Tesla Model S 85D
Discussion
Spunagain said:
Hazman123 said:
Great write up, thanks! Just wondering about the effect on range of going a bit faster on motorways, say 90 -Would this reduce range significantly?
Absolutely, speed is the killer of range – Tesla have an nice plot showing the effect here:
So it looks like 90 mph will give you a range of about 150 miles, (I guess at night when the roads are quiet!)
Mudgey said:
had ham said:
It's a shame that leading-edge technology is wrapped up in such a dreary/bland looking thing. They would really be on to something were they able to add some (any) style to their designs.
Different strokes for different folks n all that, I think its great to see a car that doesn't have huge air intakes, sharp edges and awkward looking lines stuck all over the body just because it's currently fashionable to do so. I much prefer the simplistic approach to design with smooth transitions and elegant curves, there is no need to over do it.I must say, this thread is about the most interesting piece I have come across on these cars. Thanks from me.
Spunagain said:
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?
I have warmed considerably to the notion of an electrically powered car, coincidentally one of our 3 cars is also named Flash, however it is a 1.25l Fiesta and as such the name is massively ironic.
I saw a black Model X on Sunday and it looked magnificent, it had 22 inch black wheels and I managed to see those rear doors in action, what a gloriously unnecessary feature, I loved it.
I saw a black Model X on Sunday and it looked magnificent, it had 22 inch black wheels and I managed to see those rear doors in action, what a gloriously unnecessary feature, I loved it.
The Tesla App
Yay - I have now got the car registered with Tesla so I have not got the app!
It occasionally takes a couple of retries to connect but this is what it looks like…
The home screen looks like this when parked:
The Home screen looks like this while driving:
Not sure if I want Mrs Spunagain to know what speed I am driving!
And this as I scroll down:
The Controls menu looks like this:
I think there is some scope for pranking here! But the horn and lighting controls might help finding the car in a massive car park full of other blue Teslas.
The Climate screen looks like this:
So I can turn the air con on if it is hot before I leave work or turn on the heating while I have breakfast on winter mornings so I can start off with a toasty cabin. I can also freak out my wife by remotely turning down the temperature!
The Location screen looks like this parked:
So I can see where my wife goes when she borrows the car! I suspect this goes both ways as it is ok to run the app on multiple devices!
And when moving, this screenshot was snapped when I was in Maidenhead and my wife was driving the car in Newbury
The Battery screen looks like this when charging:
So happy with my new toy.
I have not set up summon yet but will post when I get around to it!
Yay - I have now got the car registered with Tesla so I have not got the app!
It occasionally takes a couple of retries to connect but this is what it looks like…
The home screen looks like this when parked:
The Home screen looks like this while driving:
Not sure if I want Mrs Spunagain to know what speed I am driving!
And this as I scroll down:
The Controls menu looks like this:
I think there is some scope for pranking here! But the horn and lighting controls might help finding the car in a massive car park full of other blue Teslas.
The Climate screen looks like this:
So I can turn the air con on if it is hot before I leave work or turn on the heating while I have breakfast on winter mornings so I can start off with a toasty cabin. I can also freak out my wife by remotely turning down the temperature!
The Location screen looks like this parked:
So I can see where my wife goes when she borrows the car! I suspect this goes both ways as it is ok to run the app on multiple devices!
And when moving, this screenshot was snapped when I was in Maidenhead and my wife was driving the car in Newbury
The Battery screen looks like this when charging:
So happy with my new toy.
I have not set up summon yet but will post when I get around to it!
Insurance
In my 1st post I forgot to mention insurance which seems to come up a fair bit on the Tesla FB page. There seems to be a few misconceptions about it; for instance my brother thought I would need insurance for me, my wife and the autopilot!
I was with Esure for the Lotus and re-insured in February for £337 or ~1% of the car’s value, I tried to transfer to the Tesla but it turns out Esure do not cover Teslas so they refunded the remainder of my policy with no penalty.
I simply went onto GoCompare and found plenty of cover options and chose Privilege who I have good experiences with, which was 3rd cheapest at £637 or ~1.1% of the car’s value but had the most sensible excess.
So not a perfectly straightforward transfer but not exactly a problem either!
