That Tesla S is incredible....
- Thread starter MarkDavis
- Start date
The main problem with realistic stop-start traffic is the acceleration, rather than idling.
Got a P85 Model S at work. The thing accelerates so damn quickly, it's relentless and without any gearchanges it's just constant acceleration.
There's plenty of dodgy quality bits of trim and final finish that don't quite make it a £100k+ car (with all its options checked), but you easily ignore that when you drive it.
The screen is great, but doesn't work all that well for things you want some sort of physical feedback from (like adjusting the AC, turning on the lights (though if they're on Auto, then id doesn't really matter)).
There's plenty of dodgy quality bits of trim and final finish that don't quite make it a £100k+ car (with all its options checked), but you easily ignore that when you drive it.
The screen is great, but doesn't work all that well for things you want some sort of physical feedback from (like adjusting the AC, turning on the lights (though if they're on Auto, then id doesn't really matter)).
Of course it'll run out of steam 
, it can only get to 130mph, but you don't really need that with an electric car. The drop off of g force isn't actually that bad, it's a constant torque for the first 2-3 seconds then drops off after that.
It still pulls pretty hard to 100mph. The big downfall is that you can't push it constantly, the battery/motor just can't take constant power, and it'll de-rate and give you a lot less power, but the average drive really isn't going to run out of juice that often like that.
, it can only get to 130mph, but you don't really need that with an electric car. The drop off of g force isn't actually that bad, it's a constant torque for the first 2-3 seconds then drops off after that. It still pulls pretty hard to 100mph. The big downfall is that you can't push it constantly, the battery/motor just can't take constant power, and it'll de-rate and give you a lot less power, but the average drive really isn't going to run out of juice that often like that.
Constant acceleration... for a few moments, then it runs of out steam
Yeah, at well over the speed limit
Granted it may not be suitable for yourself..
I'm surprised by the price difference. Even the top model, which gets a 50% power increase, is only US$15,000 more than the non-D version. 50% more power and an apparently very good AWD system is a lot of extra for a relatively small increase in price. Especially when "fuel" economy is barely affected for the same driving (better control over power distribution actually increases the efficiency, but the extra weight decreases it by slightly more).
I've read the article you refer to and I think it's worth mentioning that the journalist wasn't sure what was causing his brief uneasiness - the car or the conditions. It wasn't the performance, since he's been in more powerful cars that accelerate harder. Maybe it's the noise - based on his experience, he would be expecting to hear the noise of a powerful ICE with that acceleration. So the different and much quieter noise would be a mismatch with his experience and that could trigger a brief uneasiness (he referred to a few tenths of a second) until his intellect caught up with his learned responses.
Associate
- Joined
- 10 Dec 2010
- Posts
- 1,428
- Location
- Cumbria
WANT WANT WANT
What are these things like when the battery starts getting low? Petrol / diesel cars get quicker as the weight decreases, but I keep thinking these things will drive like milk floats under 1/3 charge. I'd love to try one, but the range and charge time put me off at the moment.
Also I heard something (might be BS) about the driver not actually owning the battery? They're all on lease and you have to pay a monthly fee for them, or something?
Also I heard something (might be BS) about the driver not actually owning the battery? They're all on lease and you have to pay a monthly fee for them, or something?
Nope that's Renault who lease the battery pack.
You can also buy battery pack insurance and you'll get a new battery pack when it dies. However this is a bit of a waste as packs are warranted for 8years and by then battery packs will have significantly reduced in price.
Power is maintained as battery drops.
Theres a large amount of regular charging points.
http://www.nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/charging-points.php
And Tesla superchargers are being rapidly expanded
http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger
What it was in April
What it is now, follow the link and you can see future expansion plans.
[
If only I could afford one and justify the price. Can't really justify the price of a 1k car though.
and other than AWD and faster acceleration what exactly is autodrive?
Last edited: