Who’s going to Tesla after their current TDI?

BeetleGo

TDIClub Enthusiast, Pre-Forum Veteran Member
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Location
Cambridge, MA
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I am one of the founding members of this Club.

I love driving sticks, and I love fueling my Rocketchipped little Golf every 600-650 miles. But the internal combustion engine is heading to the door. My next car will be a Model Y.

You in the same place?
Sorry VW, you convinced me.

Bye now,
BeetleGo, went
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
What if you end up with two vehicles in your garage: one TDI for road trips and one EV for the city?

It might make sense for a certain environmentally responsible population segment in the US and worldwide, correct?
 

nwdiver

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Location
Texas
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2003 Jetta TDI (sold); 2012 Tesla Model S
What if you end up with two vehicles in your garage: one TDI for road trips and one EV for the city?

It might make sense for a certain environmentally responsible population segment in the US and worldwide, correct?
With the new V3 superchargers and the more advanced battery of the Model Y plus its higher efficiency the vast majority of your supercharger stops are going to be <20 minutes.

I met a Model 3 owner that was attending Fully Charged in Austin... he road tripped there in his 3 from British Columbia. We were both at a supercharger; I was amazed and more than a little jealous at how much faster his 3 charged vs my 7 year old Model S. The Y will probably be just a little faster.

Teslas are almost purpose-built for road trips. Seems like a waste to keep it confined to city driving.

This fall I'm going on what I'm calling my 'Trans-Canadian Adventure'. NM => WA => BC => Nova Scotia => NM. It's gonna be AWESOME!
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

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If I were to buy an EV I'd want one from a "real" auto manufacturer. :). The ID Crozz might be worth a look when it comes out. I'd love the Golf-like ID3 but it's not coming here because Americans don't want hatchbacks.
 

nwdiver

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If I were to buy an EV I'd want one from a "real" auto manufacturer. :). The ID Crozz might be worth a look when it comes out. I'd love the Golf-like ID3 but it's not coming here because Americans don't want hatchbacks.
Looks like you're the outlier there. Most people want to buy an EV from an EV manufacturer ;)

Car buyers shun electric vehicles not named Tesla. Are carmakers driving off a cliff?

If VW would swallow their pride and join the SC network they might have a chance but EA is a sick joke.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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Tesla certainly has a leg up with its supercharger network. But if I were to buy an EV I'd use it for local driving, so I'd rarely need the network.
 

nwdiver

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Tesla certainly has a leg up with its supercharger network. But if I were to buy an EV I'd use it for local driving, so I'd rarely need the network.
VW EV for city driving and a Tesla for road trips then ;)
 

Scooby24

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Olathe, KS
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2014 Passat TDI SEL
Yup...I actually picked up my 2014 TDI as a cheap, but fully under warranty vehicle with good mileage to get me through the next two years (or more?) for my Cybertruck order.

I'm like OP...I see ICE vehicles as dying out...I get excited to see all the new vehicles coming out but feel anything lacking an EV option to be..old...and seeing these enthusiast vehicles getting handed their asses by a relatively cheap EV vehicle made for the masses which is just in its infancy as far as technology goes...it's hard to come to any other conclusion than these gassers are done for.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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One of our local dealer is offering new Chevy Bolt EVs for just under $28K. MSRP is $43K. So I guess they aren't flying off the lot.
 

Scooby24

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Olathe, KS
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2014 Passat TDI SEL
Yeah...I view the current EV Market as akin to Blu-ray vs. HDDVD. At present Telsa is making Blu-ray, everyone else is making HDDVD...

Tesla is setting the standard in terms of what people want out of an EV...which none of the other manufacturers are able to replicate.

Drivetrain and battery tech, Tesla is easily 5 years ahead of the curve and as a slew of manufacturers are set to release their first EVs with ranges that aren't matching current Tesla models, Tesla is poised to update us with a "Battery Day" as I think they are calling it in which we're going to see what's next.

We don't want to buy something that's 5 years behind....to consumers EVs are, in many ways, more tech purchases than vehicle purchases...and the tech industry is MUCH more rapidly evolving...auto manufacturers are going to have to relearn how to do things to evolve to meet the demands of the consumers in this new market.
 

