Car and Driver review

[paco3791]

Haven't seen this posted yet so forgive me if this is a repeat.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/sports_car_central/2008_tesla_roadster_short_take_road_test/(page)/1

Pretty positive review and they have an interesting take on the acceleration from 30-50 and 50-70, saying it is one of the fastest they have tested.

 

[BrianMRolfe]

Notice the date

Hey Everyone,

I have been following the Roadster since the first article on the Tesla blog. (lurking mostly not much to say).

Did you notice the article is dated March 2008? Is that the print date for the snail copy?

 

[paco3791]

Yes, I believe that this article is for the 3/08 issue of car and driver. It is not unusual for the auto zines to post articles on the web before they are in print.

 

[TEG]

Alternate link:
2008 Tesla Roadster - Short Take Road Test / Sports Car Central / High Performance / Hot Lists / Reviews / Car and Driver - Car And Driver

 

[BBHighway]

Sound of an Electric Car?

"This performance is not accompanied by the usual sound of an electric car, namely, the manic whine of a 120-volt sewing machine plugged into a 220 outlet"

I haven't driven a lot of electric cars, so I have no idea what they are talking about. Does anyone else know?

I thought electric cars like the EV1 we're pretty much silent.

 

[Iz]

Sound of an Electric Car?

From what I've seen from Roadster videos and WKTEC, as well as reading as much as possible on the subject, the Roadster only produces a whine upon acceleration. EV1 had less of a whine.

Conventional wisdom dictates that Evs are generally silent to pedestrians. One would expect interior noise to be even less obvious.

 

[tonybelding]

It's also possible there may be less gear noise after going to the single-speed gearbox.

 

[BBHighway]

I think you miss my point; C&D seems to imply that previous electric cars were somehow noisy. Anybody know of an electric car from the past that made lots of mechanical noise? I'm not aware of any, so I wonder where they came up with that comment, or maybe it was just some random stupid thing they put in the article.

 

[TEG]

I have an EV, have ridden in the Tesla Roadster, EV1, and many home brew EVs.

They all have a slight "whistle/whine" under acceleration. Not silent. But not obtrusive either. I can see someone calling it a "sewing machine" sound. I liken it a bit more to a really teeny jet engine sound. I think the Tesla has a bit more of this effect for these reasons:
#1: Very high RPM limit
#2: It is a big eMotor
#3: The eMotor is mid mounted not far behind your head.
#4: It isn't water cooled.

The noisiest EVs I have been in were ones that used dual motors and chain drive to the wheels.

Hybrids where a small eMotor is buried in all the ICE mechanism can be nearly silent when in EV only mode. For instance, driving a Prius or Hybrid Highlander in reverse with the ICE off is spooky quiet.

 

[Jeff]

I have an EV, have ridden in the Tesla Roadster, EV1, and many home brew EVs.

They all have a slight "whistle/whine" under acceleration. Not silent. But not obtrusive either. I can see someone calling it a "sewing machine" sound. I liken it a bit more to a really teeny jet engine sound. I think the Tesla has a bit more of this effect for these reasons:
#1: Very high RPM limit
#2: It is a big eMotor
#3: The eMotor is mid mounted not far behind your head.
#4: It isn't water cooled.

The noisiest EVs I have been in were ones that used dual motors and chain drive to the wheels.

Hybrids where a small eMotor is buried in all the ICE mechanism can be nearly silent when in EV only mode. For instance, driving a Prius or Hybrid Highlander in reverse with the ICE off is spooky quiet.

I suspect that hub motors would offer the quietest ride. I think EV noise has alot to do with gears and less to do with the electric motor itself. Bye the way, I'm curious TEG, what kind of EV do you have/drive? And how were you able to hitch a ride in the Tesla Roadster? How would one obtain a ride? That would make my day. I don't care if I'm just a passenger.

 

[TEG]

I have a Ford RangerEV... Factory build from year 2000. It was a government fleet vehicle that got returned from lease.

Last year I kept showing up at various events I heard about (like Pebble Beach Concours, Stanford Concours, EVAA, lectures at HP, Xerox & NatSemi, etc.) to see the Roadster. Eventually someone just offered me a quick ride.

 

[W8MM]

...they have an interesting take on the acceleration from 30-50 and 50-70, saying it is one of the fastest they have tested.

The final production version should be significantly better in this category.

If it can out accelerate Vipers and Porsche Turbos in freeway traffic, the Tesla Roadster will become a bedroom wall poster darling for every teenager in America. That's the way long term brand position is built!

 

[TEG]

If it can out accelerate Vipers and Porsche Turbos in freeway traffic, the Tesla Roadster will become a bedroom wall poster darling for every teenager in America.

(old guys too!) :wink: