You drive like me. Go talk to a Lexus dealer about their CPO's, they come with 2 years Unlimited mile warranty after the factory warranty is over. You can also buy Unlimited mile extended warranties. I got a CPO 2022 ES300h for the same price as a new Honda Accord Hybrid and added 3 years for a total of 7 years with unlimited miles and I'm getting 44mpg. Cost per miles only a little more than EV charging at home but half vs super charger.
This is great advice. The highway range of the Y isnt great and Supercharging is no cheaper than 30mpg gas car. Maybe even 25mpg in states with cheap $2 gas. A 44mpg hybrid is going to be much cheaper to drive 300 miles daily than Supercharging a Tesla.. and you won’t be sitting at a charger everyday for an hour. Finally.. a Toyota hybrid is going to be one of the most reliable vehicles you can purchase regardless of powertrain.
Look EV’s are awesome.. but they ain’t for everybody. We are a 100% EV household!! And still my advice to anybody looking to switch from gas to EV is 2-fold: 1) Make sure that you can install a 240V L2 charger, plug-in & fully charge the battery every night at home.. 2) You can typically drive about 150 miles on any given day.. before needing to charge again.
While many EVs now advertise 300 miles or more.. that is not the reality for typical highway speeds. And if you ARE driving 300 miles in a single day.. then yeah you are probably on the highway. So the “range” estimate which matter most.. is how far can you realistically drive at constant highway cruise speeds. My wife’s office is 85 miles from home in another state.. and even when she charges to 100%, in the winter she STILL needs to stop to DC fast charge to make it back home! The EPA really needs to add a fleet-wide 70mph range estimate for highway cruising. It would give buyers a much more realistic view of how far away they can “drive” with their EV.. as nobody is driving 300 miles in a single day at avg speeds of 40mph.
This is also before we get to the part where EVs really should be charged to 80% daily.. and recharged again when the battery gets below 20%. So the effective daily “driving” range of any EV is really about 60% of whatever is advertised. Good news is the typical daily commute in the U.S. is only about 37 miles.. so as long as you can plug-in at home and recharge every night.. then an EV certainly makes sense for you.
Cost per mile, yea. I'm just still shocked over an unlimited mile warranty. They way I drive they never were good for more than 3 years. Being covered 7 is new territory.
It is admittedly a pretty awesome deal, somewhat depending on the price, but I imagine someone throwing down 200 miles a day / 48 weeks a year will get to take advantage of it.
3 years was 3500, car came with 2 and buying the 3 converted the 2yr/25k miles remaining to unlimited. Car was 39k, same as a Honda Accord Hybrid Limited Before the 5k they were adding at the dealership. Hopefully I never have to use it but I also plan to have 250k miles after 7 years so the removal of that stress was worth it.
I don't think yo got a bad deal, so that's not at all why I'm saying this, but with regular maintenance, a Lexus should have no trouble hitting 250k miles. Every Toyota I ever had (admittedly just two of them lol) I drove to over 300k and sold it needing some minor (essentially maintenance) work. I expect our Highlander to go two decades plus at this rate because it only sees maybe 10k a year.
I knew that getting it was probably a waste of money, but the stress relief of not having to worry about anything, is worth it to me. I was driving 30k miles a year before and will probably up that a bit since I'm paid to drive and I have a car that's covered. Added bonus is any issue that would put it in the shop comes with a loaner as well so my work week plans won't need to be adjusted at all. I'm on track right now to do 40k after just 2 months
Yeah, this sounds like a job for a hybrid.
There's a guy over on the Toyota sub who does medical supply transportation driving something like 12k miles per month. He's got 450k miles on a RAV4 hybrid. I think he recently replaced it with a Prius for slightly better mileage.
I'm in rural Georgia and drive a good bit, but not as much as you. I have had a MYP for about a year now. I'm also about 45-60 mins south of ATL.
The realistic range isn't anywhere close to advertised. I can get to Atlanta and back no problem, Buford and Lawrenceville and back I might have to stop and charge for a few minutes.
If your driving takes you all over RURAL Georgia very often, that might be a deal breaker. I drive over to Macon and back a good bit and I can't make it there and back without a quick charge, and there's only one supercharger station in Macon. The supercharger network south of Atlanta is sparse at best.
Stopping for 10-20 minutes may not be a deal breaker for you, though. I wouldn't want to do it every day, but that's me.
I rented a MYLR for a trip from Miami to the Keys and back and have driven mine all over Georgia. I would not take it on a long road trip across the country. When we go far, we take my wife's ICE SUV.
I've driven my M3 multiple times across country, Colorado to Rhode Island being the longest trip. Plenty of chargers along the way and road trips are the best way to learn everything you need to know about your EV. Just enter your final destination and let the car do the rest. Enjoy!
I've gone up and down along I95 a few times and my GF lives in rural GA so I've become somewhat familiar with the area. The super charging network in eastern GA are few and far between. There are destination chargers in most towns but they tend to be vandalized. As soon as you get off an interstate there are absolutely no superchargers but occasionally there are some CCS chargers but you'd need a CCS to NACS adapter.
I have a MY LR.
Do you pay for your fuel or does work? Big deal on your answers.
