Real-world Roadster range?

[daniel]

I spoke on the phone with a fellow whose friend just got his Roadster a couple of weeks ago. This guy says he got way less than the reputed 245 miles on a charge. I mentioned that the range depends a lot on driving style, which my fellow knows very well since he drives a Corbin Sparrow. He said his friend was not driving aggressively.

Does anybody have real-world range figures for the Roadster? Just curious. I'm not planning on getting one.

[efusco]

check here: Tesla Motors Club Forum - Powered by vBulletin
and ask if you can't find it. But yea, it seems that it requires some hypermiling skills to achieve the full range.

[daniel]

Thanks Evan. After posting the above I decided to sign up over there. As you suggested, I did a search, and came up with the attached chart. We all knew that speed affects range, but I was surprised how much.

The conversion shop is saying that my Porsche will be shipped soon. I'll believe it when I have it. They've made and broken so many promises regarding completion dates that I no longer believe anything they say.

[cwerdna]

2009 Tesla Roadster - Road Test/2009 Tesla Roadster/Roadster/Tesla/Buying Guide/Car and Driver - Car And Driver said:

Regardless of where your mind is transported, your body will move only about 240 miles, at most, between charges, says Tesla. Unfortunately, we can’t verify the claim. We traveled only about 160 miles before total failure. Not of the battery pack but of our lower backs. As in an Elise, the Tesla’s seats seem to consist of little more than black paint on the fire wall. Now that waterboarding is banned, may we suggest simply locking terrorists inside a Tesla.

Still, we find no reason to dispute Tesla’s range claim. The touch screen reports miles remaining on the battery pack, but it’s a prediction based on previous behavior. The harder one pushes, the lower the number of miles remaining. Ease up, as we rarely did, and your range circle widens. Holding a steady 75 on the freeway drains the pack fast, as it sucks amps and there are fewer opportunities for brake regeneration. Conversely, pummeling the car on a winding road winds down the clock less quickly.

[SageBrush]

Funny that C&D *still* doesn't get it wrt energy economy.

[daniel]

the Tesla’s seats seem to consist of little more than black paint on the fire wall. Now that waterboarding is banned, may we suggest simply locking terrorists inside a Tesla.

I sat in a Tesla and was given a ride, about two years ago. The above is an exaggeration. However, I found the back-tilted seats so uncomfortable that I didn't think I'd enjoy the car much. (I understand that the seats in the production car are better than the ones in the prototype I rode in.) I also did not like that the seats are low to the floor, so your legs stick out in front of you much more so than with a conventional car. I have been told that both the low seat, and the back-tilted back rest are typical of roadsters. That's what a roadster is, so I'm told. A Porsche is much more comfortable, while still having the sports-car look. For all that, I'd have bought a Roadster if one had been available, since I very much wanted to go electric. I balked at giving them a $50,000 deposit and then waiting over a year (as they then estimated -- it turned out that over two years was more like it). I ended up getting the Xebra instead. One-tenth the cost, 1/6 the range, and about 1/10 the acceleration.

[prius2go]

It must be a US vs UK thing
The Elise seats are supposed to be one of the most comfortable made - little padding but just the right shape. The only comfort feature they have is adjustable lumbar.
I'm assuming the Tesla has the same seats.

What is comfort anyway?

[Rokeby]

Daniel,

Here's some anecdotal information:

A friend of a work-mate owns a Tesla and he brought it by our
workplace on Tuesday. I got to sit in it, very low, lots of squirming
around the steering wheel. ( I cannot afford this car. I have no
defendable reason to own a car like this. I really want a car like this...
NOW!)

As I scanned the controls and displays, my eyes came to rest on the
battery status screen which said 111 miles.

Me: What's the full-charge range?

Bill: The manual says 220 miles. Today I left home showing 180 miles,
drove 40 miles, and it says 111 miles.

Me: So, you were driving pretty fast?

Bill: Yeah, we (he had a passenger) we're "playing around" on the way
in.

Me silently taking note of the radar detector, illegal in Maryland: Did
that include exceeding the speed limit? (Max speed on route he would
have taken is 65 MPH)

Bill: Yeah, big time!

Me: 75?

Bill: Way more...

Me: So, what about on the way home?

Bill: I'll be much closer to the speed limit.

Me: Just how low have you run the battery meter?

Bill: I prefer to get home with more than 50 miles left, you never
know about traffic, detours, that kind of stuff.

Hope this helps.

[SaucyRed]

I've had a Roadster for a little over a month now. I've taken two trips over 200 miles: 210 and 250 (several other owners were with me on the second trip). I would say that the 244-mile range is possible in the real world; no weird driving habits required. But you do have to be careful to not waste anything.

When we are pushing the envelope and want to make sure we will get the full range, we put the top on, keep it under 60mph, and don't use a lot of heat, A/C or headlights. Taking the top off, turning the lights on and using a lot of heat and A/C will drop range around 10%, maybe 15%. Going faster will reduce your range as noted in the graph above. But the worst thing is accelerating quickly. If you are driving around town and take off fast from every stoplight, it is easy to drop your range by 1/3rd.

REALLY hard driving, such as at a track, can cut it in half. Or so I've heard from other owners; I have not tried it with my car.

A lot of people ask about hills; they aren't so bad. Sure you use a lot more energy going up them; but you gain the vast majority it when you go down the other side. The net amount lost is small compared to the energy it takes to push the car along at 60mph.

--Chad

P.S. Obviously it will vary from person to person, but I find the Roadster seats quite comfortable, even on long trips.