The Tesla Model S: An Owner's review

[nissangirl74]

A few cliff notes...

"The car's not perfect, of course.
In my view, the Model S has two major shortcomings and several minor annoyances. Tesla promises to fix most of them. We'll see.
Big Problem No. 1 is the inability to make long trips.
My car is the 60-kWh version, which has a practical range of about 200 miles. (The 85-kWh version can do about 250 miles, at a cost of $10,000 more.)...
Big Problem No. 2 is the Tesla's "vampire" thirst for kilowatts even when it's turned off and parked.
I've measured idle power losses of around 4.5 kilowatt-hours a day, for a total of about 750 kWh during the time that I've owned it. That's almost half the electricity I've used to drive the car!
Among the minor annoyances:

- The 3-G connectivity is poor.
- The supposedly "smart" windshield wipers are really dumb.
- Regenerative braking is disabled or limited in cold weather.
- The front door opening is too small, making it hard for a tall guy like me to get in and out.
- Without a center console, handy storage space is virtually nonexistent.

Overall, I've used 1,730 kWh of juice to drive 5,330 miles, for an average of 325 Wh/mi.
That's a tad better than 3 miles per kWh.
The bottom line is that after 5,000 miles, I love this car......"

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/108 ... 5000-miles

Does this make you want one more...or less? I looked up the cost of the car and it starts at $69,900. It is stunning but the truth is, you can buy a lot of fuel for that kinda money. Your thoughts?

[themadscientist]

Until the entry price is within my means, electrics are not a viable choice. I'm excited about the cars and the technology, but until manufacturers can reduce costs and shake this idea that electric cars have to look crazy and have all sorts of whizbang BS I'm staying out. Take a lightweight small car with decent room, drop in a electric system that can get decent range with quick charging then call me.

[Jesda]

What's remarkable is that this startup managed to make a mature and capable luxury car without decades of prior experience. Lincoln, meanwhile, can't seem to figure out how to do it.

As for the electric stuff, I'm watching and waiting.

[Bubba1]

What's remarkable is that this startup managed to make a mature and capable luxury car without decades of prior experience. Lincoln, meanwhile, can't seem to figure out how to do it.

Funny but so true. Interesting review. The starting price is not outrageous when you consider that people will happy shell out that kinda money for a similar sized BMW/Audi/Mercedes. The price to me only plays a factor due to the limited range of the car. I can't imagine you'd get 200 miles in the winter at night with the heat/defroster, lights and stereo all on in stop/go traffic. That limited range, combined with the lack of a rapid recharging infrastructure is the inherent problem to the current generation electrical vehicles. OF course the replacement costs of those batteries when they eventually need replacement wasn't even mentioned.

It's an impressive car for what it is, and the fact it's from a startup company is even more amazing.

[krash]

If I was in the position of someone looking to buy an audi/bmw/benz as a daily driver, the Tesla would be a no brainer. Looks great, luxurious, and now I don't have to pay for gas.

[float_6969]

I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I had the dough. The range is far enough for nearly ALL of the driving I need to do. I like the aesthetics, and electric power is a BLAST to drive.

Sign me up!

[Dattebayo]

I believe that normal rules don't apply to luxury car ownership.

It's out of my league, and therefore not even considered. I do often fantasize about owning one, though.

[Looneybomber]

Two things,

1. We need better solar power technology. Increasing the power density out of solar cells will help with range and recharging if in the sunlight, but as it is, there's only enough surface area on a car to make up to 200w of power, give or take. At 100% efficiency, you're looking at about 1Kw of power...but then you have a car covered in solar panels.

2. Lithium (for the batteries) has to be mined and mining is so inefficient. Plus, it's just another resource for us to mine and use up, like hydrocarbons. Side note, Afghanistan (AF) has about $1 trillion worth of lithium for whatever nation that wants to occupy AF and cut them a deal. Looks like China is stepping up to the plate to get some of that lithium.

Now I'd love to have an electric car that was still environmentally friendly, but once you factor in cost to purchase and the mining required for the batteries that will only last 10yrs or less, I might as well get a petrol car. Or better, do what other folks are doing and make a car/truck run on bio-diesel, homemade ethanol, or even CNG.

Car looks nice though.

[gwoods]

The $104,000 price tag scared me away last week. I did put my Jag up for sale while I worked on buying a Tesla and found a buyer in less then 3 days. He ended up buy the only other Jaguar XF SC for sale in AZ after talking to me about mine. We met for lunch yesterday.

I am willing to pay 60k for a used P85 but $100,000 cars are stupid IMO no matter how much money you have. I came to the conclusion that a Model S doesn't do anything any better than my Jag past the pump and at 45k vs 104k I can buy ALOT of premium unleaded before the Tesla starts to make a lick of sense

[IBCoupe]

Were money no object, I'd have a multi-car garage, a Tesla Model S, and something like a Mercedes E350 BlueTEC. And a BRZ/GT-86. The Tesla for city driving, the comfy diesel for longer trips, and the coupé for fun.

Alternatively, forget the Merc, and I'll just steal my parents '00 Avalon. 'Cause I could sit in that at 75MPH for days. Which reminds me of the 11th Gen Toyota Crown I rode in a few days ago, a very similar feeling:



Probably mostly the same car, but much better equipped. It even had automatically-swinging air conditioner vents in the dash! I geeked out for about 10 minutes of that drive just staring at the knobs move back and forth.

[Jesda]

For efficient luxury I'd get an older E320 CDI. Not as clean as the Bluetec but you don't need to refill the DEF.

The X5 diesel I sold ended up with a bad DEF sensor within a month and just 50 miles outside the warranty. Fortunately, BMW agreed to pay for the replacement (almost $3k!) if the customer put $500 toward the cost. In BMW's case, the DEF temp sensor is attached to the fluid container so the whole thing has to be replaced.

[frapjap]

WTF is a DEF sensor?

[Mr. Music]

WTF is a DEF sensor?

DEF sensors monitors the level, temperature, and urea concentration of the fluid. (DEF = Diesel Exhaust Fluid; used to make diesel exhaust cleaner. Cool video about how it all works: Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) - How it works.)

I've seen quite a few Model S' around town and like the looks. A friend has driven one and said that it was quite nice to drive and enjoyed the instant torque (must be fun!). I don't think that fully electric cars will become mainstream anytime soon due to the complete lack of charging infrastructure and limited range as mentioned above in the thread. Electricity consumption while the car is off sounds like it could be rather problematic but it will probably be sorted out; Tesla has been pretty good about updating all the existing cars from what I've read.
Spending the same (or maybe less) money on a '67 Coronet, a 1600 roadster, and lots of dino juice for each sounds like a better idea to me!

[nissangirl74]

WTF is a DEF sensor?

DEF sensors monitors the level, temperature, and urea concentration of the fluid.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Urea injection is nothing new. It's an emissions control measure for diesels. It's injected into the exhaust to (ironically) reduce NOX emissions.

[nissangirl74]

when I read this, the picture in my mind was of some drunk redneck pissing in the gas tank

[Jesda]

I've always wondered if you could just filter your piss and pour it in, but that was back when DEF was expensive. Now its down to 7 bucks a gallon.

[themadscientist]

DEF sensors monitors the level, temperature, and urea concentration of the fluid.

+1

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcyBkylYnqU[/youtube]