Car & Driver hates Trip Planner

[Nubo]

Meh, the hyperbole. 14 hours is a death march but 11 hours is a "breezy pleasure cruise". And of course how could anyone be expected to bear the indignity of (gasp) driving so slowly as to actually be observing the speed limit, where of course sparrows will be passing you disdainfully as they flit over the cornfields at over 70 mph?

It's all too precious. All too Broderized.

 

[mwulff]

I give them credit for realizing that a bit of mental math was needed on the return trip. That said Car & Driver probably behaved more like common buyers than EV enthusiasts do. Tesla needs to improve the satnav to make it better for the unwary.

That being said a long-term owner could have made that trip with no stress and no problems at all.

 

[mgboyes]

Tesla took a problem that really didn't exist in the first place, and made it worse.

In fact they took a problem that didn't exist in the first place, made it worse, and then built a whole PR campaign saying they'd fixed it.

 

[Cobos]

If you read the article all the way through he does at the end say on his return journey he ignored the anti-range-anxiety feature and just planned trips from supercharger to supercharger. That feature is so far from release it's scary, as it stands now it creates range anxiety. Turn that feature off, use the trip tab in the energy section and plot from supercharger to supercharger and the Model S works fine for road trips. Though as a S60 owner it does seem that the buildout in the US for SC is not reaching the density you've got in parts of western Europe. Why on earth Tesla announced this software while it's still this rough is beyond me.
Now if they would have maps that have highways older than 1 year included in the nav I would be a pretty happy camper.

Cobos

 

[MichFin]

We shouldn't just dismiss this article as poor decisions by the driver because that's how most people are. Getting used to doing road trips with a Tesla takes a few tries to get comfortable but the reality is you only get one chance to make a first impression.

 

[mknox]

Well that was a bizarre read. It lost me at this sentence: "the average driving range per battery charge staffers had seen in the long-term Model S was just over 130 miles". That can't be right. Does Car&Driver not know how to charge the car and drive it?

Well, it could be if all they do with the car is drive it on short trips and repeatedly do "Insane Mode" launches with it. I notice a HUGE difference in my efficiency/range on weekends where I do multiple short trips and errands vs. my weekday 90 mile round-trip freeway commute. Add colder weather (not sure if they had the car during the winter months) and I could see them getting numbers like that. It takes some time to get used to how the car behaves under different climate and driving scenarios. At the end of the day, my significantly reduced weekend range is not really an issue because even 130 miles is WAY more than I'd need in a day anyway.

I've done Toronto to Chicago trips in my car and find it quite effortless. My wife, however, complains about having to stop and eat when the car is hungry, and may not like the timing or the restaurants near the Superchargers. I can see that. More Superchargers will allow for more options and not make trip planning as rigid as it has to be today.

 

[JohnQ]

The driver had a point of view for this article and purposefully set out to reinforce that point of view. Namely, the Model S is not well suited for a road trip. A minimal amount of research by any driver would show two things: 1) How far one can drive on the chosen route on a charge and 2) what the quickest charging strategy is. There's this thing called the internet that everyone has access to that has an incredible knowledge base ... I expect most (though not all) reasonable people who purchase an EV would check out other people's experiences. It makes for entertaining reading and is simply preaching to the viewpoint his audience already has. No different than any other media platform.

Regarding the Trip portion of the Nav? Yes, it's horrible. But even when he turns it off for the return trip, he insists on charging to full. If he knows that the charge rate gets slower as the battery gets full, why wouldn't he simply charge enough to get to his next charging stop? I figured that out pretty damn fast.

 

[Cobos]

So did the author. He says so right there in the article at the end. For his return trip he mentions it takes lot longer from 80-100% than from 60-80 and he could have saved time by just charging to 80%. So in essence it took him one return road trip to understand how the car works. That's fine for us that owns the car and as part of that process propably does quite a bit of research. With the Model 3 the idea is to cater to those that don't want to learn new stuff and their significant others/friends/family. Then the Range Assurance app NEEDS to actually help not create range anxiety in me, whom after all is well educated on the car and has already done several long trips.

So yes the author wanted to make a story, but a lot of what he said is true at least to a certain extent.

Cobos

 

[AB4EJ]

We need to write a manual "How to get the most out of your Tesla" to include all the tips - and make sure every new driver and vehicle reviewer gets a copy or link to it. A lot of the frustrations the C&D guys had with the car seem to be a lack of familiarity (with some of that tied in to how buggy the nav system still is). The system still has a number of imperfections - that's why I agree with those commenters who say that current owners still fall into the camp of "early adopters," who are willing and even eager to solve the puzzles of how to work with a new technology. I, along with my fellow nerds & geeks (computer science, IT people, engineers, etc.) willingly do this - but most of the public won't. It seems like Tesla owners are still beta testers to a certain extent. Tesla will need to figure all this out before the Model 3 & efforts to go mainstream (seems like they should be able to)...

