Tesla Model 3

[thinfourth]

So whats the thoughts on it

The beginning of the end or the opening of a new chapter?

Revealed on friday and already 325,000 deposits taken

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/7/113851 ... -elon-musk

I am half tempted to put my money down

But i am a tight git

[David]

A good friend bought a Leaf last year and he has pre-ordered one. I think there's little doubt that the technology is on the brink of becoming mainstream. I'm just not convinced about the 'green' credentials that seem to be selling electric cars. But I suspect in 10 years time there'll be a lot fewer models with internal combustion engines coming off production lines.

[das882]

I took a Tesla 3 taxi from Schipol to Rotterdam on Monday, I was very impressed with it and the driver was saying that his company has a whole fleet of them now...7 I think. The main criticism he had was the build quality as everything seemed a bit flimsy but I suppose that everything is made as light as possible. The other thing he said was the cost but the Dutch government are giving buyers some sort of insentive. I must admit it's a very nice looking car, quiet and comfy at least in the back anyway.

[BigD]

My deposit is down and I'm on the list.

I really like what tesla are doing.

[campbell]

Watching much more closely now too.

Need to understand residuals better first.

[pete]

Forget about the green credentials (although it is an interesting topic) the electric cars are just far better tools for "general getting about in" than petrol cars.

I'm on the list too.

[Stevoraith]

I really fancy one as well.
0-60 in under 6s with the equivalent of 200+mpg (price wise)- what's not to like?

I'll admit I haven't been in a Tesla though and I have heard a few people say that interior quality doesn't match rivals at the same price point.

I'm probably more interested in a petrol/electric hybrid though if being realistic.

I didn't even realise BMW did a thing called an active hybrid 3 until recently. It's a 335i with a 50bhp electric motor which means it has 335bhp and can do a real-world 40mpg while sounding like the petrol straight-six that it is.
Very tempting- although I think it's now been replaced by the 3series plug-in hybrid.

[Dominic]

I quite like the look of it. As long as I am still able to buy petrol and use my elise, I am happy for things to move on.

Same sentiment as Campbell, will be interested to see how residuals go. I heard a few years ago that the cold winters around 2010, left prius batteries significantly ruined, and therefore left the cars with terrible residuals.

[woody]

I really fancy one as well.
0-60 in under 6s with the equivalent of 200+mpg (price wise)- what's not to like?

I'll admit I haven't been in a Tesla though and I have heard a few people say that interior quality doesn't match rivals at the same price point.

I'm probably more interested in a petrol/electric hybrid though if being realistic.

I didn't even realise BMW did a thing called an active hybrid 3 until recently. It's a 335i with a 50bhp electric motor which means it has 335bhp and can do a real-world 40mpg while sounding like the petrol straight-six that it is.
Very tempting- although I think it's now been replaced by the 3series plug-in hybrid.

330e now;

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-review ... id-review/

[j2 lot]

Another one tempted by a Tesla here too.

[Stevoraith]

Indeed, searching for info on the 330e was how I found out about the activehybrid3!

A 2.0 four isn't as appealing as a 3.0 6 though.

Man maths (and admittedly absolutely zero real calculations) is telling me that it running a full electric car (i3?) and something like a 335i may be as cheap as running the two diesels we currently run.
I very much like the thought of that.....

[campbell]

Oh dear, Steve. It's the slippery slope!

[tut]

"I took a Tesla 3 taxi from Schipol to Rotterdam on Monday,"

As far as I was aware the Tesla 3 is not even on sale yet and will not be for quite a while. The final layout of the interior has not been decided yet and it will not actually be released until 2017.

tut

[David]

Residuals may be a lot worse than for conventional technologies. The same friend had a hybrid Yaris before the Leaf and (perhaps foolishly) decided to sell it privately after two years. It took six months and in the end he all but gave it away. The technology and potential high repair cost seemed to scare potential buyers.

The technology is not with problems either, he decided to do a 300 mile trip in the Leaf and planned all the charging stops using the high speed (140 amp) charging facilities that are at most services now. What he didn't count on was the high battery temperatures encountered when using these chargers several times in a row, causing it to trip out of charge early and reduce range. Not an insurmountable design problem to solve, but if you're designing a car for 200+ miles range, the charge cycle may well be limited by temperature.

Also, the charge point, although for multiple cars, can only charge one at a time at these high speed (high current) rates. So perhaps a little bit of spin has been added to the marketing of these facilities. Imagine queuing for a petrol pump where each customer took an hour to fill up. Again not an insurmountable problem but the power requirements of these charging facilities will be scary if (and when) it becomes mainstream.

[BigD]

"I took a Tesla 3 taxi from Schipol to Rotterdam on Monday,"

As far as I was aware the Tesla 3 is not even on sale yet and will not be for quite a while. The final layout of the interior has not been decided yet and it will not actually be released until 2017.

tut

I think it would've been a model s.

Saw a few in Holland recently as they appear to use them for taxis quite a lot.