Tesla Model X - a hit in the UK?
Discussion
I was initially a bit sceptical that the Model X would be enticing enough to ween the Cheshire set off their Kahn Range Rovers, but it looks like I was wrong. Absolutely loads of them have suddenly appeared in my local area (Macclesfield/Wilmslow/Alderley Edge). I spotted five yesterday alone. Anyone else seeing a lot of these about?
This bit of highly unscientific research suggests to me that this is going to be a hit in the UK, albeit with a certain crowd - I didn't realise how expensive these things actually were. £80,000 for a base model with no options and cloth seats! Monthly PCP rates are sky high too. I can't see one replacing our X3 when it goes back next year - clearly we are not the target market. Hopefully the Model Y will be a more realistic proposition when it comes along...
This bit of highly unscientific research suggests to me that this is going to be a hit in the UK, albeit with a certain crowd - I didn't realise how expensive these things actually were. £80,000 for a base model with no options and cloth seats! Monthly PCP rates are sky high too. I can't see one replacing our X3 when it goes back next year - clearly we are not the target market. Hopefully the Model Y will be a more realistic proposition when it comes along...
I can't say I've ever considered either option... But from looking at the specs, you could spend your £100k on:
1) Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography
0-60 - 5.1s
Top - 140mph
Tax - £2,000 + £450pa
Government Grant - £0
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £4750
2) Tesla X 90D
0-60 - 4.8s
Top - 155mph
Tax - £0 + £310pa
Government Grant - £4,500
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
1) Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography
0-60 - 5.1s
Top - 140mph
Tax - £2,000 + £450pa
Government Grant - £0
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £4750
2) Tesla X 90D
0-60 - 4.8s
Top - 155mph
Tax - £0 + £310pa
Government Grant - £4,500
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
R E S T E C P said:
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
If you charge off peak and make use of the super charger network I think you'll find the 'fuel' cost is a fraction of this .. I reckon £250 tops. (18K/year, 3.5m/kWh , 5p unit). The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
R E S T E C P said:
I can't say I've ever considered either option... But from looking at the specs, you could spend your £100k on:
1) Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography
0-60 - 5.1s
Top - 140mph
Tax - £2,000 + £450pa
Government Grant - £0
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £4750
2) Tesla X 90D
0-60 - 4.8s
Top - 155mph
Tax - £0 + £310pa
Government Grant - £4,500
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
They're also built as well as each other, i.e. Really badly. The number of build issues on Teslas at the moment has gone through the roof. The front self opening doors don't have a sensor (it relies on the rear door sensor) and so don't reliably know what's there to hit. They've throttled back the falcon wing door sensor so they'll now happily cut through a carrot on closing.. it's only time before it's a child's finger. The Auto wipers not working is a trivial matter. 1) Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography
0-60 - 5.1s
Top - 140mph
Tax - £2,000 + £450pa
Government Grant - £0
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £4750
2) Tesla X 90D
0-60 - 4.8s
Top - 155mph
Tax - £0 + £310pa
Government Grant - £4,500
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
Door chopping video
https://youtu.be/TdPPp3hoGQ8
Door opening issue
https://youtu.be/BmqI39g92Do
But nobody wants to hear any of this as they just want to believe and it's a fashion trinket.
Edited by Heres Johnny on Tuesday 11th April 07:21
R E S T E C P said:
I can't say I've ever considered either option... But from looking at the specs, you could spend your £100k on:
1) Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography
0-60 - 5.1s
Top - 140mph
Tax - £2,000 + £450pa
Government Grant - £0
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £4750
2) Tesla X 90D
0-60 - 4.8s
Top - 155mph
Tax - £0 + £310pa
Government Grant - £4,500
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
How have you arrived at that figure for the model x? 1) Range Rover 5.0 V8 Supercharged Autobiography
0-60 - 5.1s
Top - 140mph
Tax - £2,000 + £450pa
Government Grant - £0
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £4750
2) Tesla X 90D
0-60 - 4.8s
Top - 155mph
Tax - £0 + £310pa
Government Grant - £4,500
Annual fuel cost for 50 miles per day - £1000ish
The Tesla is almost certainly safer, rarer, more interesting... You lose the V8 and off-road ability, but I can see why it would attract buyers over the RR.
Isn't supercharger charger free on theses like the s?
We've never owned a SUV before, ordered an X almost 'blind', first test drive was in a LHD car after money had been committed.
Had ours now 3 weeks, covered some 1200miles at a cost of £30 of electricity at home. Apart from a minor door rattle which Tesla is going to sort out soon no issues.
The rear doors look like a gimmick but makes nursery runs so easy, I can open the door via the key as am walking to the car, be greated by a massive opening to load the package and at a press of a button the door is closed before I have walked to the drivers side of the car.
This weekend just gone took the scenic route to work, 20miles of twisty B roads swallowed up at a pace no 2.5 ton 5 meter long car should be able to do. Same afternoon took the family and 2 friends (all 6 seats full) on a 100 mile round trip to some local shops. Arrived at home with still another 50 miles of range in the 'tank'.
Ours is the slowest and cheapest version Tesla did and no longer available to order, we also have 'free for life' supercharger access and registered before the luxury car tax kicked in so £0 VED.
