real world EVs review

[turbobrick240]

The first CCS compatible Supercharger has been installed in NY. I think the speed of the rollout will surprise a lot of people.

Tesla installs and tests first Magic Dock on Supercharger in New York ahead of opening network to other EVs [UPDATE]

The first Magic Dock has been spotted installed at a Tesla Supercharger in New York. The Magic Dock includes an integrated CCS adapter that will allow other electric vehicles (EVs) to use the Supercharger network. […]

driveteslacanada.ca

 

[3fordasho]

On January 13, Tesla dropped the Model 3 prices between $3000 and $10000 depending on the drivetrain and options. The AWD long range (supposedly 358 miles) models now were cheap enough to qualify for the federal tax credit so I ended up cancelling my order and ordering one of those that was already locally available. I picked it up 5 days later.

I never thought I'd own a Tesla but found other EV options were just too long a wait (10 months here for a Bolt) or marked up above MSRP. Between the huge price drop on the model Y long range, qualifying for the $7500 tax credit and the fact that they were in stock I drove one home about a month ago.
Between my solar system at home and free EV charging at work, there is no charging cost. I still have my 15 Passat TDI for the one or two road trips I take every year.

 

[03TDICommuter]

FWIW, EV complications can be messy. Sister has a new BMW I4. Ordered it, received in December. It's been in the shop more than her driveway. Throws a "STOP - ELECTRICAL FAILURE - DO NOT DRIVE" but the error doesn't store, and doesn't do it for the dealer. They already replaced a module in the battery tray (must have been the battery tray - the receipt shows they replaced I think 80 bolts), and the very next day it did it again. If it wasn't for the cell phone photo, the dealer wouldn't believer her.

The dealer isn't equipped to figure this out. ICE cars - easier to figure out.

Knock on wood - my eGolf has been trouble free but I'm pretty sure I'm seeing battery degradation at 40K miles.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

The dealer isn't equipped to figure this out. ICE cars - easier to figure out.

Possibly, but not so much these days. People have random issues all the time with newer ICE cars that dealers or repair shops can't pinpoint and fix. Makes me appreciate my stupid simple TDIs.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I thought this was interesting: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/24/lucid-ev-demand-problem.html
Maybe auto buyers are finally reaching their pricing choke point.

 

[Daemon64]

I thought this was interesting: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/24/lucid-ev-demand-problem.html
Maybe auto buyers are finally reaching their pricing choke point.

I mean... all of the lucids are big money and if you couple that with high interest rates... well....

 

[turbobrick240]

The Saudis will keep Lucid afloat for a long time. Lucid tried following the Tesla model, but years after Tesla had already saturated that segment with the Model S. They should have started with a 3 series equivalent rather than a 7 series, imo. Or maybe even a SUV. Rivian got it right by breaking into a fresh segment.

 

[turbobrick240]

The CCS adapters are popping up at lots of Supercharger stations now! I guess it's a fairly simple retrofit.

 

[gulfcoastguy]

Only in New York. Also that cord is still to short for most CCS vehicles.

 

[gulfcoastguy]

They blew the cable length issue because they want the federal money but they don’t want non Tesla vehicles.

 

[turbobrick240]

Only in New York. Also that cord is still to short for most CCS vehicles.

California too. Maybe lots of places in the next week. The cord should work for most CCS cars, they may need to back in/pull in all the way and over to the side of the space if their port is on the wrong side though.

We'll know it works when they activate the docks and we see photos of all of the CCS cars happily charging on a decent network for the first time.

 

[El Dobro]

I have two big Supercharger stations within two miles either way from here. One's been there a while, while the other was just installed last December. I'll have to take a ride and see if either has any upgrades.

 

[turbobrick240]

I'd be curious to see the least intrusive parking position of a Bolt at Supercharger such that the cord reaches the port. I'm thinking it would be diagonal all the way forward with not too much intrusion over the lines.

 

[Daemon64]

I'd be curious to see the least intrusive parking position of a Bolt at Supercharger such that the cord reaches the port. I'm thinking it would be diagonal all the way forward with not too much intrusion over the lines.

*Minor Update* For my local EA station they finally fixed the 4th charger. Also they've been keeping up around 75kw charge rate even in the coldest days. I've not had any connection issues or etc in a month or so now. Not as fast charging as summer but once in a while when the weather hits like 35-40, I do see 100-120kw...

 

[turbobrick240]

*Minor Update* For my local EA station they finally fixed the 4th charger. Also they've been keeping up around 75kw charge rate even in the coldest days. I've not had any connection issues or etc in a month or so now. Not as fast charging as summer but once in a while when the weather hits like 35-40, I do see 100-120kw...

Do you think the sluggish cold weather charging is more due to the EA chargers or the battery temp of your car? Does your Polestar have a battery preheat feature to speed charging? Have you tried other DC fast chargers in cold weather?