 

[MichFin]

Owning a Tesla has improved dramatically since they first came out and taking road trips in them is now possible for the early adopters and still getting better. But in no way is this ready for the masses and if the Model 3 has any chance of success past the first 100k units (people that already want a Tesla but can't afford it) things have to get a lot better by the end of 2018.

 

[PokerBroker]

You guys really think this has had an impact on orders? I think you are overstating a bit.

 

[gavine]

I wonder how long it took them to choose Virginia as their destination. It seems they were trying to find a destination that would be most difficult under the current SuperCharger layout and one that would require a less direct route. They could have easily chosen a different destination and made for a positive experience, but it seems to me that wasn't their agenda.

 

[BoldSharpe]

"(Note: A “trip mode” exists that unlocks the Tesla’s full range potential, and it was used before setting off from Ann Arbor, but using it often can degrade the battery."

Does he mean Range Mode and is this true? I typically only use it on longer highway trips but this is the first time I've seen this.

Going a bit off topic, the Tesla Navigation is very bad and the SuperCharger routing feature, as others have mentioned, is absolutely horrendous. On Sunday, it wanted to take me 70 miles out of the way to hit an additional SuperCharger I didn't need.

Granted, this guy could have improved his journey significantly with a little more planning but if Tesla truly wants to become mainstream and avoid these types of reviews, the SuperCharger build out needs to continue at its current pace over the next several years and the navigation needs to be outsourced to Google.

I'm sure it has been discussed before but does anyone know why Tesla does their own navigation?

 

[N4HHE]

We've been saying it more months!

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Tesla Model S P85D Road Trip –Â*News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

Let this be a lesson against blind trust in "authority figures" such as navigation systems, government, doctors, teachers, or scientists.

- - - Updated - - -

The Tesla Navigation is very bad and the SuperCharger routing feature, as others have mentioned, is absolutely horrendous. On Sunday, it wanted to take me 70 miles out of the way to hit an additional SuperCharger I didn't need.

About a month ago mine demanded I take a 280 mile route via Supercharger 155 miles away to reach my destination which was only 116 miles direct.

- - - Updated - - -

I wonder how long it took them to choose Virginia as their destination. It seems they were trying to find a destination that would be most difficult under the current SuperCharger layout and one that would require a less direct route. They could have easily chosen a different destination and made for a positive experience, but it seems to me that wasn't their agenda.

VIR is a regular playground for Car & Driver. Many others were converging for an event, this article was the telling of only one journey there.

 

[MichFin]

Yes I do. I for one was on the fence contemplating my Model S purchase.

 

[apacheguy]

Trip Planner was released in BETA meaning, by default, that it's not ready for prime time. I stated from the outset that I would treat its predictions with skepticism. It definitely requires an overhaul in 7.0.

 

[TomServo]

I keep reading that Tesla is more of a Technology company than an Automotive company. Seems they need to hire a few more engineers and have them actually go out on long extended test drives navigate SOLEY by the GPS Nav system they designed.

 

[andrewket]

Trip Planner was released in BETA meaning, by default, that it's not ready for prime time. I stated from the outset that I would treat its predictions with skepticism. It definitely requires an overhaul in 7.0.

Perhaps the default setting for trip planner should be OFF. When you turn it on a pop-up comes up reminding the driver it's beta.

 

[RAM_Eh]

I remember my first trip...600 Miles...I cut it close on various legs of the trip.

Boils down to live and learn. He will not make the same mistakes the next trip.

 

[LetsGoFast]

Perhaps the default setting for trip planner should be OFF. When you turn it on a pop-up comes up reminding the driver it's beta.

Or perhaps something so buggy shouldn't even have been released. I'm pretty much a full on Telsa apologist, but I can't defend the nav software. The U-turn thing is ridiculously cautious and the suggested time when you can stop charging cuts it close in the opposite direction. Even something as simple as providing you a notification via the app that you have sufficient charge hasn't been released, despite the software being months old now. It also makes really stupid decisions as to whether to stop at Bethesda or Woodbridge every time I go through DC. On a recent trip to Baltimore, it was insisting I route through Bethesda but once I deleted the charging stop, it happily reported that I would make it with 22% battery remaining.

Owners know to do their own planning with evtripplanner or their own research, but a writer for Car & Driver is very unlikely to know that or to understand the intricacies that are second nature to all of us. The tone might be bombastic, but he is essentially right in his criticisms. Obviously, it would be unusual for an actual car owner to misunderstand the charge taper curve, but the premise of the nav is that you don't have to know anything -- the car just tells you where to stop and charge. If you are relying on that right now, you are going to be unhappy.