Doug can you write a short paragraph on this? It's a common doubter/hater comment in blogs and forums.
Okay, here goes. (Not sure if this is really the right thread, but it's where the question was asked.)
In my experience, the Tesla Roadster handles cold
better than internal combustion engine cars.
Many ICE cars have trouble starting in the cold. Cold starts are very hard on the engine because it takes time for the extremely viscous lubrication to circulate. You have to start driving slowly before the engine has properly warmed up, otherwise you have a cold transmission connected to a hot engine - not good. The performance at first is very weak, and you can hear and feel the drive train struggle. The lubrication is extremely viscous, and thermodynamic efficiency is low because the combustion temperature is far from ideal. So until the car warms up the performance is very bad and the gas mileage is very poor. It takes quite a while for the engine heat to reach a point where the cabin heater will work, during which time the driver is cold and the windshield will tend to frost over.
Compare that to a Tesla Roadster. Even if the car is completely cold-soaked, it switches on immediately, and you can drive away without any complaints from the drive train. Power deliver is smooth and quiet, and although there is slightly less power at first than normal, the car is still
way faster than most ICE cars. Efficiency is lower until the pack warms up, which takes 10 to 15 minutes, and during that time you lose perhaps 10 km of total range. Yes, the cabin heater takes extra power from the battery, but the heat comes on almost immediately, and the total draw on the battery is modest. The heater takes less than 4 kW at full power, but it takes about 15 kW to move the car at highway speeds. Even under worst-case conditions you still have nearly 300 km of range, so the cold rarely has any impact on your driving.
Yes, you can quote me.