Help-I rented a Tesla!

[Eeyore]

Going to San Diego for work and some surfing with seals. Had the choice of a BMW X5 or Tesla 3. Tom Brady talked me into taking the Tesla. I thought it would be fun and give me some idea of what it's like to live with an EV for a week. Regen braking, recharging, all that sort of stuff. Never owned an EV and my R1 is coming sometime between now and when AI takes over. I'm going through some online tutorials. I know a lot of you own/have owned Teslas. Would love your advice to a first-time Tesla driver. Thanks, in advance. Happy 4th to one and all!

Go to a tesla store an act as if you was to buy one. They’ll show you all around the vehicle and even let you drive it, all at no cost to you.

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[iansriv]

Go to a tesla store an act as if you was to buy one. They’ll show you all around the vehicle and even let you drive it, all at no cost to you.

Great idea but I have this thing about not being honest. It may sound naive but I have an over-active guilt complex. I might just tell them I'm renting one and see if they will show me around. A friend also offered to let me drive his. I'm out of time and I don't like driving other peoples cars.

 

[iansriv]

Surfing with seals is an actual thing there. I'm not trying it out of respect for the seal but it's nice to see.

 

[Eeyore]

Great idea but I have this thing about not being honest. It may sound naive but I have an over-active guilt complex. I might just tell them I'm renting one and see if they will show me around. A friend also offered to let me drive his. I'm out of time and I don't like driving other peoples cars.

I respect the honesty thing, but keeping information to yourself isn't the same as telling an outright lie. You can tell the true without telling them everything that is in your head.

 

[bbonkk]

Yes, there is a wireless button on the handle of the charger cord that will

tell the car to pop its charge port door -- if the car is unlocked. Has a very short range so rarely triggers anything but the closest car.

There is an icon on the center screen that does this as well and the charge port door also pops open if you simply push in on it.



This is the big one. Sure, he can turn 1-pedal off, but it's great after getting used to it. Applies to all EVs and many hybrids.



The Model 3 and Y are fully manual door handles so press in on the big side as you say and then pull on the handle portion. Pressing in on the narrow side will rock the handle and actually serves as an ice-breaker. ...Not that OP is going to need that. Inside, there are two ways to release and open the door. The primary is an electronic release -- simply press the button. There is also a mechanical release lever at the front of the door arm rest, but that is reserved as an emergency release of sorts. The reason being is the button will roll the window down a bit before unlatching the door. The mechanical release just releases and places strain on the window from the weather seal. ...All Tesla's have frameless windows, so they should be retracted a bit before opening/closing the door.

Model S door handles are more like traditional car door pull handles. They retract flush with the exterior of the car when locked.

Model X has the push-button on the exterior. And then buttons on the door and inside on the B pillar for controlling the falcon doors (also controls on the center screen).

Other than 1-pedal drive, the biggest thing to get used to from a new to EV (or non-Tesla) person is the lack of a center cluster. The dash is gloriously devoid of anything but the center display where all the info is at. It takes a little bit to get used to since it's not in the most intuitive spot to truly view while driving. IMO Tesla really should give us a good HUD. But the real issue with the display is that controls for things can be tricky to get at while driving sometimes, trying to tap on the screen while the car is moving/bouncing.

Oh, the wipers will mess with people. Typically they're on auto and work OK, but if you need to manually adjust or control it has to be done through the screen. To bring up wiper controls or to quick wipe the windshield, press the button on the end of the left stalk on the steering column (turn signal stalk).


Definitely clarify the charging situation. Although that is weird coming from Enterprise. I've rented a Tesla from them as well as Hertz and both simply passed the Supercharging cost onto my rental bill, the same way they would charge me for tolls. Hertz had the CCS adapter available as an add-on option if I wanted it for like another $10/day. LOL...

This was the Enterprise store in El Segundo and for some reason I don’t know how, they could really rent a car if you had no way of charging it unless you had a charger at home or used a destination unit. I did question them. It may be that they’ve just started carrying electric cars. This car was brand new with only 300 miles on it, so maybe they hadn’t set it up yet.

 

[BigSkies]

https://www.tesla.com/support/videos/search?search_filters={"Vehicle":1,"Model 3":1}

Those are the Tesla videos they send you before taking delivery. Not all are relevant to rentals, but you’ll be sorted after 10 minutes of watching.

Just don’t forget that the biggest convenience of EV’s is home charging. Charging will feel like a complete PITA without it. Just keep in mind that this won’t be your ownership experience.

 

[iansriv]

Thanks everyone. This was a great experience. Tesla has a great product. Most things are intuitive. Lane change is nice with the in-dash video of the lane to show that it's clear. Car feels a bit heavy for its size but that's probably the battery and I'm not reviewing the Tesla. Used super chargers for all charging and that was very easy. Voice commands were very helpful. The voice command to open the charging door is very cheeky. Got a good laugh off that.

One pedal driving is easy. Only word of warning for anyone new to EVs-use the brake when trying to stop at high speed. One pedal stopping is great for slow stops.

I used Budget Fastback. You walk up to the car and drive off. Keys are in the car. Charge was at about 80% at pick up and they require it to be at or above 72% on return. That was simple. Just drop it off and leave the keys in the car. More than happy to share more detail with anyone that needs it. Cheers!

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Great idea but I have this thing about not being honest. It may sound naive but I have an over-active guilt complex. I might just tell them I'm renting one and see if they will show me around. A friend also offered to let me drive his. I'm out of time and I don't like driving other peoples cars.

It you’re thinking someday you might buy one you aren’t really lying.

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