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Posts tagged supercharging

Driving a Tesla 101: supercharging

Feb02
2017
Written by Steven Peeters

I’ve been driving a Tesla Model S for about 2 years now and have been all over Europe on multiple road trip vacations, short day or weekend trips and have used the car as my daily driver. In these past 2 years, I’ve learned a lot about driving this car and I feel I pretty much know the ins and outs of it (there is always more stuff to learn though). Some information seems so basic to me that it baffles me not all Tesla drivers have this knowledge. Part of that is down to the fact that the community usually has more information than the Tesla sales or delivery people (community at work here), but also due to the fact new drivers are in my humble opinion not educated enough on the practical points when taking delivery of their car. That’s why I wanted to write a series of blog posts over the next couple of weeks to draw up some common assumptions and answer some questions I regularly get asked.

Why is my supercharging speed so slow?

This is a very common one I read on all forums. People expect to have the maximum charging capacity available all the time and throughout the entire charging cycle. However, there are many factors at play here which have an influence on charging speeds.

Overload protection

The first one is the fact that the car protects the battery from overcharging. A good analogy for supercharging the battery is the challenge to fill a glass with water as quickly as possible and until the very edge of the glass, without spilling a drop. At first, you will start to pour very rapidly and the glass will start to fill at a high rate. But as the glass fills, you become more careful, pouring very slowly at the very end as to not spill anything. That is how supercharging works too: when you start with a low state of charge, in ideal conditions you will get a high charge rate, up to 120kW even. But that soon starts to drop to about 90kW, where it stays for a while, dropping to 50kW or less as the battery reaches 90% or higher.

Practically, this also means that if you start charging at 50%, it will charge a lot slower than when you start at 10%. That is why you should always try to arrive at the supercharger with a low SOC (State Of Charge) and only charge enough to get to the next supercharger + some margin, in order to arrive there with a similar low SOC. That way you get the fastest charging times and therefore also the fastest total travel time.

Slow Supercharging

Battery temperature

Secondly, temperature is also important. A cold battery can’t handle the high charge rate very well. So, the first few minutes, it will gradually build up the rate until the battery is warm enough to handle the real supercharging. Not much really you can do about this, except arriving with a warm battery. In summer, this will never be a problem, but in winter it can be. Usually it takes about 50km at least to get the battery nice and warm and usually you can driver further than that before needing to supercharge (since it is not meant for daily driving purposes, but rather long distance driving).

There are cases and circumstances where you have no option to charge overnight or during the daytime and you have to charge to get to your next destination. Then there are some things you can do to help you get a warm battery more quickly and thus arrive at the supercharger with a more optimal battery temperature to get a faster charge rate quickly.

The first option is only available when you have a PD-version of the car (P85D, P90D or P100D).< Those cars have the “Insane” or “Ludicrous” button under the “Driving” tab of your settings screen. Under those buttons, you will find a clickable text that reads “max battery power”. This is meant to heat the battery to a higher temperature than normal so the impedance is lower and more Amps can be drawn out of the battery at that time. This gives you the maximum performance of the battery (as the text already indicates), but it is not that healthy for the life of the battery if you do this frequently, because it will take it out of its comfort zone. However, it does help warm up the battery more quickly than simply driving the car. And if you turn it off, once you see you have full regen available again, that means the battery is warmed up and you’re not exceeding the comfort zone. You should be fine then, since this should also only be an occasional situation.

Regen limited

The second option when not able to drive a longer distance to warm up the battery, is to use regen a lot. Regen is what is referred to when braking the car but without touching the brakes. The car will slow down quite heavily from reversing the polarity of the motor, thus magnetically slowing down the motor’s rotational velocity, resulting in a braking force. By doing this, the motor effectively becomes a generator and starts to store energy into the battery. This in turn generates quite a bit of heat in the battery and therefore will bring up the temperature to a point where it can handle higher charge rates faster. This effect is not immediate and does still require quite bit of regen to have the desired effect.

