1 Year with the Tesla Model 3 - EV Dreamin or EV Screamin?

EVs are the future. I reserved my Tesla Model 3 in August 2016 when it didn't exist, and eventually got it on August 2019 after a lot of waiting and speculation on when it would actually be released in the UK. Months of checking Twitter shipping rumours in 2019, pictures of lots of them in docks etc - is this the shipment for the UK and is my reg number in that range? No way to actually talk to Tesla, no test-drive beforehand. My previous car was back in 2004, a manual Ford Fiesta. This would be quite a jump and it would be fair to say any vaguely modern car would do after that.

So why the Tesla Model 3? 2 reasons:

1. I love tech and even in 2016 viewed the EV revolution in the same way as the smartphone one, the wave is coming, the roads are currently filled with legacy.

2. The environment. Well specifically, I live in London, run outdoors a lot, and car fumes really annoy me. A world with EVs on the road is far more pleasant.

The experience of actually getting the car was odd - Tesla were not great in the lead-up, faith was a major ally. Here was the series of emails:

30/08/16: Reservation confirmation - they will start building Model 3 in 2017 with US first then Europe.

31/08/16: Start of many "Model S" promotional emails and test-drive invitations?? Not sure I was added to the right mailing list

05/11/17 (!): Update on Model 3 Reservation. "Significant progress is being made to clear early production bottlenecks"

03/06/18: This summer, Model 3 is Arriving in Europe (no indication when or which countries)

01/05/19: Design Your Model 3 (link to pick which one I wanted - Performance, Long Range, Standard Range - I chose Long Range)

20/07/19: Order confirmation - enter registration information

23/07/19: Prepare for Your Model 3 Delivery - confirmation Model 3 allocated a VIN and expect to take delivery from 12th August.

Note at this point I actually had to pay for it. My wife Irene never really believed I would get it so refused to release the funds at this point. I had been saving for 3 years! Scuppered at the last hurdle. Almost. I have pulled off some moves in my time, but this required the kitchen sink. Pulling out all the stops around it being a 40th birthday present, benefit for the family (which is true if you have 2 kids) etc - we managed to come to an agreement. And you can get a refund in the first month if you want, so all sorted.

14/08/19: Rescheduled Delivery Appointment - 27th August

I finally got a call 4 days before the 27th and I was all set - collection definitely on 27th August!

Collection Day

Although Tesla state 'delivery on...' - they mean delivery to the Tesla store - in this case West Drayton. Hard to get to without a car. So a few trains and a long walk in 30 degree heat and I was there. This is what West Drayton looks like:

Things improve a bit when you get to the Tesla garage:

Inside the Tesla garage all the new cars were lined up - starting to get exciting.

After around an hour of waiting (inc broken coffee machine and empty water cooler) I was called and shown round the car, for about 10 mins. After setting up the app and adjusting my seat and showing me forward/reverse, the demonstrator person just said 'off you go'.

I was immediately a bit uncomfortable. Lots of the functionality in the Model 3 is part of the screen, so I wasn't sure where all the essentials were. After a few more questions about indicators, wipers etc, I felt ok. So, foot on the break, put it into 'forward', the gingerly edged out of the building and towards the road. As I ramped up speed to maybe 15 mph, I remember it being very quiet, very smooth. And also thinking "don't break it", "I don't trust myself". To be fair I hadn't really driven for 16 years. I also remember thinking that the front windscreen was big, but that the pillars either side obscured visibility a bit.

Once I got going I became more comfortable - there was a part of the 16 mile journey on the motorway which allowed me to test the acceleration a bit. Crazy responsive, so I stuck to the slow lane - just a small press of the foot and the car launches off - not the time to be doing that. I remember the sat-nav on the huge screen being impressive and getting to grips with it very quickly - it is a very easy car to get to grips with - a battery on wheels, a go-kart really.

