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| The car of the future |
| Sunday, January 04, 2015 |
Given the number of miles we put in our cars in commute, when it was time to replace the old Accord, DH and I agreed it had to be an electric car. But I also wanted a fancy car like a BMW or Audi or Mercedes. Because, well, I have never owned a fancy car before. My mid life crisis could have something to do with it. I had my eyes set on Tesla for a while, but DH was not on board at all, as expected.
Since the Tesla factory is in Fremont only, I set up a test drive for a Saturday this past October. DH was sold on the car after the test drive but not on the price. The test drive was out of the world is an understatement. It was a breeze to drive. Since we have not ever had a new car before leave alone a luxury car, we lapped up all the luxuries the car had to offer like happy little puppies. DH kept asking how it compares with Leaf and Volt to the salesman. Only after I came home I realized it was not a fair comparison at all. Its competitors were Mercedes and Porsches. May be even a Ferrari :--P
Since we are putting so many miles anyway we wanted an electric car, and since I wanted a BMW, which would cost a big lump sum anyway, we went home looked at the finances and decided to go for it. The next Saturday we put in the order! We had two weeks to confirm the order. The ordering was the car was seamless and easy. We could go back and forth on what we wanted in the car. The delivery was set to end of December. The Monday after, as I was driving, I started noticing cars around me for the first time, looking for Teslas. I saw atleast 2 on 880 on the way to work everyday.
It is a different story just as we were getting the down payment ready, unexpected expenses cropped up. water heater trouble, I dented my older car, acura had a milestone service. Not sure if expenses were biting our hands only because we had a big payment to make.
Dec 31st dawned bright and early. We were all super excited. No plans for the day. 11AM appointment for Tesla delivery. With cashier's check in hand, drove to the factory to see rows and rows of Model S neatly parked. One of them was ours! How local can we get!
There were a few hiccups with financing, but things were sorted out and we were given a walk through of our car. I have never sat in a car with barely 20mi on it. The new car smell still intact. Awed at some of the features. BSK was antsy, generally impatient.We were done. Got the keys. Waited for some formalities to be completed. Owners can do a factory tour. Watch a video of it here. We decided to do it another day.
I drove the car home. This shiny blue nimble sedan which amazing awesome pick up with minimal noise was a treat to drive. But having dented my old car just two weeks back I was tooo scared to drive.
Pulling into the garage is scary, as DH made just enough space for the car to get in, and we have the MDX parked outside. This is a wide car. Sensors dont help because the sensors start beeping at the garage entrance itself. Oh well.
We took it for a drive to San Jose to visit a friend and then for dessert to Chilis, that was our New Year Celebration, sort of.
Jan 1 st we went to Church, got the car blessed. Went to friends place in the evening.
Jan 2nd we left to Folsom. Surprised our friends. They were super excited to drive in the car. We tested the kids seats at the back as well, and kiddos were super excited and happy to ride. We used the first Supercharger in Roseville where we decided to dine. 30 minutes. All charged. We did the drive to Folsom with a full charge. 130mi distance, ate up 180miles of rated range. May be because of elevation we took 580, and I-5, and my 'rash' driving too. We stopped by Livermore temple for some blessings too. Saw a family look at the car in awe as we came back to the car.
With all the excitement, I have also been scared. Of vandalism. Yes, I have never owned a car worth beyond 29K so pardon me while I get used to driving this new car. The night the car stayed outside in Folsom I was like will the car take the cold :--P I am also calling it my little baby now. Named her Mia.
We decided to charge it up in Vacaville just to test out the Supercharger.the superchargers were 50% occupied, 4 cars of the 8 stalls. We had some charging issue. The charge port showed Orange, meaning the charger was not fully inserted. Called up Tesla Support and he helped a little bit. Still need to get used to it. Fully charged in 20-30minutes. DH and I have our fights as usual. He is too casual, "oh we have so many miles, lets just go" and me with my 'range anxiety'. First road trip, better to be safe than sorry.
BSK is making a mess in the back seat. Need to child proof and put some covers inside.