A third option is to accelerate the car heavily for a few times. Drawing lots of current out of the battery also generates enough heat to gradually increase the temperature. Of course, you can’t always do this in traffic. So, that is definitely a drawback. Another drawback of this method is that “launching” the car takes its toll on the range that is left due to the high energy consumption and also on the wear and tear of your tires. Tesla cars have a lot of torque and will eat tires quickly if you do this often.

Stall pairing

Another reason why you won’t have the full charging capacity all the time, is the fact that the stalls are usually paired on a single transformer. Next time you visit a supercharger, take a look at the bottom of the stalls. They will have numbers like 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, … These numbers indicate how they are paired up to a single transformer. So 1A and 1B share the same transformer. And usually, they are aligned by number, so 1A is right next to 1B. That is why you frequently see Tesla cars parked with a stall in between each and every one of them.

But there are some superchargers where the As and Bs don’t alternate, but the numbers do. So, for example, you will have 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B. That means that when you arrive at a supercharger, you should look for the stall numbers and make your decision on which one to pick based on which number doesn’t have anyone charging on.

Regen limited

Now, what does this mean that they are shared? Well, assume you have a transformer for stall 1A and 1B. It can handle 135kW of power going out to the pair. If I’m arriving there first with a fairly low SOC and hook up to stall 1A, I will get about 115kW of power. If you arrive a bit later and hook up to stall 1B, that means there is only 20kW of power left that the transformer can give to your car and you’ll be charging very slowly and probably will get frustrated with the charging speeds.

This doesn’t last, because, as I’ve explained before, the charging speed on my car will start to taper off as my SOC increases. As that happens, your car will also gradually receive more power and the balance will shift eventually to a point where I’m taking 50kW and you have 85kW available for your car. If I leave early, then I will disconnect and after a minute or so, you will receive the full power of the supercharger.

That is why you should try to find an empty stall pair and take one of those to get charged faster. Or, if that is not possible, try to guess which car is nearly done charging, because hooking up to the second stall of that pair will get you the highest charge rate available. Now, how do you know which car is nearly done charging? That is not always possible, but if people are sitting in the car, you can see the green LEDs near the charge port blinking. The faster they blink, the lower the SOC of that car and the more power it is already drawing. So, try to find a slow blinking car and hook up to that pair (usually next to that one). If the cars are locked, you won’t see them blinking and then it’s anyone’s guess which one will be done the quickest.

Outside influences

The last factor is this list is not just one factor, but can be a multitude of things. Tesla doesn’t control the power that is supplied to the supercharger transformers. There may be quality issues in the power delivered in the sense that it is not stable. This can happen in more remote regions and regions with heavy industry nearby.

Another reason for not getting full charge to the transformer is the surrounding area where the supercharger is located. If it is in an area of heavy industry that can draw peaks of current, you may see a temporary less “capable” supercharger. But the next time you charge there, everything seems peachy again. There is nothing wrong with your car or the supercharger, but it’s the grid’s fault at that point. And that is something even Tesla can’t fix, unless they start placing those solar and Powerpack powered superchargers all over the place, so they can become grid-independent, which is where we all need to go in the near future…

These are a few factors that will definitely have an impact on supercharging speeds. That means not every supercharger location will charge your car at the same speed. Keep that in mind when visiting superchargers and you will not be so worried next time you see your car charging at only 50kW or so. This is perfectly normal and there is nothing wrong with your car. Unless it never goes higher than that of course and then you’re best to call Tesla Support to check up on it remotely or maybe call your Service Center to make an appointment to have it checked out.

Should this article have been helpful and you want to buy a Tesla, please use my referral code http://ts.la/steven1007 and get free supercharging on your new or inventory car.

Posted in Tesla, Uncategorized - Tagged stall

Planning a road trip in a Tesla

Dec11
2016
Written by Steven Peeters

Driving a Tesla is addictive. The smoothness of the car and the way it effortlessly eats up the kilometres makes it an excellent cruising missile for cross country road trips. The first year I took it on holiday to Sweden, this year to Croatia and next year we’ll go back, but quite a bit further, all the way to Dubrovnik with daytrips to Montenegro, for example. In between the big road trips I’ve been to Germany, France, The Netherlands and Switzerland for aikido seminars, professional courses, long weekends or short trips.

