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#445
Just got back from a trip to Gent in Belgium, which is a journey we have done many times in ICE vehicles and one that would always require us to fill up somewhere on route. Car is Blue Model Y LR with 19 inch boots.

Firstly, the car is wonderful to drive on journeys like this. Unbelievably smooth and the power is there when you need it, but can still be driven in a very relaxed way. In terms of charging we went for 'little and often' as this was the first longer trip we have made in an EV. We left with 80% (no home charger yet), when we got to Folkestone we topped up back to 80% (in literally no time at all - quick pee and wife looking at perfumes for 5 minutes). We also stopped at the Supercharger near Bruges for another quick pee and a top up to 80%. We arrived in Gent with 68% battery and the trip didn't take any longer than it used to in the ICE. In the car park in Gent, there were destination chargers (i had no idea they were there to be honest). They are 'Allegro' and via the 'smoov' app we charged to 100% the morning we left (took about 2.5 hours and cost me 7 euro). It all worked first time for me, which i wasn't expecting. A quick top up in Calais meant we arrived home with 55%. If i had a home charger i wouldn't have bothered charging in Calais.

The things we really liked:
  • Very comfy and so smooth. I might be imagining it but i arrived there and home far less tired than in my old car. On the way home it was really windy, and the car didn't feel like it was been thrown around.
  • Watching Taskmaster Youtube videos whilst queuing and on the train has become a new family tradition. Brilliant!
  • Basic autopilot keeps in lanes brilliantly, especially in the wind. It was an absolute god send on that crappy 50 MPH narrowed stretch of the M20 last night
  • No range anxiety, and there was a charger available everywhere i went (i know i wont always be so lucky!)
  • Even though i have no ultrasonics, i didn't have any issues parking anywhere. Underground car parks in Gent are tight but the cameras were really useful. Still hope we get the bleeps at some point though!
  • The space in the car is ridiculous. We managed to bring a lot back with us with huge amounts of room to spare. However, i still don't think it feels like a 'big' car. I had a Peugeot 3008 that felt much bigger than this.
  • Sat Nav is so much better than anything i have had in other cars.
  • I still love the minimalist interior and have no issue with a lack of heads up display etc
  • Spotify is brilliant. Listened to lots of stuff that we didnt have on old USB sticks.
'Challenges'
  • Auto Wipers. For 80% of the trip they were fine (we drove through heavy rain at times that would suddenly stop). However, there were times when there was no rain on the windscreen and they were going full pelt like a car possessed, and other times where they wouldn't come on when we could barely see, Unfortunately, that 20% when they aren't working does make you lose faith in them. Never had issues like this with auto wipers in previous cars so hopefully this is something that improves over time.
  • I'm still getting used to basic Autopilot. I love that it keeps in in lane perfectly but all bongs are annoying when changing lanes. I found that i started becoming a middle lane hogger after a while just to keep it activated. I don't know if i am missing a trick here (advice is welcome!) as i know that Auto Lane Change is on the more enhanced autopilot. Would be nice if i could change lane and keep it activated without all the bings and bongs.
  • I'm also still getting used to the cruise control. I have set it to max at the speed limit, but was finding that if i adjusted that (i.e down to 65mph) when you hit some road that drops from a 70 limit down to a 50 it doesn't adjust itself automatically (presumably because i overrode it). Need to test if there is a better setting for this, but i did feel the car handled adjusting for other cars really well.
  • Not really a 'challenge', but in our Eurotunnel carriage there 2 other blue Model Y's! One of them even stopped at the Bruges supercharger at the same time as us. Lots of UK registered Tesla's on the road in northern France. Its definitely a popular car.

All in all, we all love the car and this trip gave us confidence that longer trips are going to be manageable with the right sort of planning!
 
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#450
jamesp26 said:
  • Not really a 'challenge', but in our Eurotunnel carriage there 2 other blue Model Y's! One of them even stopped at the Bruges supercharger at the same time as us. Lots of UK registered Tesla's on the road in northern France. Its definitely a popular car.
Click to expand...
Omg I think it was me that saw you in Brugge!? Hahaha. I'm sure I said hello out loud but might've been shy as it was my first time using a supercharger and was nervous people were watching me fumbling my way around so if it seemed like I didn't, I was probably saying it under my breath. Hope you had a good trip!
 
