Electric Road Trip

The first family road trip in our new electric vehicle was a success as we ventured into a new experience as a family and came out pleasantly surprised at how simple it was. It also provided new experiences as we saw how convenient the growing infrastructure of electronic vehicles is growing. it is not surprising to see why many predict that electronic vehicles may continue to be the fastest growing segment in automobiles in the coming years. We now have experienced firsthand how much technology has evolved over the last couple of years bringing the world closer to more cleaner options and transportation.

While it wasn’t the largest stretch or road trip we could make, driving for about 200 miles in a car that has a range of about 220 is nerve-racking for first timers. However, after hours of research with reading and watching videos, we were prepared to make stops along the way according to the needs of our vehicle. The technology on board the car was very easy to use and also provided great insight for what to expect. On the travel up we only had to stop once which was convenient anyway as we had always made at least one stop for food, restrooms, or even fuel (ironically).

While our first experience charging was with a supercharger, we also had the chance to try others during the week. Reviewing the apps available helped us find a number of charging options very close to any of the places we visited during our road trip. In reality, we were never in danger of not having sufficient charge to get to our destination. Given the technology and tools that the car provides in addition to the ecosystem of electronic vehicles, we no longer have the concerns of using the car like any other car we have had. While the stops to charge may interrupt the flow of the trip, having the time to rest or eat is not bad and if nothing else, the car has an awesome entertainment system while your charge which includes browsing, Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, games and other fun activities. Superchargers make a full charge much shorter than normal chargers but none are too much to wait for.

While driving long distances, the feel of the car is consistent and smooth like short drives. I fell in love with the Cruise Control as it goes farther than other cars I have driven with the ability to control the distance between the cars in front of you by adjusting the speed accordingly. It was a great feature while on the highway as it is normal to get cut off sharply when the lanes reduce to two from three or four. The warning system that covers 360 degrees is a nice safety feature to have as well.

The most advanced and interesting feature that the Tesla is well known for is Auto Pilot and despite my model not having the advanced version, I was impressed with the functionality. The ability to drive on auto was somewhat intimidating as I like to have control of an object moving so fast since I trust myself. However, shortly after traveling 20-25 miles I grew accustomed to it which made me relax and even dare to do somethings I typically would not do while driving like catch up on some emails from work and browse through the Steem feed. On the way back, I even participated in a Splinterlands tournament on my phone! In all, about 30% of the trip was done on AutoPilot by my estimates.

While my wife may never fully convert to Auto Pilot (she never even uses Cruise Control), I am sold on the technology and would consider upgrading it in the future. One thing that took some time for me was moving between driving modes. The car feels so similar while on self, cruise control, and Auto Pilot that I would forget which I was in. One time I took my hands off the wheel thinking I was in Auto Pilot only to feel it veer to the side when I noticed it was on Cruise Control! That made me more conscious about the indications on the screen so I was able to learn how to tell the difference more quickly; in addition, I tend to never get my hands off the wheel unless to do the fun “look mom, no hands” gesture! I prefer to use Auto Pilot with less traffic but I imagine that will continue to change as we use it more often. The safety feature of having to acknowledge the steering wheel periodically while on Auto Pilot is a great security to have in case we daze off with all the technology that surrounds us.

There are still no showstoppers from me really liking the car although I have found a couple of areas of improvement. First, while the Tesla Supercharger network is amazing and works really well, we did run into a confusing situation where we arrived at a busy station with 2-3 more cards waiting for 6 available Superchargers. It really depended on the honor systems to take turns but it lends itself to confusion if you forget the order. With the technology available, Tesla should make a system to help schedule the turns by order of arrival at the station. Second, another interesting feature is the DashCam which allows you to record while driving in case something happens. You can send 10 minute files to a USB drive that you attached to the car and if put into Sentry Mode, it will record if someone approaches while the car is closed. It seems to have a bug that makes it get offline without much notice. I tried to use it for an event but notice that it was offline at the time. The event is the third area to mention which is probably just pure bad luck but the car has a lot of window space as even the roof is glass. While driving, a small pebble hit the windshield and made a crack! While unfortunate, this tends to happen pretty often so we will just fix it soon before it gets worst; hopefully it doesn’t need a full replacement!

I continue to be really happy with the decision to acquire a Tesla and while we are still learning more as we go, I feel that I am getting that brand love that I often get with other brands that perform so well for me. There continue to be so many great reasons to not change back to gasoline and cost is surely one of the them; my estimated costs of the road trip for charging (estimate because some were free trail charges) was about $30 whereas a regular car for the same trip would have been at least $100 based on prior road trips. I am looking for many more adventures in this car (and potentially other EVs)!