Quoted from mjenison:Not that anyone cares, but here's been my experience with my Tesla Model 3 Long Range so far:
First off, my use case was that, normally, I drive like maybe 30 miles or so a day when I do need to drive. However, occasionally, I would need to drive 350+ miles to visit family in nearby Iowa. And I didn't really "need" the performance version, so I got the LR. There's a supercharger station exactly half way along the trip, so a stop for about 30 minutes along the route next to a grocery store allows for bathroom breaks, pick up some snacks and any groceries (liquor?) I'd like to pickup for my stay with family. Or watch an episode of Seinfeld while I wait.
On my trips back to Iowa, which, if anyone didn't know, is a very "pickup truck" centric state, I get lots of questions from the locals. I even got approached once while I was sitting at a super charger. I get approached so often now that I've almost gotten it down to a science. The question that bugs me most is "How long does it take to charge?". Like anything, how long it takes to fill something depends on how empty it is. Honestly, I rarely let me vehicle get very empty so it's hard to say, but I've spent 45 minutes at a super charger before, but that's getting it to 100% full, which is not normally required. If people don't know, it takes almost as much time to charge the last 20% as it does the first 80%, in my experience.
Obviously, anything over 5 minutes is probably going to sound rough to ICE owners, as, let's admit, they're used to the instant gratification that gasoline provides. However, when they bring that up, I state something they might not realize; I *never* have to make that 5 minute stop if I maintain a proper charge using my home charging infrastructure, which is 99% of my daily driving around town use case. If people can manage their cell phone charging, they can manage an electric car.
However, I am typically respond with "EVs are not for everyone" when they ask about my Tesla. I mean, everyone's use case is different. I'm not going to convince you to buy an EV if I don't know what works for you; that's on you to make that decision. So, when they ask questions about maintenance, cost, etc, I don't try to sugar coat anything, just give the facts.
However, when it comes to the "Do you like your car?" question, then I can inject my opinion. Yes, I love it! So much fun to drive! The instant torque is insane! The entertainment center is entertaining, the audio system is top notch. But the stuff that I really love is the stuff I didn't even know about the car when I purchased it. Like regenerative breaking...I think I drove back from Iowa once without ever using the brake! One pedal driving is so satisfying. The "hold" feature at stops is cool (no need to sit there with your foot on the break pedal). And the autopilot comes in handy (for all the wrong reasons). Not to mention all the cool things you can do with your car from the app...like, never carry a key or fob for your car again (your cellphone is your "FOB"), preheating/cooling the car before I get up from a table at a restaurant, scheduling my car to be ready and warm at a certain time, in a closed garage. Even the goofy easter eggs that Tesla software has keeps me entertained.
At the time I bought it, I also owned a Chevy Traverse. I was letting my 16 year old daughter drive it. Unfortunately, about 6 month later, she was hit from behind at a stop light, totaling the car. With used car prices being crazy, we shopped around quite a bit. At a KIA dealer ship, they actually had a car within the budget, but it was...an EV! At the time, I didn't even know KIA made EVs, but it was a little KIA Soul EV. It only had a range of about 110 miles, but that was
Norwalk, CA
