anybody here actually own a Tesla?

[phatmanace]

Blaster72 said:

Have you looked at the E-Golf?

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/e-golf-vii/home

not sure if that was aimed at me...but I did look at the GTE (not sure if you meant the pure electric one) - I discounted it as it was more money than the lexus. I thought it was a bit overpriced.

[Blaster72]

Yep, it was aimed at you. Just another option, I thought you may not have seen that new one. As you say though, they are pretty expensive.

[problemchild1976]

EVs are the future....

not in the cuurent motor/drive train set up though

hub motors providing braking/abs/TC/enhanced cornering yadayadayada and super capacitors for higher storage

tesla is world leading and not only a fantastic vehicle but a great company

the mere fact that this investment has gone on (remember the roadster) has pushed all other manufacturers to accelerate their investment.

range extenders are a great interim solution

i would love a twizzy as i do sub 10miles a day but i don't spend as much on fuel as renault would charge me for the battery!!

hover board it is then

JJ

[RobDickinson]

hub motors? thats not a great engineering solution due to unsprung mass isnt it? plus you need one for each driven wheel, plus all the associated gubbins (reduction gear etc).

Tesla seem to manage regen braking etc with one motor per axle without that penalty

[Tryke3]

In a world of grey golfs isnt it great something revolutionary as tesla is allowed to grow, expand and compete with normal cars. Why cant we make something like that ffs

[problemchild1976]

RobDickinson said:

hub motors? thats not a great engineering solution due to unsprung mass isnt it? plus you need one for each driven wheel, plus all the associated gubbins (reduction gear etc).

Tesla seem to manage regen braking etc with one motor per axle without that penalty

its a great engineering solution

zero drive train losses

no need for brake callipers, pads, discs etc etc

why reduction gears? with 4 smaller hub motors you can deliver useable torque at the correct gearing by design.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/08/an-aussie-firm-m...

(tad old but it captures all the salient points)

JJ

[silverthorn2151]

I drove my first EV at the weekend, a BMW i3. My word. It was fantastic. We were in London and in traffic (White Hart Lane and back) and it was an addictive experience.

In many ways the smaller size of the i3 compared to the Tesla seems to make the whole idea more realistic and make more sense. This one was just about top of the range and fully optioned. That made it a real nice place to sit as well.

And it was proper real world quick too.

The owner was explaining the view that BMW are taking is that leasing the cars to customers is the only sensible way forwards. 3 years is a long time in EV development and the customer can be retained by getting a new version at change over allowing them to refurb/update the returned car. The body is so light and can be dropped on new running gear, it would seem.

I am totally sold on the idea of EVs as the future now.