Ad hoc trip

An unplanned call led to a trip to Manchester TN:

The car had an estimated range of ~105 miles at 55 F in Huntsville. But within 30 miles, there was a stiff headwind, light rain, and cold, ~40F. These are not friendly to any EV. Although initially showing a 10% margin, when we hit the cold air, it soon dropped to 1% in the original route. But instead of taking the Interstate, we took an alternate approach using state and county roads. As soon as we turned off, the reserve jumped from 1% to 4% thanks to shorter distance and lower speeds.

We arrived at the Dunkin Donuts SuperCharger with 4% reserve remaining. After setting the cabin heat to high and plugging in, I went in for a biology break and coffee. My wife is cold-phobic and stayed in the car.

Her grandchild arrived from Murfreesboro with his father who drove the Interstate. After installing the child seat and overnight bag, we headed back to Huntsville with over 160 miles indicated. The trip back was unremarkable.

The key is EVs are different which means drivers have to be flexible and aware of where the chargers are and optimum routing. For us, an unplanned trip was no big deal. I also used it to explain what we were doing as I adjusted our route. But then I find dealing with 'the real world' a fun exercise.

Bob Wilson

 

We could have taken her BMW i3-REx but no autopilot and several fuel stops made the Tesla a better answer.

Bob Wilson