a daily commute. I do this only once a month, sometimes twice.
0
Comments
As far as Tesla’s new claim, I seriously doubt they put a larger battery in. They are likely using the EPA numbers that are always favorable to the car. EPA tests are done inside, no AC on, no passengers, no drag from the wind because the car is running on rollers, car doesn’t go above 55mph, etc. Those are the same tests that put the mpg claims on ICE cars and are never accurate. If you want to cancel and reorder, do it - but not for 10 miles that you will never see. Eventually your mindset will change and you will treat your car like your phone. All day use, plug in at night, don’t worry about it. In extreme circumstances (road trips) you have the Tesla superchargers to take care of things!
That said, I am super happy with the LR AWD. Realistically, you are looking at maybe an extra super charger stop each 500 mile trip with the SR+. My longest trip so far is 1900 miles, the charging part is a non issue, even with the SR+. Finding a bush or shubbery is a bigger issue. The SR+ will be a great car.
I live in Indianapolis. Your explanation is very reasonable. I also called Tesla to check about moving from SR+ to LR AWD. They mentioned that it is possible and they can do that. I don’t want to go through the hassle of return and rebooking.
Just the uncertainty weighs in a lot! If Tesla would have announced the range increase next week once I picked my car, I would have cared less.
I’m still on a holding pattern.. will wait for more inputs.. mostly will stick with SR+. Worst comes worst, I will sell this and buy a LR AWD!
Perfection is the enemy of greatness!
If you drive 1,000 miles two times a month, I personally would only recommend a Long Range Tesla. This is for countless reasons.
And what exactly are those countless reasons?
$10K for an extra 60 miles of range? If someone needs AWD then I agree get the dual motor LR but if someone does not need AWD then spending $10K for an extra 60 miles of range is an odd choice in my opinion...
To each their own I suppose..
U have to pay more, but the resale value outweighs it.
If you are prudent and want to simply weight whether the extra 9K is worth it, there can be a few ways to think about it. Not exhaustive, but some thoughts:
1. AWD vs RWD
2. Dual motors, better driving capabilities, potentially more even wear on tires and in long runs, may save a few pairs of changes. Better for snow on the days that matter - I have RWD in NYC and have dealt with some snow. Generally OK so long as you maintain tires. Also mind you, RWD does burn tires fast on a tesla because of the instant torque
3. your actual daily charging is likely at 90pct which is where you should compare
4. Every EV is expected to lose some battery health over time - how much are you willing to accept before your range dynamics change?
5. Longer term, there is also an expected number of charge cycles ( i think somewhere around 1500). Using some rough calcs, that means the LR battery is expected to last you about 100K miles more over the 1500 cycles
6. FASTER charge speeds. SR+ is relatively limited. V3 is around the corner...
There are probably a lot more, but depending on your time horizon and needs, the extra 9K can be worth the optionality...
But in fairness, the tires (MXM4s) had 30K miles on them and were at 4/32" at the time. We'll hope for snow this New Year's, as we have fresher Pilot Sport A/S 3+ with more rubber on them.
All in all, I Jones for the AWD M3, but not enough to trade in ours for a financial bath (43K miles).
I have driven FWD/RWD cars in blizzards and snow storms. I lived in buffalo for 3 years and commuted 1000s of miles in snow. I have no issues with RWD. I’m planning to put snow tires and that is more than enough.
All I have is range anxiety! I think I’m getting better as I read many posts from so many SR+ owners.
Yes, the LR is more money than the SR+, but the resale value will be higher too.
Can also consider an inventory car. Tesla also has several "pre-owned" cars that were likely purchases returned in 7 days with just a few hundred miles on them and are offered at discounted prices.
In my daily use of the car, I charge the car once a week, which is nice. With the old car, had to plug in almost daily to be safe.
Back to the original point, it's that one time where you need it that makes it worth having. One day where the weather is 30 degrees colder and your range gets cut in half. Or one day that you're in a rush and need to go faster, reducing your range. Range anxiety, even once, is not a fun experience. I don't want to be compromised in driving an EV vs an ICE car. With 325 (M3) or 370 (MS) in range, I'm not. Real world, those figures are about 100 miles+ less. I easily go 200 miles without stopping. Unless you choose to drive slow, taking even MORE time, you're unlikely to get 200 miles in real world highway use with the SR+. Easy to do with the LR versions.