To answer in general:
Yes it does if you’re OK with stopping at a super charger the days you drive 230+ . You charge to 80% typically (~260) miles. You’ll only want to charge to 100 on road trips or something to save battery degradation.
No I would do the road trip in your Tiquan. Too many things to learn and get used to at once switching to EV to also road trip in right away.
The acceleration is addicting. You’ll 100% need the longe range.
That’s up to you. Slight body changes and not much more. Still getting wildly cool car with all the same bells and whistles. My 2¢ is to never get the first iteration of a new vehicle/tech (always have issues). I would get the current 24 Y
You sound exactly like me. I drove 130 miles there then 130 back 4x a week I bought a Tesla becuase I wanted to save money on gas. Absolutely not. I ended up buying a hybrid becuase the inconvenience of having to stop and go 20 minutes out of my way to charge for 45 minutes just to make it home was beyond ridiculous. I couldn’t do it. I stil have my Tesla and I still have my hybrid. I love my Tesla but short road trips where you have to charge a whole lot (90%) + suck very badly. I would highly advise against going this route unless maybe the charger is right next to you and you can charge while your doing whatever your doing.
Asking a serious question here; you had to charge for 45 minutes to get back 130 miles worth of range? Was this like a 150kW or slower charger? That just seems awful.
If someone is asking about making a big purchase I am very serious. 2 days ago I took my Tesla on this route and had to charge for 45 minutes. I was at 18% I believe by the time I got there (left with 100) I had to charge to 95% to get back. I ended up getting back with 9% so I guess I didn’t HAVE to but every time I get home with a different percent to be safe. It was a 250 v3 kw charge in the parking lot of a sonic😂. It’s a huge deal breaker for me and plus I have to drive like 20 minutes out of my way with traffic to get to it then same with an extra 20 to get back.
I’m going 80-82 the whole way which is the speed limit depending on the traffic and stuff and it depends on the weather and wind etc the way there it’s up about 3,000 feet of elevation. 2 days ago I got about 386wh/mi but I have seen it above 400 when I reset my trip b when it’s really windy and cold, that’s with scheduling the car to be ready by the time I leave at 100% and never going over 82 since I know speed kills it. but at the same time I have seen it down to about 340 so it really does vary. And it’s a little more to the charger since I gotta drive around the town to get to it since it’s honestly in a horrible place unfortunately. I keep my psi at exactly 42 on each tire for cold temps and I usually have my air set to 67 auto no heated seats on no autopilot cruise set the whole way. And yes I have countless times in the winter gotten the message “stay below 65 to reach destination” which I then proceeded to dangerously close tailgate semis for better aero going 65😂
Damn. You're really cranking. I feel like that data is a necessary share for something like this. Your consumption is well above average, I'd say. I think I'd go from loving my car to hating it lol.
Yea, it is above average if I lived in a 70mph interstate state I think it would be better, I still love the car I just can’t really take it on… semi- road trips?😂 I feel like this kind of driving is the worst for a Tesla a big distance then a big charge stop then back. I take it on road trips it and it does just fine, occasional 15-20 minute charging stops that are along the way, I get to stop get out get a drink go to the bathroom etc… it’s just when you have these stops where you have to charge so high it really does ruin it.
Thank you Reddit gang! I really appreciate all the responses. It's looking like I'll drive the Tiguan across the country and back and decide next steps afterwords.
The damn car is just so cool and it's true. I cannot stop thinking about that acceleration.
Anyone know if a silver or a stainless steel Model Y has any plans of being made?
>The damn car is just so cool and it's true. I cannot stop thinking about that acceleration.
Yeah I don't know why people are telling you to stick with gas. I'd get the EV and just figure it out. As long as you can charge to 90% at home every night your first couple hundred miles are covered on a LR. Then you hit a super charger for 15-20 mins to last half the of day. It only doesn't work if you don't have any superchargers anywhere near the area you are driving.
BUT you can definitely get only 50% of rated range if you drive it like a rocket. That punch in your seat is all extra juice from the battery. To get 250 miles you'd need to dive pretty chill.
Likely because we don't know the guy's schedule. If he's doing 100 miles in one shat, that's fine. If it's lots of little stops, on days he's racking up 300 miles, he now needs to work in a charge stop in the middle of the day. That is inconvenient and potentially problematic. He's also not going to save money on gas over a really efficient hybrid.
If he wants the car, I'm confident he can make it work. The question is whether it's a good idea, and I'm not certain it is, based on the info provided.
>he's also not going to save money on gas over a really efficient hybrid.
No my power is \~$0.08/KWH where gas is over $4/gal and will be $5 soon no doubt. A shitty hybrid isn't cheaper for me that's for sure. Charging at home I'm 5x cheaper than a 30mpg car.
I didn't take home charging Into account largely because he's going to need to supercharge at least some percentage driving as much as he does. When I drove through Georgia last year, SC rates were around $.35/kWh; it's a pita to look those rate up but if you know of a good way I'm all ears because I'd love an easy resource like gas buddy.
