While it shouldn’t surprise me, I am amazed at how “news” is now reported or maybe what is deemed news. A couple of years ago all one would read about was why gas vehicles were dead and EV was going to rule the world. Now it seems to be nothing but all the downsides of EV’s / and why I am changing back to gas stories… Shoot why didn’t anyone mention the range issues and???
The reality – the supposed news pieces or articles are more crafted to match whichever political or social wind is blowing (aka not really news). The truth is the same as we discussed back in 2022, all vehicles have pros and cons – you just have to choose what makes the most sense based on your requirements. In my case, I said goodbye to my diesel truck and swapped over to an electric vehicle as my circumstances changed, so here’s my take on switching after 10,000 miles.
Buying:
One interesting thing is walking into a Tesla dealership is that when you test drive a certain model, it probably won’t be the one they sell you. Why? Because that model is identical across the board (feel and handling) as compared to other manufacturers is one of their main reasons. In my case I had 2 requirements, it had to have 2 motors (makes it AWD) and it had to have a tow hitch. No problem here is a 2 motor one to test drive (without a tow hitch) and yours will be here in 3 days. Yes, they were identical in handling and all aspects I could feel as compared to other past vehicles I have test driven.
The other item is they want to have everything handled online / on the app and scheduled so I don’t even think you can do a same day sale in the traditional sense. Yes, it actually is quicker time wise (spent 3 hours at another dealership a month earlier for my wife’s car) but it can take longer as the steps are spread out. Everything is handled on the app, and you come in at a scheduled time with a host of others and off you go after they ensure you are fully setup (mirrors, seats, and phone).
Fun to drive, but:
Talk to most EV drivers and you will hear that they are fun to drive, handle great, and they like the instant acceleration which beats their past car. The reason I say most is it depends on the EV you drive, as I also drive a Nissan Leaf also for work which doesn’t check any of those boxes. Now interestingly another gentleman I work with has his own Leaf and he states that his and the work one are completely two different animals.
One item that does take a little getting used to though is the regenerative braking which essentially means that using the brake pedal is hardly ever needed. Nothing like coming to a complete stop in the middle of a turn as you take your foot off the pedal like you would with any other vehicle – yep no coasting. With that it is quick to learn and yes, you can essentially get by without needing to use you brake pedal. FYI, they do have a toned-down option for braking but by & large I would leave it at default.
Speaking of options – they do have a “chilled” option for acceleration which might be worth engaging for some as these cars as mentioned have some get up & go. I haven’t tried it, but if you find out your car has a little too much get up & go for you, you find yourself well past the speed limit without realizing it, &/or you can’t feather your foot enough to avoid feeling like you were launched off a catapult on a carrier – it might be worth checking out.
Tires:
Tires can be expensive – to replace all 4 the price would be around $1,600. Yes, I know as I came to find out when one of mine went flat. As I had paid for the optional tire-coverage they replaced the bad one free at my house within 3 hours of finding it flat. With that contrary to the “selling” points of their plan they only will change the damaged one so be careful how many miles you have on the others as you can feel the difference.
Interestingly one item I have not seen reported on is the tires love leaving marks on concrete. Yeah, I just loved seeing that on my brand new driveway but now it isn’t as visible. The best guess seems to be due to the rubber used in the tires leaves some rubber as they cool down. Another gotcha is unlike most cars, the sidewalls on these do not stick out as far, so almost any curb kiss is going to smack the rims (and no that is not covered on the Tire & Rim coverage)
Commute & Charging:
My commute is pretty simple – 56 miles a day with generally 1 to 2 smaller commutes at other times. Charging is done at work 99% of the time – generally 2 to 3 times a week. I have hooked up a few times at home & twice at a Supercharger when I had no choice as I wouldn’t make it to work with the battery power left.
So why not at home – pretty simple: Level 1 doesn’t cut it as we have discussed in a prior piece and there is no chance of me taking over the garage with my vehicle & leaving my wife’s outside. So why not install a Level 2 at my house as they also have exterior units? Essentially it really is not worth it. Charging at home is .17 a kwh, at work .25 so based on current usage & assuming it only costs $2500 to upgrade the service, run the circuit, and buy a charger, it would take over 6 years to break even.
