Tesla Model S 85D
Discussion
RC1807 said:
To both Tesla owners here 
- how are the panel gaps on your cars? I learned from my brother in the U.S. that quite a number are being rejected by new purchasers due to poor body panel gaps.
I've seen dozens of tesla's by now and am always wondering about that. In my view, the gaps are shockingly bad. How do owners see this?- how are the panel gaps on your cars? I learned from my brother in the U.S. that quite a number are being rejected by new purchasers due to poor body panel gaps.
1st Service
Well I was keen to get the car properly checked over by Tesla before 28 days elapsed so dropped ‘Flash’ off to the Bristol Service centre 1st thing on Wednesday. A tidy office and compound on and industrial estate close to the M5 found the corner from the Mercedes garage.
I had 2 niggles to report:
First I have had a warning message on start up a couple of mornings which both times cleared when I got in the car to go home from work.
This has been fixed under warranty by replacing the forward facing camera.
Second was I was having trouble opening the charge port door using the button on the Tesla charging cables – it works fine with the key fob and the GUI controls so not a show stopper. Turns out the sensitivity of the door receiver is adjustable so it does not get triggered by a nearby car, say if you are parked in a spare bay next to a Supercharger. This has been tweaked and all is now well.
The loan car was a white 32k mile 2014 P85+, interesting comparisons to be made (well I thought so!):
1st the handling: this P85 had the air suspension. There are no performance settings but you can change the ride height using the UI. I kept it on the lowest setting and the handling was pretty much identical to mine on the B roads, but the ride was noticeably smoother. The difference is pretty noticable IMHO but I am still happy to have springs and dampers as it will be cheaper to maintain and upgrade in the future if I get afflicted with upgradeitis.
Next, the straight line performance was pretty much identical to mine except at very low speeds where the acceleration felt a bit “crunchy”. I think basically the performance was grip limited which is not the case on my 2 motor version. On paper P85 = 4.2s 0->60 86D is 4.4s. The loan car was however limited to 85mph, can’t imagine why!
They sound surprisingly different inside – it is really difficult to explain but the P car has more top end motor noise than mine and a few odd little noises in the background that mine doesn’t (if it was my car I would call it character). The P is louder than mine at motorway speeds, I thought this might be placebo effect but a little Googling shows Tesla have reduced cabin noise by 3 decibels when measured from 55-85 mph between 2013 and 2016. From the data I can find, at 85mph a 90D is 4 decibels quieter than an M5!
So it does look like the soundproofing has been upgraded over time. Unfortnately I could hear a slight rattle from the P85 from around the front passenger door but only audible with stereo off at very low speeds.
The front boot (I can’t bring myself to call it a frunk or a froot) on the P85 is bigger due to the missing motor:
Mine – the blue hose is my Type 2 cable which I use for free juice at Newbury Parkway
P85
The P85 had the upgraded sound system, and damn it, it really does sound better. The sub bass is definitely better giving a beefier sound, but while it does not feel particularly louder, the stereo “image” does feel better. I am not an audiophile but while I do like my music, I hate a lot of the rubbish spouted about Hi-Fi. But the perceptual position of different frequencies seems to be in the same places on the P85 and seems to be scattered about a bit on mine. It is pretty subtle and not worth spending hundreds of pounds to address. However if I see a Tesla Sub on ebay I’ll grab it and look at fitting it myself with a little Class-D dedicated sub amp. I am not spending $1000 + shipping on The NVX Tesla sub package although it looks like a beautifully engineered solution.
Finally on the stereo, both cars have the 3G connection which has now been updated to 4G/LTE on later cars, I noticed the P85 tended to lose connection on the Spotify app between M4 J12 and J13, whereas mine stays connected which will be device to device variation on the modem. If I start so see regular drop-outs on mine I will find out the cost to upgrade to 4G (or just use music on my USB stick, FW or DAB!)
So my car was ready for pick up on the Thursday morning and I picked it up 1st thing on Friday.
The service was a full 2 year/24k service not cheap at £700. This gave FW updates (I guess for bits that are not done over the air), full geometry alignment, cabin air filters, all fluids, including brake fluid, transmission fluid, motor coolant and aircon re-gas, new fob batteries, new wiper blades, and a detailed check over and lubrication of everything that moves.)
Re RC1807's question:
I have never looked at panel gaps before and to be honest it is not something I look for in a car but just for you RC1807 I looked at a few panel gaps, I am not sure what is considered shocking but now my wife now thinks I am crazy!
Not too shoddy for a 1st stab at a mass manufactured car - well they look fine to me!
Anyway back to the service and all was reported to be well – Yay! I did not buy a pup! As the warranty is not dependent on servicing I look forward to some Independents popping up to look after aging Teslas for tight owners in the future.
