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I've been thinking about an EV for DD duties (We rent a minivan for true road trips)...90% of my driving is within a 20 mile radius. This is a great thread for folks like me thinking...
Daily use of less than 200 miles is a S L A M D U N K use case - get a good EV - Model 3, S, Taycan, Bolt, Volt Gen1 or Gen2, eGolf, or iPace and you will never go back!
note: updated to include the Volt because whiz944 is such a good guy!
Last edited by daveo4porsche; 08-26-2018 at 11:52 PM.
Daily use of less than 200 miles is a S L A M D U N K use case - get a good EV - Model 3, S, Taycan, Bolt, or iPace and you will never go back!
Agreed - though it seems you'll be waiting a bit for the Taycan. The i-Pace is supposed to be out later this year. JLR seems pretty motivated to get them out to customers.
Also look at the Chevy Volt. It is a "plug-in hybrid". After the EV range is depleted, it uses its gas engine to operate as a gas-electric hybrid. So there is zero range anxiety. If used is an option, one of the best used car buys is a Volt. Especially the first gen - 2011-2015 can be picked up in the $10-15k range. Gen 2 Volts on thee year leases will start coming off lease in October and would also likely be a great buy. If driving a Chevy grates on you, give it to your kids after you figure out what you really want. If you want something more lux, a 2014 or 2016 Cadillac ELR is also an interesting choice. Try to find one with adaptive cruise control.
The iPace is an amazing piece of machinery. If the Taycan cannot equal, or surpass, what Jag has been able to accomplish, it will be a major blemish on PAG.
We just commenced road trip out of Vancouver in our X.
In Leavenworth having travelled hwy 2 today over Stephens pass. The Tesla is remarkable. Lots of power -just passed anything at will; steering ratio is better than GT3 actually; not as busy as hydraulic rack but v precise; chassis is super composed, partly dt low centre gravity but also v well tuned and the air suspension lowers at high speeds and still soaks everything up. Tech is excellent, stereo is kick-*** - it’s as though not hvg to fit gas engine up front, they said f*** it, let’s cram in a giant subwoofer. Volume goes to 11 ala Spinal Tap. Fit and finish has been fine - I’m pretty fussy and that sort of stuff drives me squirrelly, but interior is good. The few minor things I’ve had addressed have been met with “we’re sorry, we know, we’ll take care of it”. Try getting anything but abysmal service at Mercedes . $0 in first year/ 18,000 km as of today. Any fitment issues are minor. It’s a tech company. It’s essentially like someone built an amazing skyscraper that defies physics....& the drywaller’s a bit of a drinker.
As a DD, I can’t see ever having ICE again - suck oil out of ground, wreck environment and blow it out tailpipe ONCE vs extract lithium once and have 8 yr Tesla warranty (& hopefully recycle somehow).
Whether I’m in 964, GT3 RS or Tesla it’s always “yeah, this may be the best one”. Guess I’m Tripolar.
My thoughts on the model X overnight test drive from a week ago. Almost everything is a positive. The cars looks great in black with white guts, it’s very fast (P100D), plenty of space for the family, quiet, and has a comfortable ride(this model has the 22in wheels). Two things concerns me. First, when I picked up the vehicle, it had 164mi of battery. I drove home, picked up the family, we went to dinner, then back home. When we got home, it had 39mi left on the battery. We didn’t put 129mi on the car, so I assume running the A/C, the cabin comfort feature running all day while it sat in the garage in this Florida heat, and running the other features helped drain the battery. Since this is an overnight vehicle, we wouldn’t be able to charge the car at home. I wanted my wife to drop the car off but didn’t feel comfortable with her finding a supercharger and waiting for the car to charge. I know if it were ours, we would have just plugged in at home and forget about it. Second, I was trying to use the Tesla directions feature to find a supercharger and it wasn't working. It worked Friday night, but for some reason it has stopped. Again, not a major concern as you have the internet in the vehicle, but it would have been nice to use the built in directions feature to find a supercharger. I’m very impressed with the Model X and it’s definitely top two on my list. My wife loves it a lot and I’m sure if I purchased it for myself, I wouldn’t be the one driving it majority of the time. We test drove the Cadillac Escalade and loved it as well until we had to fill up the gas tank at a tune of $100. So, that experience took the Range Rover and Escalade off the list for us. Tesla made the experience awesome. BTW, once I got to the Super Charger, the charge went from 18 miles to 165miles in about 20mins or so.
My thoughts on the model X overnight test drive from a week ago. Almost everything is a positive. The cars looks great in black with white guts, it’s very fast (P100D), plenty of space for the family, quiet, and has a comfortable ride(this model has the 22in wheels). Two things concerns me. First, when I picked up the vehicle, it had 164mi of battery. I drove home, picked up the family, we went to dinner, then back home. When we got home, it had 39mi left on the battery. We didn’t put 129mi on the car, so I assume running the A/C, the cabin comfort feature running all day while it sat in the garage in this Florida heat, and running the other features helped drain the battery. Since this is an overnight vehicle, we wouldn’t be able to charge the car at home. I wanted my wife to drop the car off but didn’t feel comfortable with her finding a supercharger and waiting for the car to charge. I know if it were ours, we would have just plugged in at home and forget about it. Second, I was trying to use the Tesla directions feature to find a supercharger and it wasn't working. It worked Friday night, but for some reason it has stopped. Again, not a major concern as you have the internet in the vehicle, but it would have been nice to use the built in directions feature to find a supercharger. I’m very impressed with the Model X and it’s definitely top two on my list. My wife loves it a lot and I’m sure if I purchased it for myself, I wouldn’t be the one driving it majority of the time. We test drove the Cadillac Escalade and loved it as well until we had to fill up the gas tank at a tune of $100. So, that experience took the Range Rover and Escalade off the list for us. Tesla made the experience awesome. BTW, once I got to the Super Charger, the charge went from 18 miles to 165miles in about 20mins or so.
