First month in a Tesla
Discussion
Hi,
Thought I'd post my experience of a recent switch from an ICE car to an all electric car.
Picked up a new Model S at the beginning of this year and so far very impressed.
Compared to my previous car I guess the only obvious difference is range and not being able to 'fill up' without a bit of planning. Having said that, the Superchargers have thus far always been available to use (i.e.: no-one else plugged in when I needed to charge), and I'm now used to plugging it in every night and setting off to work in a nice pre-warmed car!
I'm hoping the range will improve with warmer weather, but even then it's not too bad. By way of example:- On a recent trip to the far end of Cornwall from Milton Keynes (roughly 280 miles each way) I had to stop for a 10 minute top up at Bristol and another 5 minute one at Exeter. To be honest I could probably have skipped Exeter, but didn't want to run out of juice on Bodmin moor so thought it prudent to top up. Arrived in Cornwall with 70 miles range left and plugged the car into the nearest 13 Amp socket. By morning it had a range of 120 miles showing which was plenty to get me back to Exeter Superchargers.
In my first month with the car I've covered 2400 miles, so early days to make any form of judgement, but my personal plus points of the car so far are:- (these are all pretty obvious I guess!)
warm in the morning
quiet at low speeds
amazing interface via the touchscreen
instant throttle response
intelligent controls - even though it's all controlled through the touch screen, it's really well thought out and not in the least frustrating to use.
negatives
Always having to be aware of how much juice is left in the batteries and planning the next charge ahead
slim sun visors - not deep enough when the sun is so low at this time of year
Blimey - those are the only negatives I can think of. It's an amazing car!
Not sure if any of that is helpful to anyone considering a Tesla as their everyday car, but hope that it might be.
Thought I'd post my experience of a recent switch from an ICE car to an all electric car.
Picked up a new Model S at the beginning of this year and so far very impressed.
Compared to my previous car I guess the only obvious difference is range and not being able to 'fill up' without a bit of planning. Having said that, the Superchargers have thus far always been available to use (i.e.: no-one else plugged in when I needed to charge), and I'm now used to plugging it in every night and setting off to work in a nice pre-warmed car!
I'm hoping the range will improve with warmer weather, but even then it's not too bad. By way of example:- On a recent trip to the far end of Cornwall from Milton Keynes (roughly 280 miles each way) I had to stop for a 10 minute top up at Bristol and another 5 minute one at Exeter. To be honest I could probably have skipped Exeter, but didn't want to run out of juice on Bodmin moor so thought it prudent to top up. Arrived in Cornwall with 70 miles range left and plugged the car into the nearest 13 Amp socket. By morning it had a range of 120 miles showing which was plenty to get me back to Exeter Superchargers.
In my first month with the car I've covered 2400 miles, so early days to make any form of judgement, but my personal plus points of the car so far are:- (these are all pretty obvious I guess!)
warm in the morning
quiet at low speeds
amazing interface via the touchscreen
instant throttle response
intelligent controls - even though it's all controlled through the touch screen, it's really well thought out and not in the least frustrating to use.
negatives
Always having to be aware of how much juice is left in the batteries and planning the next charge ahead
slim sun visors - not deep enough when the sun is so low at this time of year
Blimey - those are the only negatives I can think of. It's an amazing car!
Not sure if any of that is helpful to anyone considering a Tesla as their everyday car, but hope that it might be.
Interesting about your range. Mines a P90D and I don't drive gently and I reckon on about 180 mile range. I knew it wouldn't be anywhere near as good as claimed, and I know I drive fast, but had hoped for a bit more (hence upgrade to the 90 battery).
Here's hoping it gets up to more like 220 miles when the weather is warmer!
Here's hoping it gets up to more like 220 miles when the weather is warmer!
Now that I've had the car 2 months, I thought an update might help anyone considering switching from a conventional car to a Tesla.
Two months in and I've done just over 4300 electric miles, most of which has been in pretty cold and wet weather so not best for range in an EV.
One of my families criteria of whether I like a car or not is how long it is before I start reading Autocar and choosing my next car. So far I am not remotely interested in picking up the magazine and I seriously wonder if I'll ever be that bothered by regular ICE cars from here on in, the Tesla is that good!
