Electric Vehicles: General topics

[quagmire]

I was able to get one much sooner because they had the exact same model with my specs at a nearby dealership, it seems like a lot of people back out of their purchases, the only difference is the color is blue and I had to pay the extra $1000 for that.

I drove it about 80 miles in heavy traffic and got a feel for the autopilot system and all I can say is that it's worlds above and beyond the BMW system. First, it never lost the lines a single time, the BMW lost them about 1/4 of the time on this same drive. The nags are completely reasonable and I was surprised at how long until it finally kicked in and when it did, the nudge was really simple to reset. I see absolutely no need to circumvent this at all, it's clearly designed really well.

It's a pleasure to drive and was just as smooth as my 2020 5 series BMW. There are a lot of controls to learn so I'll take my time working with it although it's currently installing an update to 2021.44.25.2 and I'm not sure if it will change the screen significantly but it's probably a good time anyway as I'm still learning it.

The acceleration was shocking, man I can't see how something like that is even legal, it literally slammed my head back pinned me to the seat in a second flat and I don't think this is even the sporty version of the car, it's the long range.

So far I'm pretty amazed with all of it, it's definitely next level and I can see why there are so many on the road. Plus, I've never had an easier experience purchasing a car, took all of 20 minutes and I just picked the car up with the cards in it and my phone already paired, didn't even have to go into the dealership.

Nice! Blue is a nice color. Is it a '22? Red would have been my second choice, but hard to spend $2K for that. Plus the $2500 on top since I would have done the 19" wheels and white interior.

Just saw the news drop that latest deliveries/production run in N. America are getting the Ryzen and lithium 12V battery. Manage to get lucky with getting the Ryzen powered computer? Believe the way to that is in the settings-> software-> additional info.

 

[Eric]

Nice! Blue is a nice color. Is it a '22? Red would have been my second choice, but hard to spend $2K for that. Plus the $2500 on top since I would have done the 19" wheels and white interior.

Just saw the news drop that latest deliveries/production run in N. America are getting the Ryzen and lithium 12V battery. Manage to get lucky with getting the Ryzen powered computer? Believe the way to that is in the settings-> software-> additional info.

I thought it may be a 22 but all the software versions say 21 so it's hard to say. I did look for this and the only additional info I found (under the self driving) in this area doesn't mention anything about the battery.

 

[User.45]

The Ioniq 5 seems like the most promising EV coming. The only thing it's missing is the 3rd row, but I would rarely use that feature anyway.

 

[SuperMatt]

The Ioniq 5 seems like the most promising EV coming. The only thing it's missing is the 3rd row, but I would rarely use that feature anyway.

Looks great. The Kia EV6 is basically a slightly different version of this...



Review from WIRED:

Kia's EV6 Is One Fine Tech-Boosted Ride

The Korean company's superb new electric flagship gets so much right it's almost a shame to point out the few missteps.

www.wired.com

Good to see Kia/Hyundai really making some nice products.

 

[User.45]

Looks great. The Kia EV6 is basically a slightly different version of this...



Review from WIRED:

Kia's EV6 Is One Fine Tech-Boosted Ride

The Korean company's superb new electric flagship gets so much right it's almost a shame to point out the few missteps.

www.wired.com

Good to see Kia/Hyundai really making some nice products.

Yeah, it's the same car in essence, but AFAIR the center console is fixed in the Kia. By making some some estimations, I could sell my I3 and get a 3-row Model Y (with my preferred specs), or I could keep my I3 and buy a specced out Ioniq 5. ModelY might be a better investment as its resale value will probably remain higher, even despite the reduced tax cut. On the other hand, again I am worried about ModelY falling apart by the time I pay off the loan on it...

 

[DT]

I was able to get one much sooner because they had the exact same model with my specs at a nearby dealership, it seems like a lot of people back out of their purchases, the only difference is the color is blue and I had to pay the extra $1000 for that.

Holy hell dude, I duck out for a few and you get your new car like 3 months ahead of schedule

I had one of the fast-er-est order-to-delivery times ever, I have to assume it was like yours, i.e., an abandoned order that just happen to be my exact specs.

The acceleration was shocking, man I can't see how something like that is even legal, it literally slammed my head back pinned me to the seat in a second flat and I don't think this is even the sporty version of the car, it's the long range.