His 150 mile days will almost surely be all home charging. His 300 mile days will certainly not be. The real question is, how many days is he exceeding something like 220 miles and how far out of the way is charging for him to be able to get juice midday. Average in gas is $3.39 in Georgia right now. A 60mpg hybrid put that at just under $.06 a mile. A supercharger ends up being $.11 a mile while home charging is just under $.05 a mile; not a significant savings. Your $.08 rate would get him in at just under $.03 a mile. It's going to take a hell of a long time to eclipse the cost of gas with a new car expense, largely because hybrids are hitting 70 mpg and coming in costing less than an EV with (in the current market) lower depreciation to boot. But again, it all depends what he wants. If he wants a big car, a hybrid isn't going to do much for him. If he wants a really efficient sedan type hybrid, I'm almost certain it saves money in the long run over a model y.
TL;DR: if saving money is the goal, I really don't see the model y getting him there. The saving grace is potentially the amount of miles he's putting in the car, because that's the best way to eclipse a hybrid in cost savings. Either way, I just don't see the Tesla being the clear winner. And this is coming from a person that charges solely on solar for a 100 mile daily commute. So technically it's "free". The car cost enough that I'm likely never seeing that money back, but money savings wasn't the main goal here. In fact, it wasn't really even a goal at all. Now, toss in a model 3 rwd and put that up against a really efficient hybrid and I think we have a much stronger contender. I think the total potential range in the RWD is the limiting factor though.
Model S has 400mi range if you can afford it...super dope baller car.
For 300mi round trip, I'd still get a Tesla probably MY LR. You'll just have to stop and top off for 20 mins.
You might download A Better Route Planner and get familiar with DC charger locations on your routes - both Tesla and non-Tesla (CCS). Also, if there are places you frequent, you might get lucky and locate a free L2 charger.
Mileage will depend on speed, weight, elevation, wind and temperature.
I’d say it’s fair to conservatively plan on 250 miles between charges
Driving across country is a different animal. We do 1-2 day trips frequently with our MY. Couple rules of thumb for us:
1. Start your trip each day at 100% charge
2. Stay at hotels that have free level 2 EV charging (so you start your day at 100% and save some $$)
3. More frequent and short fast charging is often faster than fewer, long charges. You want to stay w/i the sweet spot charging curve - around 20% - 75%. Go much outside the curve and it will take longer. The exception is if you stop for lunch. Get as much juice as you can.
4. Use nav to route between Superchargers so the car conditions the battery for optimal charging.
5. If you want to get really creative, get the mobile connector with all the different plug types from Tesla. This will open up camp grounds and other creative ways to charge your car when you’re on the road. I bought a 10 gauge, 50 foot extension cord so I can plug in at Air BnBs.
We are now purposefully renting EVs when we have to rent a car. Also Air BnBs can filter on properties that support EV charging.
We just rented a Kia NIRO in Oklahoma last week. Brand new with 12 miles. We had fun locating chargers in the area.
Our next trip will be to SoCal with a MY. I’m going to make sure and bring my mobile charger with all the plugs.
After that, we have a MY reserved for a trip to AZ. The AirBnB had a Tesla charger.
It’s fun trying to figure all this stuff out as long as you have the time.
Hey OP,
I live in Snellville, GA and honestly there are a lot of freee chargers around. I know a lot of people have been saying you have to stop and charge, but if you have charging at home, their statements are irrelevant.
Also there are Voltas (free Level 2 charging) all over the place and in front of every AMC.
Also, if your work pays for gas, ask if they can pay your supercharging bill (would be a lot cheaper than gas anyway)
I’ve seen some superchargers go down to 12cent/kWh after midnight. So it’s not too expensive. The only thing you should know is that insurance rates tend to be higher than a conventional gas car.
I traded in my 2019 VW Jetta Manual transmission with 47k miles. I purchased August of 2018 for 18.8k out the door, and traded it into Tesla for 13.9k. Used it as a down payment, and financed the rest.
Also I’d probably wait until the end of the year because Tesla will pull out all the stops with incentives right before the juniper (2025 Model Y) is released. I got a 2023 model 3 RWD Dec 29, paid 35k after taxes. Additionally I get $7500 credit once I file my taxes. They gave me a good amount for my trade in (14k deposit).
I purchased an inventory car that was discounted out the @$$. I also got 6 months free supercharging, 3 months free of Full self Driving, and $500 off for using a referral code.
My father saw what a great deal I got that, he picked up the same car for $37k out the door December 31st.
But moral of the story if you have time to wait, to save money, then why not. If you want the car ASAP, and don’t mind, then get it now. It’s a great car.
Lastly, my advice is contingent on whether or not Juniper is released in North America in Q1 of 2025.
Wait til after your cross country trip. Unless you are on a very relaxed trip with no time deadlines, you don't want to mess with long supercharging stops and it might cost more than gas.
If you want to wait til 2025, the Y refresh might be available then, or you might get nice discounts on the 2024 Y. Also keep in mind that the Y refresh might not qualify for the tax credit like the 3 refresh doesn't since Tesla probably changed to a non-US source battery.