I know you can read about ALL the cool features of the car online. Here is one such review. And also about the problems some owners are facing, getting stranded, having to swap drive train etc.. Let me just focus on the good things and ignore the not so good, until I really have to.
Cool features -
1) Starting with the key. The key fob is shaped like a tesla car. Clicking the top open/closes the car, behind,opens the back trunk, and clicking front opens the frunk, front trunk. Yes there is a front trunk, since there is no engine, how cool is that!
2) The car automatically senses the key nearby and opens the car for you. Open meaning extends the door handle. When locked the door handle goes inside merging with the car, apparently for better aerodynamics while driving?!
3) You dont have to start the car. A foot on the brake and the car silently starts up, ready to leap forward.
4) The pick up can be slow if you want and can leap forward if you wish too. Perfect control. Instant torque, no lag in response.
5) Everything is customizable. No clumsy knobs. 17in ipad like display. Like a computer screen. I am super happy to see this car utilize the technological advances of the recent years and make use of the customizing option software provides.
6) It has a 3G network connection. Oh GPS. I dont need the exact address. It autocompletes.
7) Simple interior. I was not too floored when I did the test drive, but it is simple and elegant with minimal lines, just the way I like it. It is comparable to other luxury cars it seems, but I wouldnt know.
8) We got the child rear seats. The back trunk can have child seats for kids to sit and watch backwards. Cool and safe too with the five point harness and everything.
9) Acceleration is what gets me everytime. When starting from a stop light, or when changing lanes. The super smooth acceleration brings a smile to my face. As they call it the "Tesla smile"
10) I am being environmentally conscious. We easily put 12-15K miles in a year at a minimum. Gas is inefficient. Electricity is cheaper. We want to try putting Solar panels again, the last time I check we were not using so much electricity to benefit from it. With an EV we should really qualify.11) Last but not the least it is a product of Silicon Valley, the game changers and the trend setters, proud to be an early adopter and support the green movement.
Here is a super oatmeal clip on owning Tesla Model S.
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla_model_s
So so true :--)
Did I talk about the app? There is an app. We can monitor the charge, start/stop charging, lock, unlock, update temperature inside the car and also monitor the location of the car!!!
Needless to say a techie like me really enjoys the car, it really feels like the car of the future.
Tomorrow will be my first drive to work in peak traffic, I wont have my carpool sticker for another month, so will have to drive in traffic boohoo. Oh well. Really please pray I dont bump into anyone and no one bumps into me. Pray no one scratches the car at work, :--P Seriously the car is so new and shiny I dont want to take it out at all and get it dirty and used. I know I will feel different in a week or two, but let me enjoy this experience for now.
Signing off with some pictures.
Charging at Roseville Supercharger. Did I talk about the charge port? It is hidden seamlessly under the break lights on the side. It opens automatically when the charger nears the port. It locks the charger when charging. Only if the key is in the vicinity it unlocks, meaning no one can randomly unhook the charger.
The Tesla app that tells me when charging is complete. It is recommended not to charge to full unless you are going on a long trip to save battery life.
Kiddos enjoying their back seats. I am already planning to carpool when BSK goes to school ;--) |
posted by SK @ 5:50 PM  |
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| 7 Comments: |
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Hey Congratulations and one's got to enjoy in life.Wise choice I'd say.
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congrats - enjoy your new ride :)!
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Hope more people buy Tesla and drive the stock up ;)
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Ah! Happy new year SK. Really awesome to see you are doing well :)
I now live in Mission Fremont :) Close to the park! Looks like we share a zip code?
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Enjoy the Tesla! I leased the V1 Leaf and just gave it back after driving it for a little over 3 years. Many of the features you describe -app for charging, app for heating the car before getting in (really nice on cold Seattle winter days), torque - esp. outstripping gas cars at red lights with no effort :) - bring back fond memories
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Thanks MK, Shachi! :--) Why Sachita. ;--)
Anon, yes yes I hope so too ;--)
Mr OK!! What a nice surprise! Yes may be we do! How have you been?! what is news with you?
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Hey Congratulations and one's got to enjoy in life.Wise choice I'd say.