While I was there I picked up the Chademo adaptor for £358 which will allow me to get 50kW charging from Ecotricity (and some other chargers). This means on a long trip, if the Tesla superchargers are full or broken, then I have another fast charging option, albeit with less than half the grunt of a Supercharger.
So a very expensive week, but one that has provided a great deal of peace of mind – much needed as this was the most I have ever spent buying a car, but not the biggest servicing bill I have ever had either.
I have now done over 1500 miles, averaging 500 a week!
Next week: Charger fitting, and hopefully my V5 will arrive so I can register and set up the Tesla App on my phone.
Well I was keen to get the car properly checked over by Tesla before 28 days elapsed so dropped ‘Flash’ off to the Bristol Service centre 1st thing on Wednesday. A tidy office and compound on and industrial estate close to the M5 found the corner from the Mercedes garage.
I had 2 niggles to report:
First I have had a warning message on start up a couple of mornings which both times cleared when I got in the car to go home from work.
This has been fixed under warranty by replacing the forward facing camera.
Second was I was having trouble opening the charge port door using the button on the Tesla charging cables – it works fine with the key fob and the GUI controls so not a show stopper. Turns out the sensitivity of the door receiver is adjustable so it does not get triggered by a nearby car, say if you are parked in a spare bay next to a Supercharger. This has been tweaked and all is now well.
The loan car was a white 32k mile 2014 P85+, interesting comparisons to be made (well I thought so!):
1st the handling: this P85 had the air suspension. There are no performance settings but you can change the ride height using the UI. I kept it on the lowest setting and the handling was pretty much identical to mine on the B roads, but the ride was noticeably smoother. The difference is pretty noticable IMHO but I am still happy to have springs and dampers as it will be cheaper to maintain and upgrade in the future if I get afflicted with upgradeitis.
Next, the straight line performance was pretty much identical to mine except at very low speeds where the acceleration felt a bit “crunchy”. I think basically the performance was grip limited which is not the case on my 2 motor version. On paper P85 = 4.2s 0->60 86D is 4.4s. The loan car was however limited to 85mph, can’t imagine why!
They sound surprisingly different inside – it is really difficult to explain but the P car has more top end motor noise than mine and a few odd little noises in the background that mine doesn’t (if it was my car I would call it character). The P is louder than mine at motorway speeds, I thought this might be placebo effect but a little Googling shows Tesla have reduced cabin noise by 3 decibels when measured from 55-85 mph between 2013 and 2016. From the data I can find, at 85mph a 90D is 4 decibels quieter than an M5!
So it does look like the soundproofing has been upgraded over time. Unfortnately I could hear a slight rattle from the P85 from around the front passenger door but only audible with stereo off at very low speeds.
The front boot (I can’t bring myself to call it a frunk or a froot) on the P85 is bigger due to the missing motor:
Mine – the blue hose is my Type 2 cable which I use for free juice at Newbury Parkway
P85
The P85 had the upgraded sound system, and damn it, it really does sound better. The sub bass is definitely better giving a beefier sound, but while it does not feel particularly louder, the stereo “image” does feel better. I am not an audiophile but while I do like my music, I hate a lot of the rubbish spouted about Hi-Fi. But the perceptual position of different frequencies seems to be in the same places on the P85 and seems to be scattered about a bit on mine. It is pretty subtle and not worth spending hundreds of pounds to address. However if I see a Tesla Sub on ebay I’ll grab it and look at fitting it myself with a little Class-D dedicated sub amp. I am not spending $1000 + shipping on The NVX Tesla sub package although it looks like a beautifully engineered solution.
Finally on the stereo, both cars have the 3G connection which has now been updated to 4G/LTE on later cars, I noticed the P85 tended to lose connection on the Spotify app between M4 J12 and J13, whereas mine stays connected which will be device to device variation on the modem. If I start so see regular drop-outs on mine I will find out the cost to upgrade to 4G (or just use music on my USB stick, FW or DAB!)
So my car was ready for pick up on the Thursday morning and I picked it up 1st thing on Friday.
The service was a full 2 year/24k service not cheap at £700. This gave FW updates (I guess for bits that are not done over the air), full geometry alignment, cabin air filters, all fluids, including brake fluid, transmission fluid, motor coolant and aircon re-gas, new fob batteries, new wiper blades, and a detailed check over and lubrication of everything that moves.)
