Just had to share a few of my experiences recently with the Tesla and a few test drives in the new Panamera. Couple of months ago or so I was very sceptic to Tesla. Range issues, what happens if you forget to plug it in, what about driving it in sub zero climates, rubbish interior, bad build quality, battery drain in no time, just have to wait up for hours to charge it on long commutes, etc etc. Clearly a lot of preconceptions.
Having got the opportunity to borrow a Model S P90DL (facelifted version) for 2 months (I'm not owning the car), It has changed my view on EV and Tesla in general. And it should be noted that I've did this testing in colder climate during winter months which is the worst season for owning an EV. I've done long and short trips (1200km in one day and several trips around 500km), commute to work, city driving, etc.
- I usually very seldom drive more than 300km per day. And jumping in to the car each morning with full range/charge is just so convenient. Never have to think about filling up, because that I do at home overnight. I agree that its needed to have access to overnight charging, but if you own a nice expensive car, wouldn't you want to store it in a garage overnight anyway? And oh... forgetting plugging the car in is just as likely as forgetting to brush your teeth before going to bed. I didn't forget it one single time during my 2 months trial. And even if i didn't bother to plug it in it turned out to have enough juice for several days driving anyway.
- On those occasions when I was up for the task to drive longer it was very simple with the excellent Tesla supercharging network. The important factor here is that you only charge up to about 85% of the battery where the charging is at about 110kw (after 80% the charging speed decreases for each added % and gets really slow between 90-100%). Charing time equals around 10km added range per minute of charging. So for each 200 km I usually make a stop over anyway, take a quick break, visit the restroom, buy a coffee and perhaps take a quick bite. And even in a petrol car this stop over takes about 15 minutes, and in the Tesla I have to do the same stop for 5 minutes more and then move on. Note that when you charge the Tesla, you just stop and 1 minute later the car is charging. No hazzle with credit cards, need to move the car after filling up, etc.
- The added 5 minutes stop overs have actually turned out to be a good thing. I've been lot less fatigue driving on longer commutes in the Tesla. Because each 200-300km you naturally take a stop over for 15-20 minutes in total relaxation and no stress on the clock for moving on asap. I've done a couple of 300-800 km stretches that I've done in many different Porsches and Audis and the ones in the Tesla are my absolute favorites. Just feel so fresh when I arrive to my destination. And in total it maybe takes 15-20 minutes longer than in a equivalent petrol car (on a 5 hour trip). And those 20 added minutes is worth it every day since you don't need to take a rest and feel tired when you arrive to the destination which (at least for me) is the case if I drive very long stretches with just stressful and quick stop-overs, eating in the car, etc. And if you really can't spare another 20 minutes on a 5 hour roadtrip then take a flight and a taxi instead.
- Autopilot is a relaxing feature to use both in stop and go traffic but especially on longer motorway legs. The system is really very good (and the car I tested only had v1.0 hardware). Compared with the Adaptive Cruise Control I have on my Porsche I just don't find that quite as good. The difference with the Tesla system is that it actually behaves like I myself would do in many situation and auto steer is very well calibrated and confidence inspiring. Always annoyed about the Porsche ACC that it brakes too early and is a bit unpredictable and not very useful in traffic jams. Driving with Tesla autopilot for longer commutes is fantastic. It is crazy that Tesla have created such a good system in this short time frame that is better than most competitive systems. Mercedes might be on par though. And it is super cool that it also get incrementally better each month with OTA sw-updates. Brilliant!
- I got the opportunity during this time frame to drive the new Panamera Turbo back-to-back with the Tesla (and trying to have an open mindset about the comparison. I still own a Porsche and have considered a Panamera to be my next car). The Tesla is remarkably enough quieter in the cabin which I didn't expect based with less tyre roar (both cars with 21" Sottozero winter tyres). Cabin climate and air in the Tesla also felt more balanced on colder days. The Panamera drivetrain just felt strange in comparison. Gear changes? Rattling engine noises? start/stop "technology", takes for ever to get into the right gear when you put your foot down in Sport+, slow acceleration when needed for overtaking, etc. I just instantly felt something that I didn't expect beforehand and this was a real eye opener.
- When it comes to driving dynamics the Tesla is really fun to drive in the twisties with all that weight down low between the axles and (again) that instant torque out of corners. The Panamera is of course sportier and even more nimble with AWS, but I was surprised that the Tesla was no slouch in the same driving conditions. The Panamera will excel if you want to put the rear out and do some fancy power slides and the brakes on the Panamera does also perform and feel better. But once again, it's not a day and night difference.
