EV general discussion

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Why? Fit and finish on a Tesla is not great - not awful either but not close to Lexus levels. Ride and comfort are on a par with my Dmax as well. The base model yota is far more comfortable. Noise level would be the only thing comparable IMO.

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In the irony of things since switching to Chinese production the quality has increased markedly. I don't know how you're coming to the verdict on "quality". Build quality? Reliability? My car has been one of the best cars I've ever bought and I've had a few. I follow a lot of Tesla groups, and I don't see complaints about quality.

The first batch of Model Y's had a suspension tune that wasn't great. It was very firm. From the start of 2023 they had a softer tune. It's still firm but not as firm. The refresh of the M3 they seem to have gotten someone in who knows what they are doing, because it's actually seen praise for being well sorted. It is widely anticipated that the MY will get similar revisions. So if you are interested in giving accurate advice, you should be aware of these things.

People who appreciate handling will definitely prefer the Tesla setup to the Camry setup. I would describe mine as "sporty". It turns in well and feels like well planted RWD. It will eventually understeer, but for the whole it handles much much better than it looks like it would.

Those whacky europeans described the camry handling as "comfortable but slow". Meanwhile the Tesla aced the test and got some of the highest speeds in class while not flipping. So I guess it probably depends on what you define as "comfortable" and what roads you have around your area.

If you want a car that is soft .. if that's what you call comfortable.. the Hyundai Ioniq5 is definitely "soft and comfortable". Not so great at corners, but perhaps that's not your thing.

Toyota Camry Hybrid Is Comfortable But Slow On The Moose Test

"So, when the same test for a Model Y was posted by km77.com on YouTube, we expected the crossover EV to pass it – and it did so with flying colours.
As seen on the video embedded atop this page, the Model Y, despite its slightly higher ground clearance, cleared the cones at 83 kilometres per hour (52 miles per hour). That matches the previous record done by the Model 3 at the hands of the same testers.
According to the folks at km77, the Model Y's good steering feel, plus its nice ESC and suspension setups, make the biggest Tesla easy to handle under challenging situations."


Tesla Model Y aces dreaded moose test and we're not surprised

EDIT: Full disclosure. The only fault with my car was a speaker grill. But it wasn't actually faulty. Tesla sent me a message in the app saying "some had been faulty" and turned up at my house and replaced it anyway even though it looked perfect to me. I'm really struggling to mark them down for that.

"Tesla Model Y is one of the very best cars we've performed this test with". It's worth a watch. For a high riding "suv" you can fling it around alaramingly and it just eats it.

https://youtu.be/gczso5OoM88'si=H0Jom2bsnECN6ULF

And in happy Friday news. We were the first EV in our street 12 months ago. There are now three. Another MY and a BYD Atto [bigwhistle]

So in Brisbane we have a rideshare driver who bought a M3 in 2021. Since then he's done 285,000k in it. If I had to drive that much you could take me out the back.. but that's another story.

In that time the costs he's incurred.

- 6x sets of tyres.
- Tyre rotations $45 every 10-15k
- 1 windscreen (Insurance)
- a lead acid battery $165
- 2x washer fluid $24 total
- 5x Cabin filters $175 total
- 3x Wiper blades $135 total
- Total charge cost $8,910 total (he often has to fast charge)

*Brake pads are still original at 85%
*Battery health when new was estimated at 424k range. Currently 396k.

I reckon it's going ok for him.

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Re driver distraction. We’re currently in Brissy for the weekend and have an MG as a hire car. Like the Haval, you have to use the touchscreen to change the temp or fan speed etc - it’s bloody dangerous as it takes your eyes off the road for quite some time - even once you know where to navigate to it takes time. I can reach the fan switches and heater controls on my Dmax without looking away from the road. Not sure why using the touch screen for all these functions is even legal.

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Re driver distraction. We’re currently in Brissy for the weekend and have an MG as a hire car. Like the Haval, you have to use the touchscreen to change the temp or fan speed etc - it’s bloody dangerous as it takes your eyes off the road for quite some time - even once you know where to navigate to it takes time. I can reach the fan switches and heater controls on my Dmax without looking away from the road. Not sure why using the touch screen for all these functions is even legal.

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Does it have an auto setting? The cars I've had with climate control I find I rarely if ever actually have to touch stuff like that. Just because one user interface is crap doesn't mean they all are.

Despite the defender having horrible ergonomics I can adjust pretty much all the controls in my defender without having to look away from the road due to length of ownership. The heater/blower, the vents, and the ac/fan.

BUT. On a long road trip I find having to constantly change all this stuff to keep everyone comfortable is really tiring. It's a lot of additional driver workload that simply isn't there in cars with good climate.

This is why VW got panned. Because the climate didn't work well, and the capacitive buttons didn't work well and I don't think they were backlit. So really hard to operate. Hopeless.

As I say over and over again - at least with the Tesla UI you rarely actually have to touch the screen while driving. And if you do look away at least the car is still watching.

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Originally Posted by Homestar

. Not sure why using the touch screen for all these functions is even legal.

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X100. If you so much as touch your phone you are a leper. Cars these days, EVs especially, are like sitting in an IMAX. For many, many years Mercedes Benz put all the controls in the same place, whether you drove an A Class or S Class. All the functions became automatic, "muscle memory" if you like. They claimed it was the safest practice. And in those days MB made by far the safest cars.

All these menus, hidden away in all the glitz, and no two cars are the same, is madness, and it's pathetic how it all impresses people who should know better. The place for giant screens is in the living room.

You know one of the problems with being a proselytizer is that the natives/savages rarely take any notice after the first flush of enlightenment.
They sometimes used to find themselves to be a delightful dinner.
Regards PhilipA

Ahh, but missionaries had the power of righteousness behind them. Right?