Re RC1807's question:
I have never looked at panel gaps before and to be honest it is not something I look for in a car but just for you RC1807 I looked at a few panel gaps, I am not sure what is considered shocking but now my wife now thinks I am crazy!
| Gap/mm | P85 | 85D | 2013 Volvo XC90 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LH Door front | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||
| LH Door mid | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| LH Door back | 2 | 4 | 5 | |||
| RH Door front | 2.5 | 4 | 4 | |||
| RH Door mid | 3.5 | 4 | 5 | |||
| RH Door back | 2 | 4 | 5 | |||
| Bonnet LH | 3.0 | 5 | 5 | |||
| Bonnet RH | 3.5 | 5 | 5 |
Not too shoddy for a 1st stab at a mass manufactured car - well they look fine to me!
Anyway back to the service and all was reported to be well – Yay! I did not buy a pup! As the warranty is not dependent on servicing I look forward to some Independents popping up to look after aging Teslas for tight owners in the future.
While I was there I picked up the Chademo adaptor for £358 which will allow me to get 50kW charging from Ecotricity (and some other chargers). This means on a long trip, if the Tesla superchargers are full or broken, then I have another fast charging option, albeit with less than half the grunt of a Supercharger.
So a very expensive week, but one that has provided a great deal of peace of mind – much needed as this was the most I have ever spent buying a car, but not the biggest servicing bill I have ever had either.
I have now done over 1500 miles, averaging 500 a week!
Next week: Charger fitting, and hopefully my V5 will arrive so I can register and set up the Tesla App on my phone.
whytheory said:
Interesting comparison between the two models.
I would have thought electric car servicing might be cheaper than ICE, at £700 it seems I was wrong!
It does seem to include stuff that you wouldn't routinely get (full geometry, wipers etc). I would have thought electric car servicing might be cheaper than ICE, at £700 it seems I was wrong!
That said, it was more expensive than I'd have expected.
Charger installation
I booked the install with from ChargedEV on the the 17th of March, having sent them pictures of the planned charger location, location of the electricity meter wall box and a proposed route. The cost to me minus the government grant was £319 for:
ChargedEV was recommended to me by a friend who has used them and I have been very pleased with them. They handle all of the Grant application process and you just pay the “excess”. The grant covers 75% of the installation cost up to a maximum of £500 and as just been extended to March 2018.
Adam from ChargedEV arrived on the dot of 9:00 on the 10th April and got straight to work.
We talked though the route and he explained some of the compromises to be made. Such as not running the trunking absolutely flush with the wall where there was a step in the wall. This was out of sight so I was not worried. The cable ran from my outside meter box to a new fuse box mounted next to it. Then it ran in trunking round the side of the house and up into the eaves above my porch and inside to the Garage, then down inside my garage and out to the front where the charger was mounted.
The installation was done very neatly and while not the prettiest bit of hardware in the world it does have a bit of an “Eve” from Wall-E vibe about it.
The car now charges happily at 32Amps.
Plenty of volts and amps!
The car will now charge 220 miles in 10 hours which is as much as I should ever need at home. The photo above shows slightly less as it take a little while to ramp to full charge speed and I took the photo straight after plugging in.
I booked the install with from ChargedEV on the the 17th of March, having sent them pictures of the planned charger location, location of the electricity meter wall box and a proposed route. The cost to me minus the government grant was £319 for:
- The 3 hours of installation,
- The charging unit,
- 20m of cable and trunking,
- A second outside fuse box and the trip switches for the 32Amp charger, which also had a spare switch for future installations.
ChargedEV was recommended to me by a friend who has used them and I have been very pleased with them. They handle all of the Grant application process and you just pay the “excess”. The grant covers 75% of the installation cost up to a maximum of £500 and as just been extended to March 2018.
Adam from ChargedEV arrived on the dot of 9:00 on the 10th April and got straight to work.
We talked though the route and he explained some of the compromises to be made. Such as not running the trunking absolutely flush with the wall where there was a step in the wall. This was out of sight so I was not worried. The cable ran from my outside meter box to a new fuse box mounted next to it. Then it ran in trunking round the side of the house and up into the eaves above my porch and inside to the Garage, then down inside my garage and out to the front where the charger was mounted.
The installation was done very neatly and while not the prettiest bit of hardware in the world it does have a bit of an “Eve” from Wall-E vibe about it.
The car now charges happily at 32Amps.
Plenty of volts and amps!
The car will now charge 220 miles in 10 hours which is as much as I should ever need at home. The photo above shows slightly less as it take a little while to ramp to full charge speed and I took the photo straight after plugging in.
Edited by Spunagain on Sunday 16th April 18:24
Road trip.
We regularly drive from Newbury to Sunderland to visit the In-laws, in the family Volvo. With the Tesla on the drive it seemed churlish not to give it a go. We normally do the trip in 3 stages swapping drivers at each stop.
