[mowflow]

I went along and drove one at their event at Glasgow Hilton last Saturday (as pointed out to me by gangzoom).

I will start by saying that I had and still do have no intention of buying due to price. There is absolutely no doubt about how quick this car is off the mark. It launches like I can only imagine a GTR would. It's easy to modulate the speed (you don't have to launch like a rocket all the time). When moving the power delivery is very diesel like. Plenty of power and torque for overtaking but it's a very flat experience, I felt absolutely no thrill from driving it as you just don't get that building power delivery that you get with performance petrol engines whether they be turbo or NA. Handling wise it was very smooth on the road, the test drive was mainly town and motorway with a twisting section of dual carriageway. The car felt planted but in no way nimble or lively, steering was dead as a dead thing (very similar to current BMW efforts in this department).

I never pay a massive amount of attention to plastic quality and i didn't during the test drive, it all seemed standard exec car fare but i will say that I wasn't keen on the design, it felt very Japanese rather than German and was reminiscent of my parents 6 year old hybrid civic. I'm also a hater of touch screen in cars and found the massive tablet thingy very fiddly.

All in all it seemed a very viable alternative for someone that would normally go for a 330d or 335d and is no doubt financially a great proposition on a company car scheme if your allowance goes that far (i know some schemes give massive incentives for green cars). I could easily picture scores of tubby 40 something+ senior management types creaming themselves over this car. As a private owner, someone who enjoys driving and someone who does very few miles i just could not see any point or attraction with it when that money could easily buy something very good to drive (with change left over).

[gangzoom]

@Moflow

Fair enough if you tried it and didn't like it. I'll see what I think when I test drive one in a few weeks.

Oh BTW I'm no where near 40, or in senior management, but yes I do find the prospect of owning a Tesla rather exciting.

I'll report back after I've done the test drive

[mowflow]

Not so much a case of didn't like it. I felt exactly the same way about the 330d when i test drove it just over a year ago. It's an expensive car for a purpose, a purpose that i personally don't have a need to fulfil. It's probably one of the best cars at fulfilling that purpose to be fair to it.

I don't commute by car, i spend very little time on the motorway when I do drive, I have a need to cart wife and 2 young children occasionally, my mileage is so low that I find it hard to justify great expense on a car. So despite the fact that I am actually almost 40 and senior within my chosen field these cars just aren't for me.

I think my point was that i couldn't see anyone buying one as an alternative to a 991 (which costs more in most cases or an M3 (which costs about the same)

[gangzoom]

From what I read, there is a significant number of Model S owners who have migrated from high powered ICE cars. A P85D starts at £80K and Tesla don't do discounts, so people buying the high performance variants of these cars aren't short on cash, so have access to any number of high performance machines. So although you might not see the point of buying one, plenty of other people are, including a forum member here who has owned more than a few high power ICE machine.

Prior to me looking into EVs, my next car was going to be either a F10 M5 of a XJ SuperSport. But now, I honestly have no interest in either. I'll reserve my final judgement on the Model S till I drive one, hence why despite reading all the rave reviews I wasn't ready to commit my own hard earned cash on one straight away, and opted to get a cheap Nissan Leaf deal first.

So I'll see, my wife is coming along with me for the test drive, there's no way I'll get the OK to drop £50K+ on a car without her approval....But so far, she has been remarkably non-obstructive to me getting a Model S

[AWSAWS]

A great comparision

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by AWSAWS

A great comparision

Isn't this just the same old debate as 'Merican muscle vs European cars.

It looks great, until it gets to the corner.

[AWSAWS]

Originally Posted by djgandy

Isn't this just the same old debate as 'Merican muscle vs European cars.

It looks great, until it gets to the corner.

Not really, this shows power delivery. Instant torque from electric motors.

[Dann]

I saw one of these at the weekend.
It was gorgeous.

[briers]

This might not be a track weapon if you consider the cars in that video... But despite its weight it seriously handles well.

