EV general discussion

rG-tom said:
Maybe i'm bigger, but when i had cruise control enabled there was nowhere for my leg to go if i didnt want it on the pedal (this was a LHD one), and it was really uncomfotable. I typically put my foot flat ont he floor with my knee to the right of the wheel which is impossible with that centre console!

The range thing was that trip computer on the binnacle didn't match google map's range, it just felt amateur hour that the systems didnt talk properly.
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I don’t have the issue in the RHD model, there’s a foot rest there. I agree space is limited so taller people might struggle but for my frame it’s fine.

Thinking about Google maps doesn’t show a range, just a battery percentage at destination which is constantly adapting to my driving and I’ve always found it accurate - probably more accurate than the car itself…

Simon said:
How tall are you? I also found it cramped
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5’ 10”, so height wise it could be an issue. I know the rear is particularly cramped as they’ve forced an EV setup into the XC40 platform but being the driver I’ve never cared about that :D
 
rG-tom said:
Yours is the f36 right? I used to have an f36 440i and my wife getting the MYP is what made me get rid of it, the tesla was just better to drive in every way, no brainer swap IMO other than the engine.

If you had an m440i g26 then it'd be a bit harder but even still.

Is a model 3 performance much more? Only looks like a few k from a glance:


Based on the photo with actually smart summon enabled, that one has enhanced autopilot too which was a £3.5k option

At least on the model Y, the performance drove a lot better than the LR so we went for that. It was only very slightly more harsh but it felt a lot more controlled with it.
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Yes f36 440i. I'll have a look at the performance. Very tempted now :cry:

Owning a German car and then a swasticar. No wonder I'm veering to the right all the time :cry:
 
rG-tom said:
For reference i'm 6'4 so not small, but the polestar is hardly a lamborghini or a fiat 500 and i shouldn't have issues driving it.
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I had the same problem in the Polestar 2 and the Alpine A290, I'm only 5 11, I guess you probably sit a lot like me, the centre consoles are too fat in these cars and are fighting with your leg for the same space, shame as it ruins an otherwise decent car.
 
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rG-tom said:
have you driven the polestar 2 much? I did ~700 miles in a few days in one as a rental and could not wait to give it back, the lack of space for the driver was an absolute killer due to the stupid centre console design, look at how little space there is between the wheel and the centre console:

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My leg had nowhere to go, it was truly the least comfortable car to drive long distance I've driven including small sports car because of this, very claustrophobic.

The cruise control/lane centering was awful too compared to Tesla and BMWs offering, really eratic and unpredictable. Then the range being different on the nav to trip computer (which is a known quirk) etc.


There's absolutely no way i'd choose a polestar 2 over a facelift model 3 (e.g. 2021 onwards with black not chrome window surrounds), the model 3 is a much better car to drive and nicer place to be IMO once you get over the minimiism, the materials on the facelift model 3 are nicer to touch (e.g. the "suede" on the door cards etc)

Out of interest, what ergonomics do you think are worse? Some things are less obvious, but once you figure out how to customise things it's actually great (e.g. you can set the climate temperature using just the steering wheel dial). The nav/infotainment is properly good too (my main car is an idrive 7 m550i and still prefer the tesla system in my wife's model Y performance for most things).

For me it would be a model 3 LR or performance at thsi price point without a doubt. The highland is a step up again but they're still double the price, so unless you can get one through a work scheme not sure i'd do it!
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I ran a Polestar 2 (2020) for 3 years and it was completely fine. No issues with space (6ft 2") or the radar cruise.
The cupholders were annoying so got some better ones 3D printed, which clipped above the glove box.
 
One thing to consider about the lack of a drivers display in the Model 3 is the benefits it gives to visibility and feeling of space.

The dash is lower than anything else I’ve driven by some margin and the visibility out of the front is unprecedented for a modern car.
 
You guys are really selling the swasticar to me lol
Really want the highland refresh but my wallet says no. Might just settle for the 2021 version instead
 
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SDK^ said:
I ran a Polestar 2 (2020) for 3 years and it was completely fine. No issues with space (6ft 2") or the radar cruise.
The cupholders were annoying so got some better ones 3D printed, which clipped above the glove box.
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Got some 3D printed for the door pockets too - cup holders everywhere!
 
They are good value, they just don’t have the best comfort due to their firm suspension.

An example made in China rather than the US (cut off was sometime in 2020 I think) will be as well built as any other car at a same tier of the used market.

The US made cars are not as well put together.
 
Simon said:
20C is better. Just about to start trip and 250 mile range. Turning Aircon on drops that to219 miles.

Aircon pulls 2.7KW
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Recently discovered just how much power air-con draws. One of the features we're enjoying with our new PHEV is the remote climate function, but I was a bit perplexed why using it while the car was plugged in would still drain the battery a couple of percent in about 10 minutes, even though it should run off the charger if it can. Checked our smart meter and confirmed there was power draw...but of course, we're just using the basic (level 1?) charger on a 3 pin, and it can't supply that much power alone. That came as a bit of a surprise to me.
 
On a PHEV everything like that runs off the DC HV battery, like an EV, so of course it drains that, then the AC hookup tries to charge the battery after a few percent is used. No car stuff can run off AC house supply.

The high draw for AC is just the initial though and it'll scale back and tick over at a low consumption rate generally.
 
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b0rn2sk8 said:
One thing to consider about the lack of a drivers display in the Model 3 is the benefits it gives to visibility and feeling of space.

The dash is lower than anything else I’ve driven by some margin and the visibility out of the front is unprecedented for a modern car.
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That was my main feeling after having a ride on a model 3, the dash felt about 3 feet lower than any other car i've ever been in, the visibility was incredible.

Totally other end of the spectrum but i used to have a mk1 Toyota Yaris and that had the instruments in a pod in the middle of the dash with nothing in front of the steering wheel, honestly takes about 60 seconds of driving for it to just become 2nd nature and that was never once an issue so i can't imagine it being a problem with the Tesla at all.
 
sandys said:
On a PHEV everything like that runs off the DC HV battery, like an EV, so of course it drains that, then the AC hookup tries to charge the battery after a few percent is used. No car stuff can run off AC house supply.

The high draw for AC is just the initial though and it'll scale back and tick over at a low consumption rate generally.
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It doesn’t today. As soon as turn off the solar gain is massive and cabin soon warms up
 
Yup it was strong, I run mine in ECO mode, I did notice it was not as cold as usual but still good enough, white car probably helps, big windows on the Volvo but it was still looking like I was going to hit 50 miles out of my EV range, in good weather ~42-45 is the norm, not sure what the difference is this year, perhaps Volvos optimisations are actually doing something useful.

I did see a specific message telling me it was Cooling the infotainment for the first time ever it was so warm in the car at start up :D

Switched over to the Up this afternoon, that AC can’t cope at all :(
 
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