So we set off as soon as the home charger installation was completed at 12:00 on Monday and headed off to the Northampton Supercharger 70 miles away with a range of 263 miles showing. Bad traffic meant it we got there about 1:30 with 178 miles range left. We plugged in and registered the car at the Hotel which hosted the superchargers and discovered their restaurant was closed, so we popped across the road to the Harvester there which was both cheaper and better than the normal motorway food at Donnington.
45 minutes later we were on our way to Woodall services on the M1 - 90 miles to the next supercharger, (unfortunately the southbound one, but it is between 2 very close junctions so it only added a few miles to the trip – I need to find out if it is ok to use the access roads as a short cut). We stopped there for coffee arriving with 148 miles of range, half an hour later got back to the Tesla with a range of 248 miles.
The final leg was 127 miles to Sunderland and got there with 104 miles of range remaining.
Plugged in and immediately the car indicated a cable fault, turned out the earth wire in my FIL’s extension lead had “dropped out”. Some quick rectification of some horrific bodgery and we were plugged in and charging. We charged this way overnight during the stay which easily covered all our short trips and left us ready on Saturday to go home with a topped off battery.
Carwise the week was uneventful and the car did all that was asked of it, pootling around the North East, visiting relatives and the odd sightseeing trip. My favourite being the Ryhope water pumping steam engines which is sometimes under steam on bank holidays. They are huge beasts of machines and my daughters were terrified and awed in equal measures. If you are up there well worth a visit and they often hold classic car events – there was one today! While I was there I was accosted by a very friendly random stranger asking loads of questions about the car, I never got this with the Lotus!
The return journey was slightly different going via friends in Lymm near Manchester. We started with 264 miles of range and stopped for coffee at the Leeds Supercharger at Morley 96 miles away just off the M62. The two superchargers were occupied so I waited while the girls went off for their coffee at the Starbucks in the Hotel who hosted the superchargers. I waited 20 minutes for an empty slot and plugged in. By the time I had got inside the girls were ready to go so we only charged for 10 minutes or so and headed off to Lymm 52 miles away. We stayed for Lunch and the rest of the afternoon and a few miles of demos of the car to my host – a fellow engineer, who swore profusely when I booted it.
We then set off, 33 miles to the Stoke on Trent supercharger where we stopped for supper for half an hour and left with 224 miles of range showing. I can’t remember what was left when we arrived there.
The final leg was 144 miles home and we arrived with 63 miles range remaining.
The car was a great mile eater and very relaxing with the adaptive cruise, I also made a lot of use of the autopilot, it is great for de-stressing the drive but I find I can’t completely relax and find I still need to be alert. Mrs Spunagain does not like the Autopilot, but loves the adaptive cruise. I find it is very tempting to punch the car into gaps using up the torque on tap, and am finding myself consciously having to not drive like a t—t. It is great however when one or more drivers are being idiots to be able to put a safe distance between me and them very quickly.
The only gripe I had with the autopilot was that it was sometimes very reluctant to change lane (indicating should initiate a lane change) I and would often have to override and steer myself at which point she would sulk and disengage.
It looks like the real world motorway touring range is around 200 miles. I have set the car up to match the speed limit and did most of the way at either dead on 70 or around 50 over the many miles of roadworks on the M1 and M6 with a few excursions to other speeds to avoid obstacles without being in the way of faster road users.
The car does generate a surprising amount of interest, and have come back to carparks to see people photographing it and was even videoed leaving Tynemouth, we also get a lot of craned necks on the motorway, again not expected, about the same as I got with the Evora.
It got a rattle around the sunroof
a quick wipe of the sunroof seals with silicone lubricant and she is silent once again 
Finally the V5 arrived while I was away. So I can register it with Tesla and set up my Phone app.
We regularly drive from Newbury to Sunderland to visit the In-laws, in the family Volvo. With the Tesla on the drive it seemed churlish not to give it a go. We normally do the trip in 3 stages swapping drivers at each stop.
- Newbury to Donnington Services on the M1, stop for Lunch.
- Donnington Services to somewhere on the A1 M stop for snack and leg stretching
- A1 M to Sunderland.
So we set off as soon as the home charger installation was completed at 12:00 on Monday and headed off to the Northampton Supercharger 70 miles away with a range of 263 miles showing. Bad traffic meant it we got there about 1:30 with 178 miles range left. We plugged in and registered the car at the Hotel which hosted the superchargers and discovered their restaurant was closed, so we popped across the road to the Harvester there which was both cheaper and better than the normal motorway food at Donnington.
45 minutes later we were on our way to Woodall services on the M1 - 90 miles to the next supercharger, (unfortunately the southbound one, but it is between 2 very close junctions so it only added a few miles to the trip – I need to find out if it is ok to use the access roads as a short cut). We stopped there for coffee arriving with 148 miles of range, half an hour later got back to the Tesla with a range of 248 miles.
