tfboy
Prominent Member
Seeing as this is a tech forum, I thought I'd post my story after going fully electric and getting a Tesla Model S.
This is mostly a copy paste from another long thread on another motoring forum, but still represents my journey into this new world.
My journey so far has been a real eye opener. I had been following Teslas but only very briefly, remembering the Roadster and hearing some controversy how Top Gear rigged and scripted the whole thing giving it a much worse review than it deserved.
However, a friend's venture into Tesladom re-energised my desire to research the whole electric car thing.
I started researching the Model S and the more I read and learnt about it, the more I realised this car actually ticked far more boxes than I hoped and became a worryingly (!!) attractive option. I started looking them up, realised they were quite expensive but gave so much back in return with massively reduced running costs and the unbelievable flexibility of a insanely quick 0-60 car and also being able to carry 5 adults in utmost comfort.
My Skoda Fabia, whilst fun, and having spent a great deal on it turning it into a project car, felt like it was time time for me to change to something different. I have become increasingly aware of the environment and starting thinking how I could go about financing a very logical folly.
Then I was thinking maybe I should get it as a company car. Since I started my own business, I've not "treated" myself to anything, and when you start looking at the financial advantages of getting an electric car, it becomes all the more compelling.
So around the turn of 2015, I booked myself a test drive in a Model S at West Drayton. It was the first time I had been in an electric car and had an idea of what to expect. However...
I was greeting with great friendliness and professionalism, but interestingly, for the first time walking into a car sales shop, felt bizzarely relaxed. There was no pressure by the sales guys. They started the drive. As we pulled out, although I knew there wouldn't be any engine noise, it's still unnerving the first time. You know to expect it, but it still feels strange!
We pull over into a quiet industrial estate. The car was a P90D and he says "I'll show you the acceleration you get with the P90D model. This doesn't have the 'Ludicrous' option, but gives you an idea". He then floors it. I'm pushed back into my seat. Jaw slowly but surely fally into my lap. This is amazing!
We then swap seats. I sit in the driver's seat. The demonstrator shows me how to create a profile. I adjust the seat, steering wheel, mirrors, etc, and save it. I then stick it into Drive and pull away. I go round the first few roundabouts and the plantedness of the car is striking. The low down battery pack floor gives a very low centre of gravity and there's zero body roll. The next thing that strikes me is just the instantanousness of the pedal response. No lag. None at all. Of course, it's a bit of a change coming from a big turbo conversion where there is inevitably some delay, particularly if you're not in the sweet spot of the rev range. Here, there is no sweet spot. Or rather, any speed is a sweet spot. It's just amazing.
We get onto a slip road onto the M4. I floor it and an unmeasurable grin appears on my face. I start to realise that this is, in my opinion, the car of the future. The demonstrator then shows me the Autopilot features. At first, I'm very reluctant to let it drive itself. But it does so with consummate ease, keeping a safe distance from the car in front, tracking the lane marking and negotiating curves with no drama at all.
We then make it back to West Drayton, and I start taking a few photos and play around with the car's settings on the huge 17" touchscreen. I start to wonder what options I would choose should I go ahead, I have a USB stick with some high quality FLAC files and compare the standard sound system to the "Ultra High Fidelity" sound system. Damn, it sounds quite a bit better. But £1800 better?
I get back into my Fabia. All of a sudden, everything feels to 19" century. It's noisy, there's a hint of diesel smell, it rattles. Why am I feeling like this? I love this car! But it suddenly feels ancient and so passé!
I drive home and continue to think about what model and options I would tick. A few days and weeks pass, but I can't help but think about driving around in a Tesla. I consider myself a pretty well balanced person, and that partly annoys me how I've just been "converted" to the whole Tesla and electric car movement. It's not like me. Xav, what are you thinking? Have you gone mad?!?