I've owned some good cars in the past, DC2 Teg, 350Z, 335i. But the X has astounded me, its as fun to throw around the B roads at my old Z (and probably quicker if roads are at all greasy), yet as a family wagon offers more space inside than a full fat RangeRover, and costs next to nothing to run......I'll be amazed if the X doesn't end up outselling the S despite the higher price.
I had half thought about selling it on for a profit as prices have gone up 15-20% since we ordered, but I simply cannot think of another car I rather have on the driveway, our X is going to be with the family for a long long time to come, it's 100% a 'keeper'
.
Had ours now 3 weeks, covered some 1200miles at a cost of £30 of electricity at home. Apart from a minor door rattle which Tesla is going to sort out soon no issues.
The rear doors look like a gimmick but makes nursery runs so easy, I can open the door via the key as am walking to the car, be greated by a massive opening to load the package and at a press of a button the door is closed before I have walked to the drivers side of the car.
This weekend just gone took the scenic route to work, 20miles of twisty B roads swallowed up at a pace no 2.5 ton 5 meter long car should be able to do. Same afternoon took the family and 2 friends (all 6 seats full) on a 100 mile round trip to some local shops. Arrived at home with still another 50 miles of range in the 'tank'.
Ours is the slowest and cheapest version Tesla did and no longer available to order, we also have 'free for life' supercharger access and registered before the luxury car tax kicked in so £0 VED.
I've owned some good cars in the past, DC2 Teg, 350Z, 335i. But the X has astounded me, its as fun to throw around the B roads at my old Z (and probably quicker if roads are at all greasy), yet as a family wagon offers more space inside than a full fat RangeRover, and costs next to nothing to run......I'll be amazed if the X doesn't end up outselling the S despite the higher price.
I had half thought about selling it on for a profit as prices have gone up 15-20% since we ordered, but I simply cannot think of another car I rather have on the driveway, our X is going to be with the family for a long long time to come, it's 100% a 'keeper'
. Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 11th April 10:14
gangzoom said:
We've never owned a SUV before, ordered an X almost 'blind', first test drive was in a LHD car after money had been committed.
Thanks for the pictures, the car looks great. I'm surprised by how good the standard wheels look - the online configurator doesn't do them justice at all. Love the white interior as well. It's a shame they discontinued the 60D - sounds like it suits your needs perfectly. If I'm understanding correctly, does yours have about 170 ish miles of real world range? Have you had a chance to take it on any longer journeys yet? I'm intrigued to see how well the supercharger network works in this country considering how patchy the coverage appears to be at the moment.
^^ Range all depends on how you drive, day to day its not an issue. I plug in every night and wake up to a car that can do potentially 170-200 miles, but 99% of the time my daily use is never more than 100miles at the most.
We are taking it to the inlaws house this weekend. It's 150 miles door to door(Leicester to Cardiff), car reckons we'll get there with 15% range to spare. There is a supercharger site about 1/3 way in to the trip, Hopwood service on the M6, so bo detours needed. I reckon a 10 minutes splash and dash will increase the arrival range buffer from 15% to 40%, but am also keen to see just how far it can go.... Though maybe running out of charge with a sleeping baby in the back would not be such a good idea!!
We actually did the same trip in a Nissan Leaf 18 months ago, that was a not easy, lots of driving at HGV speeds and staring at the battery meter drop.... I suspect the X will manage the trip much easier.
It is a shame Tesla pulled the 60D, if we were to order our car now it would be £22k more expensive which would have priced us out!!
We are taking it to the inlaws house this weekend. It's 150 miles door to door(Leicester to Cardiff), car reckons we'll get there with 15% range to spare. There is a supercharger site about 1/3 way in to the trip, Hopwood service on the M6, so bo detours needed. I reckon a 10 minutes splash and dash will increase the arrival range buffer from 15% to 40%, but am also keen to see just how far it can go.... Though maybe running out of charge with a sleeping baby in the back would not be such a good idea!!
We actually did the same trip in a Nissan Leaf 18 months ago, that was a not easy, lots of driving at HGV speeds and staring at the battery meter drop.... I suspect the X will manage the trip much easier
. It is a shame Tesla pulled the 60D, if we were to order our car now it would be £22k more expensive which would have priced us out!!
Edited by gangzoom on Tuesday 11th April 10:43
robemcdonald said:
How have you arrived at that figure for the model x?
A random website told me 
Like I said, not a car I have ever considered or will be able to any time soon, so my knowledge on it is very limited... But at a glance it looks more appealing than a RR in every way other than off-road ability and V8.
I was considering a model x for when my i3 lease is up - it would also (nearly) replace the discovery at the same time. But hen they increased the price and dropped the 60 and the price for one with reasonable spec was 92k not 72k and ... it's out of the window.
Now thinking we will keep the discovery and the i3 will be replaced by an iPace
Now thinking we will keep the discovery and the i3 will be replaced by an iPace
Well we picked ours up 31st March from Heathrow and the initial reaction has been extremely positive, despite quite a snagging list. We were due to swap our Q7 for the new SQ7 but without discounts the pricing was coming in roughly the same as the Model X.
