Thought I’d relay our experience of how a Tesla handles “ludicrous” traffic jams, from the comfort of a sun lounger on the Spanish costa somewhere south of Barcelona.
We were caught up in the cross-channel chaos last weekend, specifically the Sunday; the worst of the days for Eurotunnel traffic. We’d booked a Flexi+ ticket so no concerns about arrival time, but what worried me was how well would the MY’s battery cope with hours of traffic jam in high 20s temps.
With that in mind, I scheduled a stop at Dartford SC at around 6:30am and filled to around 70% with a view to topping off again in Calais. Hit the M20 diversion at J8, then finally hit the start of the jam with 4 miles to go to Eurotunnel checkin.
Four hours later, and 15% less charge in the tank compared to the start of the jam, we were in.
I have to say, an EV, whether it’s a Tesla or not, is a far nicer place to be than an ICE given the conditions- no idling engine to maintain a/c.
Battery usage was less than I expected, but definitely not insignificant. Worth keeping in mind if you might encounter long jams on a road trip.
Anyhow, enough of that. Time for another strawberry daiquiri.
We were caught up in the cross-channel chaos last weekend, specifically the Sunday; the worst of the days for Eurotunnel traffic. We’d booked a Flexi+ ticket so no concerns about arrival time, but what worried me was how well would the MY’s battery cope with hours of traffic jam in high 20s temps.
With that in mind, I scheduled a stop at Dartford SC at around 6:30am and filled to around 70% with a view to topping off again in Calais. Hit the M20 diversion at J8, then finally hit the start of the jam with 4 miles to go to Eurotunnel checkin.
Four hours later, and 15% less charge in the tank compared to the start of the jam, we were in.
I have to say, an EV, whether it’s a Tesla or not, is a far nicer place to be than an ICE given the conditions- no idling engine to maintain a/c.
Battery usage was less than I expected, but definitely not insignificant. Worth keeping in mind if you might encounter long jams on a road trip.
Anyhow, enough of that. Time for another strawberry daiquiri.