So, I was thinking I’d write this post to give the newer drivers some interesting information about the process I’ve been going through when planning these road trips. As a disclaimer, I must mention that I’m kind of a control freak, so your thought process might vary.

Driving long distances

Let’s start with the destinations to pick from. Tesla sales people might tell you that you can go anywhere you want using the supercharger network. However, even though the network has grown quite a bit in the past 2-3 years, there are still some “blind spots” where you’re off-supercharger-grid. So, you have to take that into consideration. Does that mean you can’t go there? No. But you sure as hell need to know what you’re getting yourself into if you want to drive distances using only public chargers. But I’ll talk more about that in just a bit.

The supercharger network is, as you can see below, quite extensive and allows you to drive an average of 2 to 2,5 hours before you need to charge again. Charging times depend on lots of factors, so there is a rule of thumb you can use (and the Tesla navigation uses that too), but there are too many variables to give any guarantees. Consider it a guideline.

superchargers

One thing you have to keep in mind when taking road trips as efficiently as possible, is that you try to reach the supercharger with a state of charge around 10-15% or lower. That way you get the highest rate of charge and fill up quicker than when you start at 50%, for example. Another thing to keep in mind is that you have to get rid of the mindset that you should “fill up”. That just takes way too long, because again, the higher your state of charge, the slower the car will charge. Just compare it to the Lithium-Ion battery in your phone: charging from 0% to 80% takes as much time as charging from 80% to 100%. To be efficient and not lose too much time, you only need to charge up to the level to get to your destination and take some margin on that. In general, I’ll take a 15% margin, but when driving the unlimited Autobahn, of course I’ll need more than that…

Now, how do you know how much margin to take? Well, I’ll give the consultant’s answer and say “It depends” . You’ll quickly find out your personal average consumption rate once you drive the car for a few longer distances. But then you could also take several parameters into account. An important one is elevation. The car’s navigation does quite a good job of taking that into account. But the car assumes its programmed average consumption of around 188Wh/km. This number slightly varies for each car, because of the efficiency of the different motor types: a performance rear motor is not as efficient as the smaller motors in a non-performance car. My lifetime average over 65.000 km is around 220Wh/km, so I factor in an additional 15% consumption, unless it is mostly downhill. That’s the 15% margin I mentioned above.

Windity

Another important factor that some might overlook, is the climate conditions. If it’s really cold, you’ll use more because of the fact that you will be using a 6kW electrical heater to heat the cabin, but also to keep the battery at the optimal temperature of around 25°C. If it’s really hot, you’ll use only a bit more, because the battery will already be optimal and the A/C uses less power than heating the car. If it is raining, you’ll have more rolling resistance, so you’ll use about 5% more power (from my own experience on 21” summer tires). And if you’re facing a head wind, that will have more impact than you would guess at first. This is no different from any other car.

To know what I’m facing on the next leg of my trip, I usually take a quick look at the website http://www.yr.no, which gives pretty accurate temperature, rain and wind predictions in 3 hour intervals. Next to that I’ll look at the Windity app (see screenshot below) which is a realtime wind measuring tool. That way I’ll get an idea of where the wind is coming from and how strong it is on the whole leg of the journey. If it’s a strong head wind all the time, I’ll again take some additional margin. With a tail wind, I don’t add anything, but also not subtract anything, just to be on the safe side.

As to driving times and speed, I can say that from experience I can get about 85km/h on average. That includes everything, from start to finish: driving, charging, eating, pit stops etc. For an 850km trip that means it will take you about 10 hours in total to reach your destination. Especially with 3 kids in the back you need to let them stretch their legs and let them play for a bit every 2 hours or so. And that matches perfectly with the charging stops, while at the same time also adhering to the recommended driving and resting times. Coming back from Sweden I did a one day trip back home from the top of Denmark (Frederikshaven) to my house in Belgium, which was 1150km, and was still fresh and not tired at all when we got home. And that was before I had AutoPilot to do most of the highway driving.

