[MashinBenzin]

I posted this in the UK off-topic section a couple of days back, but thought it might be of wider interest as Teslas and electric cars generally increase in number.

I've been curious about Tesla for a few years now and finally today I had a test drive on Tuesday in a Tesla Model X 100D. It was an interesting experience and overall both better and less unusual than I expected.

The route took in quite a significant amount of A/B road plus a very short run between junctions on the motorway (70mph/three - four lanes).

Straightaway, it's a remarkably easy car to feel at home in and drive. The good visibility to the side and to the front, combined with the airy interior, mean that it's easy to focus on the important stuff such as placing the car. Rear visibility in the interior mirror is very poor though.

Tickling out of the car park and negotiating the first few junctions, it was straightforward to get to grips with the throttle response and regenerative braking. As the drive went on, I got to press the car a little harder and get a good feel for it.

The handling turned out to be excellent, with the low centre of gravity meaning that it really did feel very little different to my 440i. The steering, in normal mode (the middle of three settings and the only one I tried) was probably superior to my car, although that's not that hard to achieve. The Tesla was very easy to place and steered exactly where expected.

The more I have thought about this, the more I have realised that the regenerative braking is a huge benefit. Winding roads are driven with one pedal, no need to move to the brake, and the nose tucks in far more readily when backing off the throttle than it does in my F36. Backing off completely results in quite significant 'braking' and does illuminate the brake lights. It's very simple to judge how much to back off to adjust speed for a corner.

Performance was very good and is very easily modulated. I never had space to give it full beans, but it clearly shifts effortlessly and instantaneously when asked. There is seemingly none of the lag inherent in a mechanical drive train. The seamless pulling power with no gear-change would no doubt be addictive.

Ride quality (on the standard 20" wheels) leaves a little to be desired. In the air suspension's middling ride setting, and when subsequently set a little higher/softer by the salesman, it did not ride as well as my F36 in Comfort mode. Also, any bumps that were transmitted elicited more shock/shake/rattle in the cabin - this was one area that showed up the build quality/solidity relative to BMW. I'd be interested to try the Tesla on more of the potholed urban roads where my car spends its time.

Autopilot - had the quickest go on the motorway. It did one lane change for me very nicely but it was a bloody strange sensation. A second lane change, I accidentally took over as I subconciously/automatically steered the car. I can see it having some uses on long journeys or hectic commutes though.

I didn't spend long enough on the motorway to get a feel for refinement at speed. On the slower 50mph-ish A/B roads it seemed fine, but nothing exceptionally different to what I am used to.

Other thoughts - standard stereo seems good enough, which makes the premium pack a very expensive irrelevance in my book (£5.7k iirc including a lot of other features that I wouldn't really use).

As I've said before, the interior quality is a bit poor. The creasing of the leather seats in this 17-plate car speaks for itself.

I can definitely see the appeal and why owners tend to love theirs so much. That's just from a short drive; I'm sure the ownership experience adds more - such as no fuel costs (unless you choose to charge at home) and novelty doors. That said, serious compromises have to be made in terms of quality and (IMHO) detailed design.

[Axius]

[ImolaMoop]

Pontiac Aztek with a little more minivan feel

[ImolaMoop]

Falcon doors seem like a colossal waste of engineering resources and unit cost

[capo180]

Fugly.

[TrevorM3]

that thing is horrendous. Jesus

[MashinBenzin]

Tough crowd Have to agree it's no looker!

[wdb]

Doors were supposedly done that way to allow for a larger opening than would be possible with conventionally hinged doors.

I can't get used to the no grille look. Then again it's better than some of the outlandish front ends on cars these days.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by ImolaMoop

Falcon doors seem like a colossal waste of engineering resources and unit cost

Try opening them with 2 feet of snow/ice on the roof.

[BayMoWe335]

Electric cars are an absolute joke with half baked "Technology" that is at least 10 years away. Seriously, batteries?

You can't drive more than 300 miles without charging it for hours. How stupid is that? You can fill up a car in <5 minutes and you have another 400-500 miles. There are already regular gas engine cars getting 50+ mpg, giving you over 500 miles in range on a 10 gallon tank.

Electricity is also not free or clean. Batteries are not clean..AT ALL. And these Teslas break down all the time. The new one is a $40,000 civic that can't even do what a Civic can do.

Just an all around fail.

