Let's say you drive it like you stole it.

you will get arrested if you are getting under 150 miles per charge

Sometimes, around town, I'll see 400-500 watts per mile. So taking the high end of that, maybe 160 miles on a full charge.

Lifetime average is around 350/mile though.

Mostly it doesn't matter. If you are going 150 miles in a day you are probably on the freeway so 500 watts per mile would get you a ticket (90mph, I think).

Also, once you move to LA, good luck finding a road you can drive at 90MPH, read some of Elon's tweets about LA traffic, it's one of the most congested cities in the entire country. I drive somewhat fast, but on the expressways around here, it's limited because of traffic. I did invest in a Passport 9500CI, which you should consider if you'll be going fast frequently.

Acceleration isn't a huge problem for overall charge, mostly because of lack of opportunity. Sustained high speed is what really kills the mileage, imho.

Mike, that won't be any issue at all, I frequently speed up to traffic, but once you get to speed, the power requirements drop quite bit (on level roads, hills are much worse)
I used to drive much more conservatively (I drove Prius's for the last 11 years), but I find I can now be more aggressive (when required) on the expressway.. It's actually better, as you can "get out of the way" much quicker when you see a knucklehead driver about to merge into you (Boston drivers are famous for this). Typically I might drive 55-60 miles a day, and I'm seeing at most 70-75 miles of range used, that's with use of the heater, and vampire load when the car is parked at work.

Driving 75-80 on the freeway and accelerating briskly you can still get around 200 miles from a full charge. I have averaged 415 wh/mi for 4000 miles with that kind of driving.

I've never actually tried it. I'm the guy with the P85 that volunteers to drive 15 miles round trip to get groceries.:smile: I DO pay close attention to the numbers and am "volunteering" my car for longer trips to the big city. Say, 130 miles round trip with 80% interstate driving. I still drive like an old man but my guess is you'd have a very tough time NOT getting 150 miles. It's obviously possible but as ZEX said: you'd probably end up in a high speed chase.


I usually play the energy game. AND, I'm not comfortable at high speeds. If you didn't show me a speedometer, or other traffic I'm guessing my natural set point would be somewhere at, or below the speed limit. I guess I got the "upside down at 600 miles an hour" thing out of my system back in the day in fighters.

However, I DO find that it's just so freaking amazing to me what this car is capable of acceleration wise. I'm finding that my lifetime Wh/mi numbers are suffering due to just wanting to USE the capabilities. In fact, I'm considering just driving it and taking what I get. At 330-350 Wh/mi it's still considerably less expensive and cleaner than a comparable ICE.

I can't imagine that you could drive 80mph with the heat on full blast and not get at least 150 miles of range.

Not to worry in an P85. 150 hard driven miles is a issue in my S60 but not at all in an 85kWh car.

What you'll end up doing when you get used to the way the car estimates range is drive it as fast as you can until the projected miles matches your remaining distance home. Even then you play mind games where you eat up extra power beating a Mercedes off the light and then making it up by slowing down a bit later until the projected range matches the remaining distance home again.

You are in control of your range, you are not a slave to the car's battery.

Mike K said:

Hey all... Long time lurker, first time poster. My family is making the move from Chicago to LA and I've been seriously considering replacing my BMW 535 with the 85kWh non-performance model S. My BMW is modified which means it sees about 14mpg and 230 miles out of a full tank in exchange for my mid-4 second 0-60. I tend to exploit the extra horsepower pretty regularly and would also do so with the Model S.

My question is if I'm regularly driving the Model S more aggressively how much of a loss in range am I going to see? There are some days I might drive 150 miles and I don't want to be 2/3rds the way through the day sweating bullets on range. I understand the range is 300 miles but I'm not sure what affect my driving style would have on it.

So then, anyone here with a similar (read: aggressive) driving style and what kind of range are you getting out of your 85kWh?