It's the quickest road car I've ever had. It's 4wd and motors pick up speed on the straight and mid corners it's way faster out of corners than my rwd cars.

In the wet it's surprising too.

I wouldn't rush to take it on the track, I likely never will. It's probably not something I will use for a early Sunday morning drive either. But I drive it more than any other car I've had as its a joy to be in and drive.

[AWSAWS]

I just don't understand how these electric cars with massive torque don't just spin up the tyres? Is it clever traction control???

[gangzoom]

^^ It's down to the responsiveness of the EV motor, which enables TC to work on a level impossible with ICE cars. Hence self driving cars are much easier to engineer if it's an EV, since the delay between powe input and results is so much quicker.

You need to test drive a P85D to really appreciate its stupid power delivery. I cannot wait to order one, still have another 15 months left on my Leaf contract....Not that I'm counting or anything

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by AWSAWS

I just don't understand how these electric cars with massive torque don't just spin up the tyres? Is it clever traction control???

Direct drive. Electric motor can modulate to each wheel instantly. VS engine power, going through gear box, then drive shaft. The weight of the drive train limits how quickly you can modulate the power to the wheels.

[djgandy]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...ge-reliability

Trouble in paradise? Not what you expect from a 70k car.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Do not buy electric cars....they will perform ok until your battery looses the ability to hold charge and all those performance figures will be degraded significantly over time and the cost of a battery refresh is cost prohibitive.
Consider yourself warned...if you want power buy yourself some American muscle with a good ol gasolin engine should cure the fix for speed.....think hellcat...mustang etc etc.
That should cure the need for speed.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by djgandy

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-1...ge-reliability

Trouble in paradise? Not what you expect from a 70k car.

It's no worse than any BMW, especially the 335i

Got another test drive in a 70D coming up, it wasn't for the Leaf PCP deal I would have ordered one by now....Oh well just have to wait another 12 months, still hardly the worst first world problem to have in life

[djgandy]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

It's no worse than any BMW, especially the 335i

Got another test drive in a 70D coming up, it wasn't for the Leaf PCP deal I would have ordered one by now....Oh well just have to wait another 12 months, still hardly the worst first world problem to have in life

335i isnt £70k.

Also I don't recall 335i owners complaining that their car isn't waterproof. Even a Ford KA can manage that.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by djgandy

335i isnt £70k.

Also I don't recall 335i owners complaining that their car isn't waterproof. Even a Ford KA can manage that.

A 70S starts at £50K, spec up a 535i to the same base equipment level as a Model 70S and your at £47k.

Anyways I'm not entirely sure what your point is? If you don't want to spend £50k on a Model S no one is forcing you, but at the same time no one can stop me from spending £50k on one.

We're all grown ups here, so we are all free to what we like with our money

[briers]

Storm in a teacup

97% owners would buy again

Battery tech from 2012 and owners with over 200k miles have no power / battery / charge issues. 5 miles range lost.

[briers]

Gangzoom the 70d is a gem.

My awd p85d is insane.

I have a 85rwd loaner. Feels like turbo lag (almost). The awd are defiantly better for drivability. Instant response and way more grip. Rwd lively. P85d has way more confidence and so much more versatile and drivable.

Point being 85rwd is very rapid. 70d is virtually the same but with the instant response at low speeds. Seamless handover between motor mappings. Also both 70d motors run at peak efficiency more often as they are smaller. So that almost makes up for the smaller battery.

Bargain I think.

Ps the car is f........ amazing.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by briers

Bargain I think.

Ps the car is f........ amazing.

Great to hear your enjoying the car...

I'm not sure how but Tesla has managed to 100% shift my view point on car pricing/features. I rember before the iPhone came out, paying for a handset was almost unheard of, infact if I rember I was getting 'cashback' for signing up to some contracts with specific phones. Now the latest iPhones cost more than some laptops, and they still fly off the shelf.

Ask me 8 months ago if I thought spending £55k on a car was a good idea, I would have told you where to go....Now I look at a 70D and think, my god that's just such a 'bargain'