First experience of 'range anxiety'!

[Mike_C]

Lgm50 said:

Only problem I can see is when there are more on the roads and the Superchargers get too busy resulting in queues to charge, so I'd better finish this by saying that the lack of range and having to plug it in every night is a real chore so suggest everyone stays with ICE cars for foreseeable future :-) !

Yeah, that...!

[98elise]

ORD said:

I am always surprised at the delays that people will put up with. When someone says "20 min charge here" and "30 min charge there", I stop reading. I would never tolerate that kind of delay in a journey.

Then an EV isn't for you.

In the very rare circumstances that I needed to drive long distances I would be happy to pull over for the odd 20-20 minutes every 3-4 hours.

[Don]

I'm still looking forward to my first experience of 'range anxiety'. I've also not needed to wait one minute at a 'supercharger' yet, either.

Before I set off I use Google maps to check that the journey I have planned is within range and the tolerance of 20% I have decided to adopt.

If not: I use a petrol car. If so: the Leaf goes.

More than 95% of my journeys are in the Leaf.

Of course this is because I have a particular lifestyle that would not be the same for everyone, but I'll bet it is the same for many, many people who currently run petrol cars.

Agree completely with the owners who are now finding their ICE cars seem backward.

Driving my (wonderful) sports cars does now seem like a retro experience, much as I love it. Looking forward to having an electric sports car in due course...

[TooMany2cvs]

98elise said:

ORD said:

I am always surprised at the delays that people will put up with. When someone says "20 min charge here" and "30 min charge there", I stop reading. I would never tolerate that kind of delay in a journey.

Then an EV isn't for you.

In the very rare circumstances that I needed to drive long distances I would be happy to pull over for the odd 20-20 minutes every 3-4 hours.

Most of my use these days is local - for that, an electric would be ideal.

Tomorrow, I'm doing a 3hr-each-way round trip, with various bits of local running-around at the other end, and slim chance of any charge point being available. Add an hour or two onto that? Bugger that.

[anonymous-user]

Don said:

I'm still looking forward to my first experience of 'range anxiety'. I've also not needed to wait one minute at a 'supercharger' yet, either.

Before I set off I use Google maps to check that the journey I have planned is within range and the tolerance of 20% I have decided to adopt.

If not: I use a petrol car. If so: the Leaf goes.

More than 95% of my journeys are in the Leaf.

Of course this is because I have a particular lifestyle that would not be the same for everyone, but I'll bet it is the same for many, many people who currently run petrol cars.

Agree completely with the owners who are now finding their ICE cars seem backward.

Driving my (wonderful) sports cars does now seem like a retro experience, much as I love it. Looking forward to having an electric sports car in due course...

Backward?

They're different, that's all.

I make a lot of trips that an EV would do. I also regularly make longer trips. Over the weekend I drove 690 miles in a total of 10.5 hours, including stops. No way I could do that in an EV.

Even a Tesla S falls short for that sort of trip. Quieter acceleration and having a pre heated car are advantages that pale into insignificance in those circumstances, momentary advantages at best.

As I've said before, I'll buy an EV when it works for me and it's competitively priced.

[Mike_C]

REALIST123 said:

I make a lot of trips that an EV would do. I also regularly make longer trips. Over the weekend I drove 690 miles in a total of 10.5 hours, including stops. No way I could do that in an EV.

I beg to differ; the start of this thread was a journey I took to Scotland and back, which was around 350 miles each way and perfectly do-able in the Tesla, had I factored in enough 'margin' for the one section of the trip we were running short, which in itself was only due to (very) adverse weather conditions. Going in the opposite direction with normal weather, we had no issues.

Having said that...you claim 690 miles in 10.5 hours? That's an average speed of 66mph, so either you were on an awful lot of Autobahn, or driving vastly over the UK speed limit for the majority of your journey. Either way, I smell BS

[anonymous-user]

Mike_C said:

REALIST123 said:

I make a lot of trips that an EV would do. I also regularly make longer trips. Over the weekend I drove 690 miles in a total of 10.5 hours, including stops. No way I could do that in an EV.

I beg to differ; the start of this thread was a journey I took to Scotland and back, which was around 350 miles each way and perfectly do-able in the Tesla, had I factored in enough 'margin' for the one section of the trip we were running short, which in itself was only due to (very) adverse weather conditions. Going in the opposite direction with normal weather, we had no issues.

