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Daily Commuting in a Model S

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It seems that many of the threads on this blog focus on issues, questions and suggestions. Owners experiencing problems are the most likely to post something, while those who are simply enjoying their Model S might have less incentive to do so. I thought it might be worth expanding on the positive side of the Model S experience, beyond the giddy first 100 miles. Daily commuting seems like a good place to start, something every non-EV owner can relate to.

Please share your experiences about your daily commute, and why the Model S makes it a little sweeter.



Could we have a sticky on this please?
 
My work commute is 17.5 miles each way. It's a blend of street and highway driving.
Not only does the Model S save me several minutes each trip due to car pool lane access, but it's quiet enough to take conference calls for work while driving and no one notices.

I'm also playing a game to see how few times I need to hit the brake pedal on the trip.
 
70 miles RT daily. No problems doing this in my P85. Just plugging in when I come home and I'm good to go. Driving this car makes my commute so much nicer. Today was the first time I could open the sunroof and enjoy this for a while. Can't wait for summer!

As others have reported there is a large loss of charge overnight when not plugged in in the cold. I have that once in a while when on a 24h shift at work. No outlets available there. It does not appear to come back once the battery is warm as some claim...
 
It's been fantastic for my daily commuting and running about. I haven't done a round trip of more than 130 miles yet (hope to do so this weekend though). I put on anywhere from 25-100 miles per day depending upon meetings and kids' activities. I tend to make at least one trip home during the longer/busier days and tend to be able to get a brief opportunity charge. I've been able to use 110v charging at the hospital when I'm working my shifts there...which has been great for keeping the battery warm and having it topped up or nearly so when I get off of my shift.
Other than the usual software quirks the car has been flawless and just so much fun to drive. I love not even thinking about gas stations or having to ever stop to fill up.
 
One-pedal operation in stop and go traffic. Smooth ride with no engine vibration. Nice sound system with plenty of listening choices. Sunroof when the temperatures are right. The admiring gawks looks for other drivers. The ability to get moving fast when the traffic clears. Once, applause of the guy in the brand new Mercedes Benz next to me. No tailpipe fumes; no requisite stops at a gas station.

Yeah, I guess it's OK as a commuter car. :biggrin:
 
45 miles round trip daily. Love the one pedal driving and playing the wh/mile game with the trip computer. Got some of my best numbers today and really took a bite out of my lifetime wh/mile.
Preheating in the morning with the phone app has been great. I check the app several times a day just to look at my baby (even though it's just a graphic).
 
No big trips planned for quite a while, but I took a friend on a short (and, sadly, not-highway) joy ride this afternoon. Anyway, 46 mile round trip commute to work and it's great! I'm still getting used to the regen one-pedal driving; sometimes I feel like I aced it, while others I know I didn't do it right and have to (gasp!) brake. ;-) I've only had it two days but it has zero issues and is fun to drive, so quiet. Much easier to listen to my audiobooks in to/from work, without the need to turn it up so high, OMG...that's great.

I keep trying to hit the parking brake when I park--silly, since my previous car's a manual and has a hand brake, but I've driven my other half's Murano a lot so I think my foot's remembering that. The Model S is big enough and so comfortable that, methinks, I'm subconsciously thinking I'm in the Murano, not my old Miata.

Oh and about regen--I love how I don't have to brake when turning corners, usually! That part is pretty easy to do (a combination of the regen and how stable the car is) and a joy to do. Actually, maneuvering in general is a pleasure. I'm using the default settings for steering, regen, and air suspension.
 
Don't have my car yet, and not a work commute but starting next year our son will be going to a school (6th grade) that is 24 miles away. I work from home so that will be minimum 48 miles per school day (wife could be driving too). He'll likely be going to that school 6th-12th grade, 7 years. At 180 days of school per year, that's 8,640 miles per year. Over 7 years that will be about 60,000 miles. That's just to school and back, not including all other driving...errands, shopping etc. So just the school commute at 15mpg would have been 4,000 gallons of gas, at $3.50 per gallon that's $14,000. Will be nice to save a good chunk of that!
 
Every morning I get into a warm car to go to the gym. To and from work I enjoy a quiet (unless I crank the music), smooth, relaxing drive. Whenever I want to I can punch it and get the thrill of instant acceleration, just because I can. I never have to stand out in the cold at 6am pumping gas.

Range anxiety, what's that? Wake up to a full battery, drive to work, run errands, out to dinner, plug her in at night.

Only problem is when I have to drive the Civic because my husband wants to drive Lithie to work.
 
24 miles round trip to work plus errands during the day. The MS makes it all a pleasure. On the weekends it is the family car and can easily handle all the running around we do. The only use the ICE gets is driving the kids 1 mile to school.

I should make those little buggers walk.
 
I drive downtown Chi-town on average 3-4 days/week. Round trip is about 32 or so miles. Best commute ever! I love the NAV traffic feature - I've found it pretty accurate - better than traffic reports on the radio, and I've used it many times to determine the route.

Best commute and driving experience ever. I gave up the commuter rail (Metra) since the Tesla is much smoother, and by the way, cheaper to drive my Tesla and park downtown than to take Metra and park at a train station! (I get a good deal in parking fees downtown) I save time too, about an hour round-trip each day driving Model S. Simply can't be beat!
 
A whopping 12 miles RT to/from work. This includes a small detour to drop off my daughter at school. In my old ICE, the car would just be warming up as I was pulling in the garage or my parking spot at the office. Even without the mobile app, the car's heater is incredibly fast, but it's so nice to get in a toasty vehicle. I also regarded Slacker radio as a novelty, but holy cow, I've fallen in love with that feature. I've had more fun building playlists out of songs from my past, it makes me want to go on longer drives just to hear the music! I have put 600 miles on the car in one week giving people test drives and finding any excuse at all to go for a drive.

I am so looking forward to spring when I can stop sucking kW with the heater and crack open the pano roof.
 
at just over 1000 miles i'm still finding any excuse to run out on an errand. i'll go to the store for one simple thing i don't even need just to get in and drive. no joke. daily, i do between 40 and 100 miles, always a joy. i practically run down the steps in the morning to get in. so quiet, so fast, so agile. sound system is great, i listen to podcasts, music, anything. or nothing. even tonight in my friend's bmw i thought to myself, geez, how loud is it in here...?, had to turn up the radiohead to hear the quiet bits i enjoy so much in the model s at 75mph. just great. night time, rain, highway, back streets, love it all. i've not gotten below 50 miles left yet, and won't unless i plan to, but it hasn't hindered any day so far in any way. some days i don't plug it in, just do every other day. it's warm (ish) where i live and so the cold isn't an issue, and my rule of thumb has been if i have close to 200 miles left i don't charge it. somehow i feel that's smarter for the battery, but... who knows. basically, i just don't think about it for daily driving, i just do it. and have a great amount of fun. love. it. love.. it. as does everyone who sees it or gets in it. (then it's a goner. i think i've sold 5 or 6 of them.)

/gush
 
Both my wife and I drive the Model S if it is available when we leave.
M,T, Thu my wife takes it to work. 34 mile round trip, not plugged in while there, parked in an unprotected surface lot.
Virtually all errands either of us run. Once or twice a week I drive ~75 mile round trip. Car parked on a street unplugged for 4-5 hours.
Fairly often we will both have the car out at different times during the day. Our greatest mileage in a day has been about 170.
We have 6000 miles on the car in 4 1/2 months.
I really enjoy the one pedal driving. In Minnesota winters I especially love the fact that I never have to pump gas. There is nothing I hate more than trying to pump gas in the middle of a winter storm.
I also love the instant response when passing/accelerating.
In other cars I would step on the accelerator and a 'Rube Goldberg' process would take place under the hood which would propel the car forward.
In the Model S, the link is instantaneous! It feels as if my foot moves, and the car moves. No, gathering of power, no pause when the gears move through a transition. No turbo charging up. You press, you instantly go.
And the whole process is smooth!