Magazine reviews! - Page 2

malcolm · 04-27-2009, 02:16 AM

What is it like to drive an electric car?

Quote:

I also take care when parking the Tesla to ensure there’s a plug socket handy because, rather than just charging the battery at home overnight, I’ve discovered it’s a good idea to get into the habit of “grazing”, by which I mean topping up the battery whenever you have a lengthy stop.

You gain about 10 miles in range for every hour you leave a Tesla plugged into a normal 13-amp socket............but you can get a 32-amp socket fitted at home for about £200 and then the charging rate rises to 25 miles for every hour charged.

So a simple 240V/13 Amp office car-park charging point could give you 80 miles of range by the end of a 9 to 5 working day.

TEG · 04-27-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcolm

So a simple 240V/13 Amp office car-park charging point could give you 80 miles of range by the end of a 9 to 5 working day.

For Europe... The MC-120 cable in the USA is 120V so it would be more like half that rate here. 240V/13amp is unusual here. You either get weak 120V@12amp or much better 240V@32amp but not much in between.

vfx · 04-27-2009, 09:11 AM

A thousand more reviews like this and I think we will be in.

ChargeIt! · 04-27-2009, 09:35 AM

I LOVE this part (emphasis mine) ...

Quote:

However, I’m not too bothered as the electricity I’m charging the Tesla with comes from a wind turbine, in effect making it free motoring. I erected a wind turbine in my garden. Did I go too far? Not when you consider that the 6kw turbine cost about £12,000 (after grants) to install.

Naturally, it only produces the full 6kw when there’s a decent blow but I still managed to produce 8,500kw/h over the past 12 months and that’s enough electricity to keep a Tesla going for an unbelievable 28,325 miles. It’s like discovering I’ve got my own private oil well at the bottom of the garden. Suddenly, the idea of being forced

to drive electric-powered cars one day doesn’t seem so bad.

dpeilow · 04-27-2009, 09:54 PM

High praise indeed from the editor of Evo magazine - hopefully we will see similar articles in that publication too and hence possibly influence a lot of petrolheads.

It's a shame that the Smart ED driver didn't explicitly state that you can offset ~£175 per month from that high lease cost in congestion charges alone (I know she mentions the daily cost but it would have been nice to see it spelt out).

aussielectric · 05-11-2009, 07:58 AM

A very comprehensive review of the car at our recent "track day" in South Australia... the guy had an eye for detail!

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(cross-posted in Tesla in Australia thread)

TEG · 05-11-2009, 01:56 PM

Hemispheres: The electric Tesla is jolting competitors like BMW.

vfx · 05-11-2009, 02:13 PM

Hemispheres

Great colorful writing. Lot's o' excellent quotes.

edit to add.
Jonny has been doing the car writing thing for a while including TTAC

dpeilow · 05-11-2009, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Tesla will always offer a sports car. In fact, he’d like to build a full range of electric Roadsters. “From a base model to a GT version,” he says.

The next generation Roadster will be “more unique, more flexible, offer more functionality” and “more avant garde, aggressive styling,” he promises. In the meantime, the Roadster’s getting an improved interior this summer, when Tesla will also launch the Roadster Sport. Buyers can expect a faster, more powerful car with liquid motor- cooling technology, assuring greater performance across a longer range.

First we've heard about future revisions?

Tdave · 05-12-2009, 08:33 AM

I'm guessing they're wrong on the liquid cooled motor in the Roadster Sport.