 

[Daemon64]

Do you think the sluggish cold weather charging is more due to the EA chargers or the battery temp of your car? Does your Polestar have a battery preheat feature to speed charging? Have you tried other DC fast chargers in cold weather?

It is EA --> Yes the car has a pre-heater via google maps, and I have many times gone w/ the "Cold battery indicator" off, in between 20-30% battery which should pull up to 154kw charge rate but usually is around the 75, this is just a cold weather thing. The warmer it is the less its a problem. Samething is true when we take the cars on longer trips, and we know we are going to a charger, the car knows 100 miles out.

Locally too us and on most trips, we do not have anything thats pulls 150kw charge rate for other chargers, the other ones are 50kw EVgo or some otherwise one that does that, once and a while ill find a blink charger that can pull 100kw but i have yet for any of those to actually be working.

 

[turbobrick240]

It is EA --> Yes the car has a pre-heater via google maps, and I have many times gone w/ the "Cold battery indicator" off, in between 20-30% battery which should pull up to 154kw charge rate but usually is around the 75, this is just a cold weather thing. The warmer it is the less its a problem. Samething is true when we take the cars on longer trips, and we know we are going to a charger, the car knows 100 miles out.

Locally too us and on most trips, we do not have anything thats pulls 150kw charge rate for other chargers, the other ones are 50kw EVgo or some otherwise one that does that, once and a while ill find a blink charger that can pull 100kw but i have yet for any of those to actually be working.

I guess 75 kW is a lot better than 40-50. Still, 150kW would be much more convenient. I saw a video the other day of some guy in Canada getting 125kW off a Freewire charger. Was recent, so I assume the weather was fairly chilly. It will be interesting to see what kind of rates the CCS Superchargers crank out in the cold.

 

[Daemon64]

I guess 75 kW is a lot better than 40-50. Still, 150kW would be much more convenient. I saw a video the other day of some guy in Canada getting 125kW off a Freewire charger. Was recent, so I assume the weather was fairly chilly. It will be interesting to see what kind of rates the CCS Superchargers crank out in the cold.

Freewire chargers have heaters in them because of the batteries and extra insulation and they're said to pull really good power even in extremely cold places like alaska.

 

[turbobrick240]

So the Tesla CCS Superchargers have been activated. Here's the first video I've seen of one in action. The F150 Lightning had to pull forward all the way, but the cable reaches. Should be a whole bunch more videos of people CCS charging at Superchargers in the coming days.

Tesla CCS Supercharging is live!

youtube.com

Here's a longer video:

 

[El Dobro]

So the Tesla CCS Superchargers have been activated. Here's the first video I've seen of one in action. The F150 Lightning had to pull forward all the way, but the cable reaches. Should be a whole bunch more videos of people CCS charging at Superchargers in the coming days.

Tesla CCS Supercharging is live!

youtube.com

Here's a longer video:

None around here yet.

 

[turbobrick240]

None around here yet.

They'll get there. It will take more than a few days to retrofit the largest charging network in N. America. Tons of vids on YouTube of people charging their Bolts, EV6s, F150 Lightnings, Lucids, Rivians, Nissans, ID4, etc. on the CCS Superchargers. A Rivian R1T pulling 150 kW is the most I've seen so far. No fistfights yet.

 

[gmenounos]

I bet that car's a pleasure. I've driven a Model 3 briefly, and did like it. The screen in the middle of the car isn't my favorite, I kept thinking of a Toyota Echo. But they do drive nicely, especially after driving 20+ year old VWs around. I'll be interested in hearing about your Supercharger experiences on longer drives, although I suspect they'll be uneventful.

Got back from Utica late this afternoon. As you guessed, supercharging was uneventful. Charged to about about 90% the day before heading out there. Supercharged in Lee, MA for 15 minutes on the way out at a Big Y supermarket just off the Pike. Got to Utica with 30-something % charge. The hotel I was staying at had a couple of EV chargers, so car was at 89% before heading home. Another 15-minute charge in Lee on the way back and arrived home with 35% charge. The car preheated the battery prior to arriving at the chargers. Arriving with a 40% charge got me an initial charging rate of 149kw, decreasing to about 80kw when I disconnected at about 80% state of charge. Temps were in the low to mid 30's. I drove 65-70 miles/hour. Adaptive cruise control worked well and didn't experience any phantom braking.

For me, that's not a bad ratio of driving to charging for a road trip: 2 hours driving, 15 minutes charging. 15 minutes was enough time to plug in, walk into the store, grab a snack/drink, use the bathroom, walk back out to the car, check cell phone messages and unplug. Wouldn't have been as good if I was in a hurry or if there was a line to use the charger, but so far, so good.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

To me the remarkable piece of info in your post was that you were able to drive on the Pike at 65-70 without getting harassed by other drivers. I typically drive in the right lane at 75, but between Route 84 (Sturbridge) and 95 I frequently run in the middle lane at 85-90. At 90 people are still passing me. My son, who lives in Northampton, and I joke about how fast people drive on the Pike in general, but in particular on that stretch.

