Standard vs Extended Range Battery (Premium SR/ER vs CR1)

[d^2x/dt^2]

I placed an order last month for a 2023 Premium AWD SR. Since then I've been doing a lot of reading here and using ABRP and PlugShare to plot some past and future road trips which has me thinking a lot about battery capacity and range. Value is subjective, but I am interested in advice and perspectives from those with some actual ownership experience.

I'm told I can still adjust my order until they schedule production so I have some time (more than I care for from what I've read here) but I don't want to wait too long on it and drag things out longer.

Fifty weeks a year this will be my commuting and 'fun' car and the SR battery will be more than adequate for my 22 mile (round trip) commute and some day trips. I can charge at home so that will be the vast majority of my charging.

But...

I do like to road trip for my vacations and some trip routes would show me spending nearly a third of my travel time at charging stations. I don't mind the breaks from driving but I'm looking for a good balance point.

I'm not interested in the GT levels but am considering adding the ER battery to the Premium or going CR1. So I'm interested in perspectives on how best to get the additional range if I decide to go that route. I lose a few options going CR1 but save a few bucks.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience!

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[generaltso]

Most people will tell you to get the most range you can afford. I opted for the SR battery because I didn’t need more for my 20 mile round trip commute. It wasn’t worth an extra $5000 to me, and I didn’t want to cart around extra battery weight that I didn’t need. The price difference now is even worse at $8600 for the ER battery. That’s a lot if you‘ll really only use the extra range 2 weeks a year.

 

[timbop]

I originally ordered a SR Select, but after doing research and recognizing that my 100 mile commute might get a little problematic in the winter - given the know drop in range in winter and the fact that you shouldn't constantly charge to 100% nor consistently drain below 20%. I went ahead and splurged for the ER (CA RT1), and I am extremely glad I did. I frequently make 2+ hours drives (4+ hr round trip) on a charge - but would have to stop to charge if I had a SR.

If your traffic pattern is different and you don't drive that far then the SR will be fine. If you want peace of mind and can afford it, get the ER.

 

[tannerk89]

ER AWD is a fantastic balance of utility, performance, and ability to road trip. I found it to be a great do it all vehicle. Today’s pricing would be a little trickier for that same value prop than when I got it, but I would think it‘s still worth it. I have done many 600-1500 mile road trips in it now and if you’re good about route planning and taking breaks for food etc every 3-4 hrs it has very few drawbacks (especially in 22.5+ models that had the better HVBJB from the factory). I don’t have experience in SR, but if you have a alternate vehicle for your road trips the SR would be a great choice as well.

 

[IgorKl]

I opted for California Route 1 awd because of range. I commute 80 miles in a day so SR would be sufficient, but sometimes I do drive long trips so I prefer to have my options open

 

[alexgorod]

Most people will tell you to get the most range you can afford. I opted for the SR battery because I didn’t need more for my 20 mile round trip commute. It wasn’t worth an extra $5000 to me, and I didn’t want to cart around extra battery weight that I didn’t need. The price difference now is even worse at $8600 for the ER battery. That’s a lot if you‘ll really only use the extra range 2 weeks a year.

My thoughts as well.

Even with the extended battery you still need to plan your trips and rely on fast chargers on your way. Until the charging network is mature enough to have stations every, I don't know, 20 miles, using ICE or hybrid for trips is much less stressful (but more expensive of course)

 

[phil]

I would get the smaller battery. And just rent or borrow a regular car for the road trip. Less cost, less stress, less wasted time.

 

[joebruin77]

A couple thoughts to keep in mind

1) Since you are located in Ohio, where winter temps can get pretty low, I would check your battery usage with ABRP and make sure to enter the coldest winter temps you are likely to experience. Your range will drop quite a bit in the coldest winter months.

2) Also, one other factor to consider, is resale value. I read an article that EV's with higher range will likely have better resale value. So the extended battery may cost more upfront, you should recoup some of this cost when you sell the car.

3) All EV's experience some battery degradation over time. I would do some research on how much degradation you are likely to experience and to make sure the SR will still suffice for your long term needs.

Good luck,
Joe

 

[voxel]

If you take a lot of unplanned random 100-150 mile day trips… get the ER.

Most folks charge to 80% daily and you rarely want to drop below 10% so essentially your daily unplanned range is 70% and that gets chopped by 30% in the deep of winter.

If you have an ICE car for road trips that’s reliable.. get the SR.

 

[satchel prefect]

Some great input already. Two things I'll chime in on:

- The phrase "YMMV" takes on a whole new order of magnitude with BEVs. There seems to be a massive spread of actual owner observed ranges on either side of the EPA rating--apparently much wider than with ICE vehicles.

If your experience ends up on the lower side compared to EPA, will the SR still cover you in those instances where maybe you fell behind on charging and need to run out for an unexpected day trip? For me personally--now on my third EV and routinely getting significantly higher than EPA efficiency--the SR was cutting it too close for comfort.

One interesting use case for the larger battery is if you may want to take advantage of vehicle-to-load at some point. In my case, our EVs (MME and EV6) could very well be pressed into duty keeping our fridge and critical systems up in the aftermath of a major storm.

- I have a Route 1 and do not miss any of the premium-specific features, though this will of course be individual preference. I find this model has a very healthy equipment list. Now that I have some real-world experience with it, I'm not sure I would change much if all of the trim-based features were offered a la carte.

 

[Motomax]

Range anxiety has been burned into peoples brains for some reason and most of them are like you and have a much shorter than average commute. Charging on road-trips wouldn’t bother me I just don’t fully trust the car and don’t want to deal with a broken down car in a different state. Yeah it’ll most likely be fine but I have a gas car that I have full confidence in so that’s my road trip choice.

Honestly, at 20mile round trip I would have been looking at plug-in hybrids instead. If you want this as a fun car, extended battery gives you a small performance boost.

 

[BigMach-E]

I have an SR AWD (the lowest range you can get). For my use case, it works. However, I have mild winters, I don’t really road trip much and DCFC is relatively easy/common in my neck of the woods. At this point, if I was buying now, I couldn’t justify a 17 percent or more price increase to get more range. As for resale value, I don’t think I’m going to sell the car, I’m going to drive it until the wheels fall off.

 

[ChuckA]

I originally ordered my Premium AWD with SR but within a week changed to ER battery. In ‘21 I paid $5000 but considering my wife’s range anxiety I felt the more the better. Besides, if I want to travel in it there is a scarcity of DCFC’s in CT to RI corridor.

 

[MachGT]

I rented a Standard Range base Mach e for a week before buying the GT and did a 230mi day trip. It worked just fine.

Buy the SR with Cal Route 1 wheels and tires, and you'll pick up some extra range. I've done a ton of 30 degree driving and the range hit isn't as bad as expected. I assume most of your vacations won't be in the dead of winter. Smaller battery equals less cost, and less weight= less wear and tear, tire degradation, better handling. After owning the GT for 9k miles, i would be very comfortable with 200mi range.

The CA RTE 1 wheels on my GT resulted in a huge range increase. Shocking in fact. I average 3.5mi/kw

 

[OON7]

If it doesn't hurt you financially go for the extra range. I'm also in Ohio, and after having a Select SR for a year, the extra battery in my new GTPE has been nice to have.

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