Jump to content

Gone Electric... Xav's Tesla thread


Xavier

Recommended Posts

Awesome write up. The costs involved are huge but I'm starting to think this might make sense for me at some point.

It's a shame there arent more local dealers. I'm a couple of hours from London!

In terms of autopilot, does it only work on motorways etc, or can it be used on twisty normal roads? What about roads with no/damaged markings?

It's good to know there are a few people that have the S's now, so questions can be asked haha!

Thanks in advance!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

brilliant write-up, Xav!

Thanks Lee.

 

Awesome write up. The costs involved are huge but I'm starting to think this might make sense for me at some point.

It's a shame there arent more local dealers. I'm a couple of hours from London!

In terms of autopilot, does it only work on motorways etc, or can it be used on twisty normal roads? What about roads with no/damaged markings?

It's good to know there are a few people that have the S's now, so questions can be asked haha!

Thanks in advance!

Chris, I'd be happy to come up to Spalding if you wanted to have a look / drive. It's interesting that Tesla don't do any first hand marketing. You never see any billboards or TV ads. They rely on customers to be their demonstrators, and I'm shocked how much I've converted (and how quickly) to the whole EV / Tesla thing. I just "get it". It is however the most technologically advanced car. The constant updates over the air bringing in new features, optimising battery usage. I'll have to write up another section now I have it :)

 

Great write up Xav, Congratulations, you've really gone for it with optioning Ludicrous mode!

Pictures needed!

I'll get some more up soon.

 

Here are a few from the unveiling when I picked it up :)

 

Complete with personnalised "welcome to the family" message

i-RQCSKRd.jpg

 

i-Vd8xZbP.jpg

 

i-hHHkntd.jpg

 

i-XvPkPW6.jpg

 

Nice, great writeup.

Thanks Rob. Do you see many in NZ? There are a few die-hard people who have them as I seem to remember there weren't any showrooms. Maybe it's changed since.

Edited by Xavier
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Thanks Rob. Do you see many in NZ? There are a few die-hard people who have them as I seem to remember there weren't any showrooms. Maybe it's changed since.

 

They don't officially sell them in NZ - yet. You have to fly to Sydney to buy one then get it shipped here. So there aren't many around. Last I heard about a dozen Model S in the country but that has probably increased.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris, the initial costs are high, but the running costs can be very very low depending on your usage and how much you pay for electricity.

 

I'm unfortunate in that I can't charge where I live at the moment - the car is parked 50m from my front door and there aren't any charging points in the car park :( However, I was charging at work (until last week) and using public and the simply awesome Tesla Supercharging network to top my battery up.

 

As of this morning, I've now done 1,200 miles in just over a week, and not paid a penny. I did buy the CHAdeMO adapter and also a Type 2 cable so I'm pretty well covered. The car comes with its own UMC - Universal Mobile Connector. This comes with adapters on the supply side, allowing you to charge at 10 amps off a UK plug, up to 32 amps on a single phase blue commando socket or 16 amps three phase with the red commando plug (although I'd have to buy that adapter).

 

A point to note and understand is that the actual "charger" is in the car. The new default charger gives up to 11kW of power, allowing me to charge at up to 16a 3 phase. The onboard charger is what does the 230 (or 400V) AC conversion into DC that then goes to the car's batteries. If you use CHAdeMO or the Tesla Supercharging network, then it's DC directly, bypassing the car's chargers - the chargers are in the CHAdeMO / Supercharger cabinets. CHAdeMO gives up to just over 32kW power, Supercharging gives a whopping 120kW power :o When you're nearing an empty battery, this allows you to charge up to 50% capacity in about 20 minutes / 80% capacity in 40 minutes. It's important to note that the charge rate decreases as the batteries fill up - as they're nearing full capacity, the current reduces a lot so the super fast charging solutions aren't any faster than charging at 16 amps off a commando. For that reason, when using the Supercharging network, Tesla recommend you only charge what you need to get to the next Supercharing station. You'll spend a lot less time charging from 10-50% than from 50-90%. These short charge sessions means long distance road trips become an absolute doddle and "range anxiety" that we hear about so much isn't an issue (providing of course your route goes near these charging stations). Planning these short stops on long trips doesn't really slow you down either - you'd normally stop every couple of hours for a leg stretch / drinks / break. So you use that time to refill / re-energise the car as the same time as you re-energise yourself :)

 

If I could charge at home, I'd obviously do that. When you do charge at home, you're effecitvely leaving every morning with a full tank. And you never have to stop at a fuel station again, mess around with mucky oily fuel pumps, etc. Oh and you're never in that situation when you need to do an emergency trip only to realise you need to stop en route to fill up with fuel. With the 230-250 mile range in my 90kWh Model S, it's more than enough for two return commuting trips to London. Every other day, I top off at work or Supercharger so it's an inconvenience, but something I'm living with for the moment. It's accelerated my desire to move house and get somewhere where I can charge at home.

 

In terms of cost, if you charge at home, you'd go onto an Economy 7 plan so you pay cheaper leccy at night and charge at night. If you assume you'd need to "fully charge" your car, let's assume that's 80kWh of energy. At around 6.5p/kWh, it's just over a fiver to fill your car. A massive saving. And that's if you exclusively charge at home and pay for it... I was paying 10 times that to fill my Fabia that did around 500miles, so in reality, it's about 5 times more cost effective than my diesel Fabia!

 

I need to get some time to wash the car and take some proper photos. I'll endeavour to do that soon!

 

Oh and should you be tempted to get a reservation in for a Model S or X, you can get a £750 discount using my referral code; http://ts.la/xavier7108

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cracking write up on a great brand and car, I spent quite a long bit of time of my day on there stand at this years Geneva Motorshow and was very impressed, I would love a go in one sometime.

Also I have noticed the motorway services around the country are all getting on board with charging points popping up everywhere.

Looks a great car, enjoy it :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks.

Tonight, after getting into the way-too-tight supercharging spaces in Reading, I finally decided to give Summon another go when I got home. It worked beautifully. You end up being a bit silly and bending down a bit, tapping your knees saying "here boy, come on boy, heel!" And it duly obliges.

There was a passer by who looked in amazement and asked how it worked. I just said my car understands me :p I did eventually say it was with the mobile phone. But silly entertainment nonetheless :D

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As i went to the Skoda Sunday Service Pistonheads thingy last weekend, offered a few demo rides and launches off the line.

 

Bearing in mind these are die-hard petrol-headed people, the response was pretty good :)

 

Particular thanks to the Tesla Owner who despite me openly admitting I wasn't an electric car fan demonstrated "Ludicrous mode" to me - I have to say it felt more like a fair ride than a car - no noise, no warning, no gears just a huge shove that left your stomach on the start line.

 

I also have to thank Xavier for the time to talk about living with a Tesla as a daily & also for the chance to experience 'ludicrous' mode before leaving; it's fair to say my perception of acceleration in a road car has been re-calibrated.

 

The thing that impressed me most was the Tesla 'ludicrous mode'. Watching the YouTube videos doesn't prepare you for the reality of seeing it in action. Before he left for the day the owner was kind enough to offer a demonstration from onboard. Bloody 'ell it's quick!!! I'm in no hurry to give up on the internal combustion engine, but can't deny the effectiveness of Tesla's technology.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today marks one month of ownership :) Still in love :) By the end of the weekend, particularly with the Briskoda national meet, I will have gone over the 3,000 mile mark.

 

I'm starting to get used to the sheer size and width of it. Everything has now become second nature: the autopresent door handles / completely keyless operation, the "charge when the opportunity presents itself", etc, it's just so easy to live with.

 

I haven't had any real range anxiety at all. With the 250+ range, it's not an issue for my daily commute. As I drive 80 miles return every day to work, I essentially get two days' worth of charge with a lot of spare energy to have fun with when I'm in the mood, or when I'm provoked ;) I could do three days' worth, but as I don't have the luxury of charging at home and the charging at work has recently become an "issue" due to an inconsiderate colleague (might be related to Clarkson actually!), I tend to only charge to 70-80% as that's what's most time-efficient. For those who don't know, the charging rate is ramp-based and slows down as the battery fills up. If you're at a Supercharger (which is the highest rate of charge possibly today), you'll go from 0-50% in about 20 minutes. 50-80% takes another 20 minutes and the 80-100% would probably take another 20-30 minutes on top of that. So as I'm having to wait, it's just not worth it. Arguably, it's also not best for the battery to fully charge it and not use that first few percent of capacity. Storing the car 100% fully charged isn't recommended, so I just stick to 70-80% which gives me the 2+ daily return commutes I'm doing.