While I am posting – here are some pictures of the inside when it was freshly cleaned at the dealer:
Front seats
Rear Seats
Sunroof
Finally, many thanks to tfboy who took me out in his P90D L and demonstrated Launch control and Ludicrous mode neither of which my car has.
It is utterly crazy on the launch
if you don't place your head on the headrest in preparation you head gets smacked hard into the headrest!
The acceleration is unlike anything (car or plane) that I have ever experienced before, it genuinely felt like it was trying to peel the skin off my face -it is a bizarre sensation and definitely addictive! I am afraid to say it left me giggling like a schoolgirl, the last car that did that to me was a particularly perky TVR Griffith 500 a few years back... Must not start thinking about upgrades so soon....
In my 1st post I forgot to mention insurance which seems to come up a fair bit on the Tesla FB page. There seems to be a few misconceptions about it; for instance my brother thought I would need insurance for me, my wife and the autopilot!
I was with Esure for the Lotus and re-insured in February for £337 or ~1% of the car’s value, I tried to transfer to the Tesla but it turns out Esure do not cover Teslas so they refunded the remainder of my policy with no penalty.
I simply went onto GoCompare and found plenty of cover options and chose Privilege who I have good experiences with, which was 3rd cheapest at £637 or ~1.1% of the car’s value but had the most sensible excess.
So not a perfectly straightforward transfer but not exactly a problem either!
While I am posting – here are some pictures of the inside when it was freshly cleaned at the dealer:
Front seats
Rear Seats
Sunroof
Finally, many thanks to tfboy who took me out in his P90D L and demonstrated Launch control and Ludicrous mode neither of which my car has.
It is utterly crazy on the launch
if you don't place your head on the headrest in preparation you head gets smacked hard into the headrest! The acceleration is unlike anything (car or plane) that I have ever experienced before, it genuinely felt like it was trying to peel the skin off my face -it is a bizarre sensation and definitely addictive! I am afraid to say it left me giggling like a schoolgirl, the last car that did that to me was a particularly perky TVR Griffith 500 a few years back... Must not start thinking about upgrades so soon....
2 Month Update
Not much to report really apart from I am still doing a lot more miles than I expected! Nothing has broken, dropped off, exploded or caught fire! The car is still a pleasure to drive and I actually look forward to my drive to work – I have also discovered the delights of the TED broadcasts on Spotify and the Sniff Petrol Podcasts on line.
Mrs Spunagain is not completely at home with it yet, mostly as I hog it, but feels that will come with time. We both feel that the column shifter stalk motions for drive and reverse are logically the wrong way round. Oh and we have both tried to switch on the windscreen wipers and put the car into neutral!
I have joined a couple of the Tesla Facebook groups and there is a lot of traffic on them. The groups seem to be very TVR like with lots of very good advice, a reasonable number of people with niggles and a very small minority which seem to have terrible trouble with their cars. I might have to post a link to this thread and see what happens!
I also had a quick play in Excel and the following table shows the sort of fuel costs I am seeing. With the cost of the car being so high the cost savings are not really the point but they do help:
Not much to report really apart from I am still doing a lot more miles than I expected! Nothing has broken, dropped off, exploded or caught fire! The car is still a pleasure to drive and I actually look forward to my drive to work – I have also discovered the delights of the TED broadcasts on Spotify and the Sniff Petrol Podcasts on line.
Mrs Spunagain is not completely at home with it yet, mostly as I hog it, but feels that will come with time. We both feel that the column shifter stalk motions for drive and reverse are logically the wrong way round. Oh and we have both tried to switch on the windscreen wipers and put the car into neutral!
I have joined a couple of the Tesla Facebook groups and there is a lot of traffic on them. The groups seem to be very TVR like with lots of very good advice, a reasonable number of people with niggles and a very small minority which seem to have terrible trouble with their cars. I might have to post a link to this thread and see what happens!