Top Gear did a great piece on the failure of electric/hybrid vehicles 10 years ago and nothing has changed since then.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Electric cars are an absolute joke with half baked "Technology" that is at least 10 years away. Seriously, batteries?

You can't drive more than 300 miles without charging it for hours. How stupid is that? You can fill up a car in <5 minutes and you have another 400-500 miles. There are already regular gas engine cars getting 50+ mpg, giving you over 500 miles in range.

Electricity is also not free or clean. Batteries are not clean..AT ALL. And these Teslas break down all the time. The new one is a $40,000 civic that can't even do what a Civic can do.

Just an all around fail.

Top Gear did a great piece on the failure of electric/hybrid vehicles 10 years ago and nothing has changed since then.

Name one non hybrid that gets 50 mpg? Or are we talking about the goofball UK ratings?

And once you name some goofball POS, be sure to list it's stunning acceleration times.

[EL Jeffe 5]

Man Thats one Ugly Car

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Name one non hybrid that gets 50 mpg? Or are we talking about the goofball UK ratings?

And once you name some goofball POS, be sure to list it's stunning acceleration times.

I averaged 57 UK MPG over the first 80000 miles of owning my 2009 E90 320d. 0-60 in about 7.9 seconds. The newer ED models are capable of far higher figures. Take your point all the same, it's not easy to achieve over 50.

[KenB925]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Try opening them with 2 feet of snow/ice on the roof.

Park in the garage...peasant

Good point, even 6" of snow after a day on the mountain would be a pain in the ass and fill the back seat, and you can't use a roof rack.

That said, I may consider one of these is a couple of years.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Seriously, batteries?

Seriously. Batteries. The money being poured into battery R&D is phenomenal. Here's a recent tidbit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/t...thium-ion.html

You can't drive more than 300 miles without charging it for hours.

This is indeed a problem. Rapid charge tech has risks and downsides. Hard to say how they compare to allowing thousands of gallons of one of the most volatile liquids known to be pumped by amateurs but I'm sure it's in the same vicinity.

Top Gear did a great piece on the failure of electric/hybrid vehicles 10 years ago and nothing has changed since then.

Actually quite a bit has changed in 10 years. Just not Jeremy Clarkson.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by wdb

Doors were supposedly done that way to allow for a larger opening than would be possible with conventionally hinged doors.

I can't get used to the no grille look. Then again it's better than some of the outlandish front ends on cars these days.

What about the people in the front??? Fuck them they are probably assholes anyways!

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by wdb

Seriously. Batteries. The money being poured into battery R&D is phenomenal. Here's a recent tidbit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/t...thium-ion.html

This is indeed a problem. Rapid charge tech has risks and downsides. Hard to say how they compare to allowing thousands of gallons of one of the most volatile liquids known to be pumped by amateurs but I'm sure it's in the same vicinity.

Actually quite a bit has changed in 10 years. Just not Jeremy Clarkson.

Yeah, Toyota is also working on solid state batteries, but this is going to be around in 2022. But also sounds pretty promising...if they get there.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...ric-cars-2022/

[Robin_NL]

There is one Model X parked <100 metres from where I live, I know the guy very well, the-making big money liberal logic Greenpeace more refugees hypocrite- kind of guy. That's why he drives a Tesla and because of tax returns. Off Course. He is saving the planet.

But I have to say he is a very nice person.



I never understood the Falcon doors, sliding doors are way more functional.


Cheers
Robin

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Robin_NL

I never understood the Falcon doors, sliding doors are way more functional.

But, minivan. Not the image Tesla wants in its halo vehicles.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by wdb

Seriously. Batteries. The money being poured into battery R&D is phenomenal. Here's a recent tidbit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/t...thium-ion.html

This is indeed a problem. Rapid charge tech has risks and downsides. Hard to say how they compare to allowing thousands of gallons of one of the most volatile liquids known to be pumped by amateurs but I'm sure it's in the same vicinity.

Actually quite a bit has changed in 10 years. Just not Jeremy Clarkson.

The best the industry has to offer is still crap and a downgrade from current car tech. They can pour billions into batteries, but they are still a ways off from:

1) Quickly charged (<10 minutes)
2) Safe
3) Clean to produce and dispose/recycle
4) Have any reasonable range
5) Cheap

[DoZZa]

I actually like the way it looks, does that make me weird?!

[Taskmaster]

Teslas are the most gimmicky pieces of shit out there. Not a fan.