Just my 2 cents. You only live once.
Our first Tesla is a S60 with a total of 210 miles of range. We drove all around the country in that car in all sorts of weather, and that was 4 years ago when there weren't as many Superchargers. So I don't think range on the SR is a concern at all.
I think you will be fine if you have enough range to make your daily commute X 2 in summer months, Tesla's Supercharger network can support their lowest range cars when you're on a road trip. SR has a decent bit of range compared to S60.
I'm frugal in my spending, and a little bit of planning and charging discipline can help save thousands of dollars. And if ever there's a bit of inconvenience because of lower range, oh well, that's the price to pay for saving money upfront - it's not like we're taking about range so low that we're at a risk of getting stranded.
About resale value. I'd save now rather than worry about resale value some time in the future.
For the argument that SR range isn't enough and might get you stranded - well, when you take that argument no amount of range is enough.
Good luck.
Here's an idea: if drives are mostly on the same route (or just a few routes), you can use abetterrouteplanner.com (or similar) to map out the most common routes. That will give you a pretty good idea of how often/where you would need to charge. Note that you can change the settings to "simulate" different models (SR+ vs LR) and even weather conditions. And the software knows where all the superchargers are.
For what it's worth, here are some thoughts based on our experience with a one year old mid-range (260 miles range, no longer available). We're in the Columbus area, so similar weather and road conditions to you.
1. People who talk about driving 75 - 80 may not live in our part of the midwest. Yeah, there are speeders here, but most people are going upper 60s - low 70s. (And if you are on I-70, your speed is limited by trucks. You know what I mean....) At 65, we were getting very close to the full 260 mile range, and even going a little over 70 we didn't lose much. So far as we could tell, it's only when you head past 75 toward 80 that the range really starts to drop.
2. Yes, snow (even rain) and low temperatures will decrease your range. So will keeping the heat really high; in the winter we generally set it in the 65 - 68 range, and the effect is not that large.
3. Do you have flexibility on when you make your long drives? We had no issues driving in snow in Ohio, but if you absolutely have to drive through blizzards, AWD probably would be helpful. If you can adjust your winter trip schedule to drive on clear days, AWD seems less of an issue.
4. Do you need to take those trips to the hilly parts of the state? For example, the Indy to Columbus run on I-70 has a few gentle grades, but the worst of them barely qualifies as a hill. Again, if you need to drive through steep terrain in bad weather, AWD might help. On the flats, not so much of an issue.
5. When you do your long drives, are you fairly laid back or are you really, really impatient to get where you are going NOW! The LR may allow one fewer charging stops per trip and also can take advantage of slightly higher supercharger power to charge faster. (My understanding is that the SR+ is limited to 120 kw, while the LR can use 150). On long trips, we've found that even the slower rate still takes only 15 - 20 minutes or so, which for us is about the right time to find the restroom, stretch our legs, and maybe get some coffee. If you will be sitting in the car for 15 minutes grumbling about the delay, the LR might be worth it for your mental health....
6. How much "buffer" do you need? In your gas car, if you typically start looking for a gas station only when the low fuel light comes on, you may be happy running your Tesla down to 20 miles of range left. On the other had, if you start hunting for the gas station when the fuel gauge hits half full, you may start getting nervous when your Tesla range is down to "only " 80 miles. Obviously the LR gives you more range for the same number of charging stops, so less range anxiety -- if you are the kind of person who might be anxious. (For the record, we're somewhere in the middle, but after several long trips, we're more laid back than we used to be!)
Good luck! You'll enjoy whatever you get....
So keep in mind that every EV's range is cut in half if you want to reduce charging time, less than half when you combine it with speeding. The route planner usually does a great job at picking the least time-consuming manner, sometimes it will have you skip a supercharger and drive slow because it ain't worth the time getting to an extra supercharger for the minutes saved speeding and sometimes it will have a stop ever 90 miles when the supercharger exist.
City range will only get under 200 in severe cold, with no heat usage and a high elevation city you're looking at 300+ miles of range.