Does driving an older EV with less range make sense? #YMMV
Posted By RichC on May 15, 2026
Our 2019 Tesla Model 3 SR+ is not really the best vehicle for road trips, but eventually we’ll learn feel comfortable stretching its limited range (realistically we’re currently only comfortable in calculating about 120 miles between stops). That said, the EV works well for our 380 mile round trip to Katelyn and Drew’s house 
in Whitehouse, Ohio with an 85% charge on both ends … and a 30 minute stop both ways in Lima, Ohio.
- Original EPA Rating: The 2019 SR+ was rated at 240 miles of combined range.
- Real-World Expectations: Due to battery degradation (typically 8–15% by 2026) and driving conditions, actual range often falls between 190 and 210 miles on a full charge.
- Highway Driving: At steady speeds of 70 mph in mild weather, real-world range typically drops to 170–190 miles.
- Winter Driving: In cold conditions, range can decrease by 30–40%, resulting in approximately 120–150 miles on the highway.
The financial part of owning and driving an EV is also making far more sense than originally thought, at least by me. Since we normally drive my BMW X5 35d “diesel” on most road trips, which achieves about 22-24 mpg, the $100 trip price (diesel currently at $5-6/gal) is significantly more than in years past. This means charging the Tesla while using the actual variables from our last trip to Toledo saved us about $60. The total estimated cost of electricity to charge at our home, at Katelyn and Drew’s and at a DC Fast-charger is about $40 (although electricity costs are going up, so as they say, “your mileage may vary” or the YMMV acronym for the idiom – also see my EV Cost Calculator for another one of my coding attempts). 😉
young (Hm, I think “happies” is the plural for “happy?”)
