This Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive version was delivered in September last year, during which my parents tried to discourage me from buying it. Fortunately, I had the initiative to fully pay for it, and they didn’t say much in the end, just the last sentence “Think it over carefully”🤣 I had been planning on a long-distance self-driving trip, so during the Spring Festival holiday, taking advantage of the annual leave, I set off on January 7th.
The total distance was 4700+km, starting from Nanjing ➡️ Hangzhou ➡️ Shanghai ➡️ resting in Nanjing for two days ➡️ back home 🏠 ➡️ Wuhan ➡️ Chongqing ➡️ Chengdu ➡️ back home 🏠 ➡️ Nanjing.
The Tesla dashboard showed a full charge range of 429-435km (peaked at 438km when it was first delivered, and then fluctuated all the time, dropping as low as 399km 😀 but I didn’t care about it at all. The range on the dashboard is calculated based on various working conditions, and factors such as tire pressure and battery consistency can affect the calculation results. However, this does not mean that the battery really produces so much degradation.)
Here are some of the highlights of the trip:
a. Shanghai ➡️ resting in Nanjing for two days
Total distance: 310km (highway accounted for about 295/310=0.95)
Outdoor temperature: 15°C -> 9°C, windows closed. Because the car computer initially estimated the remaining battery capacity was only 🔋4% when arriving at the destination, so I didn’t turn on the air conditioning, steering wheel heating or seat heating. In the end, I turned on the AC only as needed, but the seat was still warm. After all, the seats of the Model Y are made of non-breathable leather…
I used Autopilot on the highway the entire journey, with a maximum speed limit of 120km/h, and overtook about 5 times. When I finally arrived at my destination, the dashboard showed a remaining range of 14%.
So, 86% of the battery shown on the dashboard was actually used to drive 310km, and the estimated range for 100% of the battery shown on the dashboard was 360km.”If the outdoor temperature in winter is above 10°C, a 60 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery can run for about 350 km.
So far, I have traveled across Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai for free shipping. ✌️
In the latter half of the holiday, I headed west and played all the way to Chengdu via Wuhan and Chongqing. Before departure, I received the OTA holiday update, and finally got my long-awaited Apple Music. 😬
b. Chengdu and Chongqing section
First, let’s complain about the “mountainous” terrain. Firstly, there are many tunnels (estimated more than ten) and the speed limit is 80. Secondly, there are many bends and downhill roads. Even on the highway, the speed limit is only 100 km/h… It’s tiring to drive… 🫠
- Chengdu -> Tesla Supercharger Station (Yuan Da Creative Park, Chongqing)
Distance: 297 km
Duration: 3 hours
Outdoor temperature: 0°C -> 5°C
Displayed actual range: 297km / (100% – 6%) = 315km
- Tesla Supercharger Station (Tianyao Hotel) -> Tesla Supercharger Station (Central Vitality District Time Square Station, Yichang)
Distance: 374 km
Duration: 5 hours 15 minutes
Outdoor temperature: 6°C -> 1°C
Displayed actual range: 374 km / (100% – 15%) = 440 km
Thanks to “regenerative braking”, I was able to achieve a difference of 150 km in range at similar outdoor temperatures. However, the amazing range in the latter half is due to the elevation gain in the first half.
“Other stuff”:
- I thought Tesla’s charging compatibility should be the best. After all, when you build a charging station, how can you not accommodate Tesla? However… 🫠 During this self-driving trip, I couldn’t use State Grid’s charging station, and I also encountered a failure to activate charging at Xiaojue’s once… I was really sad. It’s mainly because I avoided State Grid’s charging station at service areas. There are usually only four piles, and the highest power is only about 40 kW. As soon as someone else starts charging, it drops to 10 kW, and charging is occasionally interrupted. (This is specifically for Tesla’s compatibility. I see that other cars like BYD and Ideal charge just fine next to it. I don’t know if they think this power is acceptable or if they prefer other adaptations. 😢)
“2. A 60-degree battery with a winter range of 350km is sufficient for general point-to-point driving, but for long-distance travel, a hybrid is more appealing due to the exhaustion caused by the mandatory rest on superchargers.
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The only electric car I drove in 2022 was Tesla’s Model 3/3P/Y 🤣. Yes, I even made the test drive after buying the Y 🙈. If you ask me to recommend the Car of the Year, I find it hard to do so with a clear conscience because I can easily enumerate their drawbacks. However, my own Model Y has frequently given me “the urge to go driving,” which is enough for me.
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This time I’ve had my fill of driving and I won’t undertake such a long journey again unless it is necessary 🤣.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.