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Every time I think I ought to test drive a Tesla in order to do my due diligence for an electric car, I read another thing like this. Or it's autopilot crashin
by wffurr 5y ago
Every time I think I ought to test drive a Tesla in order to do my due diligence for an electric car, I read another thing like this. Or it's autopilot crashing again. Or more reliability issues.
I think I will hold out for a more traditional design. My Bolt's touchscreen isn't terribly obnoxious, and it still has physical controls for a lot of things, including the defroster.
If only it could charge faster on road trips, max is 50 kW. Typical is 40.
- mft_ 5y agoThere's no harm in trying one. Outside of the minority of cars with reliability issues, they're great cars IMO - and that's coming from a life-long 'car person'. Once you learn to use it appropriately (as in, what it's capable and not capable of, and that you do need to stay engaged in the driving process despite it) even Autopilot is pretty useful too.
- 2muchcoffeeman 5y ago>Once you learn to use it appropriately But we just want a normal car with an electric engine!
- ineedasername 5y agoYep, ditch all the shiny bells & whistles, autopilot, massive screen, etc., and in turn drop the price by $3k to $5k. But I'm not sure that's the market Tesla want to be in that market. Other automakers might get there though.
- rsynnott 5y agoHaving traditional controls would probably increase the price. There's a reason that so many car manufacturers are adding touchscreens; it's _cheap_.
- practice9 5y agoYou are not required to use the Autopilot though
- mey 5y agoWhen I informed my spouse that there wasn't windshield wiper controls on the steering wheel stalks, she pretty much immediately struck Tesla from her future car purchase plans.
- mft_ 5y agoThe model 3 does have windshield wiper controls on the steering wheel stalks. I think it's only the few cars (new S, X?) with the new yoke that don't?
- marcins 5y ago> The model 3 does have windshield wiper controls on the steering wheel stalks. Well, you can push the button on the end of the left stalk to trigger a wipe - and that causes the controls to appear as a "card" on the screen if you want to set the wipers manually.
- mey 5y agoThe button acts as a mist setting/washer fluid while opening a panel in the touchscreen UI to then tweak auto/high/low/off. Tactile controls, that can be operated by feel without taking your eyes off the road, are important to both of us. Voice commands for higher functions/problem spaces makes a ton of sense. It's why I never overrode the safety lock in my care that disabled the touch screen when it's moving more than 10 mph. If the cars voice system or Google's voice system can't get it, it is probably high level enough that it can wait until I stop. If it's low level/time sensitive enough, I want a dedicated input.
- mft_ 5y agoI hear you, but many 'added value' features in a car need to be learned to some degree. You can just choose to drive to without these - and it's a good basic car if you do.
- rodgerd 5y agoI fully expect my first electric car will, when it arrives, be a Hyundai or Renault/Nissan, or somesuch from a company that builds cars which happen to have an electric drivetrain, rather than whatever this shit is.
- mro_name 5y agobe confident – an electric car has about the total-cost-of-ownership co2 footprint as a diesel (sic!). I ride a bike or go by foot. Rural germany, however.
- speedgoose 5y agoWhat is your source ? This is very much against what I read many times, unless you have the dirtiest electricity grid and the cleanest diesel production.
- cure 5y ago> an electric car has about the total-cost-of-ownership co2 footprint as a diesel (sic!) That's nonsense, ICE propaganda which has been thoroughly debunked. Cf. https://energypost.eu/latest-data-shows-lifetime-emissions-of-evs-lower-than-petrol-diesel/ https://energypost.eu/latest-data-shows-lifetime-emissions-o... > I ride a bike or go by foot Excellent! Can't be beat in terms of co2 footprint!
- mro_name 5y agoI refer to 'Pedelection – Verlagerung- und Klimaeffekte durch Pedelecnutzung im Individualverkehr', Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg, 2012 I didn't do the research my own. You's is more recent, though.
- Fatnino 5y agoI think every other manufacturer already has an EV. I didn't check so there might be one or two that don't yet. In any case, go test drive one of those to see how you like EVs.
- wffurr 5y agoMy Bolt is a great car, just shorter range and slower charging than I would like.
- rootusrootus 5y agoThe one possible upside is that GM will have to keep subsidizing the price to make them competitive, which means $25K will be normal. For people who just want a runabout second car to do daily driving and never visit a gas station, the slow DC fast charging and 258 mile range isn't a deal killer. They do need to get the spontaneous combustion issue fixed, though.
- ineedasername 5y agoDidn't Chevy have to issue a recall of all of the <= 2021 models this past summer? During which they couldn't be parked inside, charged above 90%, or below a certain point (else there was a risk if fire.) I think some (all?) We're also supposed to park at least 50 ft away from a residential structure. A software update to address the issue nerfed battery life to 80%, though I think they've still promised to replace the batteries too. I'm sticking with ICE for a bit longer.
- Fatnino 5y agoEveryone I know with a Bolt doesn't do any of these things. They also didn't go get the update. The batteries only have the problems if 2 different manufacturering defects happen to occur in the same battery. What I really want to see, but don't expect to happen, is removable batteries for all EVs. Chevy now has to eventually change the battery pack on all Bolts. While they are in there why not install an adaptor that accepts some hypothetical standard battery blocks that can be interchanged at battery swapping stations. Then long charging times can be skipped. No need for the battery to be owned by the car. Make it more like a cash refund for recycling bottles business model.
- alfor 5y agoActually they are about 10X safer that the average. - Tesla: 1 crash per 4.31 million miles - Ind/average: 1 crash per 0.48 million miles
- rootusrootus 5y agoApples, oranges, etc, by now we should be past spreading this kind of misinformation.
- alfor 5y agoWhat is your source of better information?
- speedgoose 5y agoYou mean kW (power) and not kWh (energy).
- rootusrootus 5y agoThe Bolt also has CarPlay. That's a pretty significant advantage IMO.
- MBCook 5y agoI believe basically every electric car coming out has that except for Tesla.
- geerlingguy 5y agoAlmost every new car has that except for Tesla, these days. (I wish it were easier to retrofit in my 2008 Camry...)
- dwighttk 5y agoBest Buy has receivers starting at $260
- aduitsis 5y agoHello, honest question, can't you install an aftermarket car stereo that has CarPlay from any reputable manufacturer?
- rootusrootus 5y agoDepends on the specific car (and frequently the trim level, as well). A lot of manufacturers have tightly integrated infotainment and you can't do a retrofit if nobody makes the right trim panel to allow it. Gone are the days when everyone used DIN or 2DIN.
- aduitsis 5y agoI understand, the car my not have a (2)DIN slot. That's a definite regression. And very costly if your car stereo dies out of warranty I might add.
- rodgerd 5y ago