Just last weekend I hit 15,000 miles, so I thought it was time to post my long term driving impressions.
Bottom line? I love, love, love, this car!!! Even more than the day I got it. Driving it is still exciting.
It's been eight months since I took delivery of my Signature Red 85, S 197. See my initial post here: My first two weeks with Model S
It's been just over eight months, and I am on track to put on 22,000 miles my first year. I have never driven a car that much in a year before. Part of the reason is the agreement with my wife that whoever is driving the furthest that day gets the car, just the opposite of what you would expect with the family EV.
To put it into one word, this car is SMOOTH. Super smooth. It never strains. It is easy to find yourself going really fast. Today I looked down at the speedometer reporting 94 and decided I should slow down. The acceleration is amazing, and I drive the standard version! I know I get better than the reported 0-60 times. We've seen the famous video of Model S beating the BMW M5 at 0-100 mph, but the real world experience is even better, because the 0-30 times are off the hook, and that's more of what you drive each day. On the subject of speed, I am very happy with a standard 85 instead of performance. It's much better than my old V8 Mercedes 560 SEC. My 85 is very, very fast; the P85 is just dangerous. And in real life, the only occasion I have to actually floor it is when I'm showing off to friends. There is plenty of power and great handling.
I love, love, love the one pedal driving. It felt strange at first, but after a day it was normal, and I miss it in my other cars. I expect I brake 1/4 of what I do in other cars. I love how the car turns on by sitting down and starting to drive. I love the walkaway locking. My young son loves to sit in the rear jump seats, though we are careful on a hot day. The iPhone app is great. I love the touch screen and displays, which are intuitive and easy--Google maps, a web browser, Slacker, or my music library, or playing Pandora off my iPhone.
The car is gorgeous. Signature Red looks great in person. (In 30 years it will fetch a premium at auction.) The Obeche wood gloss is also my favorite for its warm tones. There has been almost no noticable battery degredation. Problems? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention. And they were resolved very quickly by great Tesla staff.
Some highlights:
· The opening of the Santa Monica store--wishing Elon a happy birthday, hearing George talk about the stores, and asking Franz about the design of the front end.
· Driving with Tesla club LA on Mulholland Drive. We had 15 Roadsters and S's, and as we drove past the Rock Store, a big weekend Harley hang out, we got so many stares as we silently whooshed past like they couldn't figure us out.
· The next day driving the I-5 in Orange County. It was the Monday after the big Fisker lay-offs, and I dropped in behind a Fisker with manufacturer's plates. (I expect they had lots of cars in the pool and not so many drivers.) Traffic was heavy, but I wanted to blow it away, and then I saw my chance. An entrance to the carpool lane came up, so I shifted over and left it in the dust. (Fiskers didn't get HOV stickers in California since they pollute too much.)
· Dropping my eighth grade daughter off at school the day she had a field trip to the local electric plant. I tried to explain to her how, even with a natural gas fired power plant, the carbon footprint of the Tesla was 1/3 that of an ICE. Her response--"Why do you love this car so much? It doesn't even have lighted vanity mirrors." Still working on her.
· Paying for the car with stock gains. Sweet!
So what about range? Isn't it a hassle to worry about charging? Well, perhaps you need to be smarter than a New York Times reporter, and maybe most Americans are like that, but really it's not that hard. The first month I was watching my charge all the time. Now I don't hardly think about it because I know what the car can do. Today I drove 150 miles. No problem. No special arrangements. No driving slow to conserve my range or going without the air conditioner. It was hot in LA and remember I hit 94 mhp. And I could have done it with a 60 kWh battery.
People ask me where do I charge. With three exceptions in 15,000 miles, I have only ever charged at home. The only real time I had to plan about where to charge was driving LA to San Francisco in May, and then I got to use the super chargers for free. I did one trip to Palm Springs for the weekend of my 50th and topped off with the 110 volt in the garage of the house we rented. Another time staying with friends up in the mountains at Lake Arrowhead I also topped off with 110 from their cabin. So for only 2 days (up and back to SF) out of 200+ that I've had the car did I use a special charger outside my home, or 1% of the time.