The final leg was 127 miles to Sunderland and got there with 104 miles of range remaining.
Plugged in and immediately the car indicated a cable fault, turned out the earth wire in my FIL’s extension lead had “dropped out”. Some quick rectification of some horrific bodgery and we were plugged in and charging. We charged this way overnight during the stay which easily covered all our short trips and left us ready on Saturday to go home with a topped off battery.
Carwise the week was uneventful and the car did all that was asked of it, pootling around the North East, visiting relatives and the odd sightseeing trip. My favourite being the Ryhope water pumping steam engines which is sometimes under steam on bank holidays. They are huge beasts of machines and my daughters were terrified and awed in equal measures. If you are up there well worth a visit and they often hold classic car events – there was one today! While I was there I was accosted by a very friendly random stranger asking loads of questions about the car, I never got this with the Lotus!
The return journey was slightly different going via friends in Lymm near Manchester. We started with 264 miles of range and stopped for coffee at the Leeds Supercharger at Morley 96 miles away just off the M62. The two superchargers were occupied so I waited while the girls went off for their coffee at the Starbucks in the Hotel who hosted the superchargers. I waited 20 minutes for an empty slot and plugged in. By the time I had got inside the girls were ready to go so we only charged for 10 minutes or so and headed off to Lymm 52 miles away. We stayed for Lunch and the rest of the afternoon and a few miles of demos of the car to my host – a fellow engineer, who swore profusely when I booted it.
We then set off, 33 miles to the Stoke on Trent supercharger where we stopped for supper for half an hour and left with 224 miles of range showing. I can’t remember what was left when we arrived there.
The final leg was 144 miles home and we arrived with 63 miles range remaining.
The car was a great mile eater and very relaxing with the adaptive cruise, I also made a lot of use of the autopilot, it is great for de-stressing the drive but I find I can’t completely relax and find I still need to be alert. Mrs Spunagain does not like the Autopilot, but loves the adaptive cruise. I find it is very tempting to punch the car into gaps using up the torque on tap, and am finding myself consciously having to not drive like a t—t. It is great however when one or more drivers are being idiots to be able to put a safe distance between me and them very quickly.
The only gripe I had with the autopilot was that it was sometimes very reluctant to change lane (indicating should initiate a lane change) I and would often have to override and steer myself at which point she would sulk and disengage.
It looks like the real world motorway touring range is around 200 miles. I have set the car up to match the speed limit and did most of the way at either dead on 70 or around 50 over the many miles of roadworks on the M1 and M6 with a few excursions to other speeds to avoid obstacles without being in the way of faster road users.
The car does generate a surprising amount of interest, and have come back to carparks to see people photographing it and was even videoed leaving Tynemouth, we also get a lot of craned necks on the motorway, again not expected, about the same as I got with the Evora.
It got a rattle around the sunroof
a quick wipe of the sunroof seals with silicone lubricant and she is silent once again Finally the V5 arrived while I was away. So I can register it with Tesla and set up my Phone app.
Thanks for the long trip write up, very interesting. It seems relatively problem free, and likely to get more so as the charging network expands.
I saw one on the A26 in France last week and wondered whether it would be viable for a proper long haul of the 700miles in a day type. I guess with appropriate planning it shouldn't be an issue.
I saw one on the A26 in France last week and wondered whether it would be viable for a proper long haul of the 700miles in a day type. I guess with appropriate planning it shouldn't be an issue.
Sounds like you're going to spend that petrol money on coffee and food though Great thread - interesting deep dive into Tesla ownership.
I have hankered after one for a while as the tech aspect, the look of the car and the lack of petrol usage all interest me - especially as I can recharge at work via the large solar panel array on the roof (so green and free). The low company car tax would also be a benefit...
Currently running a Lexus GS300h F-Sport so am (now) used to a certain level of quality, refinement and gadgetry - although performance isn't so hot once you get past about 40mph and the slightly asthmatic 2.5 engine has to do most of the work to shift the 1.8 tonnes of car around. But it manages 39mpg for my 70 commute to work and back (via A, B and C roads) everyday so I can't complain too much.
Interested to read further updates.
(and no, I haven't been looking at the classifieds. Nope, Definitely not. No sir.....)
I have hankered after one for a while as the tech aspect, the look of the car and the lack of petrol usage all interest me - especially as I can recharge at work via the large solar panel array on the roof (so green and free). The low company car tax would also be a benefit...
