S85 Owners: Do you wish you had bought S60 instead

I love my 85. Happy that I went for it. Of course, where I live the extra range is always nice to have.

I love the Extra Mileage on My P-85 and the Range.

imherkimer said:

I love my 85. Happy that I went for it. Of course, where I live the extra range is always nice to have.

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I was on the fence 60 vs 85 for a long time before I committed. Best 10,000 I ever spent for the 85

85 here. Wish I had gone with the P85. After driving 14k miles in Model S, a 60 would be a no go. The 8 year unlimited mile warranty is alone worth the $10k, given a new pack is $45k.

For me it was 85 or nothing. No regrets a year later, the peace of mind is worth it, and I have used up the entire range a few times.

No question about it. I live in Estonia and in the winter the temperature varies between -30C..-10C so the loss of range due to battery pack heating, pre-heating the car etc is quite some and I prefer to be able to do most drives still without charging on public stations (no superchargers here or coming in next 1-2 years). Once CHAdeMO comes around it gets simpler, but even 22kW Type-II is slow (110km/h) charging. So if I want to visit my wife's parents that live ~190km away (round trip ~380km) with a day there it's impossible with the 60kWh battery. The 60kWh battery could maybe barely do it in summer, but absolutely no chance in winter. I've still got to find out if the 85kWh can do it without charging at her parents location (probably only 220V 13A plug available at best). So for me there was no question about 85kWh if one lives in a region where it does get cold. At +5C driving at 90km/h I saw ~200Wh/km. I'm guessing -20C I'm going to see higher (~220Wh/km?) and that's borderline for making the trip...

Oh and getting the P of course was only for 85 anyway as well

I have a standard 85, and, I have never SuperCharged to date. The reason I bought the larger pack is for longer life, the pack may lose %20 of it's range over 5-7 years, mine was originally 265 miles, I am already down to 254 miles with a full charge at age 11 months, that's a little over %4 loss so far. Even with a %20 loss of range (265 * .80), I'll still have around a 212 mile range in 7 years or so, and that will be enough for anything I need to do. If you start with the 60 (205 mile), figure what a %20 loss of range will look like in 7 years (164 miles).. That's the main reason I went with the bigger pack... That and the cross country SuperChargers are really being designed for the 85 pack initially, 60s won't really be able to drive cross country for several years, if ever. Even though I haven't used SuperChargers, I just went on a trip to Cleveland, OH, had to rent an ICE for now.., eventually that route will be covered by SC's

P.S. I second Mario's post above as well, Winter use in New England in cold temperatures uses a lot of power for pack heating and heating the cabin, another reason to go with the larger pack.

A guy in my neighbourhood told me that's the one thing he regretted (not getting the 85).
I would do the 85 in a second... it could become more important in you live in a colder climate and drive in winter conditions.
Went with the P85+

While I have driven a base S60 loaner twice, and have been very impressed with how much car one gets at that level, for us, the extra range was and is essential. We drive our car A LOT, and do many long road trips into remote areas that will always be off the supercharger grid. So this was essential for our intended use. In fact, my wife would not even consider the 60, and for us, she was right!

85 or nothing. The extra peace of mind and the expanding SC network makes this a no brainer!!

60 is fine & would have been sufficient, but I would have regretted "cheapening out" & miserable so its was either get the 85 or nothing, deciding on color was the the more difficult choice.

qwk said:

85 here. Wish I had gone with the P85. After driving 14k miles in Model S, a 60 would be a no go. The 8 year unlimited mile warranty is alone worth the $10k, given a new pack is $45k.

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I think some comments are a little exaggerated and are people defending their purchase. I personally don't think the upgraded warranty alone is worth $10K for example. (Would you really have paid $10k for it if it was an option?)

I love my car, but do sometimes fret over how much I paid for it, a lot of it because of the comments and judgements I get from other people knowing how expensive it was.

I like the security of the extra range, but in reality I never use it. All of my daily driving is under 150 miles, and any trips I would take are more than 300 miles (rated) round trip and the extra capacity doesn't help me much because I still need to find a place to charge.

I am a little frustrated because I do have one 250 mile round trip I take for work and was thinking I could take it in the Tesla when I bought it. However, with temperature losses, real world driving speeds, and my cars inability to charge to 265 any more, I cannot realistically make that day trip. As such I do wonder if I should have gone with a 60 and just kept it for my around town driving.

All of that being said, I love my acceleration, and I've never driven an S85 or 60, so there's a good chance I would really miss that power!

I don't regret going 85. While a 60 would meet *almost* all of my needs, I have used the extra range of the 85 twice so far. And will use it again next month.

For your average family that will still have a gas car, if they are stretching to get the 85 there is no need to do so. They can get the 60, be happy with it 360 days of the year, and take the gas car on those two road trips along routes with few charging options. I'm not average; my Model S is our second EV, so range is FAR more important than it would be for a first EV. (So is charging speed - that's why twin chargers were essential to me). Obviously the same thing applies to one-car families.

The only thing to note for that average two-car family with a 60 is that they won't want to take the gas car on long trips. They will find themselves wanting to take the Model S on those road trips - it's a nicer car, cheaper to fuel, etc. If they can't afford it, well, driving a gas car on two trips a year is not that big of a penalty. But if they can afford it, they will be happier with the 85. Especially since it comes with those other options: better tires, Supercharger access included, better warranty, faster acceleration, etc. None of it is critical, but if the money is not a big deal, it is all stuff you will enjoy.

Considering you are from FL winter/cold range loss is not a major issue. Consider an 85 if you are going to keep the car a long time and thus the battery/distance capacity will drop to a "60" after several years. As well if you plan to travel anywhere now (future).

I've driven to Boston 8 times in the past 8 months, 170 miles each way. While I could make it in the 60, it would be tight in the winter, especially with snow on the ground. I'm making my 9th trip on Tuesday.

I've also done a back and forth to Knoxville; that would have been impossible (or really, really painful) in the 60 with current spacing of SCs and a 200 mile leg from Burlington to Asheville. While the 8k would have bought another used ICE, or paid for a lot of rentals, I don't regret for a moment going with the 85. Why should I pay so much money for a nice car then not be able to drive it?

A 60 simply could not get me to work in one direction, especially during winter and if the battery degrades at all. I mean right now sometimes it takes me 200 miles range to go 100 miles due to weather conditions and having heat on (and going the normal "NJT" speed, which could be considered excessive ).

No regrets on the 85 (and a P for that matter).


Lets put it this way, I have heard lots and lots of "I have a 60 and wish I got an 85" but I have NEVER heard someone say "I have an 85 and wish I got a 60".

De ja vu ... didn't we have this discussion?

I confirmed the 60 initially....so glad I was able to make the charge to the 85 before production started. Something about seeing 250+ miles on the display feels better for me.