Having said that...you claim 690 miles in 10.5 hours? That's an average speed of 66mph, so either you were on an awful lot of Autobahn, or driving vastly over the UK speed limit for the majority of your journey. Either way, I smell BS

I left Samoens at 10pm Saturday. Arrived St Quentin at 4.30. 440 miles.

Left St Quentin at 8.30am Sunday arrived Calais 10.00am. 110 miles.

Left the Eurotunnel base at 10.30 arrived home at 1pm. 160 miles

I made a mistake, 710 miles.

Still smell bullst? Check your pants.

[Mike_C]

REALIST123 said:

I left Samoens at 10pm Saturday. Arrived St Quentin at 4.30. 440 miles.

Left St Quentin at 8.30am Sunday arrived Calais 10.00am. 110 miles.

Left the Eurotunnel base at 10.30 arrived home at 1pm. 160 miles

I made a mistake, 710 miles.

Still smell bullst? Check your pants.

That's going some, I fairly regularly (twice a year) do a run to and from the Alps and it's a solid 8 hours with no stops; that last bit to Calais usually takes at least 2 hours. But regardless of that, I could do the same run in my Model S with perhaps an extra hour (total) for charging stops en route, and of course you wouldn't spend a penny on fuel so I'll stick with it

[anonymous-user]

Mike_C said:

REALIST123 said:

I left Samoens at 10pm Saturday. Arrived St Quentin at 4.30. 440 miles.

Left St Quentin at 8.30am Sunday arrived Calais 10.00am. 110 miles.

Left the Eurotunnel base at 10.30 arrived home at 1pm. 160 miles

I made a mistake, 710 miles.

Still smell bullst? Check your pants.

That's going some, I fairly regularly (twice a year) do a run to and from the Alps and it's a solid 8 hours with no stops; that last bit to Calais usually takes at least 2 hours. But regardless of that, I could do the same run in my Model S with perhaps an extra hour (total) for charging stops en route, and of course you wouldn't spend a penny on fuel so I'll stick with it

I'd like to see the maths on your calculation re the timing of the run. 700 miles at that pace would need at least two full charges, probably three and only one could be done overnight, if you find a convenient charger. I stand to be corrected.

We left Calais a week ago last Saturday at 8 am and arrived in Samoens at 4.15pm. One short stop for fuel, another to pick up some food and change drivers. We'd overnighted in Ashford which took us about 2.5 hours from home so similar overall driving time as the return trip.

And the fuel cost, by my reckoning, is easily cancelled out by the extra cost and depreciation of a Tesla.

As I have said, when they get the costs and range right, I'm in. Until then they're not for everybody.

[modeller]

REALIST123 said:

And the fuel cost, by my reckoning, is easily cancelled out by the extra cost and depreciation of a Tesla.

You're starting to look a bit desperate to win this.

[JonV8V]

modeller said:

REALIST123 said:

And the fuel cost, by my reckoning, is easily cancelled out by the extra cost and depreciation of a Tesla.

You're starting to look a bit desperate to win this.

It's also a bit futile really. We have the car and are happy. He hasn't got one and doesn't want to accept it. Not sure why he even bothers to post here as its been a long time since its been logical and is turning into trolling.

[anonymous-user]

JonV8V said:

modeller said:

REALIST123 said:

And the fuel cost, by my reckoning, is easily cancelled out by the extra cost and depreciation of a Tesla.

You're starting to look a bit desperate to win this.

It's also a bit futile really. We have the car and are happy. He hasn't got one and doesn't want to accept it. Not sure why he even bothers to post here as its been a long time since its been logical and is turning into trolling.

Dear me, and I'm called desperate.

If I'm wrong, prove it. Shouldn't be too hard.

Show me how a Tesla S can do that trip in only one more hour.

And tell me how fuel is significant when the Tesla costs so much more than cars that are its equivalent in most significant ways.

You know what's desperate? The way you guys are trying to justify your early adoption.

Have fun.

[gangzoom]

REALIST123 said:

Dear me, and I'm called desperate.

If I'm wrong, prove it. Shouldn't be too hard.

Show me how a Tesla S can do that trip in only one more hour.

And tell me how fuel is significant when the Tesla costs so much more than cars that are its equivalent in most significant ways.

You know what's desperate? The way you guys are trying to justify your early adoption.

Have fun.

Even though I only have a Leaf (for now), I still much rather take the Leaf than any combustion car.

There are still people these days who prefer to use old fashioned dumb phone the 00' rather than smart phones. Similarly there will always people for what ever reason will want to stick to combustion cars.

Fun is all relative and we all have different views on what's fun. If we all agreed had the same views about everything life would be very dull indeed.

So lets all to agree to disagree

[JonV8V]

REALIST123 said:

Dear me, and I'm called desperate.

If I'm wrong, prove it. Shouldn't be too hard.

Show me how a Tesla S can do that trip in only one more hour.

And tell me how fuel is significant when the Tesla costs so much more than cars that are its equivalent in most significant ways.

You know what's desperate? The way you guys are trying to justify your early adoption.

Have fun.

Have you looked at the used tesla prices? Residuals are strong

One trip you can do slightly quicker because you miss one charging stop (the rest could be covered over night), and you must have an enormous bladder or surround yourself with bottles of warm orange. And it's not exactly a typical journey.

However..
I bet there are days when you stop for petrol... Tesla won't need to and you lose every time.
I bet there are morning you de-ice your car - tesla will beat you every time as you can warm the car remotely from the app
I bet there are days at the traffic lights - tesla would beat you every time

So lots of times the tesla will be quicker, one trip in a lifetime for most driver you save 40 mins at a supercharger...

[Lgm50]

JonV8V said:

It's also a bit futile really. We have the car and are happy. He hasn't got one and doesn't want to accept it. Not sure why he even bothers to post here as its been a long time since its been logical and is turning into trolling.

Agree!

I've done that trip many times as my eldest is a ski instructor and I've taken a variety of cars in the process. Aside from traffic and speed traps the main thing that has interrupted my journeys is tiredness as I tend to make the trip on my own. As a result, taking the Tesla will probably work out really well as I'll be able to catch a few 20 minute naps while it charges. Overall I suspect the journey down will add about an hour compared to flat out in an ICE and stopping only to refuel, but I've never managed that without a stop for a sleep!

Having said all that, I could always take the DB9 but that has such a small tank and combined with a large thirst I reckon would take almost as long as driving down in the Tesla as I'd have to stop for fuel so often - plus a sleep of course!

I'm sure everyone who has a Tesla is more than happy with their choice, and I'm equally sure most of us have an alternative vehicle we can use if we choose to. From reading the posts on this and other sites, it would appear that most Tesla owners still chose the to take the Tesla on long journeys so I guess that's just an indication of how much we appreciate the car, the technology it brings and of course the free refuelling on route!

The Tesla is amazing, but then in it's own way so is my little Peugeot Partner van that I use for tip runs and muddy bikes and dog transport. Whatever car you drive, surely this site is more about enjoying what you've got, than whether your choice is better than someone else's regardless of power train, performance etc.?

[JonV8V]

Lgm50 said:

Agree!

I've done that trip many times as my eldest is a ski instructor and I've taken a variety of cars in the process. Aside from traffic and speed traps the main thing that has interrupted my journeys is tiredness as I tend to make the trip on my own. As a result, taking the Tesla will probably work out really well as I'll be able to catch a few 20 minute naps while it charges. Overall I suspect the journey down will add about an hour compared to flat out in an ICE and stopping only to refuel, but I've never managed that without a stop for a sleep!

Having said all that, I could always take the DB9 but that has such a small tank and combined with a large thirst I reckon would take almost as long as driving down in the Tesla as I'd have to stop for fuel so often - plus a sleep of course!

I'm sure everyone who has a Tesla is more than happy with their choice, and I'm equally sure most of us have an alternative vehicle we can use if we choose to. From reading the posts on this and other sites, it would appear that most Tesla owners still chose the to take the Tesla on long journeys so I guess that's just an indication of how much we appreciate the car, the technology it brings and of course the free refuelling on route!

The Tesla is amazing, but then in it's own way so is my little Peugeot Partner van that I use for tip runs and muddy bikes and dog transport. Whatever car you drive, surely this site is more about enjoying what you've got, than whether your choice is better than someone else's regardless of power train, performance etc.?

I actually sold my other car after a month - I had a V8VS and the power delivery in the tesla is so sublime in comparison to the sports shift gearbox not to mention mid range punch at legal speeds is so much better. Yes it's missing on some of the quality leather and so on, but it makes up for it in other ways.

The Tesla is far from perfect. There are issues with service in the sense of parts availability and a lot of inconsistent messages - they've just changed their policy of 'never needing a service' to '12 months or 12.5k miles' which also doesn't make sense when my last BMW was 24months or circa 20k miles (condition based).

