Went on business travel to CA this month and decided to try driving a Tesla to see what it was like. Big mistake… coming home to my civic is painful. Coworkers told me a lot of my gripes like lack of buttons wear off after a month or so. I was already all in on electric for when my car eventually died but god, idk how long I will be able to stay ICE. Anyone else have similar experiences on test drives?
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I visited my parents last month and their ICE car feels so clunky and slow after switching to an EV! I feel you
You can get a bev and buttons! (and a cluster gauge and actual qc)
Toyota and BMW are fine examples. While some here love to hate Toyota because of a few vehicles being recalled in Texas, the bz4x has a ten year / one million km warranty in Europe. The battery is also serviceable. If the entire battery pack needs replacement on the warranty, the owner gets a completely new battery pack and not a reman.
Cars that can’t do anything without an iPad in the center is a fad that will die eventually, like the extremely low-profile tires everyone had in 2008.
like the extremely low-profile tires everyone had in 2008.
What do you mean had? They still do.
Not like in 2008. Even boring new cars like the Prius had tires that looked like gaffs tape wrapped around an alloy wheel back then.
Why get a blackberry when you can get an iPhone?
Tesla is the blackberry in this case. Go for BMW or Mercedes if you want the iPhone.
BMW and Mercedes have buttons too.
Hmm a new company that takes an existing technology, smart phones, and makes the first mass adopted commercially successful version, only to ultimately be crushed by an older large corporation.
The blackberry car may not be the one you are thinking of.
Sir, I’m talking about buttons.
Which are superior to touchscreens, obvs.
Love my egolf, wish they still made it! The analog dials are sweet
I totally agree…
Mercedes EV for me, though, but that’s rather irrelevant, EV’s are so much better.
I’ve gone through eight ICE cars over the years, and I’m now on my second EV. I won’t ever return to an ICE car…
our ice car is ten times more comfortable than our ev
our ice car is ten times more comfortable than our ev
Counterpoint: I replaced my ICE Mercury Milan (Ford Fusion rebadge) with a Nissan Ariya EV that is so much more comfortable, it should have been marketed as an Infiniti
eh that’s not a fair comparison because the milan was probably what, 15 years old?
Ugh you shouldn’t be downvoted for an opinion. Especially about your own property.
a downvote is an opinion too
but this sub gets triggered when you say anything good about an ice car
I rented a Model 3 from Hertz (so literally some of the worst examples of those cars you can find) and within two years I had purchased a Model Y. That wasn’t for sure though, the Tesla part was in doubt until I test drove some competition. If the Mach-e had been as fun to drive as the Y I would have gotten it instead.
If you just want a weirdly zippy totally practical commuter car then the Bolt EUV is a spectacular option. It doesn’t have “all the bells and whistles” but it’s cost competitive and really fun to drive.
I don’t mind the missing buttons, but that’s me.
I did keep my ICE though, because it’s still a great car (+fun to drive) and has a lot of specifically great use cases like leaving at the airport in my Oil Field part of the country, or picking up fast food that I don’t want to mess up the carpets on my new car just yet.
Can you still easily find the Bolt? I know GM said they’re bringing it back, but I don’t think they’re doing so at the same price point. So as of now, your only options are the few new ones still around (good luck getting them at MSRP) and used ones, which is definitely an option.
Depends where you are but a lot of them still have new inventory. Used ones are great deals right now though.
Can you still easily find the Bolt?
Nah they’re just about done… after failing to buy a new one this past summer I switched to Nissan and Ford. Lots of used ones in my area though including some low mileage ones, gotta watch the battery on those though, GM was in a rough spot with those 3 years ago
We rented a Volvo C40 from Hertz as a manager special and we fell in love with it. It was such a nice vehicle to drive. It turned out to be on manager special because they couldn’t rent it out … it seems nobody is interested in an EV because it’s a little different.
I would say Mini over Volt for zippy totally practical commuter car.
I would look at other EV brands. The real pain is when you get musked.
As a near-future likely EV buyer who wants a M3-style car but is a bit wary of Tesla because it’s run by a loony – what are the “failure modes” of getting musked? What goes wrong?
So many, search for got musked. And the stories could fill enough pages to fill out the encyclopedia Britannica.
As a near-future likely EV buyer who wants a M3-style car but is a bit wary of Tesla because it’s run by a loony – what are the "failure modes
None really. 128,000 and no real issues. Battery has degraded from 2019 310 to 2023 275. That is a bit on the high side but expected. On top of that actual range is about 10% less than stated.
The issues with the Tesla are the lack of essential safeties and controls.
- No blind sport alert
- No rear cross traffic alert.
- Phantom braking on cruise control.
- Undependable lane keep alert.
- No essential controls. Trying to get heater to work defrosting and heating car in 20F and snowstorm while driving is worth your life.
- Single touch screen control is txting while driving.
- Windshield wiper/washing doesn’t work for driver’s side.
- Lack of rear windshield wiper.
Sounds like you got musked. All the cost cutting to provide a minimum viable product is why you get things like phantom breaking with cruise control when this has been a solved issue with other car manufacturers.
No essential controls that even a 22K Corolla comes with is another cost cutting measure.
Sounds like you got musked.
In a way, yes as the lack of basics like BLIS and RCTA are due entirely to Musk personal views vs. what customers want and proven safety features and the low cost to provide them.
This is good to see. None of those things except (6) and (7) bother me much.
In my current car the blind spot alert is a mirror and turning my head. There’s no phantom braking because there is no cruise control. There’s no rear wiper either.