I also had a quick play in Excel and the following table shows the sort of fuel costs I am seeing. With the cost of the car being so high the cost savings are not really the point but they do help:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Miles when I picked it up | 21664 |
| Miles now | 26043 |
| Total miles I have done so far | 4379 |
| Supercharger powered miles | 980 |
| Average Watt hours per mile while I have owned it | 340 |
| Date picked up the car | 18-Mar-17 |
| Today | 18-May-17 |
| Home charging kWh | 1155.7 |
| Price/kWh | £ 0.1029 |
| Total cost if I had paid for all charging | £ 153.20 |
| Total cost/mile if I paid for all charging | £ 0.035 |
| Total cost to me so far (- supercharging) | £ 118.92 |
| Total cost to me per mile actual | £ 0.027 |
| Petrol equivalent for comparison | |
| Total miles | 4379 |
| MPG average for my old Evora | 29 |
| Gallons used | 151.0 |
| Litres used | 686.4 |
| Price per litre | £ 1.16 |
| Total cost | £ 798.24 |
| Cost/ mile | £ 0.18 |
| Savings so far | £ 679.32 |
| Charger install | £ 319.00 |
| Total saving - Charger cost | £ 360.32 |
| Projected annual fuel saving this year based on current mileage (-charger cost) | £ 3,813.55 |
| Projected following year saving | £ 4,132.55 |
As a confirmed pertolhead (I really like my V8) I'm somewhat perplexed by Teslas.
I want to dislike them, but I also want to like them
They have the grunt to get up and go. This appeals very much.
But...
It just seems to be so much hassle to plan where you can stop, for however long, on your route to wherever you want to go, assuming where you want to go has charging points en-route.
Petrol = my max 320 miles range, 5 minutes to re-fill before another 320 miles (with the odd nature breaks)
Doesn't this take the spontaneity out of driving?
OP, you mentioned what sounds like hands free driving in the UK. I wasn't aware that was permitted here; is this a grey area, or something legal?
I want to dislike them, but I also want to like them
They have the grunt to get up and go. This appeals very much.
But...
It just seems to be so much hassle to plan where you can stop, for however long, on your route to wherever you want to go, assuming where you want to go has charging points en-route.
Petrol = my max 320 miles range, 5 minutes to re-fill before another 320 miles (with the odd nature breaks)
Doesn't this take the spontaneity out of driving?
OP, you mentioned what sounds like hands free driving in the UK. I wasn't aware that was permitted here; is this a grey area, or something legal?
Hi db
I think Teslas and actually any electric cars available in 2017 are not yet cars for everyone. If for instance one wants to spend 4 hour stints between meals at the wheel at illegal road speeds then electric is not going to meet your needs and perhaps a Bentley Continental would suit sir?
In terms of spontaneity, I decide where I want to go, get in the car and put the destination in the satnav. It then plots me the route via the chargers I need to visit to get there. All the chargers I have visited so far have a coffee shop or restaurant within sight of the charger so it is not uncomfortable.
As a parent my road trips involve the kids so regular stop offs are needed to stop them going feral so it suits me down to the ground. Also for me and I think for the majority of road users, those long trips are few and far between.
Apart from my trip to Sunderland I have not needed to use superchargers at all and that is averaging over 2000 miles a month. I have only visited a petrol station once in the last 2 months to fuel one of my ICE cars whereas before I had to fill up between once and twice a week, which is more of an inconvenience day to day than unplugging the Tesla in the morning and setting off and plugging back in on my return in the evening.
Re. the hands free thing, I am not sure about the legals but the autopilot is not intended to be hands free, when you engage it a big banner appears on the dash reading “Hold steering wheel with both hands”. The steering wheel then detects that you are holding it by detecting the resistance to turning from your hands as it steers the car.
Depending on the road conditions you can let go of the wheel for between about 30 seconds and 2 minutes and then the dashboard screen starts flashing a white border with a “Hold Steering Wheel” banner, the flashing gets faster then beeps at you and the car starts to reduce speed while continuing to steer.
I think Teslas and actually any electric cars available in 2017 are not yet cars for everyone. If for instance one wants to spend 4 hour stints between meals at the wheel at illegal road speeds then electric is not going to meet your needs and perhaps a Bentley Continental would suit sir?
In terms of spontaneity, I decide where I want to go, get in the car and put the destination in the satnav. It then plots me the route via the chargers I need to visit to get there. All the chargers I have visited so far have a coffee shop or restaurant within sight of the charger so it is not uncomfortable.
As a parent my road trips involve the kids so regular stop offs are needed to stop them going feral so it suits me down to the ground. Also for me and I think for the majority of road users, those long trips are few and far between.
Apart from my trip to Sunderland I have not needed to use superchargers at all and that is averaging over 2000 miles a month. I have only visited a petrol station once in the last 2 months to fuel one of my ICE cars whereas before I had to fill up between once and twice a week, which is more of an inconvenience day to day than unplugging the Tesla in the morning and setting off and plugging back in on my return in the evening.
Re. the hands free thing, I am not sure about the legals but the autopilot is not intended to be hands free, when you engage it a big banner appears on the dash reading “Hold steering wheel with both hands”. The steering wheel then detects that you are holding it by detecting the resistance to turning from your hands as it steers the car.
Depending on the road conditions you can let go of the wheel for between about 30 seconds and 2 minutes and then the dashboard screen starts flashing a white border with a “Hold Steering Wheel” banner, the flashing gets faster then beeps at you and the car starts to reduce speed while continuing to steer.
Thank you for your reply Spunagain.
The Continental would be nice, very kind of you to offer
Most of my journeys are short, local trips. Electric might suit me for some of them. I want to say there aren't any charging points around here but I can't say I've had need to look for them.
Hadn't thought about the sat--nav taking you via charging points but it makes perfect sense.
I'm really quite surprised about the duration of "hands free" but I guess the durations can always be extended during future updates.
An interesting read, thanks for sharing.
The Continental would be nice, very kind of you to offer
Most of my journeys are short, local trips. Electric might suit me for some of them. I want to say there aren't any charging points around here but I can't say I've had need to look for them.
Hadn't thought about the sat--nav taking you via charging points but it makes perfect sense.
I'm really quite surprised about the duration of "hands free" but I guess the durations can always be extended during future updates.
An interesting read, thanks for sharing.
+1 pretty much what DB says & the other bit missing for me is the engine/exhaust note - i've pretty much just bought a Ducati Monster for the sound alone and that is a big part of the driving experience for me (love a tunnel). I'd also like to see them be a bit more adventurous with the external styling; they're a bit ford mondeo bland (sorry) .
The concierge in a hotel I was staying in (Atlanta) was running us about in one. I have to say I was very impressed with it, loads of leg room in the rear seats and the quality of the interior was great too. After a bit of egging on he gave it the beans from the lights a couple of times: the smoothness in the way in which it makes progress is pretty impressive.. it was enough to convince me i wouldn't mind driving one, but i'd be worried if i bought one i'd get bored of it quickly.
The concierge in a hotel I was staying in (Atlanta) was running us about in one. I have to say I was very impressed with it, loads of leg room in the rear seats and the quality of the interior was great too. After a bit of egging on he gave it the beans from the lights a couple of times: the smoothness in the way in which it makes progress is pretty impressive.. it was enough to convince me i wouldn't mind driving one, but i'd be worried if i bought one i'd get bored of it quickly.
So it seems you can get free supercharging for new cars again, but only if you use a referral code when ordering new cars.
Last year Tesla announced that from 2017 onwards there would be no more unlimited free supercharging, you would get 400kWh free per year and then you would pay about 20p per kWh.
Well it seems that from this week if you use the latest referral codes you can now order a Tesla S or X with free supercharging and a £750 discount.
The codes are linked to existing owners (I got mine once the car was registered to me and it’s just been extended to be valid for the rest of this year).
Here’s mine http://ts.la/phil7565 A prospective owner simply clicks on the link, configures the car, and orders it (or uses the phil7675 code when ordering in the store) and you get the £750 discount and free supercharger access.
Full disclosure here - if you do this and use my code I get some Tesla Goodies like a a kids drivable toy Tesla S, some nice 21 inch alloys and so on depending on the number of referrals.
I found it as a little treasure chest icon just popped up on my Tesla app.
Pressing it gave me this page explaining the new system.
Go on... you know you want to!
Last year Tesla announced that from 2017 onwards there would be no more unlimited free supercharging, you would get 400kWh free per year and then you would pay about 20p per kWh.
Well it seems that from this week if you use the latest referral codes you can now order a Tesla S or X with free supercharging and a £750 discount.
The codes are linked to existing owners (I got mine once the car was registered to me and it’s just been extended to be valid for the rest of this year).
Here’s mine http://ts.la/phil7565 A prospective owner simply clicks on the link, configures the car, and orders it (or uses the phil7675 code when ordering in the store) and you get the £750 discount and free supercharger access.
Full disclosure here - if you do this and use my code I get some Tesla Goodies like a a kids drivable toy Tesla S, some nice 21 inch alloys and so on depending on the number of referrals.
I found it as a little treasure chest icon just popped up on my Tesla app.
Pressing it gave me this page explaining the new system.
Go on... you know you want to!
A small issue has arisen:
As I have got more confident with the car and its range I have spent more time keeping up with the general flow of the right hand lane on the M4 and have noticed a bit of vibration at higher speeds. So I popped down to Headley tyres south of Newbury to get the wheel balances checked, and was told some rather unsettling and frankly annoying news.
One of my "new" rear tyres is not quite round, Headley needed to add 200g of weights to balance it as best they can, but after a quick trip to Slough it is still not vibration free.
All four tyres (while they are matching) are between 8 and 9 years old:
These were the "new" Pirelli tyres the dealer I bought the car from agreed to fit to replace the worn OEM Michelins.
While it is not provable, based on the wear they look like part-worn tyres.
My receipt of course says "Tyres" and not "New Tyres".
When I bought the car I just saw what looked like new (i.e. dressed) tyres with plenty of tread where as the originals were borderline illegal. I am feeling a fool for not checking the tyres age, but who does that on a 14 month old car with "new" tyres. Shows how naive I am!
I will be calling the dealer on Monday asking what they will do to remedy this.
While not illegal I believe it is extremely inadvisable to fit 8+year old tyres to a 400+ horse powered car.
I think as a minimum they should pay to replace the rear pair as one is not round and not fit for purpose and you need to replace both so the axle has matching tyres. But to be honest I would like the to cover both axles as I think they are taking the Mickey. The Michelin OEM tyres will be around £250 each all in and fitted.
Any thoughts from the PH hive mind on my legal position here?
As I have got more confident with the car and its range I have spent more time keeping up with the general flow of the right hand lane on the M4 and have noticed a bit of vibration at higher speeds. So I popped down to Headley tyres south of Newbury to get the wheel balances checked, and was told some rather unsettling and frankly annoying news.
One of my "new" rear tyres is not quite round, Headley needed to add 200g of weights to balance it as best they can, but after a quick trip to Slough it is still not vibration free.
All four tyres (while they are matching) are between 8 and 9 years old:
These were the "new" Pirelli tyres the dealer I bought the car from agreed to fit to replace the worn OEM Michelins.
While it is not provable, based on the wear they look like part-worn tyres.
My receipt of course says "Tyres" and not "New Tyres".
When I bought the car I just saw what looked like new (i.e. dressed) tyres with plenty of tread where as the originals were borderline illegal. I am feeling a fool for not checking the tyres age, but who does that on a 14 month old car with "new" tyres. Shows how naive I am!
I will be calling the dealer on Monday asking what they will do to remedy this.
While not illegal I believe it is extremely inadvisable to fit 8+year old tyres to a 400+ horse powered car.
I think as a minimum they should pay to replace the rear pair as one is not round and not fit for purpose and you need to replace both so the axle has matching tyres. But to be honest I would like the to cover both axles as I think they are taking the Mickey. The Michelin OEM tyres will be around £250 each all in and fitted.
Any thoughts from the PH hive mind on my legal position here?
You've had it a while with those tyres on? I don't know if Tesla might play things different, being a young tech type company maybe they are customer service focussed.
However, if you took that to say BMW/ Merc/ Audi then I reckon you'd get short shrift as they just shrug and say you could have misshapen it yourself by whacking a kerb or something.
As you say, slightly shady practice but not illegal.
However, if you took that to say BMW/ Merc/ Audi then I reckon you'd get short shrift as they just shrug and say you could have misshapen it yourself by whacking a kerb or something.
As you say, slightly shady practice but not illegal.
Spunagain said:
Hi Eltax
I did not buy the car from Tesla - this is entirely down to the 3rd party dealer I bought the car from who agreed to fit new tyres as part of the deal.
I have reposted in SPL here so that people do not have to wade through my general Tesla related blatherings.
Ah I see. Given there not a franchise dealer, I'd suspect even less likely you'll get anything out of them. I hope you do, but if I were you I'd get them budgeted in that spreadsheet. I did not buy the car from Tesla - this is entirely down to the 3rd party dealer I bought the car from who agreed to fit new tyres as part of the deal.
I have reposted in SPL here so that people do not have to wade through my general Tesla related blatherings.
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