A few weeks pass and that feeling doesn't go away. At that point, I decide "Yes, it's going to be my next car". The next big question: to get the 90D which is the high capacity 90kWh battery but not the "performance" version. Remember, Tesla do not make slow cars. The slowest version is still a rather nippy 5s 0-60 in its 4WD setup! The penalty switching to the "P" version is quite severe. Another £20k+ And then there's the "Ludicrous" option. Another £8k or so. Having also ticked various other options, well, pretty much every other option, I'm now north of £100k. Crikey!
"OK" I say to myself. I really need to see whether it's worth spending this extra money on the Performance and potentially Ludicrous options. I remember Richard, my friend commenting very sensibly that it's a hell of a lot of money (you can buy probably two new Skodas for the price of the upgrade!). Also, you lose a tiny bit in range as the P version is more thirsty in the electron department...
Hmm. OK, I need to see what all the talk is regarding this Ludicrous thing. By now a month has passed, and I phone West Drayton up and enquire about having a second test drive with a car equipped with the Ludicrous option. They say they don't have one available but will get back to me. A day passes, I get a call from WD. They've arranged to have a Ludicrous car brought over from Gatwick (I think) and have it available for a test drive. I take them up on the offer.
The ludicrous test drive arrives and this time, it's Maggie, another demonstrator who takes me out with a few friends I had brought along for the experience. She pulls up by a slip road. Switches to "Ludicrous" and then plants it. OMFG! It's visceral. Your internal organs are seriously displaced. It's like a roller coaster ride. Do this a few times, I can see people throwing up, it's that brutal! She then throws it round a roundabout doing a U-turn and floors it back up the dual carriageway. This is off the chart in terms of real performance. It might not beat the supercars above 60mph, but before that and with the limits of traffic and speed limits on our roads, it's mightily impressive.
I eventually get back home after driving yet again, in an agricultural diesel engined car. Yup, I've decided, the Tesla is for me. Now to decide whether I want to spend that much more on the silly Ludicrous version. I realise that the usefulness is questionable. Yes, it's a nice party trick to show off to your mates, but how often would I really use it?
A week later, I place my order. And yes, I tick the Ludicrous option I now have a two-week "cooling off" period where I can change the spec, etc, or cancel and get a full refund of the £2,000 deposit. In that time, Richard sends me a PM on Facebook saying he's selling his Tesla. A second time.
In the end, I stick to my decision to buy a new built-to-order Tesla. On the 15th April, the order is locked in and I can no longer pull out (well, I can, but will lose the £2k deposit). Now the excrutiating wait commences. I'm commited, yet have to wait. Through the Speakev forum, I get in touch with a chap who has the ability to track the order. I get the container number and ship the car will sail on. Every day, sometime several times a day I check up on the position of the container ship crossing the Atlantic.
Finally, the car arrives and a pick up is scheduled on 30th June. It's a manic time. They have 40 cars sheduled for pick up - extra pressure to meet end of quarter targets. I turn up, excited like a 5-year-old. I do a quick once-over on the car, and am happy to expedite the whole induction process as I felt pretty familiar with the car's toys. The staff were quite grateful as they had just so many customers to get through that Thursday.
A week has now passed and I'm still in love with what the car has to offer. It's turned out to be quite a Jekyll and Hyde kind of car, able to cruise very comfortably and quietly along the motorways at 60-70mph. But get on the twisties, and put your foot down and instant gratification and smile-enducing driving. It manages to be so versatile, it's quite terrifying how a potent package a well-designed electric car can provide. In my opinion, it really is the future. When you look at what else is on offer, the environment issues, the fact you're burning fuel, creating emissions when at a standstill on the M25 when an electric car doesn't, and with autopilot, takes all the stress out of being stuck in a jam. I actually don't mind now being stuck in standstill traffic. I just let the car do the stuff whilst I relax and listen to music. No more tired left leg with a heavy duty clutch, noise when not moving, etc.
I cannot see myself every wanting to drive an ICE car unless it's a track toy. There's a kind of lack of drama with no engine noise, but 99% of the time, I don't miss it. I appreciate the quiteness and comfort far more for the majority of the time than having a really involved and connected feeling to the car and road. Maybe I'm showing my age LOL. The only downside I can think of is the sheer size of the car. It's WIDE, and in tight country lanes, can bring a scare or two when something wide comes the other way!
