Tesla Model 3 Long Range Motorway Range Test (MIC)

Hey guys and thanks for tuning in this week.
Following Tesla's price drops I thought I'd take a used 2021 Model 3 Long Range for a range test to demonstrate how efficient a two year old vehicle is and how it deals with sub zero celsius conditions.
Also, we look at the data to show how predicted range can be incredibly different to actual real world range.
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Car: 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range (Made In China)
Route: Southwest-70
Cost for journey: £8.76 (Octopus Go Tariff at 12p pkW)
Range completed: 204+ miles at 99% SOC
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Thanks as always,
Stu
#Teslam3 #teslamodel3 #teslamodel3rangetest #teslarangetest

[@wyx087]

Great range test in freezing temperature. M3 efficiency always amazes me. Keep doing these great motorway tests. With today's EV's, it's really the only time EV's need the range.

[@stuart_thomas]

Thanks, will do!

[@spif7]

Hi, I notice you have Hankook tyres on 19inch alloys. How much impact on efficiency do you think this combo has vs OEM Michelin PS4 on 18's with aero covers. I have M3LR on 18s and have recently replaced OEM Michelin with GoodYear F1 Assy 6. Early days, but I'm seeming quite a large drop in efficiency (perhaps 5% or so). Car rides better now however.

[@TheHamptonboy]

Hi, great video! I've been thinking about getting a model 3, I drive from Bournemouth to Brentford for the football every other week which is exactly 198 miles. Would you expect the tesla to have better range in warmer weather such as 10 degrees?

[@stuart_thomas]

Absolutely! Also, I test when it’s quiet on the roads, as soon as you mix a bit of 50 and 60mph that only extends the range. Unfortunately, one of the things I don’t demonstrate is how good Tesla’s route planning tool is. Now, obvs I know you probably wouldn’t need it to find your way to the football, but what it does do is take into account variables like elevation, weather and traffic and an estimate arrival battery %. It’s more or less to 1% accurate most of the time. It will also give you the opportunity if you wish to stop at one of their superchargers. Which would be less than 5 mins stop. You could have a longer stop on the way back to make up the shortfall to return home. We have owned a model 3 long range for 3 years and we’ve never in all of our road trips even to frozen Scotland in winter gone under 200miles of range. Obvs newer versions of model 3 have slightly bigger batteries on the long range nearly 80kWh, ours is about 5 less which is around 20 miles difference. You can also do things to help remain efficient on your trip like preheat the car prior from your charger that way the car won’t be scavenging heat from the battery to initially warm the car. Turn the heater down a little and use the heated seats etc It’s a great car for flying up and down motorways

[@TheHamptonboy]

@@stuart_thomas Thanks for all your advice, I have had a look at the supercharger network on my route and there a couple so I should be okay if I ever need it. Just trying to look into get a charger installed in my garage to make the charging even easier!

[@adam060577]

Hi Stuart. I'm swapping my se sr for a model 3 lr this week. I know you have both. Which 1 do you drive the most . What's your opinion of the 2? I love the mg4 but the range isn't quite enough. Thanks

[@stuart_thomas]

Hi Adam thanks for tuning in. Great question. If range is an issue model 3 LR will give you peace of mind there. I drive the MG4 90% of the time, without sounding past my sell by date (I’m 42 honest!) the ride is just much better and I value you that more. M3 can be brutal. However, if we do a road/long trip the model 3 gets the nod because it just eats miles for breakfast and it charges like a beast. On motorways and A-roads, apart from the model S, there isn’t a better car. The sound system is flippin good too but you need it to drown the road noise. It gets loud. I have a 2020 model3 LR and I’ve driven 2022 M3 and MY and there’s definitely some incremental improvements in drive comfort and cabin has in the same way quality improvements. I love both cars for different reasons. MG4 is fantastic at doing ‘everything’ really well and the price tag justifies it for consideration. It’s just a very good all round car. The acceleration on the model 3 is just phenomenal and the route planning is fantastic! Both cars have their little flaws but they’re better than most of the opposition. If i had to chose between a brand new MG4 and brand new M3 and money was no object I’d go with the Tesla but if im absolutely honest if it was a second hand model 3 pre 2021 Fremont build I’d take the MG4. My M3 has had so many issues. Latest heat pump failure. It also squeaks and rattles like a bag of spanners. You will love the Model 3 it is seriously a flippin’ good car and you’ll be buzzing when you hit the throttle. I don’t think you can go wrong with either car despite the differences.