Picking a destination

For me, picking a destination is quite easy. I start with destinations that I would like to visit (or my wife tells me where we are going ) and then I start looking at http://www.supercharge.info (see also screenshot above) to see if we can get there comfortably or not using the supercharger network. In Sweden for example, we were able to charge at Karlstad, but that was the very last supercharger to where we were going to drive around for the next 2,5 weeks (in the meantime there is an additional charger at Mora that wasn’t there last year). At first it seemed impossible, but that is where the fun starts.

In such a situation, I always look for destination chargers. Now, tesla has its own growing network of what they call destination chargers (which can also be found in the car’s navigation system), but in my definition, it also includes any and all possibilities of charging the car wherever you’re staying and not just at hotels. So, when I book an apartment or vacation home (hotels are just too expensive with 5 people), I ask if there is a possibility to charge my car (socket or 3-phase red plug if I’m lucky). I usually also mention the fact that I’m more than happy to pay extra for this, but most of the time they will just reply I can charge for free. Ain’t that nice?

Range assurance

However, sometimes there are no superchargers in the area where you’ll be staying (too far away) or you can’t charge at your destination. Then it’s on to the next level and I’ll start looking for public chargers. Is there one in the town or city we’ll be staying? If so, do I need a specific RFID or app to be able to use it? If not, then the problem has been solved and I’ll park there for a while when visiting the surroundings. And if you’re lucky, the public charger can be free too! But keep in mind these chargers are usually slow and you’ll need to spend at least a good couple of hours in that area before you can get going again.

But most of the time you will need some kind of charging app or RFID card. That is where the tricky part begins in the sense that there still is not 1 single provider that gets you access to every single charging station in Europe. There is a huge effort going on in these companies to work together and allow each other’s cards on the networks, but there is also still a long way to go.

So how do you know which card or app to use? The main website I’m using is http://www.chargemap.com. I know some like http://www.plugshare.com better, but I personally find more information and more accurate information on the first one. There is also http://www.plugsurfing.com, which is rapidly expanding its network. And for the Nordics I use http://www.ladestasjoner.no. Of course, there are many more apps and websites, but these are the ones I use the most and they are also in my favorites list in the browser of my car. These websites and apps usually state who the provider is and whether or not it is free and what charges may apply. Sometimes you can find a charger that says “only for guests of the brand” or something like that. Nissan garages do that commonly, so you probably won’t be able to use those. At least, I don’t count on those. But once you find a suitable charger, you can order an RFID card or download the app and you’re set again.

And of course, you might run out of luck after all and don’t find anything suitable for charging and you’ll have to get creative: marinas have boat docks that have power outlets, for example. Talking to the harbour master might get you on the road again. However, you can’t count on that either, since you can’t really call them up front and ask permission. You’ll just have to see when you get there, so that might be a gamble.

Charging options

The most important aspect I want you to remember is that anything that gives electrical power can be used as a potential charging point, providing you have the correct adapter. And I have made a few of my own, so except for the specific and costly CHAdeMO adapter, I can hook up to anything. The people from Tesla Club Belgium have made a nice overview of how quickly the different charging options will charge your car as a reference guide (see picture above). I also have a laminated version in my car, but know most of them by heart by now.

The second most important thing to remember is the fact that you should always have a plan B with an alternate charging point. That way you don’t have to panic when plan A doesn’t work out, because the site is not accessible, the information was wrong, or it was just occupied.

Navigation

O dear, we have come to the topic of the navigation in a Tesla. There is a lot to say about this and there are people that hate it and people that accept the flaws. I’m in the latter group. The navigation is far from perfect and even some basic functions are missing. But there are ways to work around them and get exactly what you want. Well, for most of the issues at least.