This is mostly a copy paste from another long thread on another motoring forum, but still represents my journey into this new world.
My journey so far has been a real eye opener. I had been following Teslas but only very briefly, remembering the Roadster and hearing some controversy how Top Gear rigged and scripted the whole thing giving it a much worse review than it deserved.
However, a friend's venture into Tesladom re-energised my desire to research the whole electric car thing.
I started researching the Model S and the more I read and learnt about it, the more I realised this car actually ticked far more boxes than I hoped and became a worryingly (!!) attractive option. I started looking them up, realised they were quite expensive but gave so much back in return with massively reduced running costs and the unbelievable flexibility of a insanely quick 0-60 car and also being able to carry 5 adults in utmost comfort.
My Skoda Fabia, whilst fun, and having spent a great deal on it turning it into a project car, felt like it was time time for me to change to something different. I have become increasingly aware of the environment and starting thinking how I could go about financing a very logical folly.
Then I was thinking maybe I should get it as a company car. Since I started my own business, I've not "treated" myself to anything, and when you start looking at the financial advantages of getting an electric car, it becomes all the more compelling.
So around the turn of 2015, I booked myself a test drive in a Model S at West Drayton. It was the first time I had been in an electric car and had an idea of what to expect. However...
I was greeting with great friendliness and professionalism, but interestingly, for the first time walking into a car sales shop, felt bizzarely relaxed. There was no pressure by the sales guys. They started the drive. As we pulled out, although I knew there wouldn't be any engine noise, it's still unnerving the first time. You know to expect it, but it still feels strange!
We pull over into a quiet industrial estate. The car was a P90D and he says "I'll show you the acceleration you get with the P90D model. This doesn't have the 'Ludicrous' option, but gives you an idea". He then floors it. I'm pushed back into my seat. Jaw slowly but surely fally into my lap. This is amazing!
We then swap seats. I sit in the driver's seat. The demonstrator shows me how to create a profile. I adjust the seat, steering wheel, mirrors, etc, and save it. I then stick it into Drive and pull away. I go round the first few roundabouts and the plantedness of the car is striking. The low down battery pack floor gives a very low centre of gravity and there's zero body roll. The next thing that strikes me is just the instantanousness of the pedal response. No lag. None at all. Of course, it's a bit of a change coming from a big turbo conversion where there is inevitably some delay, particularly if you're not in the sweet spot of the rev range. Here, there is no sweet spot. Or rather, any speed is a sweet spot. It's just amazing.
We get onto a slip road onto the M4. I floor it and an unmeasurable grin appears on my face. I start to realise that this is, in my opinion, the car of the future. The demonstrator then shows me the Autopilot features. At first, I'm very reluctant to let it drive itself. But it does so with consummate ease, keeping a safe distance from the car in front, tracking the lane marking and negotiating curves with no drama at all.
We then make it back to West Drayton, and I start taking a few photos and play around with the car's settings on the huge 17" touchscreen. I start to wonder what options I would choose should I go ahead, I have a USB stick with some high quality FLAC files and compare the standard sound system to the "Ultra High Fidelity" sound system. Damn, it sounds quite a bit better. But £1800 better?
I get back into my Fabia. All of a sudden, everything feels to 19" century. It's noisy, there's a hint of diesel smell, it rattles. Why am I feeling like this? I love this car! But it suddenly feels ancient and so passé!
I drive home and continue to think about what model and options I would tick. A few days and weeks pass, but I can't help but think about driving around in a Tesla. I consider myself a pretty well balanced person, and that partly annoys me how I've just been "converted" to the whole Tesla and electric car movement. It's not like me. Xav, what are you thinking? Have you gone mad?!?
A few weeks pass and that feeling doesn't go away. At that point, I decide "Yes, it's going to be my next car". The next big question: to get the 90D which is the high capacity 90kWh battery but not the "performance" version. Remember, Tesla do not make slow cars. The slowest version is still a rather nippy 5s 0-60 in its 4WD setup! The penalty switching to the "P" version is quite severe. Another £20k+ And then there's the "Ludicrous" option. Another £8k or so. Having also ticked various other options, well, pretty much every other option, I'm now north of £100k. Crikey!
