This is awesome!
I own a Coda, a 2013 actually.
The reality, and I'll get slack on this I'm sure, it is built very similar to the Tesla Roadster...
Here is why I say that:
GREAT drive-train, very torque heavy motor, solid controller, larger battery capacity (ie. better range than rest of market) and better charging (faster charging rate than rest of market). Now of course the Roadster is way quicker and also has better charging speed, however the Coda has a battery chemistry that will last longer than a Roadster and is safer (LiFePO4). The Coda does win in controller operation though; its smoother than the Roadster, regen is much more elegant, there is a short delay between releasing accelerator pedal and regen kicking in and there is also a dynamic regen which is different based on your speed, unlike the roadster when you release the accelerator on the highway the Coda doesn't make you feel like you are slamming on the brakes (jerky hwy driving experience when cruise-control isn't engaged in the Roadster), it coasts for a little bit and then gradually builds up regen, at slower speeds it kicks on stronger regen and brings you to a complete stop (similar to Roadster).
Now interior fit and finish; Roadster has so few things that it is hard to compare, Tesla didn't develop much of the interior, mostly it is Lotus, which is decent quality (not $100K car quality but decent). The Coda suffers here, the Saibao fit/finish quality in the interior is "Chinese", it is totally functional but very "plasticky" and somewhat cheap feeling. The radio/GPS is interestingly enough the exact same as the Roadster 2.5 (the Alpine double-din touchscreen) but the Coda integrates the telemetry into that unit vs the Roadster having a 2nd touchscreen elsewhere (Tesla provides WAY more content though, Coda only gives very basic information)...
The Coda is actually a really nice car if you are an EV guy like myself, it is built with solid EV components and has a better range than everything except the Teslas (100-120 miles range on Coda) but for FAR less money...
By the way, my review is based on owning both a Roadster and Coda! I am currently driving a Coda but I'm selling it and getting a Roadster again!!! (Note; this does not mean I think the Roadster is a better EV value, but I like/love sports cars and really want to be back in the Roadster, which is the ultimate EV sportscar still)
Anyways, don't be so hard on Coda, they are good cars (from an EV perspective), they just chose the wrong platform, they should have done the same thing as Tesla and used something "exotic" enough that people wouldn't recognize the "EV markup" (remember a Lotus Elise is only a $50K car brand new, so there was a $50K+ markup on the "EV analog", vs Haifei Saibao which is a $12K car marked up by $25K or less...), its a totally different market approach though...
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Ultimate car to do the "Tesla approach" with is now the Lotus Evora, I believe it would make a hotter conversion than the Roadster was... Hoping Tesla Model R will be Evora-like!!!