Well if you pull the trigger, we will have v similar garages!
My thoughts on the model X overnight test drive from a week ago. Almost everything is a positive. The cars looks great in black with white guts, it’s very fast (P100D), plenty of space for the family, quiet, and has a comfortable ride(this model has the 22in wheels). Two things concerns me. First, when I picked up the vehicle, it had 164mi of battery. I drove home, picked up the family, we went to dinner, then back home. When we got home, it had 39mi left on the battery. We didn’t put 129mi on the car, so I assume running the A/C, the cabin comfort feature running all day while it sat in the garage in this Florida heat, and running the other features helped drain the battery. Since this is an overnight vehicle, we wouldn’t be able to charge the car at home. I wanted my wife to drop the car off but didn’t feel comfortable with her finding a supercharger and waiting for the car to charge. I know if it were ours, we would have just plugged in at home and forget about it.
The cabin overheat protection feature came with a very recent software update. You can set it to either 'off', 'no a/c' (runs the vents to try to keep the car under 105°), or 'on' (will keep the car under 105°.) It disables itself when the battery gets down to 20%.
Second, I was trying to use the Tesla directions feature to find a supercharger and it wasn't working. It worked Friday night, but for some reason it has stopped. Again, not a major concern as you have the internet in the vehicle, but it would have been nice to use the built in directions feature to find a supercharger.
Just tap on the charge icon on the nav screen, and all the nearby Supercharger sites should show up in a menu. Then touch the one you want. The map even shows graphs by each site showing how many stalls are in use. So if you have a choice of a few sites, you can pick one that is most likely to have an empty stall waiting for you.
One of the neat things about the Supercharger network is that they set them up for volumes of cars from the start. It is nationwide, and each site has anywhere from 6-8 to as many as 40 charging stalls. (See: https://supercharge.info/map) The current CCS (and CHAdeMO) high speed charging infrastructure for non-Teslas is nowhere close. Current sites have one, maybe two stalls at 50kW or less (vs Teslas 115-120kW). VW's Electrify America program, forced upon them by the Dieselgate settlement, will change this somewhat. Porsche is claiming they will have a 350kW capability. But it will take several years to catch up.
I’m very impressed with the Model X and it’s definitely top two on my list. My wife loves it a lot and I’m sure if I purchased it for myself, I wouldn’t be the one driving it majority of the time. We test drove the Cadillac Escalade and loved it as well until we had to fill up the gas tank at a tune of $100. So, that experience took the Range Rover and Escalade off the list for us. Tesla made the experience awesome. BTW, once I got to the Super Charger, the charge went from 18 miles to 165miles in about 20mins or so...
I know your pain. My old Suburban has a 42 gallon tank. Sometimes when filling it, the pump hits the dollar limit and stops. I have to hang up the hose, run the credit card through a second time, and fill it again. Fortunately we don't drive it that much anymore, so fillups aren't that frequent. Imagine never going to a gas station again.
if you end up buying one I recommend the smaller 20" wheels for greater range - I had the 22" inch wheels in the first X we own'd and the range hit is tangible..
also there is a setting to show battery in percentage rather than "rated" miles - rated miles has very very little to do with actual milage you're going to experience - understanding battery percentage is better in my opinion and a constant number - on a P100D 1% battery is about 1 kWh - so it's really easy to keep track of what you're doing.
if you need a referral code let me know - I'll get some swag and you'll get some goodies if you use my referral code to order your X - my Wife loves her's - and loves not going to the gas station - invest in a good charging infrastructure in your home and you'll be very pleased with never finding the car empty in the morning - one of the truly great features of an EV - it fills itself up every night
I can give you factual data - South Australia and Victoria, in Australia - now have some of the highest wholesale electricity prices in the world.
In 2014-2015 the price per mWh in South Australia was $42, in 2017-2018 it is $109 per mWh - prices have more than doubled in three years
In 2014-2015 the price per mWh in Victoria was $32, in 2017-2018 it is $99 per mWh - a mere threefold increase in three years
These are the two states that are attempting to get to 50% and 25% renewables by 2025.
Information courtesy of the Australian Energy Regulator AER.
So would that not make it more compelling for private citizens to put solar on their homes and sell any excess juice back to the grid? Our hydro is so cheap in Vancouver that it makes little economic sense “currently” . That and a Tesla powerwall and you’re rockin it.
very nice. Our garage is very similar. What color floor do you have? Also, I need to step my game up and get a gt3, lol.
Sadly that pic’s at a commercial space I rent as our home garage situation is pathetic!
Used the Supercharger here in Leavenworth yest - was down to 55 km range, went for a run and came back to 360 km range.
This is a relatively small tourist town yet they have put in 16 stalls (opened last month), so they’re clearly ramping it up for Model 3 volume. WAY ahead of the competition. It is def more convenient than having to find hotel w electric charger (@ 1/10th the charging speed).
I should also add that we are waiting for HOA and county approval for our Tesla solar panel system. It should be installed in the next few months. So, we are preparing for either a model X purchase or a Taycan.
the P100D Model X is an absolute joy to drive and it's performance is 2nd to none vs. other SUV's - it lacks the body roll and sluggishness of all other SUV's - it's still heavy and by no means a track car, but as an SUV it's great and the front cockpit with the helicopter windshield makes it one of the best front cockpits in the industry...couple that with a. sub 3 sec 0-60 sprint and autopilot and it's a great car with acceleration that rivals/bests a vast majority of sports cars…yet can carry 7 people, and go for distance via the supercharger network.
this eV stuff is getting interesting - we need more competition to drive this even further!
08-26-2018, 11:56 AM
