Jump to content
SAU Community

Just Went For A Spin In A Tesla Model S

PranK

By PranK,
in General Automotive Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

nick_7g Proficient

nick_7g

Posted
Posted

Fun fact

Mercedes Benz S Class 500 is the same price as a fully loaded Tesla Model S in the USA.

In Australia the fully loaded Model S is $140k cheaper than the S500!!!

You could buy two Model S's in Australia for the price of an S Class. Thats the definition of gouging.

That said, for the same money, its a no brainer for me to go for an S Class. Much nicer and more refined car inside (and an awesome V8 twin turbo).

  • 2 weeks later...
PranK Grand Master

PranK

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Looks good, but the massive screen is a little gaudy.

I thought the same thing. Not sure if it was the sheer size of it, or simply that it looks like it's just been placed there and isn't really a part of the car.

Yeah but apart from home where can you charge them?

Apparently anywhere with an outlet. I asked if it needed 3 phase and the guy said no. So, I guess you just pack your phone and laptop charger next to the car charger and hope you have the ground-floor motel room.

Humbla Grand Master

Humbla

Posted
Posted

So, going into The Star today and noticed what initially looked like a new Jag - the front and back were obscured by posts, so don't get upset at that mistake! :)

A new Tesla Model S!

Amazing looking car, had some serious presence just sitting out the front. After a minute or two a young bloke comes over to chat to me about it, he was the Tesla rep.

It is one of 4 in the country and they are doing test drives out of The Star at the moment because they dont have a Sydney office. He asked if we wanted to go for a spin around the block.

He didn't have to ask twice.

How cool you lucky bugger. :-)

Two things grabbed my attention when I got in, the first was the massive screen in the middle. I'm writing this on a 22" monitor and if it was flipped on its side I reckon it'd be similar in size. All controls in the car are performed through this screen and it has user profiles to set the car up just the way you like it (screen display, climate control, seat position etc.)

The second thing was that this felt very much like a German car. The doors 'thud' when they close, the interior finish was impeccable, the leather was gorgeous - I had expected something of a luxury Jeep kind of interior and I was very pleasantly surprised.

Silence! Absolute silence! Seriously eery to have such little noise - especially from a car with some serious poke.

As with any decent rep, he gave it a bit of a squirt and jeezuzz .. I didn't know what to say! 0-100 in 4-point-something seconds he said, but it felt so much quicker because of the immense torque! 310kw and 600+ nm of torque! And the bloody thing still isn't making any noise!

Anyway, some pics from me and my mates phones. Bummed I didn't have a proper camera.

gallery_3_5684_300081.jpg

gallery_3_5684_319153.jpg

gallery_3_5684_1170777.jpg

gallery_3_5684_381021.jpg

gallery_3_5684_457074.jpg

$185k as it sits but he said the base model will start from $100k which I reckon is pretty good.

  • Like 1
luke gtr Grand Master

luke gtr

Posted
Posted

I thought the same thing. Not sure if it was the sheer size of it, or simply that it looks like it's just been placed there and isn't really a part of the car.

Apparently anywhere with an outlet. I asked if it needed 3 phase and the guy said no. So, I guess you just pack your phone and laptop charger next to the car charger and hope you have the ground-floor motel room.

I think if they went with an 11" screen, it could have been integrated alot smoother.

And as for the charging, it may be like the nissan leaf.

Has a decent power station at home, but can be charged from any 240v source.

Aegats Rising Star

Aegats

Posted
Posted

I thought the same thing. Not sure if it was the sheer size of it, or simply that it looks like it's just been placed there and isn't really a part of the car.

Apparently anywhere with an outlet. I asked if it needed 3 phase and the guy said no. So, I guess you just pack your phone and laptop charger next to the car charger and hope you have the ground-floor motel room.

In the states they have those super charger stations so works for them.. So lets say you want to drive to Melb it'll take you a few days based on charging times from a standard wall outlet. Normal 240 will take 1hr to get a range of 46km

I'd like to drive one just to see what its like. Every review I seen says they are a great car.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • GTSBoy
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      The rain is the best time to push to the edge of the grip limit. Water lubrication reduces the consumption of rubber without reducing the fun. I take pleasure in driving around the outside of numpties in Audis, WRXs, BRZs, etc, because they get all worried in the wet. They warm up faster than the engine oil does.
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      When they're dead cold, and in the wet, they're not very fun. RE003 are alright, they do harden very quickly and turn into literally $50 Pace tyres.
    • GTSBoy
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      Yeah, I thought that Reedy's video was quite good because he compared old and new (as in, well used and quite new) AD09s, with what is generally considered to be the fast Yokohama in this category (ie, sporty road/track tyres) and a tyre that people might be able to use to extend the comparo out into the space of more expensive European tyres, being the Cup 2. No-one would ever agree that the Cup 2 is a poor tyre - many would suggest that it is close to the very top of the category. And, for them all to come out so close to each other, and for the cheaper tyre in the test to do so well against the others, in some cases being even faster, shows that (good, non-linglong) tyres are reaching a plateau in terms of how good they can get, and they're all sitting on that same plateau. Anyway, on the AD08R, AD09, RS4 that I've had on the car in recent years, I've never had a problem in the cold and wet. SA gets down to 0-10°C in winter. Not so often, but it was only 4°C when I got in the car this morning. Once the tyres are warm (ie, after about 2km), you can start to lay into them. I've never aquaplaned or suffered serious off-corner understeer or anything like that in the wet, that I would not have expected to happen with a more normal tyre. I had some RE003s, and they were shit in the dry, shit in the wet, shit everywhere. I would rate the RS4 and AD0x as being more trustworthy in the wet, once the rubber is warm. Bridgestone should be ashamed of the RE003.
    • Kinkstaah
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By Kinkstaah · Posted

      This is why I gave the disclaimer about how I drive in the wet which I feel is pretty important. I have heard people think RS4's are horrible in the rain, but I have this feeling they must be driving (or attempting to drive) anywhere close to the grip limit. I legitimately drive at the speed limit/below speed the limit 100% of the time in the rain. More than happy to just commute along at 50kmh behind a train of cars in 5th gear etc. I do agree with you with regards to the temp and the 'quality' of the tyre Dose. Most UHP tyres aren't even up to temperature on the road anyway, even when going mad initial D canyon carving. It would be interesting to see a not-up-to-temp UHP tyre compared against a mere... normal...HP tyre at these temperatures. I don't think you're (or me in this case) is actually picking up grip with an RS4/AD09 on the road relative to something like a RE003 because the RS4/AD09 is not up to temp and the RE003 is closer to it's optimal operating window.
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      RB20DE NEO smallbox clutch.

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      Either the bearing has been installed backwards OR the gearbox input shaft bearing is loosey goosey.   When in doubt, just put in a Samsonas in.
×
×
  • Create New...