Currently running a Lexus GS300h F-Sport so am (now) used to a certain level of quality, refinement and gadgetry - although performance isn't so hot once you get past about 40mph and the slightly asthmatic 2.5 engine has to do most of the work to shift the 1.8 tonnes of car around. But it manages 39mpg for my 70 commute to work and back (via A, B and C roads) everyday so I can't complain too much.
Interested to read further updates.
(and no, I haven't been looking at the classifieds. Nope, Definitely not. No sir.....)
Hi r129sl
Checking the satnav history, the last owner took it down to Italy to the skiing resorts so long journeys seem to be doable!
My only concern is that with more cars coming on line we will see more choked superchargers, but with Tesla’s aggressive building policy and the fact that new cars will have to pay for the charging after a set limit, I hope the supply keeps up with demand!
Hi AyBee
On this last trip I actually spent less on coffee and food that my normal trips as the Harvester near the supercharger was cheaper than the Food at Donnington services we normally stop at. For my long trips the Tesla has exactly the same cadence as Volvo, but with the addition of 20 seconds to plug in and unplug the charging cable! When ferrying the family they all need to be walked and fed regularly or they go feral. I guess for someone who normally just splashes and goes, you could have some extra costs if you needed to occupy your time while charging.
Hi Arfursleep
Be very careful! I never really intended to buy a Tesla, but when I saw mine for sale at the price it was at I never had a chance! I think the pricing of Teslas is interesting as asking prices seem to be held up by Tesla’s guaranteed buy back policy, but it would be very interesting to find out what people really pay for those on sale at Prindeville etc who seem to specialise in used Teslas.
Hi JM5
I would be interested to hear your stories - a readers car thread perhaps. I love the looks of the I8 and if it had had a 60+kWh battery only option it would have been on my radar too.
One of my biggest worries about the jump from Evora to the Tesla has been the driving experience. I am no “Helmsman” but I enjoy driving and the way a car drives in important to me. My Elise was perfect in that the car did just what I wanted almost as I thought it. I am not talking about driving at the limits of grip, just driving normally with a little enthusiasm. The Evora was a slightly larger version but with the same type of connection with the road. The Tesla feels to me like it follows the same path, but it takes a larger step than that from the Elise to Evora as it is that much heavier. It has great levels of grip which I have not (I don’t think) yet got close to the limits of, the steering is direct and not in any way woolly and the throttle response beats both the Elise and Evora into a cocked hat. I am still getting to grips with it but handling and ride wise, it does feel very settled on the road and on the twisty bits it feel composed and not like it will spit you into the nearest hedge in the way my old TVRs did.
I do miss stirring the gearbox, but for overtaking on a B road the Tesla is a joy, both Elise and Evora had the tendency to occasionally baulk gear changes when changing fast, such as when overtaking, and the Evora in particular needed to have its neck wrung to get the best overtaking acceleration out of it. On the Tesla you just check mirrors indicate and floor it, you head is immediately smacked into the headrest and it pulls like a demented dentist as it lunges forward. Overtaking in this car has a tiny time-exposed-to-danger time compared with any other car I have driven (goodness knows what a P100DL is like!), and it is still an addictive experience.
Quick update.
Anyhow the car is still running faultlessly. I am making much more use of the autopilot as the M4 stop start traffic seems to be getting worse again after the Easter break, it really make journeys less tiring. I am still getting the hang of its idiosyncrasies through, occasionally it really does not want to change lane when I indicate and I have not figured out why, it may be that it does not see the target lane as a real lane for some reason, but a quick tug on the wheel finishes the manoeuvre followed by re-enabling the autopilot. Also the autopilot does not like the markings for the roadworks between J12 and 13 on the M4 and will ignore the temporary green studs and aim for the original lane markings. It’s a shame as the lanes there are very narrow and it would have been nice for the autopilot to take the strain as it is a very wide car.
It has now done 24530 miles (2900 miles with us in 7 weeks) and the car is getting more use than any other in the family.
First wash, polish with Autoglym Dad’s Polish and protection using Armourall “Shield” done (and given my past history also for the last time!) I have also touched up the boot lid lip and a couple of stone chips using a Chipex kit I ordered a couple of weeks back. The colour match is perfect, but my skill using the kit leaves a little to be desired! But much better. A Chipex kit also did a great job on my 118k mile Elise’s road rash before I sold it!
I am also driving it a bit more normally, I have been driving with range in mind, but as range anxiety has all but died I am now driving with a little more focus on getting there a bit quicker. My power/mile has now moved from 330w/mile to 410w/mile.
The creak on the sunroof on the passenger side is back. I can’t hear it from the driver’s side or with the radio on but I will have another crack at curing it permanently.
Still waiting for the Tesla App login – should be any day now.
Checking the satnav history, the last owner took it down to Italy to the skiing resorts so long journeys seem to be doable!