- The EV drivetrain is just so simple, smooth and effortless and I actually like the futuristic sounds and whistles from the E-engine when accelerating. I've bashed 4-pot engines, lack of sound etc. But now when it is silent and futuristic I actually quite like it! I almost thought that PSE in the Panamera was annoying from time to time. That instant torque available at a red light is just mind boggling. And actually, this is something that is usable and fun in speed restricted countries. Mind you, the P100DL accelerates from 80-120km/h in 1.2 seconds!!! As a comparison the 991.2 Turbo S does this in 1.8 secs. I've also did a lot of accelerations in the "slower" P90DL I had. And the battery never complained at all and got limited. Of course I didn't do 100 consecutive 0-100 attempts in a row, but who does that anyway?? Accelerating hard 10 times 0-100 during a 30 minute drive at some traffic lights. No problem. The thing just flies! And I was also surprised that the battery did not get drained very much by all these accelerations. Fun thing is also that you really can accelerate hard with the Tesla without disturbing anyone. I would just get a lot of annoyed people around me if I would have engaged launch control at a red light and would have felt like a teen ager. With the tesla - swoooosh, gone! :)
- Driving the tesla continuous in 200km/h is of course where it has limitations. For me, this is not an issue at all since I do all my driving below 150km/h. But I question if anyone drive 250km/h for several hours in a row. It would get very tiresome and not relaxing. When I had a drive through Germany I normally cruise at 160-180 when possible. And at those speeds a P100DL will come 250-300km in the summer which is quite okay and about perfect for taking stop overs in between.
- Few other things I found intuitive with the Tesla. It does Open up itself when you approach the car and close/fold mirrors when you walk away. It automatically open my garage port at home based on GPS when I arrive, it automatically raises the air suspension on a steep incline based on GPS, software updates like an iPhone with new added cool features from time to time that will get better and better. 17" screen is great and this is coming from someone who beforehand had second thoughts about it. Upgraded hi-fi package sounds good (better than Bose at least), steering wheel feels nice, digital instrument cluster very good, sunroof is huge and almost creates a convertible feeling when open. Also the luggage space is massive. Think it is 800 liter in total (without back seats folded) compared with 500 liter in the Panamera. 4 sets of colfclubs - no problem. The car is smart, really smart.
- The minimalistic interior in the Tesla appeal to some and does not appeal to others. I think it's actually quite good, at least the 2016/2017 Model S Teslas that has some updated seats and materials and most manufacturing issues has been worked out (Tesla from 2015 is a different story and probably have lot's more issues). Alcantara roofline, leather everywhere, etc. It's not the Panamera interior, but I wouldn't say it is bad, it is just different and it will look great over time. And I'm used to porsche cabins with full leather, adaptive sport seats etc, but didn't miss this a tiny second during my 2 month test period in the Tesla.
It is funny that the Tesla raises so much emotions. Suddenly focus has been moved away from 0-100 times and Nurburgring and top speed seems more important. Probably mainly because Tesla just made that figure irrelevant for anything north of a 918 spyder or La Ferrari to compete with. Nurburgring times and 300+km/h top speed for a family sedan is probably only used by a few germans, for the rest of us it is just an irrelevant measurement for a daily driver. Perfect combo is a track toy and an EV as daily.
Now I'm back in my Macan Turbo and as soon as I see a new Tesla on the road I get a bit jealous since I know how good that car is. Sad really that Porsche does not offer anything competitive to Tesla. Porsche is just miles behind and they know it but of course will not admit it. When the Mission-E comes out they still need to fix the charging infrastructure and since Porsche (or the other germans) does not have any recent history in building that kind of infrastructure it will be interesting how this is solved. Also will take time for producing any larger volumes due to battery sourcing with enough capacity. I think they will have a challenge building up anything remotely as good as the Tesla supercharging network the coming 5 years. Time will tell and I would gladly jump into any german EV if the total experience is as good as Tesla have today.
I was quite excited about the new Panamera and had thoughts about ordering one as my next daily driver. But after this Tesla experience I would never be happy with it. It would just feel wrong to order something with a drivetrain that soon will belong to history. So for me a Model S P100D is the most desirable car on the market right now. And I also think it looks cool.