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How many miles do you travel in a day?

Battery and Average Daily Distance

  • 40 kWh: 0-50 miles / day

    Votes: 13 15.3%
  • 40 kWh: 51-100 miles / day

    Votes: 6 7.1%
  • 40 kWh: 100+ miles / day

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 60 kWh: 0-50 miles / day

    Votes: 6 7.1%
  • 60 kWh: 51-100 miles / day

    Votes: 8 9.4%
  • 60 kWh: 100+ miles / day

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 85 kWh: 0-50 miles / day

    Votes: 30 35.3%
  • 85 kWh: 50-100 miles / day

    Votes: 15 17.6%
  • 85 kWh: 100-150 miles / day

    Votes: 3 3.5%
  • 85 kWh: 150+ miles / day

    Votes: 4 4.7%

  • Total voters
    85
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ElSupreme

Model S 03182
Moderator
Jan 13, 2012
4,303
108
Atlanta, GA
Please fill out the poll based on what you will be doing most in your Model S.

I have started logging the number of miles I travel every day for a couple of weeks now. But by the time I have to pick a size I should have some really good data to make a decision. I drive a lot. And generally I run my car to fumes. My estimated ‘miles to empty’ is at 0 for about 80% of my fill ups. I want to know how close you are comfortable running your Model S.

  • How many miles do you drive on a standard day?
  • What is the most miles you would drive on a normal day? (Weekend, Dinner/Errands after work, or Work/Meeting off site, NOT occasional travel)
  • And what size battery are you thinking about getting?

  • It looks like I normally drive about 60 miles on a standard day.
  • It looks like a 100 mile day where I have to drive to a meeting might happen a few times a month.
  • I was originally thinking of only the 85kWh pack, but I think it may be well overboard. And well it is starting to look like I really can’t quite stretch the budget to cover it either. Right now I am leaning towards the 60kWh but am considering the 40kWh as I feel I would feel comfortable stretching the battery to its limit.

I am now doubtful whether or not the 85kWh pack will get me from Atlanta to Charlotte (240 miles) on a single charge. A 60kWh car could do this trip with a charge in the middle. This and my thinking I could afford the 85kWh pack were the main points there. I doubt I would do that trip w/o AC. And it certainly won’t allow me to excessively speed all the way there like I currently do.
 
No poll up, but on an average day my commute to and from work equates to 11.2 miles. I'm going to get the 300 pack though for the days I make trips where it's about 60 miles one way, or to visit family in other states.

*edit* also just for my own piece of mind.
 
Oh and I also really want to get the 85kWh pack so when I drive people around I never have to ask "How far is that?" I don't want people to think that if you drive an EV you have to constantly monitor how much battery you have.
 
I generally drive less than 50mi/day on weekdays, and by the time I get my Model S, it'll be even less (my sons will be entering high school & middle school, physically closer than the school they're in now).

Weekends are where the numbers get skewed, generally we drive much more on at least one of the weekend days, for chores or pleasure, and the car is far more loaded.

Reasons for the big pack:

- To reduce the effect of "range anxiety", which I must admit that I have a little of (I'm better at fighting it than my wife, who's not yet sold on EVs).
- I assume that traveling with a full load of people (I'll have 5 + cargo on weekend trips) will reduce range by a noticeable amount.
- If I understand how the pack works, a larger pack should last longer (some sort of wear leveling must be in effect).
- I somehow managed to justify a Sig to the spending coordinator.

At first I'll make good use of the range. If Elon makes good on his promise and cars ship on time, even though I'm #945 on the Sig list I'll probably have it before some remodeling is completed on my home. The remodel is over the garage, and involves major electrical work, so I won't get to charge it at home for a month or two.

Meanwhile I look at Google maps, trying to figure out what sorts of places are reachable 100 or 200 miles from where I am (SF Bay Area). The 100 mi circle would be for trips that I don't expect to charge at the destination, and 200mi for trips where I know there's a charger at the destination (knowing there's a working charger at a given destination is an iffy idea in itself). The extra 100mi buffer is to reduce the anxiety, deal with reduced efficiency under load, and be ready for the unforeseen.

/Mitch.
 
It's really not so much about typical distance as the maximum deviations and frequency thereof. If you travel 10 miles a day, but 500 on weekends, then that variance is going to require the 85kWh battery. In my case, there will be a semi-regular need to travel 120 miles in the morning then another 120 in the evening back. It's likely I'll be able to plug in to a normal 110v outlet to help get back some miles during the day, but that still mandates the 85kWh battery.

The other option is to save $20k and go with the 40kWh battery and only use our ICE for such trips. That's probably the smart financial choice. I'm not sure how smart I'm going to be though.
 
The other option is to save $20k and go with the 40kWh battery and only use our ICE for such trips. That's probably the smart financial choice. I'm not sure how smart I'm going to be though.

If you go too far down that line of thinking, it's far easier to justify a Leaf. It's a pretty good deal for a commuter EV when you think about it. This weighed heavily on my thinking at the beginning, especially when the pricing/options were announced and the Model S moved from expensive to painful.

But: Model S (and hopefully its descendants) is different. The 300mi range gets me almost all the way to really being the only car I'll need, and that's a big part of the justification. It's simply going to be "my car," and not "my commuting car." I'm hoping that in the next several years the charging infrastructure will be beefier and more reliable. I can't yet see a future where I don't own an ICE, but it will happen.

/Mitch.
 
Commute's roughly 65 miles a weekday. Throw in another 10-15 miles for chores, gym runs and such.

My weekend trips would be within a 100 mile radius around Newark in the SF Bay Area (much like MitchL said). Any further out and I'd be taking wife's ICE or a rental.

85 kWh is expensive and overkill for my purposes. 40 kWh would be iffy in my opinion (deeper, stressful cycles on the battery, no supercharger access if ever I need it, possible range anxiety and the potential need to look for chargers on the road on weekends). So, went with "60 kWh: 51-100 miles / day" above. Strikes a balance across need, 'want' and budget for me!
 
The 'smart' financial choice for me is definitely the 40 kwh since my 4 yr average daily distance is 28 miles. This includes 12 skiing trips > 500 mile round trips and a 2500 mile trip to Arizona. The S won't be doing those trips. So more realistically 22 miles per day average but this also includes many trips to the SF area ~ 14 @ 600 miles per round trip. So If I stay in the area with the S I am at 16 miles per day average. I want the 85 kwh model so that I can make the trips to the bay area or make it up to Oregon near an area I might be able to charge. The 'smart' thing to do would be trade cars with a neighbor for the long trips but I don't see that happening (looking at the car options of my closest neighbors)

Round trip to work is only 5 mi. I might make it 10 once I get an S though : >

What Doug says below is why I think the 300 mi is the one for me.. the trips to the Bay Area will be near the peak distance including a short charge break ( and the sport would make it just a little sweeter)
 
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I work from home so the smart financial choice for me would be to not buy the car at all. Since I don't have a daily drive, I want to be able to use my Model S as much as possible, hence the 85kWh pack. Also I'm sold on the sport version so that solidifies my choice of the 85kWh pack.

FWIW in the past 18 months I've averaged 55km/day (calculated by simply dividing km's traveled by days)
 
Yeah you need to do a much more complex analysis than average.

I suggest something like this ( my rough numbers ):
80% of my driving days are under 40 miles
95% of my driving days are under 70 miles
98% of my driving days are under 120 miles
99% of my driving days are under 200 miles
The longest day of driving I want to do ( with my family in the car ) is about 400 miles.

I dont need an 85kWh Model S, but thats what I am getting, and it will cover 100% of my driving.
With my driving profile, the 40kW Model S would be fine for 98% of my driving, and 99% with opportunities to charge.
 
A normal day for me is 20-25 miles including to and from work and driving to lunch. A one or two a week, that will double based on going out at night. So far, the Leaf has been find for this - even with an 80% charge. Unfortunately, depending on which clients are active, I need to drive to San Francisco, 55+ miles each way, from 1-8 times per month. Often I will take BART (train) - but even that is 44 miles to the station each way. Beyond reasonable Leaf range unless I have a 99+% chance of getting to a level 2/level 3 charger on the other end.


I could do fine with 60KWh - but I decided to splurge on a Sig and probably on a Sig. Perf.
 
I agree. I need a complex analysis. Within the 10 answer poll algorithm I am trying to get an idea where people stand. I was wondering if anyone had insight that might steer me big or small. I am of 2 opinions: Go big or go small as you can, which seems to be in line with everyone else here. I will have at least 9 months of mileage logs, probably 12, before I have to order my car. My bet is if I can’t do normal weekly trips on the 40kWh I get the 85kWh. Otherwise I save the 20k and rent when I go to Charlotte.