A quick look around one, hadn't driven one, convinced us to give it a try and put the deposit down before the price increases and got the AP2 and the free supercharging.
Initial positive impressions have been
- Genuinely amazed how much stuff you can get in one, 2 adults 3 kids and 2 dogs plus all the stuff for a two week holiday with ease. Previously this had required the roof box on the Q7 which had us worried for options with the falcon doors but no need.
- Excellent driving machine, you can feel the weight but the low centre of gravity and the power delivery actually makes it quite chuckable in the corners
- Great ergonomics and tech, wasn't sure how the big ipad centre dash would work but they have nailed it - DAB radio reception is crap but have migrated to the TuneIn radio feature which is much better
- Regenerative driving is more intuitive that I thought it would be, within a day of driving I am only really using the brake for coming to a complete halt. Most of the time it is backing off and getting the energy back.
Problems
- 300 mile quoted range, 250 indicated having had it for a couple of weeks and fully loaded on motorway driving I think it's more like 225. Only range anxiety I've had was the first journey where it got down to 20 miles at destination, more relaxed about it now.
- Snagging list is long, the service centre and help line have been great but the real test will be next Tuesday when it goes in for quite a list of issues - cruise not working, software updates failing, drivers door not registering as closed, rear boot hatch clicking on open, one falcon door not aligning correctly and the washer jets failed on day 2
- Falcon doors - I think they are a gimmick but I'm out voted in the house, kids think they are great and love them.
- Superchargers are busy - not sure what it's going to be like in the future but the current superchargers we've used have always been pretty busy when we have used them
It definitely feels like the future and it's the equivalent move from the Blackberry to the iPhone, I can't see us going back. I also think the big traditional car manufacturers will struggle to compete as this is as much as software device as a car.
A quick look around one, hadn't driven one, convinced us to give it a try and put the deposit down before the price increases and got the AP2 and the free supercharging.
Initial positive impressions have been
- Genuinely amazed how much stuff you can get in one, 2 adults 3 kids and 2 dogs plus all the stuff for a two week holiday with ease. Previously this had required the roof box on the Q7 which had us worried for options with the falcon doors but no need.
- Excellent driving machine, you can feel the weight but the low centre of gravity and the power delivery actually makes it quite chuckable in the corners
- Great ergonomics and tech, wasn't sure how the big ipad centre dash would work but they have nailed it - DAB radio reception is crap but have migrated to the TuneIn radio feature which is much better
- Regenerative driving is more intuitive that I thought it would be, within a day of driving I am only really using the brake for coming to a complete halt. Most of the time it is backing off and getting the energy back.
Problems
- 300 mile quoted range, 250 indicated having had it for a couple of weeks and fully loaded on motorway driving I think it's more like 225. Only range anxiety I've had was the first journey where it got down to 20 miles at destination, more relaxed about it now.
- Snagging list is long, the service centre and help line have been great but the real test will be next Tuesday when it goes in for quite a list of issues - cruise not working, software updates failing, drivers door not registering as closed, rear boot hatch clicking on open, one falcon door not aligning correctly and the washer jets failed on day 2
- Falcon doors - I think they are a gimmick but I'm out voted in the house, kids think they are great and love them.
- Superchargers are busy - not sure what it's going to be like in the future but the current superchargers we've used have always been pretty busy when we have used them
It definitely feels like the future and it's the equivalent move from the Blackberry to the iPhone, I can't see us going back. I also think the big traditional car manufacturers will struggle to compete as this is as much as software device as a car.
Ours X spent the day in the Brecon Beacon ferrying 5 adults and one very excited infant in comfort. Ended up covering 100 miles effortlessly, had so much fun driving hardly had time to take any photos, passed countless Range Rovers good thing the iPace is coming because otherwise they will be losing a lot of business to the X once word gets out how good these things are
gangzoom said:
Ours X spent the day in the Brecon Beacon ferrying 5 adults and one very excited infant in comfort. Ended up covering 100 miles effortlessly, had so much fun driving hardly had time to take any photos, passed countless Range Rovers good thing the iPace is coming because otherwise they will be losing a lot of business to the X once word gets out how good these things are
As long as the buyers don't need to go any distance at any sort of speed........... 
Thing is, £100k.
I'll say that again. £100k.
Last year we had a meeting in the same hotel as a Tesla conference. So I looked around the Model S they had outside the front door. The quality was bloody awful, really shocking for the money. The tech. may be impressive, but it just looked and felt really cheap. Probably because they're trying to cut weight everywhere.
A Skoda Kodiaq, even in absolutely top spec. would around 1/3 of the price, be better built, and leave you with a lot of money for a weekend fun car and fuel.
I'll say that again. £100k.
Last year we had a meeting in the same hotel as a Tesla conference. So I looked around the Model S they had outside the front door. The quality was bloody awful, really shocking for the money. The tech. may be impressive, but it just looked and felt really cheap. Probably because they're trying to cut weight everywhere.
A Skoda Kodiaq, even in absolutely top spec. would around 1/3 of the price, be better built, and leave you with a lot of money for a weekend fun car and fuel.
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