I do plan on using the super chargers more though, first by going to Teslive next weekend (yea!) where I'm presenting on Model S (and looking forward to hearing Elon again and the party at the factory)!! After that, in August, dropping off my older daughter at UC Berkeley where she starts as a freshman Physics major (she gets it), and then for Parents Weekend in October. It will be more fun and cheaper than flying.
So is this EV thing for real? Well, I don't see myself buying another ICE. It's sort of sad. I was such a car nut, and now I don't look at those cars the same way. I don't fantasize about a Bentley, or an Aston Martin, or a Porsche anymore. Maybe I would buy an ICE if my kid needed a car for college, and she couldn't charge at her dorm or apartment, but not for me to drive. I asked my wife if we ever did the drive out to her mom's in Denver another time, would we take the Land Rover LR3 again (I'm not a tree hugger), or take the Tesla and plan the charging. She said for sure the Tesla. We have placed a deposit for our next Tesla.
What are the disadvantages of an EV compared to an ICE? There are only two. There aren't as many places to fill up out on the road, and filling up takes longer. But in the long run, building an electric infrastructure will be so much easier than any other alternative fuel since electricity is already everywhere that we are. And with an EV, I have my own personal filling station in my garage. Who else can say that? I leave home with a full tank every day. I don't go to my local gas station except when my windows are really dirty. (The list of EV advantages is long). And with Tesla's big batteries, filling up out on the road is already a rare event. So that leaves the time factor as the only disadvantage.
Yes, my trip to San Francisco did take little longer because we stopped to recharge, but I fueled up for free, got the amazing performance of the Telsa, and with fewer carbon emissions. Solar would make it carbon free. So now we have battery swap to erase the last single disadvantage of an EV. I could see this being important in commercial applications, like for taxis and police cars. For me, when I stop at the Tesla Station in Tejon or wherever, I will probably get a frozen yogurt or a coffee and stretch my legs rather than pay for the battery swap. But no more disadvantages.
So Elon, why do you feel the need to answer every critic? If the naysayers want to be late to the party, let them be late. I think the Kool-Aid tastes great.
Bottom line? I love, love, love, this car!!! Even more than the day I got it. Driving it is still exciting.
It's been eight months since I took delivery of my Signature Red 85, S 197. See my initial post here: My first two weeks with Model S
It's been just over eight months, and I am on track to put on 22,000 miles my first year. I have never driven a car that much in a year before. Part of the reason is the agreement with my wife that whoever is driving the furthest that day gets the car, just the opposite of what you would expect with the family EV.
To put it into one word, this car is SMOOTH. Super smooth. It never strains. It is easy to find yourself going really fast. Today I looked down at the speedometer reporting 94 and decided I should slow down. The acceleration is amazing, and I drive the standard version! I know I get better than the reported 0-60 times. We've seen the famous video of Model S beating the BMW M5 at 0-100 mph, but the real world experience is even better, because the 0-30 times are off the hook, and that's more of what you drive each day. On the subject of speed, I am very happy with a standard 85 instead of performance. It's much better than my old V8 Mercedes 560 SEC. My 85 is very, very fast; the P85 is just dangerous. And in real life, the only occasion I have to actually floor it is when I'm showing off to friends. There is plenty of power and great handling.
I love, love, love the one pedal driving. It felt strange at first, but after a day it was normal, and I miss it in my other cars. I expect I brake 1/4 of what I do in other cars. I love how the car turns on by sitting down and starting to drive. I love the walkaway locking. My young son loves to sit in the rear jump seats, though we are careful on a hot day. The iPhone app is great. I love the touch screen and displays, which are intuitive and easy--Google maps, a web browser, Slacker, or my music library, or playing Pandora off my iPhone.
The car is gorgeous. Signature Red looks great in person. (In 30 years it will fetch a premium at auction.) The Obeche wood gloss is also my favorite for its warm tones. There has been almost no noticable battery degredation. Problems? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention. And they were resolved very quickly by great Tesla staff.
Some highlights:
· The opening of the Santa Monica store--wishing Elon a happy birthday, hearing George talk about the stores, and asking Franz about the design of the front end.