I got it home in one piece and couldn't really believe after 3 years of waiting it was in the drive:

So - 1 year on - after all that, and for people who have skipped to the end I will give the verdict in 2 parts:

Electric vs conventional key lessons learned

• You need a home charge point really: it took me a month to arrange to get mine - installed through localheroes.com. This addresses any kind of range anxiety and avoids inconvenience. Using a 3-pin socket is too slow in practice (around 9 miles per hour) vs a home charge point (about 30 miles per hour). Also, putting the 3-pin charger cable through the letterbox etc isn't great. I only use that when away from home, if there is no public charger nearby.
• Range anxiety is less issue than with conventional cars: you can start each morning with the car topped up as much as you want - up to 310 miles-ish. You don't need to worry about going to the petrol station etc. It's just like an iPhone. I have driven from London to York and also Preston on a single charge.
• Range anxiety however does kick in when you go on holiday: once you are away from your home charger, then you need to be on top of the public network. Superchargers are the best, but sparse - only near motorways in general - planning to charge where you park is important to keep topped up.
• Parking is easier, big advantage in London: this won't last long, but public electric charge spots are normally available - meaning you can easily park in places in central london or restricted permit areas easily - ie opposite Hyde Park, near museums etc. This, coupled with no congestion charge for EVs is great for being a local tourist.
• Battery loses charge gradually if left: for the Tesla it's about 5% per day. Just something to think about if leaving it at airport for a couple of weeks.
• Airbnb hosts don't like you plugging in: pre-arrange that and pay them. Don't get told off like I did.
• Sometimes people don't hear you: a cyclist, or people walking in the road sometimes don't hear the car since it is so quiet.

Tesla Model 3 lessons learned

• The big screen is amazing: I have seen few disadvantages to a lot of the functionality being accessed via the screen. Only that it is hard to use the screen while driving to do things like turn on/off air conditioning - small icons. It is amazing for navigation, Spotify, and also Netflix/Youtube for the kids when parked and waiting for someone.
• It's quick: the 0-60 of mid-range is 4.4 seconds (3.9 if you pay ￡1500 to upgrade it in the app), but getting away from traffic lights, 0-30 it is like a rocket as it is so responsive. Same when finding a gap at t-junctions and similar. Useful to take right lane if at front of 2 lanes at traffic lights, otherwise you are waiting for the car in front to kick-in.
• Autopilot is good, but be careful: my wife prefers for me to use it on the motorway as she claims it is a smoother ride than my choppy acceleration and braking. It works well in general but changing lanes automatically can be a bit dodgy. If the car is in doubt that you have hands on the wheel it will abort part way through and potentially put the car back in your control suddenly. You get used to this after a while and ensure pressure always on steering wheel, in which case it does really well. It also works better at the point you have a predictable pattern of say mostly being in the outside lane, as opposed to one of the inside lanes having to account for more lane changes from other cars.
• Dashcam and sentry mode are useful - ability to have a 360 degree recording of the last hours worth of drive at touch of a button useful for after any incidents. Sentry mode similar for security when parked - now that there is a dedicated 'player' to view recordings easily on the screen.
• Upgrades - software updates are pretty frequent, most minor, but sometimes you get interesting ones like adding 5% power or adding YouTube and Netflix access. The ones that actually change the behaviour of the car are most interesting like autopilot enhancements or chimes to remind you the traffic light has turned green.
• Single pedal driving - the regenerative breaking on the Model 3 is excellent - takes some getting used to but you end up rarely touching the break, saving wear and tear. Lifting the foot off the accelerator slows the car down and generates (a very minor) amount of energy back into the battery. BUT - be careful when the car is fully charged as it is disabled for a period so you need to remember to use the brake again for a bit. I get caught out by that.
• The boot space is good - deep boot at the back, albeit with a narrow entrance, but also a storage area below the boot for cables anything else, and in the 'frunk' - life the bonnet and a pretty small storage area since there is no 'engine', but every little helps
• Kids and back-seat passengers love the glass roof - especially babies and toddlers - staring up at the clouds

So there you have it - a year on I still look forward to each drive and the family love it. It is the closest thing there is to Knight Rider really, but far better for the earth since it is electric.