docwra Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 There are no petrol stations on the routes we took, nevermind Superchargers And "Sadly"? Like I said, real life, we got down under 1/4 of a tank of fuel and were getting worried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) I get some of you have 'concerns' about EVs, but after now covering 300 miles in our Model X all I can say is am speechless a company no older than Facebook has been able build this thing. I had a vague thought about possibly chopping the X in for an iPace before I took delivery but that has now vanished into thin air, if Jag can produce an EV even half as capable as the X I would happy, well happy enough for the wife to get one, the Tesla is all mine 2 years ago when I got a Leaf I remember seeing another EV was an exciting moment, we would flash lights at each other to acknowledge our madness. Yesterday at nursery drop off I parked between a Zoe and i3, as I was leaving a Leaf was pulling in and I got tailgated by a Model S all the way to work. This is apparently the overspill car park at one of the Tesla dealers in the south. All those are brand new cars awaiting delivery, so despite having a starting price of now £70k, offering no discounts, it seems more and more people rather like the idea of EVs and prepared to pay a handsome sum for one!!! Yes I cannot just get up and drive to China tomorrow, but you know what I'm OK with that knowledge . Edited March 24, 2017 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Apparently the government is pushing out the incentives to get EVs up to 100,000 sold in the UK (where are we now, 90,000?) When they are offering £5k off a £20k car makes a lot of sense assuming charging capabilities are easy. I see probably one or two EVs a week around my way on the road - I guess in more built up areas where you cannot charge from the house they are less relevant. The model X that is around here is sat on a driveway always plugged in day and night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) The model X that is around here is sat on a driveway always plugged in day and night. Well mine is plugged in every night even though I've yet to drop below 30% battery charge, and I've yet to charge it to above 80%. Battery degradation is really the only major cost/unknown with EVs, as the battery is the biggest cost of the car, a rough estimate says the battery pack our Model X has a manufacturing costs of close to £15-20K. At the moment the advice is to not charging to 100% or depleting down to below 10% too often as a way of preserving battery life, but that may change as real life data is showing these battery packs are simply not failing regardless of how they are been used. Some guy over the pound has recently go hold of some of the cells Tesla use in their battery packs and a ran whole load of tests. It turns out after 500 cycles/depletions there is only roughly 5% degradation, this compares to 30% degradation in a 'normal' battery such as the one you find in your phone. This means at 100K miles (200 miles range per 1 discharge), Tesla's should still have 95% of their 'new' range, which real life data is supporting as there is now quite a few Model S in the states with 200K miles on the clock and still going strong. What's really impressive is that if these numbers are real, even after 2000 cycles the cell is only showing about 10% degradation, that means the battery in our X will in theory last 500,000 miles at which point it will still have 90% of the range it has today!!! Given I drive 8000 miles a year, I'll probably be 6ft under the ground by the time the battery pack in our Model X needs replacing due to cell degradation. Edited March 24, 2017 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I wasn't actually making any comment about degredation, just that its plugged in day and night, it was just an observation I don't think I have yet to walk past and see it not there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) I wasn't actually making any comment about degredation, just that its plugged in day and night, it was just an observation I don't think I have yet to walk past and see it not there. Well that's just silly, our is plugged in at the end of the day but it doesn't actually start charging till 1am and stops charging at 7am when I leave the house.....I really do need to stop driving the thing, not even a week old and already done over 300 miles!!! Most people on the Tesla FaceBook group seem to take their cars straight from the dealer to a detailer to have the latest paint protection stuck/rim protectors put on etc....What do I do, take it to a muddy lane for some 'organic' paint/wheel protection . Edited March 24, 2017 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Most people just go out and drive their new cars - glad you are enjoying yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted April 1, 2017 Author Share Posted April 1, 2017 (edited) 2 weeks in, 700 miles done, loving the car more and more. Parked up to a mates 911 he acquired recently, and I almost thought he had gone and bought it from Toys R Us!! Also ventured into a multistorey car park, doors are fine, but one sccufed rear 20ich wheel. But most of the time the car has been exploring the local B/unclassified roads, it really does love been hurried around some twisty bits!! Rightnow really cannot think of anything else I rather have on the driveway . Edited April 1, 2017 by gangzoom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted April 1, 2017 Author Share Posted April 1, 2017 Oh the car also had a software update that essentially allowed you use MS paint on the massive 17inch screen. My wife found it entertaining to use it to draw a rather unflattering portrait of me whilst she was waiting in the car.... totally pointless feature but made her smile after a frantic Friday after work . http://www.autoblog.com/2017/03/30/tesla-easter-egg-touchscreen-sketchpad/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus Icon Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 2 years ago when I got a Leaf I remember seeing another EV was an exciting moment, we would flash lights at each other... That's brave, haha. I'd quite fancy a Leaf/Zoe priced EV in something like an Elise-inspired chassis. The low(er) weight would improve all the numbers and I don't see why it needs to be original Tesla roadster thingy money. Model S aside, most EVs seem to be either boring as chips, like the Leaf and the Zoe, or designed by Homer Simpson to look as wacky as possible, when the technology lends itself best to small, low-weight vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 EVs definitely don't lend themselves to low-weight vehicles, or at least they don't right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus Icon Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 EVs definitely don't lend themselves to low-weight vehicles, or at least they don't right now. Not the drivetrain, perhaps, but the rest of the