If you had driven at more "typical" speeds, I wonder how it would have affected energy use and charging strategy.

 

[gmenounos]

I frequently run in the middle lane at 85-90. At 90 people are still passing me.

Not my experience at all (and if people want to pass, there's a whole extra lane on the left for that). Are you sure you speedo is accurate? I know the MKIV's read a bit high.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Yes, it's like every MKIV, 3 MPH high. I am usually on that stretch of the Pike on a Sunday, so maybe that matters.

I find picking the best speed when driving west of 84 where the Pike is 2 lanes is more difficult. Right lane can move anywhere from 65-80, left lane might be similar. I have difficulty using the cruise on those parts of the Pike. I usually enter and exit at 91 west of Springfild.

 

[gmenounos]

I forgot to mention how easy the superchargers were to use (other than having to back into the parking spot): Pull the cable out of the charger, push the button on the cable which causes the charge port door on the car to open, plug into the car, charging starts. There's no screen on the charger and you don't need to put in a credit card. It's also easier than using a gas/diesel pump: no credit card, don't need to choose which grade gas, can't accidentally put gas in a diesel car, don't have to listen to a TV commercial while you're pumping, can go use the bathroom while your car is "filling up", hands don't smell like diesel after, etc. Yes, you will spend more time filling up an EV than a TDI, but a least there are a few positive things to help compensate.

This was also much better than the charging experience I had when I rented the ID.4 and stopped at a ChargePoint CCS charger. Besides most of the chargers being broken, you had to start up the ChargePoint app on your phone and hold the phone against the charger in order to start charging. Supposedly, the ID.4 is going to add "plug and charge" support at Electrify America stations via a software update soon, which will make charging work just as easily. I'm sure that eventually all electric vehicles will work that way.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

The wipers are automatic as are the headlights (including auto high beams) so even though there aren't physical stalks/knobs for those, you don't need them 99% of the time. It's nice that I'll never have to worry about accidentally leaving the headlights on - good for an older person like me.

Does that make it impossible to drive the car at night or in inclement weather (rain/fog/snow/etc.) without at least running lights on both ends? I've long since lost count of how many idiots I see on the roads in NJ who drive around with either nothing but DRLs or no exterior lights at all in rain/snow, at night, or combinations of all of the above. Tends to annoy me more than a bit, espcially when I'm sharing a freeway with them...

 

[gmenounos]

Does that make it impossible to drive the car at night or in inclement weather (rain/fog/snow/etc.) without at least running lights on both ends? I've long since lost count of how many idiots I see on the roads in NJ who drive around with either nothing but DRLs or no exterior lights at all in rain/snow, at night, or combinations of all of the above. Tends to annoy me more than a bit, espcially when I'm sharing a freeway with them...

If you leave them on "auto", the DRLs will be on during the day and then the lows/highs/tails will come on when it gets dark. I don't think the low beams come on automatically in rain unless it also gets dark enough. I had assumed that they'd come on automatically when the wipers do, but there's no mention of it in the manual (so thanks for reminding me to check): https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-371B94E9-E74F-4BBB-9A55-5F4182894B99.html

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Sounds like most cars out there - there's still an "all off" option, guess that's how the idiots manage it (getting fooled by the DRLs and the backlit speedometer - never mind the rest of the bloody dashboard isn't lit up outside the "radio".

While I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of this "mandatory safety stuff". I wouldn't mind forcing automakers to go back to instrument clusters that don't require backlighting to read in dayllight, and refitting front-only DRLs to be front+rear. The "convenience features" and things like this just make the drivers dumber (not that they need much help, lol).

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Another EV maker facing potential pricing issues. From CNBC today:
Rivian shares fall as EV maker looks to raise $1.3 billion amid growing demand concerns
Rivian said late Monday it plans to sell the convertible notes — bonds that can be paid back with cash, stock or a mix of the two — to help fund the development and launch of its upcoming smaller R2 series of vehicles, now expected in 2026. The institutional investors purchasing the notes will have the option to buy additional notes worth up to $200 million, if they choose, above the initial $1.3 billion.

Rivian isn’t in an urgent cash crunch, at least not yet. The EV maker had $12.1 billion on hand as of the end of 2022, it said during its fourth-quarter earnings presentation Feb. 28, enough to fund its operations through 2025. But it recently made a series of moves to conserve cash, laying off 6% of its workforce and pushing the R2 launch out a year.

Rivian also said last week that it expects to produce 50,000 vehicles in 2023, fewer than the roughly 60,000 that Wall Street analysts had expected. That may be a sign that demand for its high-priced pickups and SUVs is falling short of its expectations.