Posted on 01/19/2018 1:43:57 PM PST by Red Badger
That's for the long-range model, which costs significantly more than the $35,000 base model.
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It's hard to say what we really know about the Tesla Model 3. Outside of Motor Trend, no serious outlet of automotive journalism has reviewed one, and with just 260 examples built in the last quarter, even reservation holders have no idea what their car is like.
At least we know how far it'll go on a charge: 310 miles, according to the EPA.
The Verge first discovered the official EPA rating for the new Model 3, which gave the all-electric sedan a rating of 131 MPGe city, 120 highway, for a combined rating of 126. We should point out that these range and efficiency ratings are for a Model 3 Long Range, which starts at $44,000. The EPA-certified range claim lines up nearly exactly with what Tesla promised the Long Range variant would do.
How far will you be able to drive in your base-model $35,000 Model 3? No numbers from the EPA yet, but Tesla said the non-Long Range version would have just 220 miles of range. So far, it seems, of the small handful of Model 3s that have been built, all are Long Range examples. Tesla doesn't plan to start building standard versions until 2018.
With or without the air conditioner running?
You can throw a charger in the trunk, and plug it into a 110v outlet whenever/wherever needed (might want an extension cord too). Not a great recharge time, but can help top up the battery or get enough to get to a faster charger.
If you drive “normally” - not especially fast, judiciously use the heaters (seat & steering warmer is usually enough) & A/C, etc you’ll get about the claimed range. If you insist on high speed & frequent aggressive acceleration, yeah you can deplete the battery faster. If you are careful, you can extend the range; I once squeezed 124 miles out of a “85 mile range” Leaf.
You’ll be warned well in advance of running low (multiple alerts, displaying estimated range left). When close enough to depleted, you’ll be forced into a “turtle” mode to maximize range and encourage you to plug in already. Absolute worst case, most manufacturers will send a flatbed to carry you to the nearest charger, for free.
You have to be pretty dumb to completely run out.
The car constantly shows you estimated range remaining. You learn to work with it.
And yes, you can completely run out of gasoline too. Easier to get a few gallons, but still a royal pain that few people actually encounter because they understand the warnings the car gives them well in advance.
Nobody will buy? You mean the Tesla which is chronically sold out of inventory, and has a multi-year waiting list people paid $1000 to be on?
Try that at -21f in Greenville, Maine!
As long as you don’t ever need to drive over 300 miles and can’t wait 8 hours for a charge. Sorry, the gas engine is going to still be around 20 years from now.
Tesla tried the “switch batteries” design. Nobody wanted it. Probably because nobody wants to swap $20,000 components of unknown (certified, but still unknown) history.
You’re constantly informed of the remaining range. You can ask it where the nearest chargers are, including the 20-minute “superchargers”. For really long trips, there are websites that will map out charger-to-charger options. If you take breaks like most sane people do, you’ll not have a substantial increase in drive time.
compared to gasoline,
electricity costs nothing.
and better than that,
none of your money goes to OPEC
One electric car company needs a $400 220v home converter to charge the battery to 80% in a few hours -I’d buy an electric car when all, and I mean ALL gas stations have charge islands where you could charge up your car in the same amount of time as it takes to fill up a car with fuel and gives your at least 400 miles and won’t run down in the winter when you have to run the heater or AC in the summer. Then too, if your car dies from lack of battery power, an AAA roadside service truck could charge you back up in ten minutes or so enough to get you to a service station. Hopefully the newer cars in the future won’t have to have their batteries swapped out every three years or so to the tune of $3500+
What most EV skeptics don’t realize: you come home, you plug it in, it’s charged when you leave. There is normally no “waiting to charge”. If the range is greater than what you normally drive daily (and then some), you rarely have to really think about recharging - it’s just ready to go. There’s no “oh crap, I have to go to the gas station” experience. The one I had was limited to 95 miles, and maybe once a year did I actually have to interrupt my driving to go charge up somewhere. With 200-400 mile range, that practically disappears for most drivers in most conditions.
Most folks don’t commute 300 miles per day. Plug it in at night just like your cell phone. Long trips may be a problem and certainly very cold weather, but here in sunny California there might be real appeal.
We’re not saying gas-powered cars are going to disappear, but EVs _will_ become a common, even dominant, alternative. Any 2-car family should have one of each: EV runabout, and a fumes-spewing SUV for hauling family & stuff long distances (combo worked great for me).
Some cities do have a proliferation of chargers. The tech is getting cheaper, and once installed there they are. Easy to put in anywhere. Company & big-retail parking lots tend to have them (not gas stations): pull up, plug in, go do your thing, got a decent charge (if not complete) when you come out.
Again, the car tells you how much range you have remaining, and where the nearby chargers are. I assume newer ones warn you when you’re running out of options (remaining charge vs distance to chargers). You just learn to plan ahead a bit, no biggie; takes some kind of stupid to actually run the battery flat.
300 miles is about my weekly commute but I have to go to the factory way out in the woods.
I’d probably pass.
How is the car battery cooled during the “fast” charge?
Well I guess just like fueled cars. I think charge time (to full) right now is a deterrent since it takes so long to charge. I suppose just for running around town doing errands.
Bland looking.
I bet that 310 number goes down when you turn on the heater or a/c or climb a hill.
No idea. Surely there’s heat sinks & fans as needed. (That battery pack is HEAVY. My cute spunky little Leaf weighed nearly 2 tons.)
The new sports coupe will supposedly be able to do more than 600 miles range and have speed and acceleration in the ludicrous level. Who knows what it will cost but we are talking rarified exotic level for sure. It won’t be available til next year or later but that level of range exceeds the vast majority of gas cars. Right now Tesla is still a niche player but one can see down the road following trend lines that it has the possibility to become a major player. Back in the nineties Apple was close to death business wise. Things can change dramatically. Tesla has a lot of warts right now but it is dumb to think as time goes on the cars they make won’t improve.
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