Tesla

[Rob Gaskin]

Folks, do any of you know what it's like to run a Tesla?

My eldest lad has got a new job which involves driving more but he hasn't got a company car and they only pay 21p a mile i think.

It's a decent well paid job so he's thinking of leasing a Tesla.

Any experiences or hear-say?

He currently runs a lovely BMW 335i Touring which he loves but it returns 28mpg on Super Unleaded.

 

[Jake RAH]

I was watching a program about Tesla cars a couple of week back and the guy hosting the program, who had been running a tesla for about a year said that they didn't manage anywhere near the mileage between charges that they claim. Instead of 210 miles or something like that, in reality it was more like 150 miles or so. I think he was driving a tesla model 3, but then again all washing machines look the same to me.

 

[MCBladeRun]

I think you should only get an electric vehicle if you have a charging point at home, at work and maybe somewhere in between. If the vehicle is only rated at 200miles per charge, make sure your wokk/home distance is at maximum, half that figure. The other thing is yeah, model 3 is the latest, but there are other manufacturers to consider. A lease plan would be better because of the batteries and warranty issues. I'd see if his new job would be open to more pence per mile if you are willing to have an electric vehicle. Makes the company look good, gives incentive to save the planet and whatnot.

 

[toopy]

I saw a Tesla on the back of a recovery truck recently, wonder if it ran out of juice!

 

[IbanezDan51]

My manager has a model 3 Rob ( every day we use electric cars too obviously..!). He has had issues with seals on it and had to have both screens removed and re-fitted and something with rear lights but other than that it’s good so far. His commute is about 150 mile round trip but he stays in the midlands during the very few days he is here..!
I can only see a financial benefit of it if you can charge at work for free over something that will get 50mpg but would imagine a large saving on what your sons currently using!
Tesla’s are very gimmicky and very plain but they are actually a nice place to be and great for daily use.

 

[IbanezDan51]

PS MK7 golf is being phased out and the e-golf is very cheap now to lease/finance. Mileage is limited to 100-120 though..!

 

[Alphabettispaghetti]

I wouldn't touch them, there's a few at work, its premium prices for very crappy build quality.

They do become 0% bik in a year or two though. however they'll change that. Tell him to put the allowance in his pension and to keep the 335i.

 

[AD240Z]

Met an old friend at the weekend who has x2 Teslas in the family and likes them. He was late meeting me as he had to stop and charge up en route from Cardiff to Liverpool .

Not sure how they stack up as a Company Car - but another friends wife has a plug in hybrid 3 series BMW and he seems pretty impressed:

Blurb / Quote from BMW website - BMW330E saloon:

HYBRID PERFORMANCE.
The BMW 3 Series Plug-In Hybrid responds with an energy that’s electric. The combination of a powerful electric motor and the 2.0 litre TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder petrol engine makes the BMW 330e Saloon a joy to drive. With harmony comes efficiency. The combined 292hp* driveline produces CO2 emissions of just 37g/km and is capable of a monumental 201.8mpg.

 

[yellowz]

I had an Outlander that Mitsubishi claimed 150mpg for.

Yes if you drove it less than 30 miles per day (1 electric charge up) for a month and then used a tank of fuel going less than 300 miles. How they come up with the claimed mileage stats and are allowed to get away with it is beyond me.

 

[jonbills]

I had a run against one of the really fat ugly Teslas at Santa Pod last year.
It was quite quick and managed to come second.

 

[AliK]

My buddy’s model S P100D regularly turns between 210-250 miles depending on how loud he has the stereo! IIRC he paid c. £80k for it.

As a rule of thumb, always take a third off the claimed range.

There are varied reports on Tesla reliability with age + very expensive to put right out of warranty e.g. $1000 for a door handle!! [emoji15]

Leasing is a good option as a halfway / dip your toes in.

I agree with Mr Franky here, they are still way too expensive and limited in range to make financial sense over a decent euro 5/6 diesel turning close to 70mpg on the motorway. My friend’s 320D driven with a light foot @70mph often returns over 70mpg on his motorway runs up to Manchester and back. IMHO and for me, the electric car thing is a realistic 10 years away in terms of infrastructure, affordability and range. If your commute is 25-50 miles each way then fair enough with current batch of cars.

BTW - That 335 has a lovely exhaust note!! One that will undoubtedly be missed.

 

[WazzaJB]

Just to throw my hat in the ring...

We looked at fully electric (e-Golf) but the range just wasn't there, and the car itself in terms of seats/wheels/finish just looked incredibly cheap. Went and test drove a Golf GTE, completely different story. Fantastic to drive, sounds great in GTE mode, will do about 25 miles on a charge and has a GTI-level finish on both interior and exterior.

So needless to say we ended up with that.

Teslas aren't cost effective for us, but would love to have a go in one! Some interesting electric cars coming out next year (Mach-E, Space Vizzion) that actually look alright unlike every other electric car on the market at the moment (purely subjective but I do not rate the Teslas for appearance).

TLDR; personally, will stick to a good quality hybrid for our commuter until better electric cars come out.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Thanks guys.