USMCFieldMP

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Fort Worth, TX
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2014 Jetta TDI
VW EV for city driving and a Tesla for road trips then ;)
We looked at getting an e-Golf not all that long ago. One of the local dealers told us that VW doesn't allow dealerships to do warranty work on them if that dealership doesn't sell them (and being in Texas, there are no dealerships authorized to sell them around here). The dealer said their Tech's had their SAE High Voltage/EV certification, but that VW wouldn't give them their stamp of approval (or something along those lines).

Just something to keep in mind if you look at getting one. I'm sure things will change once they start rolling out their mainstream EV's.
 

gulfcoastguy

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TDI sold, Mazda 3 purchased
I sold back my TDI almost exactly 3 years ago. At that time the model 3 wasn't ready and I don't drive sedans anyway. There are some points in favor of the Model Y for my next vehicle between 1 and 2 years from now. The range is good, the body style might be all right, locally the Tesla charging system is far superior. With Electrify America I can go East or West easily but I can't go North(South is the Gulf of Mexico). Tesla has chargers 90 miles North in my parents home town, another 95 miles North in my State capitol and at 90 mile intervals until you reach Memphis.

Downsides also exist for the Model Y. First who came up with the idea of gluing a Jumbotron to the dash and running all information and controls through it with control by touch screen and menus. Aren't my eyes supposed to be on the road? Second the nearest Tesla service center is 200 miles North at the state capitol. That is one long tow for repair. Fourth Tesla is out of tax credits. Fifth Tesla only puts out the most expensive versions of their models for the first year or so, my funds might not stretch that far.

So I will wait until the VW Id 4 has been out for a year. With the hope that it is what I want, that Vw tax credits still exist, and that Electrify America fills in that giant sucking charging hole in the mid section of Mississippi and Alabama. I know VW has a dealership a 15 minute drive away.
 

prsa01

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mpls,mn usa
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First who came up with the idea of gluing a Jumbotron to the dash and running all information and controls through it with control by touch screen and menus. Aren't my eyes supposed to be on the road?

Agree 100%. States are falling all over themselves passing distracted driving laws primarily focused in on one screened "smart" device while automakers rush to consolidate controls in, what previously were, eyes-free ergonomic systems into multi-level touch screen menus that, by definition, take the eyes from the road.

Ridiculous!
 
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tikal

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Location
Southeast Texas
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With the new V3 superchargers and the more advanced battery of the Model Y plus its higher efficiency the vast majority of your supercharger stops are going to be <20 minutes.

I met a Model 3 owner that was attending Fully Charged in Austin... he road tripped there in his 3 from British Columbia. We were both at a supercharger; I was amazed and more than a little jealous at how much faster his 3 charged vs my 7 year old Model S. The Y will probably be just a little faster.

Teslas are almost purpose-built for road trips. Seems like a waste to keep it confined to city driving.

This fall I'm going on what I'm calling my 'Trans-Canadian Adventure'. NM => WA => BC => Nova Scotia => NM. It's gonna be AWESOME!
Fair enough. There is a group of us who have already a well performed TDI that we intend to keep.

If I have a light duty diesel vehicle with a range of 600 miles and a gasoline passenger vehicle with a range of 250 miles and it is time to replace one vehicle then, to me, it makes sense to replace the gasoline one with an EV not the TDI.
 

Rob Mayercik

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First who came up with the idea of gluing a Jumbotron to the dash and running all information and controls through it with control by touch screen and menus. Aren't my eyes supposed to be on the road?
Probably someone who thinks people should be banned from having any direct control over their cars, and self-driving vehicles should be rammed down our throats (or, if you prefer, up that "other" orifice)?

Also, other than making it cheaper to build for both left- and right-hand drive environments, I see no logical reason why you'd put the "instrument cluster" in the center of the bloody car - I want the speedometer and fuel gauge straight in front of me, dammit, not half-way to the other side of the cabin.

Honestly, sometimes I feel like the people doing ergonomic design in cars don't actually drive cars. Certainly, modern engine bays seem to indicate that the people deciding where the spark plugs go wouldn't know what end of the screwdriver to hold onto (and in some cases, they may not even know that the term "screwdriver" means something other than vodka cut with orange juice)...
 