#452
jamesp26 said:
Just got back from a trip to Gent in Belgium, which is a journey we have done many times in ICE vehicles and one that would always require us to fill up somewhere on route. Car is Blue Model Y LR with 19 inch boots.

Firstly, the car is wonderful to drive on journeys like this. Unbelievably smooth and the power is there when you need it, but can still be driven in a very relaxed way. In terms of charging we went for 'little and often' as this was the first longer trip we have made in an EV. We left with 80% (no home charger yet), when we got to Folkestone we topped up back to 80% (in literally no time at all - quick pee and wife looking at perfumes for 5 minutes). We also stopped at the Supercharger near Bruges for another quick pee and a top up to 80%. We arrived in Gent with 68% battery and the trip didn't take any longer than it used to in the ICE. In the car park in Gent, there were destination chargers (i had no idea they were there to be honest). They are 'Allegro' and via the 'smoov' app we charged to 100% the morning we left (took about 2.5 hours and cost me 7 euro). It all worked first time for me, which i wasn't expecting. A quick top up in Calais meant we arrived home with 55%. If i had a home charger i wouldn't have bothered charging in Calais.

The things we really liked:
  • Very comfy and so smooth. I might be imagining it but i arrived there and home far less tired than in my old car. On the way home it was really windy, and the car didn't feel like it was been thrown around.
  • Watching Taskmaster Youtube videos whilst queuing and on the train has become a new family tradition. Brilliant!
  • Basic autopilot keeps in lanes brilliantly, especially in the wind. It was an absolute god send on that crappy 50 MPH narrowed stretch of the M20 last night
  • No range anxiety, and there was a charger available everywhere i went (i know i wont always be so lucky!)
  • Even though i have no ultrasonics, i didn't have any issues parking anywhere. Underground car parks in Gent are tight but the cameras were really useful. Still hope we get the bleeps at some point though!
  • The space in the car is ridiculous. We managed to bring a lot back with us with huge amounts of room to spare. However, i still don't think it feels like a 'big' car. I had a Peugeot 3008 that felt much bigger than this.
  • Sat Nav is so much better than anything i have had in other cars.
  • I still love the minimalist interior and have no issue with a lack of heads up display etc
  • Spotify is brilliant. Listened to lots of stuff that we didnt have on old USB sticks.
'Challenges'
  • Auto Wipers. For 80% of the trip they were fine (we drove through heavy rain at times that would suddenly stop). However, there were times when there was no rain on the windscreen and they were going full pelt like a car possessed, and other times where they wouldn't come on when we could barely see, Unfortunately, that 20% when they aren't working does make you lose faith in them. Never had issues like this with auto wipers in previous cars so hopefully this is something that improves over time.
  • I'm still getting used to basic Autopilot. I love that it keeps in in lane perfectly but all bongs are annoying when changing lanes. I found that i started becoming a middle lane hogger after a while just to keep it activated. I don't know if i am missing a trick here (advice is welcome!) as i know that Auto Lane Change is on the more enhanced autopilot. Would be nice if i could change lane and keep it activated without all the bings and bongs.
  • I'm also still getting used to the cruise control. I have set it to max at the speed limit, but was finding that if i adjusted that (i.e down to 65mph) when you hit some road that drops from a 70 limit down to a 50 it doesn't adjust itself automatically (presumably because i overrode it). Need to test if there is a better setting for this, but i did feel the car handled adjusting for other cars really well.
  • Not really a 'challenge', but in our Eurotunnel carriage there 2 other blue Model Y's! One of them even stopped at the Bruges supercharger at the same time as us. Lots of UK registered Tesla's on the road in northern France. Its definitely a popular car.

All in all, we all love the car and this trip gave us confidence that longer trips are going to be manageable with the right sort of planning!
Click to expand...
Btw, I agree with pretty much everything you've said here. Driving those nice long smooth roads of Europe where everyone usually drives in the correct lane did make me really want EAP so that changing lanes didn't kick it out of AP. I would've loved for the car to just do all the indicating and lane changing itself. Thing is, we don't go on long road trips very often so not sure it's worth it for the 3-4 times per year we're planning to do long ones.

I did get used to all the binging and bonging mind you so it wasn't a huge deal for me.

