Tesla - And whats it really like owning an EV?
Discussion
I'm 90% there now on my tesla purchase, thanks to the information provided here which has filled in some gaps.
If I go ahead it will be the p85d with tech pack and air quite simply. I assume I just need the Nissan adapter as an extra.
Insurance is the only other concern, I can't get quotes yet for the p85d as it isn't out yet.
The one thing stopping me is the jaguar XFR sitting in my garage! I flippin love that car. I love the sound, I love the drama and I love it's road prescience.
Tesla on the other hand is a lot of money on an early adoption, regardless of specs, the one thing in its favour is it's tax incentives when bought through a company which I will be doing.
If I go ahead it will be the p85d with tech pack and air quite simply. I assume I just need the Nissan adapter as an extra.
Insurance is the only other concern, I can't get quotes yet for the p85d as it isn't out yet.
The one thing stopping me is the jaguar XFR sitting in my garage! I flippin love that car. I love the sound, I love the drama and I love it's road prescience.
Tesla on the other hand is a lot of money on an early adoption, regardless of specs, the one thing in its favour is it's tax incentives when bought through a company which I will be doing.
bp1000 said:
Tesla on the other hand is a lot of money on an early adoption, regardless of specs, the one thing in its favour is it's tax incentives when bought through a company which I will be doing.
not sure you can level the "early adoption" at the Model S, it's pretty well developed and thought though now.Yes there will be more mainstream cheaper stuff to come, but I'm not sure there's anything round the corner that's going to make the Model S look old-hat anytime soon...
Scuffers said:
welcome to 3 phase electrics! way to think of it is this:
between any phase and neutral is 240V
between any phase and another phase is 415 (not 240 X 2)
Each phase is a sine wave, the voltage quoted is the RMS (Root Mean Square) of said wave:
if you draw a line vertically on that plot, and measure between two waveforms, that's your 415V, you're never going to measure from one phase peak to another. that make sense?
I have no intention of buying an EV but I found that quite interesting! Thank you between any phase and neutral is 240V
between any phase and another phase is 415 (not 240 X 2)
Each phase is a sine wave, the voltage quoted is the RMS (Root Mean Square) of said wave:
if you draw a line vertically on that plot, and measure between two waveforms, that's your 415V, you're never going to measure from one phase peak to another. that make sense?
bp1000 said:
The one thing stopping me is the jaguar XFR sitting in my garage! I flippin love that car. I love the sound, I love the drama and I love it's road prescience.
I assume you've driven a Tesla? I think if I had a XFR the interior would be a big climb down but other than the noise everything else is there isn't it?Dare I say- I felt the feeling inside the Tesla was decidedly low-rent given the purchase price, I realise you have to cut corners to pay for the technology but...
Having said that, I would have one but still alittle too rich for me.
I'm going to see it again but yes the interior did feel like a different feel to the XFR.
XFR is one of the nicest places to be in a car. Not the best but one of the nicest.
The Tesla was good but it did have a sense of high end ford. Which for 90k is a little bit of a let down.
I suppose its hard to make an empty cabin look interesting and important. Its because everything is controlled from the centre touchscreen which is really incredible. So i'm not sure how you can fill the dead space with any sort of interesting luxury console.
XFR is one of the nicest places to be in a car. Not the best but one of the nicest.
The Tesla was good but it did have a sense of high end ford. Which for 90k is a little bit of a let down.
I suppose its hard to make an empty cabin look interesting and important. Its because everything is controlled from the centre touchscreen which is really incredible. So i'm not sure how you can fill the dead space with any sort of interesting luxury console.
IN51GHT said:
Our Zoe is a 22kW battery, so at our standard 13.5p per unit it works out at £2.97 for 100-120miles of driving. That's still pretty cheap.
Add to that the ability to charge, for free, from a fast charger in under an hour, and the fact that more shopping centre & supermarkets are offering free charging the real cost per mile is likely to be under 2P per mile.
Just under 1000 miles on our zoe, only charged it at home once (missus wanted to try the pre-heating one icey morning) total running costs so far approx £2 Add to that the ability to charge, for free, from a fast charger in under an hour, and the fact that more shopping centre & supermarkets are offering free charging the real cost per mile is likely to be under 2P per mile.
Did sums last week and it's currently working out at the equivalent of 150+ mpg if i was paying for the electric consumed, charging at night.
ooo000ooo said:
Just under 1000 miles on our zoe, only charged it at home once (missus wanted to try the pre-heating one icey morning) total running costs so far approx £2
Did sums last week and it's currently working out at the equivalent of 150+ mpg if i was paying for the electric consumed, charging at night.
That is incredible! Did sums last week and it's currently working out at the equivalent of 150+ mpg if i was paying for the electric consumed, charging at night.
For the right person this works great, i did hear from a local toyota garage that there has been a man come in 3 times now stuck and out of charge on his leaf. For people like him he obviously isn't factoring in journey length correctly. Perhaps he is still in a lease and underestimated his journeys lengths and just has to keep going.
slippery said:
I bet some EV owners live in fear of diversion signs.
I think that's really the killer - fear.up until the Model S, all the mainstream EV's are really only short-range town cars (know doubt built to the stats that say most journeys are <20 miles (2010 average was 7 apparently?).
problem with this is whilst they may well be accurate, averages are just that, ie, there are a significant number of people who do more.
realistically, most IC cars have at least a 200 mile range, and you can pretty much fill up anywhere, having a car with <100 miles range and limited recharge locations is always going to be a challenge.