Aside from wishing it did more miles per charge (500 would be about 'right' for a future battery upgrade I reckon), there isn't really anything to moan about.
For a USA built car the quality is surprisingly good and although not up to Merc S class standards the cabin is a perfectly nice place to sit. I've completed several journeys of over 5 hours (with a couple of 10/15minute stops to top up battery) and the next gen seats offer plenty of support and adjustment. Autopilot is incredible although best not engaged when one is feeling tired as the temptation/risk of falling asleep is pretty high I reckon!
After 2 months I still:-
- like using the App to pre-warm the Tesla in the morning and getting into a warm and ready to go car. I haven't had to scrape the windscreen to clear it or run out and start the car to let it warm up before going to work once this year. Result!
- enjoy the instant and smooth power delivery. No matter how good an ICE gearbox is, it will never match an EV
- love the fact that I don't have to touch the brakes that much. The regenerative braking is excellent and makes driving so much less effort
- get a kick out of using the SuperCharger network. Thus far I've never had to wait for a charger to be available plus there is something deeply satisfying about making a long journey and not having to pay for the fuel to do so :-)
Plus - it's so flexible! I recently had to load up a whole heap of house 'stuff' and was simply amazed at how much you can fit in the Tesla with the rear seats folded. It seems to have almost the capacity of an estate car and that's before making use of the front 'trunk' (which I'd forgotten I had and cramped everything into the back - duh!).
Charging at home isn't an issue, within a week I had grown accustomed to parking up at the PodPoint and plugging in the cable (I went with a tethered cable and glad I did as it's always 'ready' and therefore very quick to plug/unplug). Thanks to Gov and Tesla help I didn't pay for the home charge point or the one at work or the one at our second home either - so can't complain!
The Tesla is my everyday car and although I've still got the use of conventional engined cars I haven't used one or wanted to since taking delivery. Even if it means stopping en-route to charge up, I'd rather take the Tesla.
Hope that helps anyone thinking of taking the plunge?
Two months in and I've done just over 4300 electric miles, most of which has been in pretty cold and wet weather so not best for range in an EV.
One of my families criteria of whether I like a car or not is how long it is before I start reading Autocar and choosing my next car. So far I am not remotely interested in picking up the magazine and I seriously wonder if I'll ever be that bothered by regular ICE cars from here on in, the Tesla is that good!
Aside from wishing it did more miles per charge (500 would be about 'right' for a future battery upgrade I reckon), there isn't really anything to moan about.
For a USA built car the quality is surprisingly good and although not up to Merc S class standards the cabin is a perfectly nice place to sit. I've completed several journeys of over 5 hours (with a couple of 10/15minute stops to top up battery) and the next gen seats offer plenty of support and adjustment. Autopilot is incredible although best not engaged when one is feeling tired as the temptation/risk of falling asleep is pretty high I reckon!
After 2 months I still:-
- like using the App to pre-warm the Tesla in the morning and getting into a warm and ready to go car. I haven't had to scrape the windscreen to clear it or run out and start the car to let it warm up before going to work once this year. Result!
- enjoy the instant and smooth power delivery. No matter how good an ICE gearbox is, it will never match an EV
- love the fact that I don't have to touch the brakes that much. The regenerative braking is excellent and makes driving so much less effort
- get a kick out of using the SuperCharger network. Thus far I've never had to wait for a charger to be available plus there is something deeply satisfying about making a long journey and not having to pay for the fuel to do so :-)
Plus - it's so flexible! I recently had to load up a whole heap of house 'stuff' and was simply amazed at how much you can fit in the Tesla with the rear seats folded. It seems to have almost the capacity of an estate car and that's before making use of the front 'trunk' (which I'd forgotten I had and cramped everything into the back - duh!).
Charging at home isn't an issue, within a week I had grown accustomed to parking up at the PodPoint and plugging in the cable (I went with a tethered cable and glad I did as it's always 'ready' and therefore very quick to plug/unplug). Thanks to Gov and Tesla help I didn't pay for the home charge point or the one at work or the one at our second home either - so can't complain!
The Tesla is my everyday car and although I've still got the use of conventional engined cars I haven't used one or wanted to since taking delivery. Even if it means stopping en-route to charge up, I'd rather take the Tesla.
Hope that helps anyone thinking of taking the plunge?
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