Oh I also purchased acceleration boost and must say, being able to "catch up" to those speeding Audi's and BMW's was mighty fun, even if was just for a few seconds before slowing down again :D

Oh another thing, completely agree that the car is a beast in the stormy conditions. The firm suspension and aerodynamics make it so it barely moves in a stiff cross wind or next to turbulent 18 wheeler!
 
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#453
jamesp26 said:
Just got back from a trip to Gent in Belgium, which is a journey we have done many times in ICE vehicles and one that would always require us to fill up somewhere on route. Car is Blue Model Y LR with 19 inch boots.

Firstly, the car is wonderful to drive on journeys like this. Unbelievably smooth and the power is there when you need it, but can still be driven in a very relaxed way. In terms of charging we went for 'little and often' as this was the first longer trip we have made in an EV. We left with 80% (no home charger yet), when we got to Folkestone we topped up back to 80% (in literally no time at all - quick pee and wife looking at perfumes for 5 minutes). We also stopped at the Supercharger near Bruges for another quick pee and a top up to 80%. We arrived in Gent with 68% battery and the trip didn't take any longer than it used to in the ICE. In the car park in Gent, there were destination chargers (i had no idea they were there to be honest). They are 'Allegro' and via the 'smoov' app we charged to 100% the morning we left (took about 2.5 hours and cost me 7 euro). It all worked first time for me, which i wasn't expecting. A quick top up in Calais meant we arrived home with 55%. If i had a home charger i wouldn't have bothered charging in Calais.

The things we really liked:
  • Very comfy and so smooth. I might be imagining it but i arrived there and home far less tired than in my old car. On the way home it was really windy, and the car didn't feel like it was been thrown around.
  • Watching Taskmaster Youtube videos whilst queuing and on the train has become a new family tradition. Brilliant!
  • Basic autopilot keeps in lanes brilliantly, especially in the wind. It was an absolute god send on that crappy 50 MPH narrowed stretch of the M20 last night
  • No range anxiety, and there was a charger available everywhere i went (i know i wont always be so lucky!)
  • Even though i have no ultrasonics, i didn't have any issues parking anywhere. Underground car parks in Gent are tight but the cameras were really useful. Still hope we get the bleeps at some point though!
  • The space in the car is ridiculous. We managed to bring a lot back with us with huge amounts of room to spare. However, i still don't think it feels like a 'big' car. I had a Peugeot 3008 that felt much bigger than this.
  • Sat Nav is so much better than anything i have had in other cars.
  • I still love the minimalist interior and have no issue with a lack of heads up display etc
  • Spotify is brilliant. Listened to lots of stuff that we didnt have on old USB sticks.
'Challenges'
  • Auto Wipers. For 80% of the trip they were fine (we drove through heavy rain at times that would suddenly stop). However, there were times when there was no rain on the windscreen and they were going full pelt like a car possessed, and other times where they wouldn't come on when we could barely see, Unfortunately, that 20% when they aren't working does make you lose faith in them. Never had issues like this with auto wipers in previous cars so hopefully this is something that improves over time.
  • I'm still getting used to basic Autopilot. I love that it keeps in in lane perfectly but all bongs are annoying when changing lanes. I found that i started becoming a middle lane hogger after a while just to keep it activated. I don't know if i am missing a trick here (advice is welcome!) as i know that Auto Lane Change is on the more enhanced autopilot. Would be nice if i could change lane and keep it activated without all the bings and bongs.
  • I'm also still getting used to the cruise control. I have set it to max at the speed limit, but was finding that if i adjusted that (i.e down to 65mph) when you hit some road that drops from a 70 limit down to a 50 it doesn't adjust itself automatically (presumably because i overrode it). Need to test if there is a better setting for this, but i did feel the car handled adjusting for other cars really well.
  • Not really a 'challenge', but in our Eurotunnel carriage there 2 other blue Model Y's! One of them even stopped at the Bruges supercharger at the same time as us. Lots of UK registered Tesla's on the road in northern France. Its definitely a popular car.

All in all, we all love the car and this trip gave us confidence that longer trips are going to be manageable with the right sort of planning!
Click to expand...
It’s a small world! I think we were immediately behind you on the train going out, in our Q2 blue MY. I opted for a similar charging strategy, stopping for both at Folkestone & at the Bruges Supercharger, not far from the centre of Bruges, where we were staying.

Hope you enjoyed your trip as much as we did.
 