My only concern is that with more cars coming on line we will see more choked superchargers, but with Tesla’s aggressive building policy and the fact that new cars will have to pay for the charging after a set limit, I hope the supply keeps up with demand!
Hi AyBee
On this last trip I actually spent less on coffee and food that my normal trips as the Harvester near the supercharger was cheaper than the Food at Donnington services we normally stop at. For my long trips the Tesla has exactly the same cadence as Volvo, but with the addition of 20 seconds to plug in and unplug the charging cable! When ferrying the family they all need to be walked and fed regularly or they go feral. I guess for someone who normally just splashes and goes, you could have some extra costs if you needed to occupy your time while charging.
Hi Arfursleep
Be very careful! I never really intended to buy a Tesla, but when I saw mine for sale at the price it was at I never had a chance! I think the pricing of Teslas is interesting as asking prices seem to be held up by Tesla’s guaranteed buy back policy, but it would be very interesting to find out what people really pay for those on sale at Prindeville etc who seem to specialise in used Teslas.
Hi JM5
I would be interested to hear your stories - a readers car thread perhaps. I love the looks of the I8 and if it had had a 60+kWh battery only option it would have been on my radar too.
One of my biggest worries about the jump from Evora to the Tesla has been the driving experience. I am no “Helmsman” but I enjoy driving and the way a car drives in important to me. My Elise was perfect in that the car did just what I wanted almost as I thought it. I am not talking about driving at the limits of grip, just driving normally with a little enthusiasm. The Evora was a slightly larger version but with the same type of connection with the road. The Tesla feels to me like it follows the same path, but it takes a larger step than that from the Elise to Evora as it is that much heavier. It has great levels of grip which I have not (I don’t think) yet got close to the limits of, the steering is direct and not in any way woolly and the throttle response beats both the Elise and Evora into a cocked hat. I am still getting to grips with it but handling and ride wise, it does feel very settled on the road and on the twisty bits it feel composed and not like it will spit you into the nearest hedge in the way my old TVRs did.
I do miss stirring the gearbox, but for overtaking on a B road the Tesla is a joy, both Elise and Evora had the tendency to occasionally baulk gear changes when changing fast, such as when overtaking, and the Evora in particular needed to have its neck wrung to get the best overtaking acceleration out of it. On the Tesla you just check mirrors indicate and floor it, you head is immediately smacked into the headrest and it pulls like a demented dentist as it lunges forward. Overtaking in this car has a tiny time-exposed-to-danger time compared with any other car I have driven (goodness knows what a P100DL is like!), and it is still an addictive experience.
Quick update.
Anyhow the car is still running faultlessly. I am making much more use of the autopilot as the M4 stop start traffic seems to be getting worse again after the Easter break, it really make journeys less tiring. I am still getting the hang of its idiosyncrasies through, occasionally it really does not want to change lane when I indicate and I have not figured out why, it may be that it does not see the target lane as a real lane for some reason, but a quick tug on the wheel finishes the manoeuvre followed by re-enabling the autopilot. Also the autopilot does not like the markings for the roadworks between J12 and 13 on the M4 and will ignore the temporary green studs and aim for the original lane markings. It’s a shame as the lanes there are very narrow and it would have been nice for the autopilot to take the strain as it is a very wide car.
It has now done 24530 miles (2900 miles with us in 7 weeks) and the car is getting more use than any other in the family.
First wash, polish with Autoglym Dad’s Polish and protection using Armourall “Shield” done (and given my past history also for the last time!) I have also touched up the boot lid lip and a couple of stone chips using a Chipex kit I ordered a couple of weeks back. The colour match is perfect, but my skill using the kit leaves a little to be desired! But much better. A Chipex kit also did a great job on my 118k mile Elise’s road rash before I sold it!
I am also driving it a bit more normally, I have been driving with range in mind, but as range anxiety has all but died I am now driving with a little more focus on getting there a bit quicker. My power/mile has now moved from 330w/mile to 410w/mile.
The creak on the sunroof on the passenger side is back. I can’t hear it from the driver’s side or with the radio on but I will have another crack at curing it permanently.
Still waiting for the Tesla App login – should be any day now.
Thank you for this post - really helpful. I'm also considering a Tesla next, due to a house move and therefore different commute, so really helpful to hear a detailed real-world report!
One thing it would be really helpful to know about is the nav/ phone integration, if you don't mind?
Does it use Google maps on the big screen, with all of the traffic re-routing etc? I read somewhere about a Garmin-powered nav in the instrument binnacle screen instead?
And how does it play with streaming music from an iPhone or equivalent? Any control over tracks etc if plugged in?
Thanks a lot!
Sam.