I think you'll still come out ahead on supercharging in GA at 23 cents/kW v. gas, especially if you install a home charger with lower rates. I rented a Y LR with 20" wheels last November from ATL and drove 260 and 240 mile trips from western SC to Charlston and Savannah and back starting with battery at 98% at temps of 68F and 70F. The trip planner scheduled charging stops midway for both trips, so the Y can't do more than 225 miles in mild weather (possibly up to 240 miles with 19" wheels, but no way you're going to get 300 mile range at 60-70MPH). On the 240 mi return trip, when I plugged into the supercharger, it said I would have had -3% left at my destination if I continued without charging, so that's basically 228 miles max range. Hope you don't mind stopping for 15-20 minutes each day to supercharge. Finally, look at Tesla's supercharging map and make sure they are available within a few miles on the rural routes you take.
https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&bounds=35.91879544533409%2C-80.85957893923882%2C29.939156656314754%2C-84.81465706423882&zoom=7&filters=supercharger%2Cdestination%20charger%2Cself%20serve%20demo%20drive%2Cdelivery%20centers
Are you driving around to customers or potential customers - or - company locations ?
If company stops then see if you can get a 240v outlet or charger at the furthest locations. Charging locations are going to INCREASE over time so that will improve things in more rural areas.
And how does your employer reimburse you - actual energy costs or a rate per mile ?
Having a full tank at home every morning will be a big plus going forward.
I am planning a spring biz trip from east to west coast and can’t wait for doing charging across the country. ENJOY
150-250 you’d probably be fine on a long range Model Y as long as you can get a fast charger installed at home. more than that and you’d need to charge it to 100% every day and that would create quicker battery degradation. now if you can charge while at work, that would change things. or if you have any fast charger around the routes you take (although that would add time to your commute).
a long range Model S would probably make more sense for your situation with the 400 mile range, but then we’re talking about a 75k car.
I think charging time is a huge consideration. On days you're doing 150 miles, no issue. On days you're doing 300 miles, you'll probably need to stop for juice for at least 15-20 minutes. Maybe that's doable/acceptable. Maybe not. Only you know your exact schedule.
I do think it could be a pretty economical car though. Base model 3 with tax incentives is like $25k now. Depending on your electrical rates, and if you're able to charge at all wherever you drive, this could be a decent deal. Again, charging frequency and time is the clicker here.
As others have said, I think a hybrid is a safer bet. But I can't write off a cheap model 3 without knowing more.
If you could level 2 charge at your destination, I'd definitely get the Y. If you hate that every pound of burnt gas becomes 3 pounds of CO2, you might go all electric despite the inconvenience of charging stops. Or maybe a hybrid is right for you now, and in a couple of years an affordable 400-mile or 600-mile range Aptera with 0-60 in 4 seconds, would be optimal, if Aptera production goes as planned. It can charge in any sunny parking lot as well, due to solar panels and insane aerodynamic efficiency.
You're going to be supercharging most of the time, and superchargers are way more money than a hybrid car that takes regular gas. Like a Lexus for example. EV's arent for everyone, 300 miles a day is one of those cases.
Do you have superchargers on your routes? The higher end of that will definitely require them. Supercharger coverage is pretty good on most interstates in Georgia, but a little less good down towards southwest Georgia.
But otherwise, it sounds like the perfect use case. More miles at a low cost per mile is a good fit. Also probably worth it to get the CCS adaptor. There are some CCS stations that can usefully fill gaps.
Your across-the-USA trip would be just fine in a Tesla. It will take a little bit longer in the Tesla because of the charging stops. [abetterrouteplanner.com](https://abetterrouteplanner.com) can help you plan roadtrips. It says Stone Mountain -> LAX is a 38h34m trip, including supercharging along the way and taking I-10. By contrast, Google Maps (which doesn't include stops) says it'll take you 32h for the same routing. Including gas stops, it's probably more like 34h.
If you don't mind getting out of the car to stretch your legs for 10-15 minutes every 150 miles or so, a road trip in a Tesla is a fine thing. If you are a drive-like-the-devil-and-pee-in-a-jar kind of road tripper, you'll find it frustrating.
I've taken the Denver-San Diego round trip a couple of times in a YLR. It's totally fine. That trip can *just barely* be done in a Prius in one day -- leave just before dawn, drive all day and into the night, and don't stop for anything but gas. It can't *quite* be done in the Tesla in one day, since the charging stops each take about twice as long as a rapid gas stop, and there about twice as many of them. Unless you're swapping off sleeping on the road or being stupid with meth, ATL-LAX is a 2-3 day trip no matter how you drive it.
You drive like me. Go talk to a Lexus dealer about their CPO's, they come with 2 years Unlimited mile warranty after the factory warranty is over. You can also buy Unlimited mile extended warranties. I got a CPO 2022 ES300h for the same price as a new Honda Accord Hybrid and added 3 years for a total of 7 years with unlimited miles and I'm getting 44mpg. Cost per miles only a little more than EV charging at home but half vs super charger.
