Having just completed a driver from PHX to LA (416 miles), I think range was probably within expectations given what I've read here. I did stop twice, but that was more on me than on the car. I'm glad I did as the hotel did not have a non-Tesla charger despite reading on a charging site that they did. At any rate, from PHX to Quartzite, we had a pretty respectable 3.6 kWh. The EA charger recognized the car without issue, and the whole process couldn't have been easier. I added about 100 miles of charge in 12 minutes and left with 75% SOC. Essentially, this gave me a 100 mile "buffer" over the remaining mileage to LA. Things got a little more interesting for me on the next leg. What I had expected was something closer to mileage range dropping somewhat evenly with actual mileage. I was driving mostly 80 mph at that time and the air was going at a mid-range as it was between 98 and 105 out. I have a GT 21". I noticed that the buffer started getting smaller and with 180 miles left to go, it was down to a 70 mile buffer. Coming into Indio and going down hill, I did see the range mileage adjust upwards a little and the buffer went up from 60 to 70 miles, so I thought we'd be ok.
One thing I'm not sure I've seen commented on with range is the ACC. As the car holds a consistent speed, I'm wondering if there is less regen from braking as range felt like it fell off more quickly when using than not. And by more quickly, I mean in an obvious way. On the first leg, while getting used to the car, etc, I don't think I used ACC as much, and I had a very respectable kWh. Now it could have been a little more city driving, too. But it did feel like the cruise control impacted range.
At any rate, I decided to stop again with a 120 miles left and a 40 mile buffer (160 miles of range). As it was at an outlet mall and they were limiting the power to 9 kWh per minute, we spent 19 minutes there and took the SOC up to 60% I think. This gave a 200 mile buffer. Given the terrible (probably normal for people who there) traffic in LA, I think we stayed pretty close to that buffer. So I have about 180 miles left and will need to charge up likely twice on the way back because of the lack of chargers at the hotel. On the last 2 legs, I got around 3.2-3.1 kWh, so not as good, but I never had anything in the 2s.
Overall, if I had just stayed at the first stop for another 5-7 minutes (i.e. 20 minutes total), I think it would have been fine. But with it being the first time I had ever done this, last thing I wanted to do was hit LA traffic not knowing if I would make it. And then find out that I needed to figure out how to charge again almost immediately upon leaving. The only thing, as mentioned above, is whether my ACC impacted things negatively, so I'd love to hear from folks about that. Also, when leaving the outlet mall, everyone should be careful making a left at the light outside the mall to get on I-10. It's downhill and even though I approached slowly, I heard the car scrape underneath when it hit the leveled road.