One thing it would be really helpful to know about is the nav/ phone integration, if you don't mind?
Does it use Google maps on the big screen, with all of the traffic re-routing etc? I read somewhere about a Garmin-powered nav in the instrument binnacle screen instead?
And how does it play with streaming music from an iPhone or equivalent? Any control over tracks etc if plugged in?
Thanks a lot!
Sam.
Excellent and informative post.
I am very keen on Tesla, they do appeal to me. I would also be very well suited to one I think. I live in the South East and rarely will I do more than 150 miles in one day, and even that would be an exception. Most of the time, I'm going up to Heathrow, parking for the day, and coming back for work, if I am not just doing my normal commute. And visiting family, that's either 5 miles to parents, 30 miles to the mother-in-law or 200-ish miles to family in Devon. All very much achievable with the range of a Tesla, and like you, anything longer I could plan in a Supercharger stop. Although I am very much the kind of person who likes to "splash and dash" when I need fuel!
So for now the only real hold up is the price, which is currently beyond my reach.
I am very keen on Tesla, they do appeal to me. I would also be very well suited to one I think. I live in the South East and rarely will I do more than 150 miles in one day, and even that would be an exception. Most of the time, I'm going up to Heathrow, parking for the day, and coming back for work, if I am not just doing my normal commute. And visiting family, that's either 5 miles to parents, 30 miles to the mother-in-law or 200-ish miles to family in Devon. All very much achievable with the range of a Tesla, and like you, anything longer I could plan in a Supercharger stop. Although I am very much the kind of person who likes to "splash and dash" when I need fuel!
So for now the only real hold up is the price, which is currently beyond my reach.
samro said:
One thing it would be really helpful to know about is the nav/ phone integration, if you don't mind?
Does it use Google maps on the big screen, with all of the traffic re-routing etc? I read somewhere about a Garmin-powered nav in the instrument binnacle screen instead?
Hi SamroDoes it use Google maps on the big screen, with all of the traffic re-routing etc? I read somewhere about a Garmin-powered nav in the instrument binnacle screen instead?
The big screen does just about everything: you can select any of the apps to be displayed half or full screen. The apps I have on mine are Battery, Navigation, Music, Phone, Settings, Calendar, Rear camera and Internet. I generally stick with a 50/50 of Navigation and Music.
The Nav display is Google maps which can be set to map or satellite displays, it shows the congested routes over the entire map as amber or red. You can scroll and pinch zoom in and out like a normal tablet, or centre it on you by touching the arrow icon. I do not know whether the routing is Garmin or Google but it is all seemlessly integrated with map and directions shown on the big screen. There is also a detailed 3rd angle display on the instrument display behind the steering wheel which shows up when you are approaching junctions. All the data comes free from the car’s modem.
I have also read gripes about the Navigation it but can't fault it yet. I have a seriously bad sense of direction (I am not joking it is embarrassingly poor) so I rely on Sat Nav a lot, and it has not let me down at all- the road trip I described earlier was all under Sat Nav guidance with no issues at all.
samro said:
And how does it play with streaming music from an iPhone or equivalent? Any control over tracks etc if plugged in?
Thanks a lot!
Sam.
For music I have Analogue radio, DAB, Bluetooth streaming, Spotify, TuneIn, and USB options on mine.Thanks a lot!
Sam.
The Bluetooth definitely allows me to start and stop tracks on my phone and I think skip tracks with my Samsung GS6, but I do not use it much.
I make a lot of use of my music collection on a USB stick which allow choosing tracks by Album Artist, Folder and you can set up a favourites list. My only gripe is if you are listening to a USB podcast then jump to radio, it does not remember where you were when you go back to the USB menu and it defaults to the USB stick root.
I have not used Tunin yet but when the kids are in the car they use Spotify a lot. You can log in with your own account, but as I do not have a paid for account, I use the Tesla account which is free and ad free. Again you can set up favourites, and can search by album artist and playlist names. The data again comes free from the car’s modem; mine is 3G which seems to be ok but I have had it drop out only a couple of times on all the routes I have travelled while using Spotify. Later cars come with 4G which I can update mine to for I think £400 or so but I don’t think it is worth upgrading to be honest. The 2014 car I had during my service seemed to drop out more than mine so the 3G module may have got upgraded over time.
LordGrover said:
Hi LordGrover
Just an aside, do they go flat sitting idle - e.g. airport car park while on two week holiday - will it start and have decent range?
I am not sure the decay in normal settings which can warm the car up if it thinks I am due to go to work, but you can set it to a low power sleep mode for airport parking and the like which loses 1% battery a day.Just an aside, do they go flat sitting idle - e.g. airport car park while on two week holiday - will it start and have decent range?
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