I have the Performance flavor which drops the 0-60 more than second - it's nuts and I've had some fast vehicles. Around town performance, the M3P is stunningly quick. I mean, for some additional references I had an ~800HP Supra, a Z06 that was a head/cam/intake/exhaust/headers set (~500HP) that was also lightened to just a hair over #3000, but my M3P would blow them into the weeds in the 0-40/50/60 range.

The mix of massive instant torque, very little mechanical losses / no gears / no transmission, an incredibly competent AWD system just makes it nasty fast. And consistent too, there's no launch mode, no brake/boost loading, just stopped >> full throttle and it's gone, with barely any noise

So far I'm pretty amazed with all of it, it's definitely next level and I can see why there are so many on the road. Plus, I've never had an easier experience purchasing a car, took all of 20 minutes and I just picked the car up with the cards in it and my phone already paired, didn't even have to go into the dealership.

Range + Charging Network + Performance + Price, there were zero alternatives for me when I purchased in June '21, and still nothing in Dec '21. Maybe when the lease is up in a couple of years, I'll have (from my perspective) some great alternatives where I can really cross shop.

 

[Herdfan]

This may be a dumb question, but will any of the autopilot systems let you exceed the speed limit? ie. set the cruise control at 75 in a 70 and the turn on the autopilot?

 

[Eric]

Holy hell dude, I duck out for a few and you get your new car like 3 months ahead of schedule

I had one of the fast-er-est order-to-delivery times ever, I have to assume it was like yours, i.e., an abandoned order that just happen to be my exact specs.

I have the Performance flavor which drops the 0-60 more than second - it's nuts and I've had some fast vehicles. Around town performance, the M3P is stunningly quick. I mean, for some additional references I had an ~800HP Supra, a Z06 that was a head/cam/intake/exhaust/headers set (~500HP) that was also lightened to just a hair over #3000, but my M3P would blow them into the weeds in the 0-40/50/60 range.

The mix of massive instant torque, very little mechanical losses / no gears / no transmission, an incredibly competent AWD system just makes it nasty fast. And consistent too, there's no launch mode, no brake/boost loading, just stopped >> full throttle and it's gone, with barely any noise

Range + Charging Network + Performance + Price, there were zero alternatives for me when I purchased in June '21, and still nothing in Dec '21. Maybe when the lease is up in a couple of years, I'll have (from my perspective) some great alternatives where I can really cross shop.

I had to laugh when I looked in the upgrades section and saw you can shave off 1.5 seconds for $2000, man that has to be the most shameless update I've ever seen. Say what you want about Elon Musk but that dude knows how to milk the well-to-do. I'm personally not paying for FSD either, as it is this car is buggy enough, can't see paying $10,000 for beta-ware.

This may be a dumb question, but will any of the autopilot systems let you exceed the speed limit? ie. set the cruise control at 75 in a 70 and the turn on the autopilot?

I accidentally exceeded the speed limit on autopilot and it screamed at me, setting off all sorts of alarms and warnings, then it penalized me and disabled the system for "the rest of the drive". This happened to me when someone cut me off as well earlier in the trip. Love this car but that is bullshit. Felt like Weaselboy developed it or something.

 

[SuperMatt]

I do not like the auto-driving stuff. It’s clear most of it is half-baked. Also, based on the crappy quality of software I see in car systems, I do NOT want to entrust my safety at 60+ MPH to those developers.

And one can look at the Tesla software updates as “my car can go faster with just a software update!” But if you look at it another way, they intentionally handicapped your vehicle and made you pay extra to use its innate capabilities.

 

[Herdfan]

I do not like the auto-driving stuff. It’s clear most of it is half-baked. Also, based on the crappy quality of software I see in car systems, I do NOT want to entrust my safety at 60+ MPH to those developers.

Yeah Ford's Sync is in like its 3rd generation and they still can't match the Sirius channel logo with the preset. Not a safety issue, but if you can't get that right, what else isn't right?

 

[Eric]

I think they likely had to implement safety protocols and that can make it restrictive, aside from that the actual autopilot on the freeway is extremely functional on the Tesla. If you want to take it casually to your destination you can go for hundreds of miles with little to no intervention.

 

[User.45]

I do not like the auto-driving stuff. It’s clear most of it is half-baked. Also, based on the crappy quality of software I see in car systems, I do NOT want to entrust my safety at 60+ MPH to those developers.

And one can look at the Tesla software updates as “my car can go faster with just a software update!” But if you look at it another way, they intentionally handicapped your vehicle and made you pay extra to use its innate capabilities.