My beef is people coming into the forum, not to find out more from owners but to really try and convince themselves as well as others that the model doesn't work. To start quoting 5 hour cross Europe trip which includes an overnight break is just bonkers especially as door to door, the real measure of the trip, was something like 20 hours. It's like saying a 3 series touring is a useless car because you can get more in a 5 series on a tip run.

[Mike_C]

JonV8V said:

My beef is people coming into the forum, not to find out more from owners but to really try and convince themselves as well as others that the model doesn't work. To start quoting 5 hour cross Europe trip which includes an overnight break is just bonkers especially as door to door, the real measure of the trip, was something like 20 hours. It's like saying a 3 series touring is a useless car because you can get more in a 5 series on a tip run.

I absolutely agree with that comment!

[rxe]

The diverging views simply reflect the differences in people's journeys and what they value. I'm about to make the trip down to the south of France for week's skiing. We'll leave Calais at 6:45 AM with a full tank of diesel, one stop to switch drivers, and assuming there no traffic disasters, we'll be picking up the skis later on that afternoon. We'll probably do it on a single tank if we stick to 85, if I get in a "train of Belgians", then we'll probably fill up halfway - but that will add 5 minutes.

I entirely get the point about big petrols filling up all the time - we did it with a friend in a 4.8 litre X5, which had something of a thirst at high speeds and took about half an hour longer to get down than our diesel estate.

Now I have no idea what distance a Tesla can do at 85 - 90, but the first leg to a Supercharger in Chalons is 317 km, which feels a bit close to the edge for me, unless you've got the big battery. It also assumes you've had a top up in Calais, and are are starting off with a full charge. If you've driven a moderate distance in the UK first, then you'll need to get charged in Calais or you won't make it. If there are more than 5 teslas either returning or leaving - you'll have to queue. You'll need another top up at Beaune, then you're pretty good to the Alps, assuming that you can charge your car where you are staying.

Now, for some people, that's not an issue. In fact it adds to the fun. Combine that with walloping acceleration and pre-warming your car before you set off, it becomes a great package. It isn't for me - I don't value having to plan my journey at all. I value getting in the car and driving whatever distance I want, and outside of some sort of global catastrophe, I'll be able to fill the car up at will, almost instantly. I value all that far more than the £60 or whatever a tank of diesel costs me. Probably at some stage in the future, these problems will vanish, and it will be just as easy to drive about in an EV as any other car. At that point, I'm in, but not before.

[JonV8V]

rxe said:

The diverging views simply reflect the differences in people's journeys and what they value. I'm about to make the trip down to the south of France for week's skiing. We'll leave Calais at 6:45 AM with a full tank of diesel, one stop to switch drivers, and assuming there no traffic disasters, we'll be picking up the skis later on that afternoon. We'll probably do it on a single tank if we stick to 85, if I get in a "train of Belgians", then we'll probably fill up halfway - but that will add 5 minutes.

I entirely get the point about big petrols filling up all the time - we did it with a friend in a 4.8 litre X5, which had something of a thirst at high speeds and took about half an hour longer to get down than our diesel estate.

Now I have no idea what distance a Tesla can do at 85 - 90, but the first leg to a Supercharger in Chalons is 317 km, which feels a bit close to the edge for me, unless you've got the big battery. It also assumes you've had a top up in Calais, and are are starting off with a full charge. If you've driven a moderate distance in the UK first, then you'll need to get charged in Calais or you won't make it. If there are more than 5 teslas either returning or leaving - you'll have to queue. You'll need another top up at Beaune, then you're pretty good to the Alps, assuming that you can charge your car where you are staying.

Now, for some people, that's not an issue. In fact it adds to the fun. Combine that with walloping acceleration and pre-warming your car before you set off, it becomes a great package. It isn't for me - I don't value having to plan my journey at all. I value getting in the car and driving whatever distance I want, and outside of some sort of global catastrophe, I'll be able to fill the car up at will, almost instantly. I value all that far more than the £60 or whatever a tank of diesel costs me. Probably at some stage in the future, these problems will vanish, and it will be just as easy to drive about in an EV as any other car. At that point, I'm in, but not before.

That's fair enough - people do do that trip but invariably it requires planning and you prefer the freedom. It would be boring is we all wanted the same.

I on the other hand have driven to Manchester today, parked in a lovely wide charging bay in a convenient spot and filled up for free while in the office, stuck autopilot on as I crawled out of Manchester, and got home some 75 miles later with 170 miles of range still showing.

Tomorrow is another story as I'll be in Wales and scratching my head where to get a top up. Never has 'YMMV' been more apt