Since I have had the car, I have driven over 12k Miles, used 4618 KWH with an average MPK of 2.669. Charging at home would run $819 or a tad less than 7 cents a mile. Work ran $385 more for $1204 or 10 cents. Level 1 charger – heh not only is that .45 a kwh but they also charge tax so that comes in @ over $2200 which is almost 18 cents a mile.
Range Anxiety:
Oh, the hand wringing you hear on this. I have to admit to having had range anxiety on almost every car I have owned – granted most were when driving through parts of Texas in the middle of night not knowing when the next gas station was coming up (yeah this was before GPS). Other times was can I make it to a certain gas station or location or do I have to bail early at the next gas station I see.
For EV cars the issue is the battery is just like a gas tank – it is only so large. Unlike gas vehicles though, you can’t just pull up to a gas station & be on your way in 10 minutes but rather you have to find a charger. Assuming one is available and working, how fast can it charge? To get to 80% one can probably handle the 30 minutes required at a Super Charger, but a level 2? I hope you weren’t in a hurry as you are looking at 4-6 hours (assuming it isn’t shared.)
Personally, I will not be driving my Tesla cross country like I would a gas or diesel vehicle because that is not how I drive. As for range anxiety – see winter below & yes, it happens occasionally when I have used a lot of battery and I will be dropping below 10% before I can get to a charger. Hopefully the charger is working which is not always a given.
Winter Driving / Mileage:
Take whatever you read with a grain of salt – I have seen some where they say the loss is minimal and a good driver will… First, let’s determine what temperature is cold – sorry folks but the loss at 30 degrees is a lot less than 0 degrees or less. Using the MPK (Miles per KWH) metric the first month 2.88. August thru October it was 3.36. November it dropped to 2.99. December it dropped to 1.79 with January creeping back up to 1.9.
Sorry but Tesla doesn’t believe in MPK they just report it as Wh/mi – a 250 is 4 MPK. Above was taken during the winter where you can see the difference.
Condensation / Interior Temps:
As mentioned before, my car essentially is exposed to the elements 24×7 & having an all glass top… Well, it heats up quite quickly when exposed to the sun. There have been a few times I have hopped in the car and thought I was back in Phoenix. They do have an overheating option where it can turn on your AC – not recommended as that could kill your battery leaving it parked all day in a parking lot. They also have one for rolling down the windows, but as you never know when it might rain (or you might forget to turn it off when rain is in the forecast) I don’t use that option either.
Condensation – you might consider buying a squeegee if your car will be left out overnight. Not only does the car pick up heat quickly, but it can cool off quite quickly and easily get below the dew point, so it appears to get more condensation on the windows as compared to other vehicles.
Ghost Usage:
Yes, folks it is real as you can see on the chart above. As a general rule of thumb about 1% per day but if you have certain options checked it can be more. While the shot below shows 18.9 for 5 days it was actually closer to 40%.
Interior storage:
There is plenty of storage, but when it comes to the interior bins… well they are essentially just a big hole – definitely look into some aftermarket organizers. I can easily fold down the back seats for my bike or for large shopping trips. Got multiple bikes or want to bring more than two people, make sure you have the tow hitch & add a bike rack.
Garage Door Opener:
Be prepared to shell out a few hundred if you want the garage door opener to be opened from the control panel. Sorry I wasn’t in the mood and simply just grabbed the visor opener & called it.
Few other really moments:
I love these tips – had better than projected & yet it tells me…
Oh & the sensors don’t recognize everything properly as is that a plane, a train, or a truck in front of me… Oh & yes, my car is identifying as a Tron Life Cycle. Just curious if anyone has a blue car does theirs appear as the blue one?
Would I buy it again if:
Ahh, the million-dollar question – if one could turn back time, or if the car got totaled would you buy it again? While I have to say I miss my truck, hands down I would. It handles great in the rain, snow, and is a blast to drive. Would it be red? Probably not, but at the time it was all that was available so red it was.