Scooby24

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Location
Olathe, KS
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2014 Passat TDI SEL
Have you guys driven one of these cars yet? That's really the only way to objectively be able to bash the center stack with any credibility.

It takes a minor adjustment but the layout works.
 

nwdiver

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Location
Texas
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2003 Jetta TDI (sold); 2012 Tesla Model S
Have you guys driven one of these cars yet? That's really the only way to objectively be able to bash the center stack with any credibility.

It takes a minor adjustment but the layout works.
Remember all the grumbling when buttons disappeared from cell phones? People are hardwired to resist change. This too shall pass.
 

prsa01

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Location
mpls,mn usa
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14 jsw 6m, 96 B4v, miss my a4 :(
Remember all the grumbling when buttons disappeared from cell phones? People are hardwired to resist change. This too shall pass.
This isn't a Tesla/eCar VS ice car issue. Most of us have driven cars with touch screen controls replacing std controls. My 14 jsw is one. Long term, voice and/or steering wheel controls will likely replace all of the touch screen nonsense but it is not possible to logically argue that a set of radio knobs that can be fully operated without a single glance isn't orders of magnitude safer than navigating hierarchical view/touch menu systems.
 

alext91

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I personally would like to hang onto my JSW as long as I possibly can. This is going to mean deleted and tuned immediately post-warranty. I double duty my car as a daily driver and autocross/track car. I rode in a Model 3 Performance dual motor at the last track day I went to, and I was far from impressed. The acceleration is very impressive, but that's just about the only thing they're good at. The weight of them was very noticeable even as a passenger. I wonder how long before battery technology gets to a place where they will be closer to or even lighter than their ICE counterparts.
 

turbobrick240

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It's often uncomfortable to be a passenger on the track. You'd really have to drive the Model 3 performance on the track to get a true sense of just how vastly superior it is to a fwd tdi.
 

abishoff

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Wylie, TX
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Waiting on the CyberTruck. Then I’m out of my TDI.


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Oberkanone

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NW Indiana
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I'm not in the same place. Not to say that I'm against electric vehicles, I've been a fan since watching Logan's Run series.
Tesla has no dealership, no repair center in my area. Manufacturer support for a vehicle is important to me.
Also, I'm not paying $40K for a vehicle when there are great choices for so much less.
 

JDSwan87

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In 8 years, when it's my turn to buy a passenger vehicle, I'll be buying a Tesla. Currently, the Jetta does 7 day a week commuter duty between myself and my wife. Just bought a used truck for family hauler duty and hauling my tractor on the trailer, it will only see 5k miles a year.

Mama gets next vehicle purchase and she wants a minivan...
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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It's often uncomfortable to be a passenger on the track. You'd really have to drive the Model 3 performance on the track to get a true sense of just how vastly superior it is to a fwd tdi.
I would hope so. Front drive isn't exactly a standard setter on the track. I watched a video comparing an Audi S4, BMW M2, and Model 3 on the track. M2 was better by far in everything but acceleration. Tesla was too heavy, too soft, didn't have enough tire for the weight. Suspension engineering isn't near BMW standards. Not surprising, it's not a track day car.
 

turbobrick240

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I would hope so. Front drive isn't exactly a standard setter on the track. I watched a video comparing an Audi S4, BMW M2, and Model 3 on the track. M2 was better by far in everything but acceleration. Tesla was too heavy, too soft, didn't have enough tire for the weight. Suspension engineering isn't near BMW standards. Not surprising, it's not a track day car.

I don't know- Sandy Munro was gushing all over the Model 3 suspension when he did his teardown. I believe he likened it to something you'd find on an Indy car. A track prepped model 3 performance clocked 1:37.55 at Laguna Seca. That is absolutely blisteringly fast. Faster than most track prepped BMW M3's could manage.
 

alext91

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I generally don't mind being a passenger on the track. The model 3 I rode in had PS4S tires and I still wasn't very impressed. It just wasn't very exciting, to be fair you could hear what each tire was doing which was pretty cool. There was also the fact that the owner had to miss two 20 minute track sessions to go find a super charger. Idk, it will take a lot for be personally to make the move to an EV as my main car.

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