Once you get to 200+ miles range, then realistically, almost everybodies use will not be a problem.
bp1000 said:
Would love to hear from EV owners, despite the incredible technology what is it really like owning one?
thanks
I have a 2009 I-MiEV which won the National Speed Trials in Brighton. It is the most reliable car I have ever owned. Unfortunately my daughter has "borrowed" it on a daily basis. I am selling my TVR and have ordered a Tesla P85D which is scheduled for August. Roadsters have retained their value. Incidentally I drove to Brighton from Birmingham to Brighton and back using the fast chargers and have driven to other sprints/hillclimbs since then. I have entered for Croft at Easter and I am confident I will get there and race. I hope this helps.thanks
Edited by bp1000 on Sunday 15th February 12:40
jeffa said:
I have a 2009 I-MiEV which won the National Speed Trials in Brighton. It is the most reliable car I have ever owned. Unfortunately my daughter has "borrowed" it on a daily basis. I am selling my TVR and have ordered a Tesla P85D which is scheduled for August. Roadsters have retained their value. Incidentally I drove to Brighton from Birmingham to Brighton and back using the fast chargers and have driven to other sprints/hillclimbs since then. I have entered for Croft at Easter and I am confident I will get there and race. I hope this helps.
I've ordered a P85D too, but I'm keeping the TVR, because I love the idea of the contrast. I take it you got the email a couple of days ago regarding the delayed delivery? thanks guys
i have also just ordered a P85D - and too i have a delayed delivery of August!
What a wait this is going to be
I decided in the end that despite my relative lack of knowledge regarding charging, charging types, where to charge and exactly how much range i get i just couldn't shake the sheer brilliance that powers the Tesla cars. P.s. i still don't get the charging.
I love what they are trying to achieve. I think they have clever sales and customer approaches but it isn't false, it is in fact a genuine enthusiasm for a product that is truly great. Having driven a P85+ a few times the experience and the engineering are exciting and thrilling.
I seriously will miss the sound of a properly hooked up screaming V8, in fact i'm feeling like it is going to be akin to kicking a drug addiction (good call on keeping the TVR)... but i'm also very excited to be driving (hopefully soon) a car that is perhaps the start of something completely new and forward thinking in automotive engineering.
Bottom line the Tesla is arguably the best car i've ever driven. It excels in so many areas. I don't think i've had a car or seen a car that can bridge the gap between exterior design, interior space, sheer speed and commuter comfort before. My only two worries, complete lack of character and drama basing it through the country lanes on sunday morning and the heavy frumpy floor affecting agility bashing it through the country lanes. That you just can't see on the test drive. With respect to the americans, the 1,000+ youtube videos doing the tesla grin isn't really what gets me excited about driving. Perhaps its time to add a caterham into the garage too.
i have also just ordered a P85D - and too i have a delayed delivery of August!
What a wait this is going to be
I decided in the end that despite my relative lack of knowledge regarding charging, charging types, where to charge and exactly how much range i get i just couldn't shake the sheer brilliance that powers the Tesla cars. P.s. i still don't get the charging.
I love what they are trying to achieve. I think they have clever sales and customer approaches but it isn't false, it is in fact a genuine enthusiasm for a product that is truly great. Having driven a P85+ a few times the experience and the engineering are exciting and thrilling.
I seriously will miss the sound of a properly hooked up screaming V8, in fact i'm feeling like it is going to be akin to kicking a drug addiction (good call on keeping the TVR)... but i'm also very excited to be driving (hopefully soon) a car that is perhaps the start of something completely new and forward thinking in automotive engineering.
Bottom line the Tesla is arguably the best car i've ever driven. It excels in so many areas. I don't think i've had a car or seen a car that can bridge the gap between exterior design, interior space, sheer speed and commuter comfort before. My only two worries, complete lack of character and drama basing it through the country lanes on sunday morning and the heavy frumpy floor affecting agility bashing it through the country lanes. That you just can't see on the test drive. With respect to the americans, the 1,000+ youtube videos doing the tesla grin isn't really what gets me excited about driving. Perhaps its time to add a caterham into the garage too.
RichB said:
bp1000 said:
... My only two worries, <clip> the heavy frumpy floor affecting agility bashing it through the country lanes. That you just can't see on the test drive.
Do they not allow you to take it down country roads on the test drives?I decided it wasn't for me at the moment - for similar money a new XC90 T8 would suit us more (but I appreciate that is O/T and YMMV). Although I think it would struggle to work for all my journeys (about to start having day trips involving 158 miles each way before diversions) it can work for lots of travel - was speaking to someone who travels a lot (tax lecturer) and he gets all round the country in his (lives near Oxford and does half-day courses all over England) - loves it and has a model X on order for his wife. His view is so much more valuable to me than people who haven't owned one but ultimately for me it is too much money to tie up in something that will not take 7 (the rear facing boot seats are for small children only) and cannot tow
Also got a bit miffed that the sales guy didn't know about the price changes that had happened the day before the test, the extra ones that happened three days later or the actual likely delivery time (he was out by a couple of months) - so most of what he told me on price / delivery was wrong!
RichB said:
Do they not allow you to take it down country roads on the test drives?
Unfortunately i wasn't near country roads as it was a city centre test drive. I did push it as much as i could and i determined with air suspension it stays flat and weight distribution and transfer is very well handled. I know its heavy but it has a very low centre of gravity and a 50/50 weight distribution. Sure it felt heavy but so does the big heavy v8 i'm driving at the moment.
I can't have it all, i've drive caterhams and atoms extensively on the track and nothing beats that lightweight, complete and predictable control that comes with super light weight cars.
I may just have to convince the mrs that it is time for a proper lightweight track toy.
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