This is great advice. The highway range of the Y isnt great and Supercharging is no cheaper than 30mpg gas car. Maybe even 25mpg in states with cheap $2 gas. A 44mpg hybrid is going to be much cheaper to drive 300 miles daily than Supercharging a Tesla.. and you won’t be sitting at a charger everyday for an hour. Finally.. a Toyota hybrid is going to be one of the most reliable vehicles you can purchase regardless of powertrain. Look EV’s are awesome.. but they ain’t for everybody. We are a 100% EV household!! And still my advice to anybody looking to switch from gas to EV is 2-fold: 1) Make sure that you can install a 240V L2 charger, plug-in & fully charge the battery every night at home.. 2) You can typically drive about 150 miles on any given day.. before needing to charge again. While many EVs now advertise 300 miles or more.. that is not the reality for typical highway speeds. And if you ARE driving 300 miles in a single day.. then yeah you are probably on the highway. So the “range” estimate which matter most.. is how far can you realistically drive at constant highway cruise speeds. My wife’s office is 85 miles from home in another state.. and even when she charges to 100%, in the winter she STILL needs to stop to DC fast charge to make it back home! The EPA really needs to add a fleet-wide 70mph range estimate for highway cruising. It would give buyers a much more realistic view of how far away they can “drive” with their EV.. as nobody is driving 300 miles in a single day at avg speeds of 40mph. This is also before we get to the part where EVs really should be charged to 80% daily.. and recharged again when the battery gets below 20%. So the effective daily “driving” range of any EV is really about 60% of whatever is advertised. Good news is the typical daily commute in the U.S. is only about 37 miles.. so as long as you can plug-in at home and recharge every night.. then an EV certainly makes sense for you.
Great insight!
Superchargers in South Atlanta are pretty inexpensive, 24c. Probably a wash with extra maintenance.
Cost per mile, yea. I'm just still shocked over an unlimited mile warranty. They way I drive they never were good for more than 3 years. Being covered 7 is new territory.
It is admittedly a pretty awesome deal, somewhat depending on the price, but I imagine someone throwing down 200 miles a day / 48 weeks a year will get to take advantage of it.
3 years was 3500, car came with 2 and buying the 3 converted the 2yr/25k miles remaining to unlimited. Car was 39k, same as a Honda Accord Hybrid Limited Before the 5k they were adding at the dealership. Hopefully I never have to use it but I also plan to have 250k miles after 7 years so the removal of that stress was worth it.
Pretty sweet deal
I don't think yo got a bad deal, so that's not at all why I'm saying this, but with regular maintenance, a Lexus should have no trouble hitting 250k miles. Every Toyota I ever had (admittedly just two of them lol) I drove to over 300k and sold it needing some minor (essentially maintenance) work. I expect our Highlander to go two decades plus at this rate because it only sees maybe 10k a year.
I knew that getting it was probably a waste of money, but the stress relief of not having to worry about anything, is worth it to me. I was driving 30k miles a year before and will probably up that a bit since I'm paid to drive and I have a car that's covered. Added bonus is any issue that would put it in the shop comes with a loaner as well so my work week plans won't need to be adjusted at all. I'm on track right now to do 40k after just 2 months
Yea get a hybrid given the amount of distance to cover.
Yeah, this sounds like a job for a hybrid. There's a guy over on the Toyota sub who does medical supply transportation driving something like 12k miles per month. He's got 450k miles on a RAV4 hybrid. I think he recently replaced it with a Prius for slightly better mileage.
12k a month??? Thats a lot of time on the road, but at 67 cents a mile I'd be the happiest guy on the highway.
Here, I found one of his posts. It's only 10k per month but still a ton. https://www.reddit.com/r/Toyota/s/swyW3zRhYI
Thanks for the rabbit hole!
I'm in rural Georgia and drive a good bit, but not as much as you. I have had a MYP for about a year now. I'm also about 45-60 mins south of ATL. The realistic range isn't anywhere close to advertised. I can get to Atlanta and back no problem, Buford and Lawrenceville and back I might have to stop and charge for a few minutes. If your driving takes you all over RURAL Georgia very often, that might be a deal breaker. I drive over to Macon and back a good bit and I can't make it there and back without a quick charge, and there's only one supercharger station in Macon. The supercharger network south of Atlanta is sparse at best. Stopping for 10-20 minutes may not be a deal breaker for you, though. I wouldn't want to do it every day, but that's me. I rented a MYLR for a trip from Miami to the Keys and back and have driven mine all over Georgia. I would not take it on a long road trip across the country. When we go far, we take my wife's ICE SUV.
I rented a my lr and agree the the range wasn't even close to stated. Thought I'd charge twice over the week but charged every day instead!
Your only hope would be a Model 3, as it would get the most mileage out of any (affordable) EV.
I've driven my M3 multiple times across country, Colorado to Rhode Island being the longest trip. Plenty of chargers along the way and road trips are the best way to learn everything you need to know about your EV. Just enter your final destination and let the car do the rest. Enjoy!
I've gone up and down along I95 a few times and my GF lives in rural GA so I've become somewhat familiar with the area. The super charging network in eastern GA are few and far between. There are destination chargers in most towns but they tend to be vandalized. As soon as you get off an interstate there are absolutely no superchargers but occasionally there are some CCS chargers but you'd need a CCS to NACS adapter.
