EV Chronicles #57 - Way Too Early Polestar Efficiency and Range Analysis

My wife and I have made many, many trips from our home near King of Prussia, PA to Mechanicsburg, PA (just west of Harrisburg) in our 2021 Tesla Model Y LR since its purchase in late June of 2021. A journey that is roughly 95 miles depending on the route we take, and one we have taken at least 60 times (over 120 one way trips) since early July of 2021 according to TeslaFi.

This is my way of setting up that I have a TON of data from TeslaFi from all of our Model Y trips on this route in particular. Well, this weekend was the first time that we had the chance to take our brand new 2025 Polestar 3 on this exact same trip, so it seems like the perfect time to deliver a "Way TOO Early" driving efficiency assessment on the Polestar 3.

The efficiency and usage of the Tesla battery has historically been very close no matter which direction we were driving on this route, but in general, we see slightly better driving efficiency on our return trip back home, probably because that direction would put the winds at our back more often that the other direction and we have a slight elevation difference (~200 ft). An added bonus on this first drive in the Polestar 3 was that the driving conditions were nearly perfect on Friday morning. When we started the drive, we had temps in the lower to mid 60's and very light winds. I found in my TeslaFi account, 26 total drives in the Model Y that matched to the temperature range of 60-75 degrees F.

Now for the comparison....

Model Y Statistics per drive - 26 Drives:

• 312 WH/mile

• 29.5 kWh

• 43% of the battery used (equates to an average of 69 kwh battery capacity on the Model Y)

• Max Range: 220 miles (under similar driving conditions)

  • Note: According to TeslaFi data, the battery has degraded by approximately 13%. If we assume an "average" degradation of 7% over this time, then when it was new, the Model Y would have had a range of roughly 235 miles with these numbers, maximum of 250 miles if you assume maximum degradation values.

Polestar 3 - ONE DRIVE

• 385 WH/mile

• 35.9 kWh

• 32% of the battery used (if I believe the numbers, this equates to 112 kWh battery capacity - 111 kWh is stamped on the side so...)

• Max Range: 295 miles (under similar driving conditions)

About 20% more energy used per mile in the Polestar 3, but the Polestar 3 has a 60% larger battery.

So, the WAY TOO EARLY assessment here is that the Polestar 3 has the Potential to deliver REAL world highway driving range in excess of 270 miles under ideal conditions (light wind with mild temps), maybe as high as 300 miles in mixed driving conditions. Depending on charging speeds (a post I hope to do soon), this vehicle also has the potential to be an even better road tripping vehicle than the Model Y LR. Everyone's use cases will vary, but my wife and I love to take weekend trips to the Finger Lakes (FLX) Region of New York. I think this particular trip will be the one where we notice the difference between the Model Y and the Polestar 3 the most. It is 240-260 miles from our home to the FLX depending on exactly where we decide to stay during our visit, and a trip that is tough to do with only 1 charging stop. This is primarily because three factors: the lack of chargers between Allentown and Binghamton; most of this trip is on the Highway; it always seems to be chilly to brutally cold weather when we go. Because of the second two factors, comfortably getting to Binghamton, NY in the Model Y was a stretch, which is why we often stopped at about 60% SOC at the Jim Thorpe rest stop to charge on the way and again somewhere in NY (Binghamton, Ithaca, or now Watkins Glen!). But if the Polestar 3 proves out to give us that much more range, stopping before Binghamton will be more because we needed a bathroom break or a meal than because we needed to charge. Being able to get to Binghamton in just about any weather conditions and have that be our first and only charging location is a game changer for this trip.

One more example, I entered our future trip to Walt Disney World into ABRP, and the difference was interesting for sure. In the Polestar 3, the trip is 1 hour shorter and may only require 4 charging stops in the Polestar vs. 6 in the Tesla. In reality, I am sure we'll be stopping more than 4 times though for meals and bathroom breaks so the difference will really come down to peak charging rates and the charging curve of the Polestar 3. I stopped at a Tesla charger this weekend just to make sure the DCFC charging on the vehicle works. I was very impressed with the top end charging. At 84% SOC, the vehicle pulled 84 kw and stayed above 65 kw all the way to 95% SOC. Rates the Model Y wasn't able to do above about 65% SOC.

Here is what ABRP says for our Florida Trip. We plan to stay the night around Brunswick, GA, thus the one hour long charge (there is a Tesla charger across the street from the hotel we hope to use).

For the ABRP users out there, I entered the home to Harrisburg trip into ABRP and the battery SOC usage in ABRP matched exactly what I saw in the car when I used 300 wh/mile consumption at 65 mph in ABRP's settings.

Note on our Typical Route. About 25 miles of the 95 miles is on secondary roads where speed limits are 35-45 mph. The other 70 miles of this trip is on the PA turnpike and the Highways around Harrisburg where average traveling speeds are 75 mph (wink, wink).

Picture for Attention....

First Wash after First Road Trip