German Manager Magazine test drives Model S for 1300 KM

[joer00]

Manager Magazine is a well known magazine in Germany. They test drove a Tesla 1300 KM through Germany from the south to the north. I was very curious about the outcome as I claimed in one of my previous posts that the MS will fail in Germany (because it is to slow for the Autobahn).

It went pretty well, even with their claimed 500 KM range which I was surprised if that comes from Tesla Europe as 300 miles is 480 KM not 500. Surprisingly the charging infrastructure seems to be terrible in Germany and by law they can't tow ICE's blocking charge stations ! As expected, they second my critics that this is not a car for the German Autobahn. Also some minor critics regarding the interior (not at par with German luxury cars, but getting close to it) and wind noise on high speeds, especially from the pano roof as I also complained in another thread.

The journalist where in my opinion terrible. The article is boring and there is no excitement, not a single mentioning of the insane acceleration, although they did mention that the car beats a BMW 5 and A6.

So after all, for the super picky and demanding Germans, this test drive is a great outcome for the MS, much better than the Broder drive !

 

[LuckyLuke]

Can you make scans or photos available perhaps? Some interested people outside Germany can read/understand Deutsch as well (like me) :wink:

 

[60TTuC]

Day 1: Live-Test auf der Autobahn: Hält Teslas Model S, was es verspricht? - manager magazin - Lifestyle
Day 2: Tag 2 in Teslas Model S: Wir sind so was von geladen! - manager magazin - Lifestyle
Day 3: Tag 3 in Teslas Model S: Heute wird gekachelt - manager magazin - Lifestyle

 

[brianman]

German Manager Magazine test drives Model S for 1300 KM
Also some minor critics regarding the interior (not at par with German luxury cars, but getting close to it)

Not even the boldest gamblers in Vegas would have bet against this.

 

[nikwest]

IMHO the article is too early. They have a US car with no 3phase charging. There are no Superchargers in Germany. And they do a long distance test over 3 days what you can drive in a day in an ICE car.

I don't see why Tesla wants articles like this. This is exactly what Model S is going to solve. Why have an article showing all the problems which you shouldn't have...

But it also demonstrates the infancy of the German EV market aswell as the public perception.

 

[60TTuC]

Test conclusions:
Tesla Model S - Fazit (I): Dieses Auto ist zu gut für Deutschland - manager magazin - Lifestyle
Tesla Model S - Fazit (II): Anti-Verzichtsmobil mit kleinen Makeln - manager magazin - Lifestyle
Der ganze Test im Überblick: Drei Tage in Teslas Model S - manager magazin - Lifestyle

 

[Kaivball]

Wow, lots of praise from the Germans!

 

[raymond]

... that the MS will fail in Germany ...

I wonder how much this is going to hurt the German car industry. It seems like the German engineers simply can't understand that the market *outside* Germany is so much different (and much bigger!) than their local market. Will VW, BMW, Mercedes, Audio, ... all have to play catch-up in five years time?

The irony is of course that private solar power is plentiful in Germany. You'd be hard pressed these days to find a roof *without* PV cells.

It's a funny world...

 

[PaceyWhitter]

I would have to say that I don't see why the Model S would not be a good car on the Autobahn. While there are cars that drive very fast, they are not that common. I have read that the average speed is 80 MPH.

The only reason the Model S may struggle on the Autobahn is the driver. With such a competent car under you you may want to dive faster than you normally would, and an extended period of driving between 80 and 120 (depending on road conditions) would drain the battery quite quickly.

 

[Adm]

I wonder how much this is going to hurt the German car industry. It seems like the German engineers simply can't understand that the market *outside* Germany is so much different (and much bigger!) than their local market. Will VW, BMW, Mercedes, Audio, ... all have to play catch-up in five years time?

The irony is of course that private solar power is plentiful in Germany. You'd be hard pressed these days to find a roof *without* PV cells.

It's a funny world...

German manufacturers (with exception of Opel) are very succesful outside Europe, so I think they have a pretty good idea what happens outside of Germany/Europe. However, as long as the German government continues to hand out subsidies to "research" alternatively fueled cars, the German OEM's will continue to research (read collect subsidies) instead of producing on a serious level.
Should the German government decide to reward ownership of an EV, things might change.

The German feed in tariff for solar is higher than the actual price of electricity, so why "waste" it in your EV?

 

[AustinPowers]

True.

And as for the article, I think the journalists paint quite a favorable picture of the car itself. They DO point out the great acceleration quite prominently (they don't use the term "insane" of course), they prove that even at high autobahn speeds the Model S offers considerable range (which really surprised me positively), and they say the Model S is "a huge slap in the face of the German automotive industry" and "too good for Germany at this point in time"! I think such comments contradict what some here would have thought German journalists might say about an American EV by an unknown (at least by the average Joe) start-up company from Silicon Valley.

The only nits they pick with the car itself are what was to be expected: missing assistant systems, interior quality of some items (sun visors, no adjustable headrests, sunroof noise, some impracticalities with the 17 inch screen), that's basically it.

So all in all, a very fair and unbiased article which should give German automakers something to think about.
On the other hand, I know how good VW for example is at turning late entry into a market into success. Like our Touran. VW was one of the last to offer a minivan, but now the Touran is the number one minivan in Germany (not sure about the rest of Europe). Same for small SUVs: the Tiguan came very late in the game, yet it now is number one in its segment. The list goes on. So let's see how the E-Golf (which is supposed to go on sale this November) will fare in a few years time...

 

[bareyb]

German manufacturers (with exception of Opel) are very succesful outside Europe, so I think they have a pretty good idea what happens outside of Germany/Europe. However, as long as the German government continues to hand out subsidies to "research" alternatively fueled cars, the German OEM's will continue to research (read collect subsidies) instead of producing on a serious level.
Should the German government decide to reward ownership of an EV, things might change.

The German feed in tariff for solar is higher than the actual price of electricity, so why "waste" it in your EV?[/QUOTE]

Wow really? that sucks. I hope it doesn't happen here, but I wont be surprised... Greed...