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Consider also that they modifications that you have done to your BMW will be inspected by the state of CA prior to registration and may not pass smog here depending on what you have done. Your options then are to 1. put it back to stock and have it reinspected, or 2. remove it from the state. I would recomend that you sell this car before leaving Chicago.

Regarding the agressive driving, yes it will affect your range, but as I have found you tend to adjust your driving according to the range requirements for your trip. You still get to romp and have fun, but adjust when the need arises. You start every day with a full charge! If you take delivery in CA, then you would likely qualify for the $2500 EV incentive as a resident.

in Los Angeles, CHP will park on freeway shoulder and use its radar gun...you will probably see 1-3 CHPs for every hour of driving.

on the other hand. SOCAL has the BEST track days in the country. They are available all year, 6 local tracks, a ton of promoters.

as for range, I get about 180 miles in my 85 for the way I drive. I am pretty sure if I push it, it is easily ~140 miles for a full tank.

Mike K said:

Hey all... Long time lurker, first time poster. My family is making the move from Chicago to LA and I've been seriously considering replacing my BMW 535 with the 85kWh non-performance model S. My BMW is modified which means it sees about 14mpg and 230 miles out of a full tank in exchange for my mid-4 second 0-60. I tend to exploit the extra horsepower pretty regularly and would also do so with the Model S.

My question is if I'm regularly driving the Model S more aggressively how much of a loss in range am I going to see? There are some days I might drive 150 miles and I don't want to be 2/3rds the way through the day sweating bullets on range. I understand the range is 300 miles but I'm not sure what affect my driving style would have on it.

So then, anyone here with a similar (read: aggressive) driving style and what kind of range are you getting out of your 85kWh?

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get the Performance.

Mike K said:

So I can count on you to pay the difference then yes?

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If you're the kind of person that tunes BMWs to get more power, I agree with kinddog that you're probably the type of person that wants the performance.
440 lb-ft vs 325 lb-ft.
The price difference isn't that much as a percentage.

derekt75 said:

If you're the kind of person that tunes BMWs to get more power, I agree with kinddog that you're probably the type of person that wants the performance.
440 lb-ft vs 325 lb-ft.

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^^^This.

hans said:

Not to worry in an P85. 150 hard driven miles is a issue in my S60 but not at all in an 85kWh car.

What you'll end up doing when you get used to the way the car estimates range is drive it as fast as you can until the projected miles matches your remaining distance home. Even then you play mind games where you eat up extra power beating a Mercedes off the light and then making it up by slowing down a bit later until the projected range matches the remaining distance home again.

You are in control of your range, you are not a slave to the car's battery.

Click to expand...

^^this. If at any point you determine you have less range projected on the energy app than the actual distance you need to travel- you can always slow down at the end and drive a bit more efficiently. This car has the rare advantage to morph from powerful beast into energy sipping econo car simply by letting up a bit on the accelerator. No mode change , buttons, or shifting needed.

derekt75 said:

If you're the kind of person that tunes BMWs to get more power, I agree with kinddog that you're probably the type of person that wants the performance.
440 lb-ft vs 325 lb-ft.

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I am for regular 85, if you are the type of person that tinkers and drives fast:

1. not sure how true this is. but according to this forum, P85 is only faster from 0-30. when was the last time you cared for anything under 30MPH during performance driving ?
2. P85 comes with 21"... smaller diameter wheel is better for performance driving.
3. P85 comes with air suspension. it means you can't tinker it.

Mike K said:

Let's say you drive it like you stole it.

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By this, I think you mean "drive it like your life depends on enjoying every moment of the ride."

So my question...
There's another way to drive a Tesla?

bellwilliam said:

I am for regular 85, if you are the type of person that tinkers and drives fast:

1. not sure how true this is. but according to this forum, P85 is only faster from 0-30. when was the last time you cared for anything under 30MPH during performance driving ?
2. P85 comes with 21"... smaller diameter wheel is better for performance driving.
3. P85 comes with air suspension. it means you can't tinker it.

Click to expand...

1. Autocross , fun takeoffs