Tesla Test Drive

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Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Dandock wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:14 am Surely, Peteski, the number of faults, teething troubles etc are relative. I'm not knocking the product but thinking that maybe you're being quite philosophical and forgiving in favour of the tech and driving experience. Had a volume manufacturer launched with the same percentage of issues there would be an outcry.
But that's the whole point, there rarely is an outcry when a volume manufacturer has minor quality issues. Take Porsche for example. The stock engine in the 996 had very serious reliability issues (IMS, RMS, D-chunking etc) due to it's open-deck design and lubrication, which even led to independent specialists like Autofarm and Hartech making a whole business out of fixing them. Porsche just swept the whole thing under the carpet, with only minor updates to the IMS bearings, which didn't really solve most of the issues. Engines were quietly replaced under warranty (with units containing the same inherent flaws) and few people even knew the extent of the problem. But it was very real indeed and only fixed years later with the introduction of the DFI engines in the 997.2.

Imagine if Tesla had such major powertrain issues. The press would have a field day. Instead they just pick on largely trivial stuff that you see on all sorts of cars, from Ford to Mercedes. Porsche build quality is relatively good in the industry, but hardly perfect. I would say Tesla make more effort to rectify faults than most other manufacturers too.

Having said all that, Tesla did obviously mess up with the Model X release, which was clearly not ready. Early builds had a lot of reported faults, mostly minor, but a lot of them. The press slated Tesla for it of course, but they did actually respond to nearly every issue reported and quite quickly too. But it certainly damaged their fragile reputation and gave the haters plenty of ammo!

Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Col Lamb wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:34 am But surely Mike a major manufacturer does indeed release a car with major issues, every JLR car!
:twisted:
Great example of truly shocking build quality. The JLR forums are a train wreck of unhappy owners with most threads discussing how to reject their cars!
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Post by Paul »

...and on manufacturer quality issues being swept away, how have VW managed to push the diesel cheat software issue back to the miscellaneous pages of the papers so quickly and efficiently?😉
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Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Drag tests always annoy Tesla haters too! Just read the comments below the video. Some people are even still in total denial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvk18vx-nrY

Of course straight line acceleration is not important to your average supercar buyer, not at all, lol. Actually the thing with the Tesla P100D is that on the road the power feels more or less infinite and yet super smooth under your foot. I have never experienced anything like it and especially not in a large saloon or SUV.

For me it just shows how much EVs are going to shift the goalposts over the coming years. If a large first generation EV saloon car like this can already out-drag every ICE Supercar you throw at it, how are they going to look against a Tesla Roadster or any other future EV Supercar? I know Lamborghini are already looking at an EV concept car, but they all need to get on with it to stay in the performance game.
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Post by Dandock »

Peteski wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:54 am
Col Lamb wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:34 am But surely Mike a major manufacturer does indeed release a car with major issues, every JLR car!
:twisted:
Great example of truly shocking build quality. The JLR forums are a train wreck of unhappy owners with most threads discussing how to reject their cars!
Indeed - JLR owners walk away whereas Tesla owners react more like disciples. It would suggest, perhaps, that it says a lot for the promise the product offers.
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Post by Retired »

Have a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPbTdSr1X-w

This guy is a petrol head and really into Porsches. See what he has to say about Teslas.

His reviews are worth watching unfortunately he has stopped producing them.
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Post by LLL »

Retired wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 3:14 pm Have a look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPbTdSr1X-w

This guy is a petrol head and really into Porsches. See what he has to say about Teslas.

His reviews are worth watching unfortunately he has stopped producing them.
Yeah, that's a good one. Guido is a really great guy and agree that it's sad that he stopped reviewing cars. Not sure what the reason is though?
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Post by LLL »

If even Jeremy Clarkson is getting soft I'm not sure what on earth is happening? Didn't think something like this could come out of his mouth :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... KEN-cxmGw8
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Dandock wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 2:43 pm
Peteski wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:54 am
Col Lamb wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:34 am But surely Mike a major manufacturer does indeed release a car with major issues, every JLR car!
:twisted:
Great example of truly shocking build quality. The JLR forums are a train wreck of unhappy owners with most threads discussing how to reject their cars!
Indeed - JLR owners walk away whereas Tesla owners react more like disciples. It would suggest, perhaps, that it says a lot for the promise the product offers.
I think that may have been true of early Tesla adopters, but I think Luke is more typical of recent owners i.e. not much to actually complain about, especially with Model S.

We were kindly loaned a Model X demo car for the weekend and it was completely faultless for the short time we had it. No dodgy panel fits and no rattles or squeaks with 5K miles on the clock. Couldn't fault it at all, except the interior trim (tan leather with wood trim) wasn't to my personal taste. But soon forgotten with the sublime driving experience and practicality. Kids and wife were totally in love with it too and sad to see it go back this morning. When we borrowed a Land Rover Disco Sport diesel back in the summer, it was practical enough but bland, low rent interior and completely gutless in comparison to the Tesla. It also had a very dubious tailgate fit - like half an inch off on one side. I'm so glad we didn't go down that route for a family wagon.

So I've now driven pretty much all the current crop of big SUVs and I don't think anything touches the Tesla Model X for its overall blend of space, tech, performance, luxury and fun factor. Something I'd almost given up on with big family haulers!
Deleted User 1874

Post by Deleted User 1874 »

Luke wrote: Fri Dec 01, 2017 5:41 pm If even Jeremy Clarkson is getting soft I'm not sure what on earth is happening? Didn't think something like this could come out of his mouth :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... KEN-cxmGw8
The thing is Luke, it's hard to take a test drive in a current Tesla and not be impressed on some level, even if you are a complete petrol-head.
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