The good thing about the navigation is the fact that it can automatically route you on your journey via all the necessary superchargers. It will tell you where to stop and how long to charge (the rule of thumb, remember). But it doesn’t always take the route you want to take. One way to get around this is to select the charger you want to visit next as your next destination. Or you could drop a pin on the map somewhere in that direction, simply by pressing down longer where you want the pin to be. And then that can be your next destination.

Sometimes the navigation will act strangely in the sense that it can send you on a detour for a few kilometres and then back again on the highway. Nobody knows (yet) why this is happening, but feel free to ignore it and the navigation will pick up your decision and recalculate the route for you.

Navigation detour

Another quirk in the navigation has to do with the supercharger routing. When we were in Sweden, we had to drive about 200km to the next holiday home. We started in a place with no superchargers nearby and at the destination I had a public 22kW charging station available. But the car doesn’t know that, unless you’ve charged there before (it remembers all your charging stops). Instead of guiding me directly to my destination, it took me into Norway for a 500km detour, just to visit a supercharger! Quickest way around this one is to hit the “Remove all charging stops” link in the navigation and it will set you right back on track.

One of the features in the navigation I like the most is the combination of the Trip consumption prediction and something that Tesla calls “range assurance”. This last one is interesting, because the car will calculate how much energy you will have left when you get to your destination. If that dips below 7%, the car will warn you about this and will suggest a maximum speed to make sure you reach the destination (which could be a supercharger). To do this, it actually takes elevation, actual speed, and climate factors into consideration to extrapolate how much energy you will consume. And you’ll see a nice graph of this in a second tab on the energy app, so you can keep an eye on this if you want.

In the 65.000km I’ve driving and the various road trips I’ve done, I have found this to be pretty accurate. Of course, if you start driving 200km/h, the graph will have you panicking at first, but if you realise that the graph will go parallel again with the original estimate once you go back down to normal speed, you’ll know how far you can take it. I use it quite a lot and really like it because it gives me some peace of mind.

Range assurance

Fun, fun, fun

This very long article seems to be focussing on worrying about where to go and how to get there. But you shouldn’t forget the fact that driving a tesla is fun! And it’s not only because it has a gazillion torques, but because of the ease of driving.

Driving through the mountains, you don’t have to constantly shift up and down in hairpin bends, sometimes ending up in the wrong gear and having to shift again etc. The car just takes these roads with such ease that it becomes much more relaxing to drive these sometimes-dangerous roads, because you can focus more on the road itself and at the same time also enjoy the scenery more. The instant torque from the motors also make sure you have no trouble whatsoever to come out of a corner on a steep hill and just get going.

The car also has loads of space, both inside the cabin and in the trunk/frunk. It is on par with the cargo capacity of an Audi A4 Avant (the rear wheel drive ones even with the Audi A6 Avant). For me that meant I could leave our Ford S-Max at home and take the Tesla Model S instead.

Another remarkable aspect, is that before I drove my Tesla, I wanted to get to my destination as quickly as possible. Now, the supercharger network takes me on other routes on the one hand, but on the other hand I find myself searching for scenic routes to enjoy the journey to our destination as well. I guess I’m trying to find excuses for spending more time driving the Tesla ;-).

And last, but not least, you’re driving the most technologically advanced mass produced car on the planet (for now), which includes having Autopilot. This allows you to relax again and have the car help you drive. It takes care of a lot of stuff for you, but you still need to be vigilant, of course, because it’s is still not a self-driving car. Speaking of which, every single tesla that is currently produced (and as of mid September 2016) has all the necessary hardware for full self-driving capability (or so Elon Musk has promised us). That means the hardware is in place, but the software still needs to catch up. But if you look at the clip below, you can see that, even though this is a fixed route, the car can already handle various unexpected and complex situations. Of course, we won’t be getting this update for quite some time. But the future is looking bright.

Just think about it: stepping into your car, going to sleep and waking up at your destination. Wouldn’t that be awesome? This future is closer than we think and I think we are all going to be surprised about how quickly this is going to happen. I for one can’t wait to be a pioneer in this game.