"OK" I say to myself. I really need to see whether it's worth spending this extra money on the Performance and potentially Ludicrous options. I remember Richard, my friend commenting very sensibly that it's a hell of a lot of money (you can buy probably two new Skodas for the price of the upgrade!). Also, you lose a tiny bit in range as the P version is more thirsty in the electron department...
Hmm. OK, I need to see what all the talk is regarding this Ludicrous thing. By now a month has passed, and I phone West Drayton up and enquire about having a second test drive with a car equipped with the Ludicrous option. They say they don't have one available but will get back to me. A day passes, I get a call from WD. They've arranged to have a Ludicrous car brought over from Gatwick (I think) and have it available for a test drive. I take them up on the offer.
The ludicrous test drive arrives and this time, it's Maggie, another demonstrator who takes me out with a few friends I had brought along for the experience. She pulls up by a slip road. Switches to "Ludicrous" and then plants it. OMFG! It's visceral. Your internal organs are seriously displaced. It's like a roller coaster ride. Do this a few times, I can see people throwing up, it's that brutal! She then throws it round a roundabout doing a U-turn and floors it back up the dual carriageway. This is off the chart in terms of real performance. It might not beat the supercars above 60mph, but before that and with the limits of traffic and speed limits on our roads, it's mightily impressive.
I eventually get back home after driving yet again, in an agricultural diesel engined car. Yup, I've decided, the Tesla is for me. Now to decide whether I want to spend that much more on the silly Ludicrous version. I realise that the usefulness is questionable. Yes, it's a nice party trick to show off to your mates, but how often would I really use it?
A week later, I place my order. And yes, I tick the Ludicrous option I now have a two-week "cooling off" period where I can change the spec, etc, or cancel and get a full refund of the £2,000 deposit. In that time, Richard sends me a PM on Facebook saying he's selling his Tesla. A second time.
In the end, I stick to my decision to buy a new built-to-order Tesla. On the 15th April, the order is locked in and I can no longer pull out (well, I can, but will lose the £2k deposit). Now the excrutiating wait commences. I'm commited, yet have to wait. Through the Speakev forum, I get in touch with a chap who has the ability to track the order. I get the container number and ship the car will sail on. Every day, sometime several times a day I check up on the position of the container ship crossing the Atlantic.
Finally, the car arrives and a pick up is scheduled on 30th June. It's a manic time. They have 40 cars sheduled for pick up - extra pressure to meet end of quarter targets. I turn up, excited like a 5-year-old. I do a quick once-over on the car, and am happy to expedite the whole induction process as I felt pretty familiar with the car's toys. The staff were quite grateful as they had just so many customers to get through that Thursday.
A week has now passed and I'm still in love with what the car has to offer. It's turned out to be quite a Jekyll and Hyde kind of car, able to cruise very comfortably and quietly along the motorways at 60-70mph. But get on the twisties, and put your foot down and instant gratification and smile-enducing driving. It manages to be so versatile, it's quite terrifying how a potent package a well-designed electric car can provide. In my opinion, it really is the future. When you look at what else is on offer, the environment issues, the fact you're burning fuel, creating emissions when at a standstill on the M25 when an electric car doesn't, and with autopilot, takes all the stress out of being stuck in a jam. I actually don't mind now being stuck in standstill traffic. I just let the car do the stuff whilst I relax and listen to music. No more tired left leg with a heavy duty clutch, noise when not moving, etc.
I cannot see myself every wanting to drive an ICE car unless it's a track toy. There's a kind of lack of drama with no engine noise, but 99% of the time, I don't miss it. I appreciate the quiteness and comfort far more for the majority of the time than having a really involved and connected feeling to the car and road. Maybe I'm showing my age LOL. The only downside I can think of is the sheer size of the car. It's WIDE, and in tight country lanes, can bring a scare or two when something wide comes the other way!