In fact I was on the ‘get the 85kWh because you don’t have to worry about any of your driving’ (for all practical purposes). Because if you are driving more than 240 (real) miles in a day you probably thought about it before you rolled out of your garage that morning. If I didn’t have to finance my car I would do that. Problem is $60k car is a lot easier for me to swing than an $80k car.

I am now thinking I might be able to work the 40kWh for most of my driving and the 2-3 times a year when I can’t make it work I can rent/borrow/swap cars with a gasser. And save myself $20k. Selfishly I am not buying this car to be green. I am buying this car because all the other electric car benefits. And I have no problem calculating and running the battery to the very edge of range. It doesn’t bother me at all.

It looks like a lot of people will have about 3-10 days a year between the 120-200 mile range. And probably an equal amount of days above 240 miles. Getting the 40kWh car does almost everything you would want. Going to 60kWh makes most of your driving hassle free and without worry (even for us with longer commutes). The 85kWh does anything but road trips. I am starting to think renting a car 5-10 times a year and getting a 40kWh car may be the better decision than shelling out 20k for something that may not get me to Charlotte (250 miles) easily. I say charlotte because I road trip up there about 3-6 times a year to meet family. My other drivable family lives in Florence SC (310 miles) which would require the 85kWh and a good charge in the middle. Everyone else is a 25 mile drive to the airport.

Maybe I should just move to the east side of Atlanta and cut my distance by 20 or so miles so I could make both on a single 85kWh pack. No AC to SC while doing 80mph to Charlotte.
 
It looks like a lot of people will have about 3-10 days a year between the 120-200 mile range. And probably an equal amount of days above 240 miles. Getting the 40kWh car does almost everything you would want.
Yep. But for me, those 120-240 mile days are often short-notice medical trips.

Going to 60kWh makes most of your driving hassle free and without worry (even for us with longer commutes). The 85kWh does anything but road trips. I am starting to think renting a car 5-10 times a year and getting a 40kWh car may be the better decision than shelling out 20k for something that may not get me to Charlotte (250 miles) easily.
For me, the possibility of renting on short notice when dealing with medical problems is not worth considering. But if that's not what your 240 mile trips are like... and you're not a no-gas purist....
 
As others have said, it's not the average, its the variance.

My one-way commute is 3 miles; all the usual errands are on the way and add trivially. Occasionally I need to go to my son's school at one end of the day or the other, which would bring me to 20 miles for the day. None of this merits more than the 40kWh pack.

OTOH, my place up in Maine is 180 miles, one way, and I will drive there ~30 round trips per year. My family pretty much moves up there for the summer, so we have to have 2 vehicles able to do the Boston/Maine trip. That trip is just far enough and just frequent enough that I will feel much better having the 85kWh pack rather than the 60kWh pack. Otherwise, it's a lot of Range charging and deep discharge.
 
I am still waffling on which battery I will want.

On one hand, my commute here in Southern California is 60-ish miles a day, and a few odd errands on weekends. So all I really need is the 40 kWh 160-mile battery.

But on the other hand, Tesla isn't designing this car to be only tolerated for short periods of time. The Model S is (or will be) a car that will want to be driven. Often, and for long distances. The 85kWh 300-mile battery just *begs* ignore all the previous limitations placed upon electric car owners. I'm not planning on getting a Model S to limit myself to tootling around the neighborhood. I *like* the idea of going up to Santa Barbara -- and back -- on a single charge. I *like* the idea of being able to drive it to Las Vegas if I stop in Barstow for about an hour or so (and I usually stop there anyway to grab a bite to eat). I *like* the idea of being able to drive up to San Francisco if I stop for about an hour or so at Harris Ranch (and I definitely stop there for a great lunch/dinner).

But on that third hand, I could take the $20,000 differential between the 160 mile battery and the 300 mile battery and buy a new (but uninteresting) car for my college-bound daughter so she might come home and visit us from time to time. But I toss that out the window because my evil plans are for my daughter to learn to fly a plane, so she can fly home anytime she wants. And the girl-pilot thing should attract a more interesting class of boyfriends :)

-- Ardie