If this information has been helpful for you and you are planning on buying a Tesla Model S or Model X, please use my referral code http://ts.la/steven1007 and get free supercharging on your new or inventory car.

Posted in AutoPilot, Tesla, Uncategorized - Tagged destination chargers, road trip, Tesla

Road tripping with kids, a lot of luggage and a Tesla Model S

Aug10
2016
Leave a Comment Written by Steven Peeters

Last year, when we would go on vacation to Sweden with the Model S, it was our first really long journey with an electric car. I had to convince my wife that it would all work out. It was certainly the case, since in Scandinavia electric cars are a lot longer a common sight in traffic than they are in Belgium. A lot more charging stations, so charging options were abundant.

This year we decided to go on another road trip, but this time we would visit Croatia and Slovenia. Places where superchargers are not as common as in most West-European countries and the electrical grid is notorious for its unreliability in some areas. But to my surprise we didn’t discuss the question whether or not we would take the Tesla on this trip. That is how natural is has become for to just take the Model S and go wherever we want.

First some statistics
  • Total distance travelled: 4310km
  • Crossed 7 countries, of which 5 in 1 day (Germany, Austria, Italy, a small part of Slovenia and of course Croatia)
  • 5 sleeping places
  • 15 different superchargers (some on the way back we visited on our way there)
  • 3 public charging stations
  • 5 “destination chargers” (charging points at places that you’d consider a destination, such as amusement parks, restaurants, hotels or apartments)
  • Average speed for the longer stretches: 85 km/h including all stops for lunch, charging or just stretching our legs for a bit
  • Fuel cost: €0, or a savings of around €400 compared to our other car we used to take on these trips, which is a nice budget we can use to save or to spend on other things.

Croatia road trip route

Travel times and speed

In the statistics I mentioned an average travel speed of 85 km/h for our longer distances. This is consistent with the number I got last year on our road trip to Sweden. At first sight this may seem kind of slow, but if you factor in the fact that this number includes all stops for charging, lunch etc. then it makes a lot more sense. The advantage of driving a Model S is the fact that because you have to supercharge every 2 hours on average, you also have to take a rest for at least 15 minutes before continuing on your journey. Even though this year I once did a 4-hour trip between superchargers, but then we stopped at the “rodelbahn” in Lienz, Austria to take a welcome break from driving.

These times are not only the recommended driving times before needing to rest, but it also makes sure that you enjoy the trip itself more, that you take a walk in places you would never stop otherwise (and maybe you discover some hidden treasures). The consequence is that you are better concentrated on the road during the trip and at the same time more relaxed at the end of it. In that perspective I see supercharging as an advantage instead of a drawback.

Do I need to plan to get somewhere?

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been asked the question how far you can drive a Tesla. This year I always answered “At least as far as Croatia and a lot further as well”. Of course they don’t mean it in that way, but it remains a questions that hovers around all electric vehicles.

It is of course still a fact that electric vehicles are not yet a 100% equivalent of a regular gasoline or diesel car in the sense that you don’t “fill up and drive off”. You still have to adapt and superchargers are not yet everywhere (although Tesla is changing that very rapidly nowadays). But there are enough of them to allow you to travel without thinking about that. The built-in navigation makes sure of that, because it neatly routes you via all the necessary charging stops. And once you realise you shouldn’t fall into the habbit of “filling up”, the adjustment is not too bad.

Supercharging

In that respect I try to combine the charging stops with either a lunch break or a nice activity for the kids. This year we only had to wait for the car to be ready 1 or 2 times. All the other times, the car was actually waiting for us to come back and continue the trip. In essence you just have to charge to get to your next charging stop (including some margin of course) and don’t have to charge to 100%, because then you lose a lot of time since charging at higher percentages becomes really slow. So, the lower your charge when you arrive, the faster you can get going again. As soon as you figure out that system and you know the car’s consumption with your driving style, it’s not a big adjustment to go on an all-electric road trip.