So I’m not bothered by the lack of techno-fancy; “minimum viable product” is in fact what I want to buy.
In my current car the blind spot alert is a mirror and turning my head.
Good reason to make sure your next car has one of the top accident prevention safeties, the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS).
Same for Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
Each shows a 30% reduction in two of the most common accidents.
Lane keeping alerts, which are weak in Tesla, sometimes giving an alert, sometimes letting the car drift into oncoming traffic, is another safety Tesla doesn’t do well, if at all.
They say you don’t become a convert when you drive an electric car. You do so when you get back in your ICE vehicle.
We’ll see you soon bud. Just don’t got to teslas new or used inventory page. And close your ears when I tell you they just dropped prices by $3k. Oops.
See you on the other side
Yep. Test driving the Model 3 for me wasn’t what sold it. It was going back to my ICE and realizing how inefficient it was. It physically felt worse to drive.
Yea that sounds about right. I test drove a MY, got back into my 11 yr old CRV, and it felt not the same but also comfortable, and immediately drove to my sister’s to drive her 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid (another contender). It just felt normal, no different than my CRV. Bought the Tesla.
I remember telling people that about HDTV.
We were early adopters and had a Superbowl party. Almost to a person the reaction was “this is it?” Cause in your minds eye TV was always that clear.
Then later the HDTV signal was having issues so it flipped to the SD signal and for a few seconds until we all adjusted it looked like someone recreating the sb in Techmo Bowl. The whole room went “woah!”.
Now to be completely fair HDTVs were worse at showing sd than a tube TV, but still. There are definitely things there you notice the downgrade after way more than the upgrade.
My wife’s crossover feels like driving a school bus towing an aircraft carrier. I used to think it was zippy for it’s size.
Another good example would be when video games went from 30 frames per second to 60. You try out something running at 60 and think “OK, but 30 is still fine”. Then you go back to 30 and it looks like you’re playing a slideshow.
Anything wrong with the Tesla new or used inventory page?
Yes, it makes you want to buy : ) it’s where you see the latest deals.
(No, nothing wrong with it. )
Most likely sooner rather than later. I would have most likely bought one this weekend if I wasn’t waiting on the 2024 tax incentives to drop (I don’t qualify for federal ones as of now :()
It’s funny, the faster my car can accelerate the less I find myself needing to use it.
I absolutely love being able to accelerate and decorate at nearly the same speed with just 1 pedal.
I don’t find the need to drive fast all the time, but for 5 seconds to avoid something is fun, part because I can end the fun in the same manner.
My EV is in the garage atm (charger broke and waiting for the part from china), in the interim they’ve lent me a pertrol automatic. I was converted when I got my PHEV years ago but I’ve never been so much of a convert as now.
They say you don’t become a convert when you drive an electric car. You do so when you get back in your ICE vehicle.
100% true and is the reason why after owning a tesla last year I lasted 3 weeks when I swapped it for an f-pace before I went back to electric again
Hey there! I just had a horrible experience with my beloved 6 y/o F-Pace S which I’ve recently had no choice but to sell it due to a massive overheat. I’m considering ordering an electric car next, either a Fisker Ocean Extreme or a Rivian R1S, dual motor. The Genesis GV80 coupe looks amazing, but won’t be available for another year. The thought of fewer parts in an electric car is very intriguing to me as less can go wrong ( I know, software issues in electric cars are always the potential issue when a problem does arise). Can I ask which electric you switched to after the FPace, and how you’re enjoying it?
This is how I felt when I test drove the MG ZS Ev and Tesla Model S in 2020. The latter became a shitty car that needed expensive repairs once the warranty expired, but it was fun, and the drivability and comfort was amazing. It had a little more wheel noise than a 5-series or A6, but I learned to live with that.
The “Tesla grin” is real.
Same, but it was a rental Polestar 2 and I just got a new Volvo C40. (Similar cars, but there’s no nearby Polestar dealer).
Yeah, my toyota felt like a horse wagon straight from 1800’s after my model 3 test drive. Going to be an expensive rental, op :D
The only thing I like better in my ICE is the AM radio.
Going from a Tesla to a Civic is like going from a Mercedes SL Class to a Ford Pinto. In other words it’s a terrible comparison. I drive the AWD ID.4 for a whole day and the power was amazing. However, I drive an Acura RDX with 270 horsepower with a luxury interior. My RDX was very comparable I didn’t dread driving it at all.
An acquintance let me drive his Model 3 LR about in the summer of 2021. I drive a LNG operated ICE with a 6 speed stickshift and think about that M3 a lot. Mostly the power and the ease of driving linger in my mind. About two weeks ago I took a 2022 Hyundai Kona EV to a test drive and found out that what I miss is the EV driveline. The Kona has about 1/3 of power compared to the M3 but it was completely irrelevant. Now driving the ICE is even more frustrating. The ICE is paid and sadly we can not afford new car payments now.
But man, I want an ev some day!
Same for me. Three years ago I had my BMW at a dealership for some routine maintenance, and they loaned me an i3s for the weekend. The following week, I started shopping around for an EV in earnest.
While I had been following EVs for quite some time, I thought I wouldn’t need to hurry, my ICE still had several years of service life left in it. But the whole experience that came from switching from a loud manual-shifted gas guzzler to this absolutely silent smooth ride of an EV was an eye opener, and I didn’t really want to have to go back.
So, the best thing to convert staunch petrol advocates, is to loan them your EV for a day or two. ;-)