WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 17, 2016 14:00:55 GMT
You know how it is. I've been on their mailing list for a while, with a particular interest in the Model X SUV-that-isn't. Last week I got an invitation to come and 'meet' the Model X. It turned out this was a static (left-hand drive) display model, but would I also like a drive in a Model S to get the electric experience?
Well, what do you think I said? So this lunchtime I've had a good clamber over and in the Model X (good and bad there; enough for a separate thread) and half an hour driving a P90D around the western fringes of London.
And that's what I need, even though it's too small in the back (despite its exterior size) to be a viable family bus, the front half is just so good that I want one I can drive to work. It doesn't have to be a P90D; we set this one to emulate a P75 and it felt plenty quick enough to me. But it just felt so easy and natural to drive in traffic that I can see it taking a lot of the stress out of my congested commute, and it really comes to life on the occasional stretch of clear road.
It's comfortable too, with plenty of front headroom and a good view in most directions. And the sound system made a decent job of Shoot to Thrill, called up online via Spotify. It isn't silent, above walking speed anyway, but it's very, very smooth, and the whine from the motor when pushed has a charm of its own.
So I need one. And some help with the maths.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2016 14:46:58 GMT
Man maths = You want it? You buy it!
Yes you can dress it up with lots of 'sound' reasons to justify your purchase but it all boils down to the equation above.
I have my E-class because I needed, a few times a year, a load lugger. I wanted comfort, smoothness, quality and a good combination of poke and economy. I have it all in spades. But....
The day will come when I don't need the absolute space. Is Tesla the way to go? Might be. Can you give us your thoughts on how it coped with lumpy roads, traffic. Did it have that hewn from solid feel that Mercedes cars have?
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Aug 17, 2016 16:01:33 GMT
If you get the P60 you can pay to upgrade it later to access the battery capacity is actually shares with the P75. Cheaper to pay up front but there are reasons for some (especially in the USA) to upgrade later. Same goes for optional extras like the auto pilot.
I know all of this because my brother has one.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 17, 2016 16:09:31 GMT
What impressed me most was the sheer ease of driving the thing. There's some horrible broken Tarmac around where I work, which my BMW hates; the E220 soaks it up but at the expense of some directional disturbance. The Model S struck a nice balance: smoother than the super-firm BMW but feeling more connected to the road than the E; pretty much my idea of an ideal ride quality, in fact.
This is probably helped by its super-low sense of gravity, in that it can afford to keep the springs comfortably soft without having to battle a pendulum effect, since all the mechanical bits are mounted so low. I'd like to try it on one road near home, which is a satisfyingly quick drive in the BMW but marred by awful mid-bend potholes that really spoil its composure. But first impressions are that the S feels remarkably wieldy for a big car.
One feature surprised me: our route took us along a subsidiary road that has been peppered with speed bumps to deter rat-runners. The car recognized it and remembered that the last time it had been that way, its driver had raised the ride height to allow for the bumps. So it did it again, with a warning on the display panel and a gentle hiss from somewhere down below. Clever.
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Post by Humph on Aug 17, 2016 16:26:55 GMT
Electric cars.
Bleh !
New fangled nonsense, don't want one.
Bleh !
Who wants a car you have to plug in anyway?
Bleh !
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 17, 2016 18:24:00 GMT
All I can say to that is I'm glad I went to the showroom in my six-cylinder BMW diesel and not my rumbly four-cylinder Mercedes one. That might have been too much of a shock to get back into after the smoothness and linearity of the Tesla.
Solid as a Mercedes? Don't know. The one I drive felt very nicely designed and made, full of soft honey-beige leather that smelled great. A very different kind of machine in a lot of ways, but one that still felt as if it was designed as a car and not as a computer with wheels.
I liked it. Can you tell?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2016 19:13:08 GMT
I can feel Man Maths getting to work on me.....
I have looked inside one through the window and the thing that struck me was the amount of room in the front. No transmission/exhaust tunnel so acres of room. reminds me of the front of the NSU Ro80 - you could put a small suitcase under the dash in front of the gear lever.
Must go and have a test drive.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Aug 17, 2016 21:14:11 GMT
Well they do share some common parts in the cabin.
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Aug 17, 2016 21:15:01 GMT
I've still not popped into the one round the corner from me. I did intend doing it before my brother got round to buying one :-)
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Post by Hofmeister on Aug 17, 2016 21:28:37 GMT
All I can say to that is I'm glad I went to the showroom in my six-cylinder BMW diesel and not my rumbly four-cylinder Mercedes one. That might have been too much of a shock to get back into after the smoothness and linearity of the Tesla. Solid as a Mercedes? Don't know. The one I drive felt very nicely designed and made, full of soft honey-beige leather that smelled great. A very different kind of machine in a lot of ways, but one that still felt as if it was designed as a car and not as a computer with wheels. I liked it. Can you tell? Whats not to like, No Turbos!  |
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Aug 17, 2016 22:59:13 GMT
Teslas are the only EV that so far would work for me, with a 300-mile range: even then there are still not enough charging points about, and still the likelihood of the ones that exist being occupied or out of order. I need to go to the east coast of Suffolk (from Dorset) tomorrow: the V60 has done 150 miles since the last fill-up and will do the return trip comfortably without a further refuel. And even if I took the petrol Mini, a fill-up would take less than 5 minutes.
No, an EV wouldn't suit your needs, Humph, would it! Where they do work is if you can charge at home and also at work where you are in the office all day. So as a second car doing short trips, great. So far Teslas don't look like second cars, either in size or price.
I've yet to see anyone make a sensible suggestion for town and city dwellers (for whom in theory an EV would be ideal) who have to park on the street, as most do. How do you charge the car from your 17th-floor flat? Or even given a ground floor plug, do you run the cable out of the window across the pavement? .... where an old lady trips over it and sues you, or some late-night revellers on the way home from the pub think it a jolly jape to unplug the cable and try the next car's fuel filler for size.
The maths re Tesla that interest me (the accountant in me coming out) is given that sales are strong at least in the USA, and prices high, why is Elon Musk still making huge losses? I can only guess at very high R & D costs.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 19, 2016 11:02:51 GMT
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Post by Hofmeister on Aug 19, 2016 13:11:07 GMT
Of course the total cost of ownership totally leaves out the fact that due to range and practical charging issues one needs to have access to another car. |
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Aug 19, 2016 14:52:00 GMT
For what? I'm genuinely not sure most people - me included - would.
Let me expand: even if 310 miles is unlikely in real life, 200-250 should be achievable. Even on a long journey that means a maximum of one Supercharger stop. Yes, that sort of use would entail a little more planning, but the charger network will only expand in the next few years.
For typical use of driving to work, like my 50 miles a day, I could charge overnight at home and the car would always be ready. Less to worry about than diverting for a fuel stop on the way there or back.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2016 15:01:22 GMT
For unplanned and unforeseen stuff.
I have a cell phone and various cordless phones around the house. But I also have a wired phone, just in case.
Similarly even though an electric car would work for me 99% of the time, I'd want a petrol car sat there just in case I needed to go 500 miles at a moments notice.
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