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#454
Just looking for some help. Car has been great and I love it but the past few times my Wife has taken the car to work a message has popped on screen saying her key is not recognised and won’t let her drive (haven’t seen the actual message myself). We’ve both phone keys set up but she needs to then use the keycard to actually be allowed to drive. It first happened a few days ago but I thought it was because I unlocked the car for her to drive and the system got itself mixed up. This morning she unlocked the car with phone key and the message popped up

Anyone had anything similar? I suspect I’ll need to reset the phones and keycards later and see if that works…
 
#455
rowedav said:
Just looking for some help. Car has been great and I love it but the past few times my Wife has taken the car to work a message has popped on screen saying her key is not recognised and won’t let her drive (haven’t seen the actual message myself). We’ve both phone keys set up but she needs to then use the keycard to actually be allowed to drive. It first happened a few days ago but I thought it was because I unlocked the car for her to drive and the system got itself mixed up. This morning she unlocked the car with phone key and the message popped up

Anyone had anything similar? I suspect I’ll need to reset the phones and keycards later and see if that works…
Click to expand...
Can she just not use the phone key to start the car?
 
#456
rowedav said:
Just looking for some help. Car has been great and I love it but the past few times my Wife has taken the car to work a message has popped on screen saying her key is not recognised and won’t let her drive (haven’t seen the actual message myself). We’ve both phone keys set up but she needs to then use the keycard to actually be allowed to drive. It first happened a few days ago but I thought it was because I unlocked the car for her to drive and the system got itself mixed up. This morning she unlocked the car with phone key and the message popped up

Anyone had anything similar? I suspect I’ll need to reset the phones and keycards later and see if that works…
Click to expand...
I had an issue with my phone key and discovered I needed to update the Tesla app. Once I did that it's worked flawlessly.
 
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#458
jamesp26 said:
Just got back from a trip to Gent in Belgium, which is a journey we have done many times in ICE vehicles and one that would always require us to fill up somewhere on route. Car is Blue Model Y LR with 19 inch boots.

Firstly, the car is wonderful to drive on journeys like this. Unbelievably smooth and the power is there when you need it, but can still be driven in a very relaxed way. In terms of charging we went for 'little and often' as this was the first longer trip we have made in an EV. We left with 80% (no home charger yet), when we got to Folkestone we topped up back to 80% (in literally no time at all - quick pee and wife looking at perfumes for 5 minutes). We also stopped at the Supercharger near Bruges for another quick pee and a top up to 80%. We arrived in Gent with 68% battery and the trip didn't take any longer than it used to in the ICE. In the car park in Gent, there were destination chargers (i had no idea they were there to be honest). They are 'Allegro' and via the 'smoov' app we charged to 100% the morning we left (took about 2.5 hours and cost me 7 euro). It all worked first time for me, which i wasn't expecting. A quick top up in Calais meant we arrived home with 55%. If i had a home charger i wouldn't have bothered charging in Calais.

The things we really liked:
  • Very comfy and so smooth. I might be imagining it but i arrived there and home far less tired than in my old car. On the way home it was really windy, and the car didn't feel like it was been thrown around.
  • Watching Taskmaster Youtube videos whilst queuing and on the train has become a new family tradition. Brilliant!
  • Basic autopilot keeps in lanes brilliantly, especially in the wind. It was an absolute god send on that crappy 50 MPH narrowed stretch of the M20 last night
  • No range anxiety, and there was a charger available everywhere i went (i know i wont always be so lucky!)
  • Even though i have no ultrasonics, i didn't have any issues parking anywhere. Underground car parks in Gent are tight but the cameras were really useful. Still hope we get the bleeps at some point though!
  • The space in the car is ridiculous. We managed to bring a lot back with us with huge amounts of room to spare. However, i still don't think it feels like a 'big' car. I had a Peugeot 3008 that felt much bigger than this.
  • Sat Nav is so much better than anything i have had in other cars.
  • I still love the minimalist interior and have no issue with a lack of heads up display etc
  • Spotify is brilliant. Listened to lots of stuff that we didnt have on old USB sticks.
'Challenges'
  • Auto Wipers. For 80% of the trip they were fine (we drove through heavy rain at times that would suddenly stop). However, there were times when there was no rain on the windscreen and they were going full pelt like a car possessed, and other times where they wouldn't come on when we could barely see, Unfortunately, that 20% when they aren't working does make you lose faith in them. Never had issues like this with auto wipers in previous cars so hopefully this is something that improves over time.
  • I'm still getting used to basic Autopilot. I love that it keeps in in lane perfectly but all bongs are annoying when changing lanes. I found that i started becoming a middle lane hogger after a while just to keep it activated. I don't know if i am missing a trick here (advice is welcome!) as i know that Auto Lane Change is on the more enhanced autopilot. Would be nice if i could change lane and keep it activated without all the bings and bongs.
  • I'm also still getting used to the cruise control. I have set it to max at the speed limit, but was finding that if i adjusted that (i.e down to 65mph) when you hit some road that drops from a 70 limit down to a 50 it doesn't adjust itself automatically (presumably because i overrode it). Need to test if there is a better setting for this, but i did feel the car handled adjusting for other cars really well.
  • Not really a 'challenge', but in our Eurotunnel carriage there 2 other blue Model Y's! One of them even stopped at the Bruges supercharger at the same time as us. Lots of UK registered Tesla's on the road in northern France. Its definitely a popular car.