 

On Tuesday, I'm off to South West France, near Spain. I've already planned my route through the Channel Tunnel. It's roughly 11 hours of driving and 3 hours or charging. Really looking forward to that. evtripplanner.com is great for working out energy consumption / times. I'll see how accurate it really is!

 

i-hgtgJvp.png

 

So a month in, I can update with the following summary:

 

Pros:

  • It's the most comfortable, calm, serene car you could possibly ever be in. Wafting along the motorways on a quiet surface with virtually no noise (just a bit of road / wind noise as you approach NSL)
  • It's incredibly luxurious yet minimalist. I accept, the styling is down to personal preference, but a month in, I still love it and am not bored at all with the simplicity of it.
  • It'll leave ANYTHING for dead at the lights, coming out of roundabout, coming up a slip road. It's deceptively quick, it's addictively quick, and the greeny in me loves this is at zero noise and zero car emissions cost whatsoever.
  • The infotainment keeps me busy at quiet times / traffic jams. Quick browse on the web, randomly pick pretty much any piece of music on Spotify.
  • Autopilot is just awesome. Using it as it was intended ;) it massively reduces tiring on long trips and stop/start traffic jams. Combining AP with stops every 2-3 hours to charge means I'm not worried at all about my long solo drive
  • The logging information available through a few APIs (I'm using Teslalog.com) is a geek's paradise. Note to self: do NOT use this car for a heist!
  • I've done just about 3k miles and it's not cost me a penny through the use of Superchargers, destination chargers (work / gym / shopping centres / IKEA) and a few Ecotricity pumps, although the latter will end as they complete their conversions.

Cons:

  • It's still frikkin wide and ain't getting any narrower! Tight roads can make for uncomfortable driving. Something big coming the other way not quite tight against their kurb somehow clenches my buttocks as we cross! I now systematically look for a "safe" parking slot when out and about, with still no absolute guarantees someone too interested won't cause a car ding.
  • The CHAdeMO charging adapter has issues with Nissan-branded Ecotricity charging stations, so choice is limited. But that problem will no longer be one once they finish the conversion to charging (£) for charge (electrons).
  • A piece of trim by the steering wheel doesn't stay flush against the dash. Minor cosmetic thing hardly noticable, but I'll mention it when it goes in for its first service as I'm not expecting trim to fall off £100k+ car.
  • Not being able to charge at home / work is a minor nuisance when I have to take time out somewhere to do it.

A month in, I can't see ever wanting to change to another car, particularly an ICE. There's just no going back for me, and apart from the desire for something a bit smaller for short trips (Model 3 is reserved!), it's done everything I've wanted. I even helped a friend move house and getting a new bedroom suite at Ikea, loading it into the car with no problems at all. And she loved the chauffered service! In fact, it's such a pleasure to drive that any excuse is good enough for a quick trip somewhere. Whether down at the shops (providing parking is pre-planned!), going to see friends, even the geeky-sad desire to explore where chargers are located in my area.

 

Meeting up and speaking to other BEV owners (and if I'm in an especially good mode, PHEV owners too! :p ), it's great to see what people think of it. Certainly raised a few eyebrows at the Pistonheads Sunday Service Skoda meet a couple of weekends ago. The reason for their raised eyebrows changed from initial scepticism and nay-sayers to "OMFG-this-is-incredible" with the ocasional drop of the jaw. I love it!

 

More than happy to show around to people at Gaydon tomorrow. Happy to demo a few launches. Happy to meet up with anyone / anytime if you're curious. It's truly a gamechanger!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and a few of my favourite "ads", mady by fans and enthusiasts. Whilst Tesla don't produce any of these, you can imagine they're more than happy with what others make. Better than a lot of official motor advertising campaigns out there! There are loads more, but these are my preferred ones.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm yet to be convinced by battery powered vehicles and the styling of Tesla leaves me a bit cold but looking forward to seeing it (and you!) tomorrow morning ...... perhaps you'll be able to convince me :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Community Partner

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to BRISKODA. Please note the following important links Terms of Use. We have a comprehensive Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.