vehicle could certainly be optimized for low weight and drag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Low CoG definitively, and drag too as they don't need a radiator, but we're years away from them ever being low weight. Trouble is, with the weight of all those batteries is it worth spending extra on lightweight materials for the structure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus Icon Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Low CoG definitively, and drag too as they don't need a radiator, but we're years away from them ever being low weight. Trouble is, with the weight of all those batteries is it worth spending extra on lightweight materials for the structure? Therein lies the rub. If they could make an Elise sized car for Elise money I think they'd be on to a winner. Unfortunately, I have no idea of the numbers involved. It'd certainly be an interesting costing exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Low CoG definitively, and drag too as they don't need a radiator, but we're years away from them ever being low weight. Trouble is, with the weight of all those batteries is it worth spending extra on lightweight materials for the structure? Therein lies the rub. If they could make an Elise sized car for Elise money I think they'd be on to a winner. Unfortunately, I have no idea of the numbers involved. It'd certainly be an interesting costing exercise. Lotus makes Elise sized cars for Elise money and constantly run close to bankruptcy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 The model X that is around here is sat on a driveway always plugged in day and night. Well mine is plugged in every night even though I've yet to drop below 30% battery charge, and I've yet to charge it to above 80%. Battery degradation is really the only major cost/unknown with EVs, as the battery is the biggest cost of the car, a rough estimate says the battery pack our Model X has a manufacturing costs of close to £15-20K. At the moment the advice is to not charging to 100% or depleting down to below 10% too often as a way of preserving battery life, but that may change as real life data is showing these battery packs are simply not failing regardless of how they are been used. Some guy over the pound has recently go hold of some of the cells Tesla use in their battery packs and a ran whole load of tests. It turns out after 500 cycles/depletions there is only roughly 5% degradation, this compares to 30% degradation in a 'normal' battery such as the one you find in your phone. This means at 100K miles (200 miles range per 1 discharge), Tesla's should still have 95% of their 'new' range, which real life data is supporting as there is now quite a few Model S in the states with 200K miles on the clock and still going strong. What's really impressive is that if these numbers are real, even after 2000 cycles the cell is only showing about 10% degradation, that means the battery in our X will in theory last 500,000 miles at which point it will still have 90% of the range it has today!!! Given I drive 8000 miles a year, I'll probably be 6ft under the ground by the time the battery pack in our Model X needs replacing due to cell degradation. How long are you expecting to keep the X, if thats not an impolite question ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted April 2, 2017 Author Share Posted April 2, 2017 (edited) How long are you expecting to keep the X, if thats not an impolite question ? Providing it doesn't fall apart probably at least 8 years (till the battery warranty runs out). I would hope Tesla will offer a denser battery pack in 5-6 years time, I'll happily pay £20-30K for a 120kWh pack - roughly double the capacity of the current pack. Tesla have said they will offer this option, BMW/Renault are offering it now for their cars. Our next car will be to replace wife Lexus IS300H in maybe 2020, after that we will be done with cars for a while. Our daughter will be going to school by than and/or may be more additions to the family so I doubt I'll have much time to waste on cars, so will have to 'slum it' in the X.....Things could be ALOT worse Edited April 2, 2017 by gangzoom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Did our longest M-way run in the X lastnight, curise control was set at 67 pretty much the whole way, climate control set to 21 degrees, when we arrived at Cardiff outside temp was 6 degrees. Did a quick 10 minute 'splash and dash' at Hoopwood services which has 6 Tesla superchargers as it was our first long trip in the X and I didn't want to get stranded in the hills around Cardiff. As it turned out we arrived with 30% left in the battery so the supercharger stop really wasn't needed and I could have driven faster. Looking at the numbers 100%-0% in the X world yield a range of 180miles when driven at legal M way speeds over some reasonable rolling hills when coming down the M50/A40. In summer I suspect 200miles easily doable. Also realised I've now done 1400 miles in less than 3 weeks, must be a sign I like driving the thing . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Glad you're enjoying it gangzoom, ...that's the main thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Sadly the very last thing I'd dream of is remote opening the rear door ready for when i get out walk round the back of the car, to unclip my child - utterly nightmare situation with an open invite for the worst. Lot of messed up folks out there, not worth the risk in public imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Rear doors work as advertised in tight spaces 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I think he meant that you press button to open door, you get out, walk around, child is either on its way out and across the road or someone takes an opportunistic snatch. Unlikely of course, but I agree not a function I would be using (and as a rule like a lot of tech nowadays 99% of the time completely unnecessary anyway!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I think worrying that someone will come along and snatch your child in the time it takes to get from the drivers seat to unclip them is pure fantasy , not something I ever worried about with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I think its more likely your nipper will unclip themselves and make their own way out into the world! I know Alfie could easily unclip the belt himself when he was 3-4 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 (edited) Glad you're enjoying it gangzoom, ...that's the main thing. Taking it up into the Brecon Beacons tomorrow, off to Manchester next week, than got a road trip up to Scotland planned before summer.....At this rate I'll be hitting the 50K mile new car warranty limit pretty soon!! But who cares, cars are made to be driven and our is X most certainly been put to good use, no AutoPilot rubbish for me . Edited April 14, 2017 by gangzoom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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