All in all, we all love the car and this trip gave us confidence that longer trips are going to be manageable with the right sort of planning!
Click to expand...
Following up on this, we drove to Leicester and back for last nights football (bad result!). Managed to get there and back on one charge which was awesome, and had lots of superchargers as backup.

However, after having good Autopilot experiences during my trip to Belgium, yesterday was a different story. I had 2 instances where i had what i think people call phantom breaking. No other traffic on the road and at 65 mph the car slammed the brakes on. I can only think it was confused about a junction on the A14 as the auto steering went funny too. Glad there was no one behind me, and the family aren't that keen on me using it anymore.

I got constant messages about Cameras being blocked, and when i got to the stadium the reversing camera's were really mucked up. It wasn't that wet on the roads really. A bit disappointing and doesn't bode well for reversing beeps in a software update.

The auto wipers are complete joke. They go mental with next to no rain and then do nothing when there is no visibility. By far the worst i have used on any car, and made worse by the fact there are no stalks for the wipers. I don't like the position of the manual wiper select on the bottom right of the screen as i have to take my eye off the road and its really small. Also, when i have disabled wipers (if they go mental) i forget they are not on Auto. This really needs a better solution and is something i miss about my old car.

I used Sentry at the stadium parking. Was interested to see 1 event when we got in. It was my son who got to the car before us - I caught him stroking the Tesla badge.
 
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#459
jamesp26 said:
Following up on this, we drove to Leicester and back for last nights football (bad result!). Managed to get there and back on one charge which was awesome, and had lots of superchargers as backup.

However, after having good Autopilot experiences during my trip to Belgium, yesterday was a different story. I had 2 instances where i had what i think people call phantom breaking. No other traffic on the road and at 65 mph the car slammed the brakes on. I can only think it was confused about a junction on the A14 as the auto steering went funny too. Glad there was no one behind me, and the family aren't that keen on me using it anymore.

I got constant messages about Cameras being blocked, and when i got to the stadium the reversing camera's were really mucked up. It wasn't that wet on the roads really. A bit disappointing and doesn't bode well for reversing beeps in a software update.

The auto wipers are complete joke. They go mental with next to no rain and then do nothing when there is no visibility. By far the worst i have used on any car, and made worse by the fact there are no stalks for the wipers. I don't like the position of the manual wiper select on the bottom right of the screen as i have to take my eye off the road and its really small. Also, when i have disabled wipers (if they go mental) i forget they are not on Auto. This really needs a better solution and is something i miss about my old car.

I used Sentry at the stadium parking. Was interested to see 1 event when we got in. It was my son who got to the car before us - I caught him stroking the Tesla badge.
Click to expand...
Just press in the button on the left stalk for an immediate swipe. Press in fully for screen wash
 
#460
QuanTim said:
Omg I think it was me that saw you in Brugge!? Hahaha. I'm sure I said hello out loud but might've been shy as it was my first time using a supercharger and was nervous people were watching me fumbling my way around so if it seemed like I didn't, I was probably saying it under my breath. Hope you had a good trip!
Click to expand...
Ha ha! Brilliant! You have good taste in cars ;)

It was a lovely trip thanks - hope you enjoyed yours too!
 
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