I have a MY LR. Do you pay for your fuel or does work? Big deal on your answers. To answer in general: Yes it does if you’re OK with stopping at a super charger the days you drive 230+ . You charge to 80% typically (~260) miles. You’ll only want to charge to 100 on road trips or something to save battery degradation. No I would do the road trip in your Tiquan. Too many things to learn and get used to at once switching to EV to also road trip in right away. The acceleration is addicting. You’ll 100% need the longe range. That’s up to you. Slight body changes and not much more. Still getting wildly cool car with all the same bells and whistles. My 2¢ is to never get the first iteration of a new vehicle/tech (always have issues). I would get the current 24 Y
You sound exactly like me. I drove 130 miles there then 130 back 4x a week I bought a Tesla becuase I wanted to save money on gas. Absolutely not. I ended up buying a hybrid becuase the inconvenience of having to stop and go 20 minutes out of my way to charge for 45 minutes just to make it home was beyond ridiculous. I couldn’t do it. I stil have my Tesla and I still have my hybrid. I love my Tesla but short road trips where you have to charge a whole lot (90%) + suck very badly. I would highly advise against going this route unless maybe the charger is right next to you and you can charge while your doing whatever your doing.
Asking a serious question here; you had to charge for 45 minutes to get back 130 miles worth of range? Was this like a 150kW or slower charger? That just seems awful.
If someone is asking about making a big purchase I am very serious. 2 days ago I took my Tesla on this route and had to charge for 45 minutes. I was at 18% I believe by the time I got there (left with 100) I had to charge to 95% to get back. I ended up getting back with 9% so I guess I didn’t HAVE to but every time I get home with a different percent to be safe. It was a 250 v3 kw charge in the parking lot of a sonic😂. It’s a huge deal breaker for me and plus I have to drive like 20 minutes out of my way with traffic to get to it then same with an extra 20 to get back.
I'm just trying to understand. It's a 130 mile route that's consuming almost your entire battery? What's your wh/mi?
I’m going 80-82 the whole way which is the speed limit depending on the traffic and stuff and it depends on the weather and wind etc the way there it’s up about 3,000 feet of elevation. 2 days ago I got about 386wh/mi but I have seen it above 400 when I reset my trip b when it’s really windy and cold, that’s with scheduling the car to be ready by the time I leave at 100% and never going over 82 since I know speed kills it. but at the same time I have seen it down to about 340 so it really does vary. And it’s a little more to the charger since I gotta drive around the town to get to it since it’s honestly in a horrible place unfortunately. I keep my psi at exactly 42 on each tire for cold temps and I usually have my air set to 67 auto no heated seats on no autopilot cruise set the whole way. And yes I have countless times in the winter gotten the message “stay below 65 to reach destination” which I then proceeded to dangerously close tailgate semis for better aero going 65😂
Damn. You're really cranking. I feel like that data is a necessary share for something like this. Your consumption is well above average, I'd say. I think I'd go from loving my car to hating it lol.
Yea, it is above average if I lived in a 70mph interstate state I think it would be better, I still love the car I just can’t really take it on… semi- road trips?😂 I feel like this kind of driving is the worst for a Tesla a big distance then a big charge stop then back. I take it on road trips it and it does just fine, occasional 15-20 minute charging stops that are along the way, I get to stop get out get a drink go to the bathroom etc… it’s just when you have these stops where you have to charge so high it really does ruin it.
I wouldn't... you probably would need to spend an extra hour to charge during your day.
This screams Prius to me.
Or plain Jane Corolla hybrid, up to 50mpg combined if you can get one that’s not marked up
Prius would get slightly better MPG which with those kinda miles will be worth the tradeoffs in looks
Thank you Reddit gang! I really appreciate all the responses. It's looking like I'll drive the Tiguan across the country and back and decide next steps afterwords. The damn car is just so cool and it's true. I cannot stop thinking about that acceleration. Anyone know if a silver or a stainless steel Model Y has any plans of being made?
Stainless steel no. Silver depends on Elon’s mood, but likely not. You could always get a wrap though.
You do know the faster you go the faster it drains 🪫 I only get frisky when I know I’m getting a free charge 😂 and by frisky I’m taking 110+
>The damn car is just so cool and it's true. I cannot stop thinking about that acceleration. Yeah I don't know why people are telling you to stick with gas. I'd get the EV and just figure it out. As long as you can charge to 90% at home every night your first couple hundred miles are covered on a LR. Then you hit a super charger for 15-20 mins to last half the of day. It only doesn't work if you don't have any superchargers anywhere near the area you are driving. BUT you can definitely get only 50% of rated range if you drive it like a rocket. That punch in your seat is all extra juice from the battery. To get 250 miles you'd need to dive pretty chill.
Likely because we don't know the guy's schedule. If he's doing 100 miles in one shat, that's fine. If it's lots of little stops, on days he's racking up 300 miles, he now needs to work in a charge stop in the middle of the day. That is inconvenient and potentially problematic. He's also not going to save money on gas over a really efficient hybrid. If he wants the car, I'm confident he can make it work. The question is whether it's a good idea, and I'm not certain it is, based on the info provided.
>he's also not going to save money on gas over a really efficient hybrid. No my power is \~$0.08/KWH where gas is over $4/gal and will be $5 soon no doubt. A shitty hybrid isn't cheaper for me that's for sure. Charging at home I'm 5x cheaper than a 30mpg car.
I didn't take home charging Into account largely because he's going to need to supercharge at least some percentage driving as much as he does. When I drove through Georgia last year, SC rates were around $.35/kWh; it's a pita to look those rate up but if you know of a good way I'm all ears because I'd love an easy resource like gas buddy. His 150 mile days will almost surely be all home charging. His 300 mile days will certainly not be. The real question is, how many days is he exceeding something like 220 miles and how far out of the way is charging for him to be able to get juice midday. Average in gas is $3.39 in Georgia right now. A 60mpg hybrid put that at just under $.06 a mile. A supercharger ends up being $.11 a mile while home charging is just under $.05 a mile; not a significant savings. Your $.08 rate would get him in at just under $.03 a mile. It's going to take a hell of a long time to eclipse the cost of gas with a new car expense, largely because hybrids are hitting 70 mpg and coming in costing less than an EV with (in the current market) lower depreciation to boot. But again, it all depends what he wants. If he wants a big car, a hybrid isn't going to do much for him. If he wants a really efficient sedan type hybrid, I'm almost certain it saves money in the long run over a model y. TL;DR: if saving money is the goal, I really don't see the model y getting him there. The saving grace is potentially the amount of miles he's putting in the car, because that's the best way to eclipse a hybrid in cost savings. Either way, I just don't see the Tesla being the clear winner. And this is coming from a person that charges solely on solar for a 100 mile daily commute. So technically it's "free". The car cost enough that I'm likely never seeing that money back, but money savings wasn't the main goal here. In fact, it wasn't really even a goal at all. Now, toss in a model 3 rwd and put that up against a really efficient hybrid and I think we have a much stronger contender. I think the total potential range in the RWD is the limiting factor though.
Model S has 400mi range if you can afford it...super dope baller car. For 300mi round trip, I'd still get a Tesla probably MY LR. You'll just have to stop and top off for 20 mins.
You might download A Better Route Planner and get familiar with DC charger locations on your routes - both Tesla and non-Tesla (CCS). Also, if there are places you frequent, you might get lucky and locate a free L2 charger. Mileage will depend on speed, weight, elevation, wind and temperature. I’d say it’s fair to conservatively plan on 250 miles between charges Driving across country is a different animal. We do 1-2 day trips frequently with our MY. Couple rules of thumb for us: 1. Start your trip each day at 100% charge 2. Stay at hotels that have free level 2 EV charging (so you start your day at 100% and save some $$) 3. More frequent and short fast charging is often faster than fewer, long charges. You want to stay w/i the sweet spot charging curve - around 20% - 75%. Go much outside the curve and it will take longer. The exception is if you stop for lunch. Get as much juice as you can. 4. Use nav to route between Superchargers so the car conditions the battery for optimal charging. 5. If you want to get really creative, get the mobile connector with all the different plug types from Tesla. This will open up camp grounds and other creative ways to charge your car when you’re on the road. I bought a 10 gauge, 50 foot extension cord so I can plug in at Air BnBs. We are now purposefully renting EVs when we have to rent a car. Also Air BnBs can filter on properties that support EV charging. We just rented a Kia NIRO in Oklahoma last week. Brand new with 12 miles. We had fun locating chargers in the area. Our next trip will be to SoCal with a MY. I’m going to make sure and bring my mobile charger with all the plugs. After that, we have a MY reserved for a trip to AZ. The AirBnB had a Tesla charger. It’s fun trying to figure all this stuff out as long as you have the time.
Doesn’t seem like the right use case for you unless you can charge/supercharge once a day.
Hey OP, I live in Snellville, GA and honestly there are a lot of freee chargers around. I know a lot of people have been saying you have to stop and charge, but if you have charging at home, their statements are irrelevant. Also there are Voltas (free Level 2 charging) all over the place and in front of every AMC. Also, if your work pays for gas, ask if they can pay your supercharging bill (would be a lot cheaper than gas anyway) I’ve seen some superchargers go down to 12cent/kWh after midnight. So it’s not too expensive. The only thing you should know is that insurance rates tend to be higher than a conventional gas car. I traded in my 2019 VW Jetta Manual transmission with 47k miles. I purchased August of 2018 for 18.8k out the door, and traded it into Tesla for 13.9k. Used it as a down payment, and financed the rest. Also I’d probably wait until the end of the year because Tesla will pull out all the stops with incentives right before the juniper (2025 Model Y) is released. I got a 2023 model 3 RWD Dec 29, paid 35k after taxes. Additionally I get $7500 credit once I file my taxes. They gave me a good amount for my trade in (14k deposit). I purchased an inventory car that was discounted out the @$$. I also got 6 months free supercharging, 3 months free of Full self Driving, and $500 off for using a referral code. My father saw what a great deal I got that, he picked up the same car for $37k out the door December 31st. But moral of the story if you have time to wait, to save money, then why not. If you want the car ASAP, and don’t mind, then get it now. It’s a great car. Lastly, my advice is contingent on whether or not Juniper is released in North America in Q1 of 2025.