It is only when you go outside the range of the supercharger network that it takes a bit more planning. In Europe there are quite some public charging stations available, but often you need special RFID cards to be able to use them. It would be nice to have 1 card that can use them all and some companies try to reach this goal. But there is still a long way to go before we get to that point. Often public chargers are free too. Or you can charge in the harbor using the 3-phase red plug, of course only after consent of the owner or harbor master.

Free public charger in Pula

Besides that, our strategy was to just plug in at the apartments and houses we rented using the standard Schuko household plugs. Those are really slow, but if you can let the car charge for the whole night, you find yourself having gained another 150km of range in the morning.

So yes, you need to plan ahead some to charge in the proper locations, but often it depends on your mindset and how much you really want to plan or calculate. Some say “just drive and we’ll see”. However, I’m the kind of guy that wants to have a plan B for everything (yes, you can call me a control freak ;-)). That way I have peace of mind when I test the car’s limits, without ever having the so-called “range anxiety”, which is basically the fear of running out of energy before you reach you destination or charging stop.

Beautiful mountain roads

This year I told myself to get through Germany as quickly as possible (hitting 200km/h on a regular basis), but from that point on to take a little highways as possible. While an added bonus is that you don’t have to pay the vignette in Austria and you can skip some road tolls in Slovenia and Croatia, that was not the main driver of this decision. The real reason is simply because highways are boring. Driving on mountain roads is more challenging, but also more fun. And at the same time you get a lot of amazing landscapes and beautiful views in return. You discover a country in a different, more intimate way than by just getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

With my P85D in Insane mode, I had all the torque I needed to drive up the mountains with ease. The aspect of the car that I appreciated the most at that point was the fact that you never have to change gears, since there is only one gear. While driving up a mountain road I remembered having to downshift and upshift constantly with our other car that we used to take on these kinds of trips. Every time the fuzz of choosing the right gear (sometimes picking the wrong one) in every sharp corner or steep section. With a Model S there’s no need for that. You just shoot out of each corner without the feel of the car having to work its way up the mountain. Add the factor that it is a 4-wheel drive car and driving on mountain roads is both incredibly safe and a pure joy.

Nice view on a mountain road in Austria

The car attracts people

One of the cool aspects when you drive around in a Tesla is that despite the fact that they become more prominent in the streets, everywhere you go, people are coming over, asking questions and taking pictures. Some may find that a bit annoying, but I love the fact that I can show of this beautiful machine and I can inform people about living with an electric car. Often they are amazed that we travel that far with a pure electric car and they admire my bravery. But once I explain how it all fits together, they usually say something like “I had no idea this is so easy”.

So, any location we parked people were bound to show up, look at the car and ask questions. At every house or apartment we rented, the landlord or landlady usually started the conversation with “Nice car! want to trade with mine?” After that it mostly turned into a conversation of at least 15 minutes about the car: the performance, the ease of use, the range etc. In fact, by now it happens so frequently that my wife has already gotten used to it and she just know I won’t be available for the next 15 minutes or so :-).

Whereto next year?

This year was another successful road trip: stunning nature scenes (and about a gazillion pictures to prove that), beautiful roads, lots of sun and not a single problem with the tesla to get where we wanted to go. From long open highways with smooth asphalt to tiny mountain roads with dusty gravel: it’s all perfectly doable with a Model S. Even the kids immediately said they want to go back.

But for me there is still a whole world to explore and so many countries and things we haven’t seen yet. Norway is definitely on the list, but so is Scotland. Or maybe next year it will be Austria or Switzerland? I can’t yet say for sure what it will be. But what DO know for sure is that next year we will be taking the Tesla Model S again. And because of the continuously expanding supercharger network it will be even easier to cover those long distances.

By the way, if you are on the verge of getting a Model S or X yourself, please use my referral code ts.la/steven1007 and get free supercharging on your new or inventory car.

Posted in Tesla - Tagged AutoPilot, Croatia, Model S, road trip, Tesla

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  • Planning a road trip in a Tesla
  • Road tripping with kids, a lot of luggage and a Tesla Model S
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