· Driving with Tesla club LA on Mulholland Drive. We had 15 Roadsters and S's, and as we drove past the Rock Store, a big weekend Harley hang out, we got so many stares as we silently whooshed past like they couldn't figure us out.
· The next day driving the I-5 in Orange County. It was the Monday after the big Fisker lay-offs, and I dropped in behind a Fisker with manufacturer's plates. (I expect they had lots of cars in the pool and not so many drivers.) Traffic was heavy, but I wanted to blow it away, and then I saw my chance. An entrance to the carpool lane came up, so I shifted over and left it in the dust. (Fiskers didn't get HOV stickers in California since they pollute too much.)
· Dropping my eighth grade daughter off at school the day she had a field trip to the local electric plant. I tried to explain to her how, even with a natural gas fired power plant, the carbon footprint of the Tesla was 1/3 that of an ICE. Her response--"Why do you love this car so much? It doesn't even have lighted vanity mirrors." Still working on her.
· Paying for the car with stock gains. Sweet!
So what about range? Isn't it a hassle to worry about charging? Well, perhaps you need to be smarter than a New York Times reporter, and maybe most Americans are like that, but really it's not that hard. The first month I was watching my charge all the time. Now I don't hardly think about it because I know what the car can do. Today I drove 150 miles. No problem. No special arrangements. No driving slow to conserve my range or going without the air conditioner. It was hot in LA and remember I hit 94 mhp. And I could have done it with a 60 kWh battery.
People ask me where do I charge. With three exceptions in 15,000 miles, I have only ever charged at home. The only real time I had to plan about where to charge was driving LA to San Francisco in May, and then I got to use the super chargers for free. I did one trip to Palm Springs for the weekend of my 50th and topped off with the 110 volt in the garage of the house we rented. Another time staying with friends up in the mountains at Lake Arrowhead I also topped off with 110 from their cabin. So for only 2 days (up and back to SF) out of 200+ that I've had the car did I use a special charger outside my home, or 1% of the time.
I do plan on using the super chargers more though, first by going to Teslive next weekend (yea!) where I'm presenting on Model S (and looking forward to hearing Elon again and the party at the factory)!! After that, in August, dropping off my older daughter at UC Berkeley where she starts as a freshman Physics major (she gets it), and then for Parents Weekend in October. It will be more fun and cheaper than flying.
So is this EV thing for real? Well, I don't see myself buying another ICE. It's sort of sad. I was such a car nut, and now I don't look at those cars the same way. I don't fantasize about a Bentley, or an Aston Martin, or a Porsche anymore. Maybe I would buy an ICE if my kid needed a car for college, and she couldn't charge at her dorm or apartment, but not for me to drive. I asked my wife if we ever did the drive out to her mom's in Denver another time, would we take the Land Rover LR3 again (I'm not a tree hugger), or take the Tesla and plan the charging. She said for sure the Tesla. We have placed a deposit for our next Tesla.
What are the disadvantages of an EV compared to an ICE? There are only two. There aren't as many places to fill up out on the road, and filling up takes longer. But in the long run, building an electric infrastructure will be so much easier than any other alternative fuel since electricity is already everywhere that we are. And with an EV, I have my own personal filling station in my garage. Who else can say that? I leave home with a full tank every day. I don't go to my local gas station except when my windows are really dirty. (The list of EV advantages is long). And with Tesla's big batteries, filling up out on the road is already a rare event. So that leaves the time factor as the only disadvantage.
Yes, my trip to San Francisco did take little longer because we stopped to recharge, but I fueled up for free, got the amazing performance of the Telsa, and with fewer carbon emissions. Solar would make it carbon free. So now we have battery swap to erase the last single disadvantage of an EV. I could see this being important in commercial applications, like for taxis and police cars. For me, when I stop at the Tesla Station in Tejon or wherever, I will probably get a frozen yogurt or a coffee and stretch my legs rather than pay for the battery swap. But no more disadvantages.
So Elon, why do you feel the need to answer every critic? If the naysayers want to be late to the party, let them be late. I think the Kool-Aid tastes great.
Surprisingly large number of convenient and free options out there.