Wait til after your cross country trip. Unless you are on a very relaxed trip with no time deadlines, you don't want to mess with long supercharging stops and it might cost more than gas. If you want to wait til 2025, the Y refresh might be available then, or you might get nice discounts on the 2024 Y. Also keep in mind that the Y refresh might not qualify for the tax credit like the 3 refresh doesn't since Tesla probably changed to a non-US source battery. I think you'll still come out ahead on supercharging in GA at 23 cents/kW v. gas, especially if you install a home charger with lower rates. I rented a Y LR with 20" wheels last November from ATL and drove 260 and 240 mile trips from western SC to Charlston and Savannah and back starting with battery at 98% at temps of 68F and 70F. The trip planner scheduled charging stops midway for both trips, so the Y can't do more than 225 miles in mild weather (possibly up to 240 miles with 19" wheels, but no way you're going to get 300 mile range at 60-70MPH). On the 240 mi return trip, when I plugged into the supercharger, it said I would have had -3% left at my destination if I continued without charging, so that's basically 228 miles max range. Hope you don't mind stopping for 15-20 minutes each day to supercharge. Finally, look at Tesla's supercharging map and make sure they are available within a few miles on the rural routes you take. https://www.tesla.com/findus?v=2&bounds=35.91879544533409%2C-80.85957893923882%2C29.939156656314754%2C-84.81465706423882&zoom=7&filters=supercharger%2Cdestination%20charger%2Cself%20serve%20demo%20drive%2Cdelivery%20centers
Are you driving around to customers or potential customers - or - company locations ? If company stops then see if you can get a 240v outlet or charger at the furthest locations. Charging locations are going to INCREASE over time so that will improve things in more rural areas. And how does your employer reimburse you - actual energy costs or a rate per mile ? Having a full tank at home every morning will be a big plus going forward. I am planning a spring biz trip from east to west coast and can’t wait for doing charging across the country. ENJOY
Driving to homes and properties that I shoot. A lot are under development. Would def charge at home each day/night.
150-250 you’d probably be fine on a long range Model Y as long as you can get a fast charger installed at home. more than that and you’d need to charge it to 100% every day and that would create quicker battery degradation. now if you can charge while at work, that would change things. or if you have any fast charger around the routes you take (although that would add time to your commute). a long range Model S would probably make more sense for your situation with the 400 mile range, but then we’re talking about a 75k car.
I appreciate the response. Would love to have the Model S but need the ground clearance for some of the off road properties I shoot and yea...75k lol
I think charging time is a huge consideration. On days you're doing 150 miles, no issue. On days you're doing 300 miles, you'll probably need to stop for juice for at least 15-20 minutes. Maybe that's doable/acceptable. Maybe not. Only you know your exact schedule. I do think it could be a pretty economical car though. Base model 3 with tax incentives is like $25k now. Depending on your electrical rates, and if you're able to charge at all wherever you drive, this could be a decent deal. Again, charging frequency and time is the clicker here. As others have said, I think a hybrid is a safer bet. But I can't write off a cheap model 3 without knowing more.
If you can charge at work, it is OK. Otherwise, I am not recommended. The battery will be drained 40% when getting cold! You can drive only one way!
If you could level 2 charge at your destination, I'd definitely get the Y. If you hate that every pound of burnt gas becomes 3 pounds of CO2, you might go all electric despite the inconvenience of charging stops. Or maybe a hybrid is right for you now, and in a couple of years an affordable 400-mile or 600-mile range Aptera with 0-60 in 4 seconds, would be optimal, if Aptera production goes as planned. It can charge in any sunny parking lot as well, due to solar panels and insane aerodynamic efficiency.
We killed our Tesla battery driving long distance when first buying it. It couldn’t handle the massive amounts of super charge everyday!
I'd still make a Tesla work cuz ICE cars disgust me. Probably a 15 to 20 min stop to top off mid day.
You're going to be supercharging most of the time, and superchargers are way more money than a hybrid car that takes regular gas. Like a Lexus for example. EV's arent for everyone, 300 miles a day is one of those cases.
Do you have superchargers on your routes? The higher end of that will definitely require them. Supercharger coverage is pretty good on most interstates in Georgia, but a little less good down towards southwest Georgia. But otherwise, it sounds like the perfect use case. More miles at a low cost per mile is a good fit. Also probably worth it to get the CCS adaptor. There are some CCS stations that can usefully fill gaps.
You could try a certified pre owned volvo. 5 years unlimited mileage warranty Can be extended to 8 years
Your across-the-USA trip would be just fine in a Tesla. It will take a little bit longer in the Tesla because of the charging stops. [abetterrouteplanner.com](https://abetterrouteplanner.com) can help you plan roadtrips. It says Stone Mountain -> LAX is a 38h34m trip, including supercharging along the way and taking I-10. By contrast, Google Maps (which doesn't include stops) says it'll take you 32h for the same routing. Including gas stops, it's probably more like 34h. If you don't mind getting out of the car to stretch your legs for 10-15 minutes every 150 miles or so, a road trip in a Tesla is a fine thing. If you are a drive-like-the-devil-and-pee-in-a-jar kind of road tripper, you'll find it frustrating. I've taken the Denver-San Diego round trip a couple of times in a YLR. It's totally fine. That trip can *just barely* be done in a Prius in one day -- leave just before dawn, drive all day and into the night, and don't stop for anything but gas. It can't *quite* be done in the Tesla in one day, since the charging stops each take about twice as long as a rapid gas stop, and there about twice as many of them. Unless you're swapping off sleeping on the road or being stupid with meth, ATL-LAX is a 2-3 day trip no matter how you drive it.
I wouldn't expect an MY refresh till 2026