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Tesla Model 3, Three Month Review

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22 May 2021 We collected our M3 LR AWD from Tesla, Bristol.

3 months to the day some impressions:


Costs:


2240 Miles, 587 Kw/H used and an average consumption of 262 Wh/mile.

Assuming the battery has a usable capacity of 78Kw/h that gives a range of 297 miles.

On our Scottish Power tariff, (fixed until March 2022) we pay 15.5p/Kw/h, including standing charge, so the cost of “fuel” is £90.10 which is £0.04 / mile, or another way….

In the south of England as of 22 September Petrol is £1.30/litre = £5.80/gallon. The electricity purchased cost the equivalent of 15.53 gallons, giving an equivalent fuel consumption of 144.2mpg.

Dislikes:

Just 1: the indicator warning sound is too quiet. That really is it.

Oh, and the wipers, before the last software upgrade.


Disappointments:

The basic cruise control (Autopilot??) works well and I like the ability to set distance behind the car ahead, but beyond that the rest of the Autopilot is not fit for purpose.


Problems:

The rear near side door rattled, fixed swiftly and efficiently at the Winchester Service Centre.


Likes:

Too many to mention, but the seamless acceleration and well-balanced regenerative braking and the smooth, controlled ride stand out, as does the sound quality with the Premium sound system.

Oh, and the lack of brake dust on the wheels!!


Tesla Charging:

I have used it once, quick and effective but for my use of the car 90% of the time charging from home does the job.


Conclusion:

it is a stunning car! Thanks to Neil for leading me into to temptation!


Question:

Is it really a green, eco-friendly car? Somewhat, but not as much as many EV supporters claim. In use it is, but over its lifecycle I’m uncertain. One could say I’ve exported a significant amount of pollution to China.
 
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On our Scottish Power tariff, (fixed until March 2022) we pay 15.5p/Kw/h, including standing charge, so the cost of “fuel” is £90.10 which is £0.04 / mile, or another way….

I may have forgotten if you've mentioned this before but are you waiting for a smart meter install so that you can get cheaper home charging? ... e.g. 5p kWh on Octopus Go ...yep, a third of the cost!

Agree about the quiet indicator sound ... every other sound seems too loud but this one is the opposite.
 
We have an early Smart (Dumb) Meter. So it would need changing...
I calculated the saving on Octopus Go in relation to the slightly higher daytime tarif and changing before the end of the Scottish Power contract would not be a saving. But next year all options are possible as if I put our electricity consumption into all of the comparison sites it is going to be significantly more expensive. To get the best from the "Go" tarif we would have to re-schedule washing machine, dishwasher, etc. Management refuses to do this!!
 
Is it really a green, eco-friendly car? Somewhat, but not as much as many EV supporters claim. In use it is, but over its lifecycle I’m uncertain. One could say I’ve exported a significant amount of pollution to China.
This depends what you are comparing it to, its not greener than cycling or taking a bus.

If you compare it to a typical new petrol car after about 20K miles there will be less total CO2 from production and use, and clearly it'll get further and further ahead as you drive it more. Lots of variables though.
 
We have an early Smart (Dumb) Meter. So it would need changing...
I calculated the saving on Octopus Go in relation to the slightly higher daytime tarif and changing before the end of the Scottish Power contract would not be a saving. But next year all options are possible as if I put our electricity consumption into all of the comparison sites it is going to be significantly more expensive. To get the best from the "Go" tarif we would have to re-schedule washing machine, dishwasher, etc. Management refuses to do this!!
If you sign up for the Octopus Go Faster Tariff you can choose the 4 Hour time period, we have 20:30 - 00:30 so using the dishwasher, washing machine etc. in this window is less of a culture change and will save you a lot of money.
 
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On our Scottish Power tariff, (fixed until March 2022) we pay 15.5p/Kw/h, including standing charge, so the cost of “fuel” is £90.10 which is £0.04 / mile, or another way….
have you considered buying yourself out of your fixed price contract and switching to Octopus go? you would have saved £60 already based on a similar day rate and 5p per kwh for charging. between now and march you would presumably save another £120 .
I would be more than happy to give you a referal code to save you a further £50 🙂

On costs the 262 Wh/mile is good only for calculating range not cost. Add up charger losses, phantom drain, preheat, sentry etc and you probably need to add around 30% to that figure so your actual cost is probably more like £120 than £90.
also sorry to be a pedant but just for info the units of energy are kwh not kw/h e.g. a charger drawing 7kw of power for 2 hours = 7*2 = 14kwh of energy
 
I thought the ones being used in UK RHD models were LG ones with a 78kWh capacity with a 75 kWh useable? Is there an easy way to tell on the car?
Looking at my Tessie app, when I added 42% charge it was reported as 31.95kWh added.

That works out at 76.07kWh for 100%.

There is a battery capacity reading (below) but it states that can change over time, which it has both up and down, I'm assuming based on temperature more than anything
 

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