[@royboydanny1415]

Hi Stuart, great video . What would that Tesla cost today ? 👍

[@stuart_thomas]

Hi Roy, thanks for tuning in - about 32k. Prices do seem to be slowing down now but there’s lots of bargains. Degradation on these cars is so incredibly little you’re talking a few miles each year and the worst is in the first year. I own a 2.5 year old M3 LR with 45k and it matches the range more or less of this 2021 model with 10k.

[@royboydanny1415]

@@stuart_thomas thank you Stuart. Keep up the good work. Thank you very much for the info. I am considering the MG 4 trophy.

[@stuart_thomas]

@@royboydanny1415 that’s great. You should definitely test drive one 😊

[@AdamT19931]

@@stuart_thomas Interesting video, very informative. I'd say this 2021 Long Range is more around £36k - £37k looking on auto trader. Glad to hear your 2.5 year old car matches the 2021 model, I pick up a 2020 Long Range on Sunday with 24k miles on the clock, hopefully achieve similar results

[@royboydanny1415]

@@stuart_thomas I had a test drive the other day, brilliant 👍

[@gurinderkular7209]

Not sure I agreed with your summary, 200 miles of range on a full charge is not great, who wants to stop at - 2 at an overpriced supercharger?

[@stuart_thomas]

Who wants to stop anywhere at -2 but we all need to fuel up whether it’s petrol/diesel or electric. Tesla superchargers are one of the cheapest, sometimes as low as 30p pkW which is almost comparable to home charging. You’ll be surprised how short your charging sessions are too, you only charge what you need. These cars are comfortable, warm and have entertainment on board if your phone isn’t enough ☺️

[@gurinderkular7209]

Yes that's all good and well but having to build an extra hour into your journey isnt ideal.

[@stuart_thomas]

An hour?

[@neilpickard5410]

Liked your test. Not really converting me to electric cars though. Correct me if I'm wrong. If you wanted to charge at a Tesla fast charger it would cost you £40.20 to travel 200 miles(60p/kWh X 67kwh).

[@stuart_thomas]

Hi neil, this is more or less worst case scenario. Tesla superchargers now have different tariffs depending on when you visit, I think cheapest is just over 45p. If you do generally charge at home it’s very unlikely you’d ever charge 0-100%, maybe 15-80% etc. there’s also subscription models where you can get public DC ultra fast charging for 28p a kWh etc

[@Lerpzoid]

I typically charge from 20 to 100 on my standard range and it costs around £16/17 as a heads up. Between 25 and 36p on the chargers I use

[@strikejre81]

It's would be great test. Maybe can you do with Mustang Mach-e Standard short battery 70kW?

[@stuart_thomas]

I’d love to test a Mach-e but they’re so hard to get hold of

[@strikejre81]

@@stuart_thomas No hurry. But it's important the standard because there are a lot of videos with the long range.

[@kind2cats]

I wa thinking of getting one of these but 200 miles at a steady 70 mph not practical and I tend to cruise faster . Stick with my ioniq phev regular 35 miles for all my day to day and can drive to Scotland without a petrol stop from Bristol .

[@cloggsy1971]

How do you get access to all these different vehicles Stu’? I’m aware this M3 is yours 😎👍🏻

[@stuart_thomas]

Hi Clive it’s a mixture of ownership/people I know/loaners or from dealerships. I’m certainly no way near a calibre of being able to pick from press cars etc but I try my best to get what I can get my hands on lols - I hope I can provide (what I think is) valuable info to the consumers who want to learn more about EVs etc

[@benellis7427]

I know this is a powerful car but 200 miles from a long range car isn’t great. My puny Ioniq 38Kwh isn’t far off this. I will probably still upgrade for the extra performance but somehow I expected more.

[@ahsan107539]

Great video, thank you. I was thinking to buy T3 LR but you have changed my mind. The range is too low for me as I can do 700+ miles on my bmw f10 at 73mph on motorway. So what's the point of spending £30k+ on a vehicle just to get 200miles? 🙄

[@stuart_thomas]

This is a worst case scenario. Of course there’s many more benefits with EV ownership. It won’t be for everyone. I’ve had 300 miles out the car as well, depends on a few factors. My old car did 500+ miles on a full tank, it doesn’t mean I need to drive 500 miles. We have spent around £1200 on 50k driven miles with our model3.

[@ahsan107539]

@@stuart_thomas I totally agree with you. I have spent £4k only on the fuel last year. Technically speaking, EVs have advantages. Thanks 😊

[@PedalPowerPanther]

Ahsan, you're right, there's no point. Keep driving your car for 700 miles without a break. Keep paying 5xmore in petrol than electric. Keep giving kids outside schools a lung full of polluting air. Keep paying roadtax. Keep paying 100s of pounds a year in servicing. Enjoy defrosting your car instead of getting into a lovely warm one every morning. Keep losing the traffic light grand Prix. Don't think about EVs having a peaceful, quiet cabin.

[@Mordalo]

66% of claimed range is a good thing to you? FYI, consistent speeds actually give you the best range/milage. All my cars get better milage a 80 than 55-60.

[@jhonnypusong6906]

Low range not good for very cold weather. My new Toyota hybrid has a 440- 470 miles range approximately. I regularly driven the car to Dorset Devon from Berkshire(212 miles x2). Cost only 35 quid for petrol return.

[@pcr8918]

Nearly 80mpg ! What cars that?

[@stuart_thomas]

That’s great efficiency jhonny. What do you think you’d get at -3c at 70mph? Cold weather isn’t great for EVs but it’s easy to adapt to for the 2 months of the year we hover around freezing. Just to point out as you may not have seen it in the video notes, this trip cost £6. In summer 300+ miles is more likely on a full charge. There’s a bigger picture driving electric but I totally understand use cases and hybrids do a great job

[@gilesfitzherbert7725]

I would be interested to know what range you think your MG4 SE would have driving almost entirely on the motorway at 70mph in sub zero temperatures.

[@stuart_thomas]

Hi Giles. Based on the variables of this trip I think I could squeeze 125 miles. That’s based on not unlocking the full battery capacity because of the cold.

[@gilesfitzherbert7725]

@@stuart_thomas What do you mean by "not unlocking the full battery capacity because of the cold."

[@stuart_thomas]

@@gilesfitzherbert7725 LFP cells tend to operate at there best between a set of temperature parameters. Below 5c makes it harder for the pack to stay at the optimum temperature so the car can either limit the available battery or you use more energy to keep it warmer. I hope that makes sense?

[@gilesfitzherbert7725]

@@stuart_thomas So the SE has a battery heater but obviously uses energy to keep the battery at best temperature. My dilemma is that my daughter lives 125 miles from me, only about 5 miles of non motorway roads. Obviously I'd like to charge at her house, albeit from 13amp plug - we always go for a couple of days, rather than a public charger. Can I use the Tesla charger that I have at my house (courtesy of my son who has had Teslas for many years).

[@stuart_thomas]

@@gilesfitzherbert7725 remember it’s only in very cold conditions the car will experience this. Anything over 5c and you’re looking at 140-210 depending on temps, driving style and weather. Even if you did feel anxious and wanted to stop en-route you’re talking 5 mins of charging. Yes you can use any AC charger even Tesla home charger.

[@nicktsanov]

Does this model have the heat pump or no ?

[@stuart_thomas]

Yes. All MIC ones do 👍

[@kershaw5351]

328km with grandpa speeds sheesh, wonder how low it drops with 140km/h

[@ivanpetrov2280]

204 miles , but on paper is 389 where is 180miles?

[@richardhowlett9424]

Another jolly little jaunt down the M5 . Electric cars are utterly useless , barely 200 miles is a joke . A football fan following their team , say Forest Green Rovers , to Hartlepool or Colchester , might just make it for the final whistle.

[@logicalChimp]

yus, if you set off at the same time... long-range travel is a weakpoint currently (especially for non-Teslas... Tesla at least has consistently fast and available super-charger network for on-route fast charging, etc)... but that also overlooks their benefits elsewhere

[@danuk2005]

For some one who doesn't like electric cars you watch a lot of videos about them

[@stuart_thomas]

It’s a fair point of view Richard but I also think it’s fair to assume who in their right mind would want to drive for more than 4 hours without a toilet break or food stop? You must have a bladder like Thor’s hammer

[@UntrainingUltrarunner]

Richard - you seem like a very anxious type of person. Very beta.

[@richardhowlett9424]

@@stuart_thomas my experience is toilet break, behind a hedge or tree ! Food , raid the fridge before leaving, the organised make sandwiches eaten on the way , a car full all chip in for the petrol money.