My concern is more like, these cars are way too fast for AP to misbehave with a 0 to 60 of 4 sec.

Looks great. The Kia EV6 is basically a slightly different version of this...



Review from WIRED:

Kia's EV6 Is One Fine Tech-Boosted Ride

The Korean company's superb new electric flagship gets so much right it's almost a shame to point out the few missteps.

www.wired.com

Good to see Kia/Hyundai really making some nice products.

I looked it up, so Ioniq5 has back seats that can roll back and forth, and the center console can also slide. With my height, it becomes very uncomfortable with anybody behind me on the back seat, so having the ability to modulate trunk space and recline back seats is a huge thing. My kids kicking my seat is the bane of my existence.

 

[DT]

This may be a dumb question, but will any of the autopilot systems let you exceed the speed limit? ie. set the cruise control at 75 in a 70 and the turn on the autopilot?

Sure, you can set a fixed speed at whatever, and the more advanced systems use some kind of "speed awareness" where the system adapts to the actual posted limit, and you can set a +- vs. that limit, on the Tesla it allows for an absolute amount (like 5 over) or a relative over.

And one can look at the Tesla software updates as “my car can go faster with just a software update!” But if you look at it another way, they intentionally handicapped your vehicle and made you pay extra to use its innate capabilities.

It's an additional bit of performance for people who want it, and for people who don't - i.e., it's fast enough, and/or want the best range from the model, they can opt not to pay the extra. It also keeps the model variants down, otherwise, they'd need something like a Model 3 LR __and__ a Model 3 LR Type-R

It's no different than things like this from Ford:

It's an OEM, warranty backed performance update - Tesla just happens to be able to do it via an OTA update vs. bolting on parts and flashing the ECU via the OBD port.

 

[DT]

I looked it up, so Ioniq5 has back seats that can roll back and forth, and the center console can also slide. With my height, it becomes very uncomfortable with anybody behind me on the back seat, so having the ability to modulate trunk space and recline back seats is a huge thing. My kids kicking my seat is the bane of my existence.

Adjustable position (front-to-rear) back seats is a fantastic design touch (especially in that market segment). I've often wondered why more mid-sized sedans don't offer that, er, I guess because you're just supposed to buy the next size up model ...

 

[Eric]

Was out taking photos of wind turbines in the valley and decided to snap some of the new car as well.

 

[User.45]

Adjustable position (front-to-rear) back seats is a fantastic design touch (especially in that market segment). I've often wondered why more mid-sized sedans don't offer that, er, I guess because you're just supposed to buy the next size up model ...

Yeah, I’ve only seen this feature standard with 3row cars/vans.

Was out taking photos of wind turbines in the valley and decided to snap some of the new car as well.

View attachment 10679

Very thematic with the windmills. Wondering how much does it cost to insure these machines? Two years ago that was one of the biggest turn offs for me.

 

[Eric]

Yeah, I’ve only seen this feature standard with 3row cars/vans.

Very thematic with the windmills. Wondering how much does it cost to insure these machines? Two years ago that was one of the biggest turn offs for me.

Good question, it's actually comparable to the BMW, maybe just a tad more. We were worried it was going to be higher but were pleasantly surprised.

 

[DT]

Good question, it's actually comparable to the BMW, maybe just a tad more. We were worried it was going to be higher but were pleasantly surprised.

For reference, my previous car:

2019 Mustang GT Convertible (all options), MSRP ~$58K
$945/year insurance

Replaced by:

2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance, MSRP ~$58K
$907/year insurance

Same insurance company, same stout coverage, two cars, house with the same company for 20 years. I think insurance prices have normalized a bit, initially there were a lot of companies that lacked historical data, etc., and so they were kind of nuts with pricing. A buddy of mine added a Tesla, and his company he'd been with for decades gave him a rate that was like 3X the comparable ICE vehicle, so he went to a different company for that one car. About a year later, they called him for an insurance review, and offered a rate that was significantly lower than the previous quote (basically the same as his one off coverage for that car).

 

[DT]

Very thematic with the windmills.

Yeah, that's just terrific. Someone over on TMC posted this pic of a Tesla at this old, closed, broke down gas station, it was like a still from a sci-fi movie

 

[Eric]

Yeah, that's just terrific. Someone over on TMC posted this pic of a Tesla at this old, closed, broke down gas station, it was like a still from a sci-fi movie

Recently stumbled onto that site, what a monster! Also uses Xenforo.