I Rented A Tesla For A Week And Am Totally Sold On Gas-Powered Cars | After test-driving one for an entire week, we learned we will never buy a Tesla or any electric vehicle as long as we have the option of gas-powered cars or even hybrids.
Good points for discussing with your local EV fanatic.
TL;DR version:
- batteries drain too quickly / range is considerably less than advertised
- length of time needed to charge is very long
- availability of charging stations not good
- some charging stations are in rather sketchy parts of town; personal safety may be an issue when you're stranded there for an hour waiting for your vehicle to charge up
- dependence on complex touch screen and non-intuitive interface seems as dangerous as texting while driving (and the autopilot is too unpredictable to use safely)
- even simple things like locking the door or turning on the windshield wipers is complicated
- no hardcopy manual to consult when you are out of range of a cell signal
- cost of charging with electricity is pretty comparible to what you would pay for gas, so no cost savings
... But pigs will fly before I buy an EV based on my Tesla experience/experiment. This conclusion is not based on a one-hour test drive but on an entire week of driving in an EV-friendly part of the country. ...
I recently also had a Tesla rental car for a week. I have a slightly different perspective.
Biggest problem was lack of instruction before sending us off to our destination.
Next was delivering a car without a full (80%) charge. (80% is for battery life considerations.) Our destinations were always 40 miles from the nearest supercharger.
We were not instructed on how to lock or unlock the car. Discovered that by accident.
Range anxiety is real, but we managed, and I would be willing to try it again after some of the things that i learned.
What we liked:
Tesla Model 3thh was quiet, smooth and handled very well (My personal car was a Mercedes E class) .
When visiting one of the other owners at a supercharger, they claimed to get by on about $15 of electricity per month, charging at home. At the Supercharger is was about $7 for "half a tank".
After returning I made my way to the nearest Tesla service center/delivery/showroom and asked questions about the car I had driven.
There is range after the car says 0%, kind of like a fuel warning light. That would have lessened my anxiety to know that.
Maintenance is mostly tires. No tune-ups, oil and filter changes and other such normal maintenance. Brakes can last along time with regenerating braking.
With the Connection package (about $10 month) you can watch Youtube or other subscription services (Netflix/Hulu etc.) that you have during charging. Oh and the Ac or heat will run while you wait.
Charging at a Supercharger was surprisingly quick. 18% to 80% was about 15ish minutes.
If you have more than one vehicle It is worth looking at making one of them electric. Running around town would be a particularly good case. Ucoming batteries are addressing the fires issue. Even without the Deep state agenda, I feel like electric cars are here to stay.
I have a Tesla and it’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. I don’t own one for environmental reasons, but because it’s a blast to drive, and is constantly improving. On well marked highways, Full self driving (FSD) drives safer than I would and has made my 40 mile commute considerably less stressful. Also, 0-60 in 3.8 is amazing. I live in the NW so charging stations are everywhere. Your state may vary.
"On well marked highways". My Hondas have various features that rely on well marked highways. After a month I gave up and turned them off because most roads aren't well marked. Usually the paint fades or is worn off in spots before the road needs repaving. Or the road is damaged in spots, or paved over from some repair, etc.
I hate how the FSD experience keeps changing. I hardly use it anymore.
The dash board has games showing when you drive. Yet those are not accessible. 2 modes would be good. Charge:stopped or drive.
Tesla had a good UI to start, everything seems a bit worse now.
I rented a Model 3 for a week.
It was an ok experience. The car itself drove pretty well. There are plenty of POS cars out there that are worse.
But despite being in one of Americas largest cities super chargers were like 15-20 minutes away. So that 20 minute charge really took about an hour. The closest one to the airport left me with exactly 80% charge on return. That was stressful.
Non super chargers are slow as balls. Only worth using one if you were like shopping at a mall (lol) or at work.
People develop a lifestyle around charging. You see people bringing lunch, doing makeup, watching pr0n, etc. that is lame and gay.
As a 2nd city car with a charger at home they seem ok if you’re into leasing (make the inevitable battery replacement somebody else’s issue). While I know people who have done road trips on electric no way would I want to do so.
i'd say accurate assessment.