The builders paid me to show that they were hanging out Tesla



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Cars

Published on July 13, 2019 |
by Paul Fosse

July 13, 2019 by Paul Fosse


Example of a form I took at a dealership.

Last weekend, my brother-in-law (who also likes to test cars) suggested that I drive 6 cars and get $ 265 in gift cards. I told myself, "I drive cars, I get gift cards and it's a great story idea" (well, I guess the reader will judge). What is the disadvantage? Well, dealers call me for next month and ask me if I want to buy the car I've driven. Fortunately, I am ready to take one for the team and make this small sacrifice for the benefit of all. Spoiler alert: Although some cars appeal to me better than others, none of them hold a candle to the Model 3 or the Model Y. I even made a family outing and 4 of us are went out to do it at once, but planned our trips together).

Do I consider this to be contrary to ethics? Me taking their money without intending to buy a car? No, I've been in the market for a car since my son took one of mine and I'm planning to get a Y model next year. If any of these cars impress me, I'll have it instead of the Y model.[[[[Editor's note: hahahahaha ?]I can not help it, they do not even do anything near this car. Others may not agree or feel comfortable doing so. I was honest with every dealer and I said I would be in the market for a car in the future, but not this summer. I had not tested the cars at dealers for a while and I wanted to see what they had to offer. All this is true.

If you wish to do so, google 'best test offers' of the month of July 2019 and several blogs give all the instructions to print the coupons you need to get the gift cards. I recommend that you do this before you go to dealers because these show this paper to 5 people before determining who knows how to deal with the offer. If you just ask for a trial offer, they could tell you that it has expired last week or other erroneous information. My coupon shows that it's good until July 13th, so I've avoided this problem. Below, I list the 6 resellers I've been to:

  1. Hyundai
  2. Nissan
  3. Jeep
  4. Honda
  5. Subaru
  6. Volvo

Hyundai

Photo of Hyundai Press Kit

I first tested the Ioniq Hybrid. I wanted to drive the plug-in hybrid or the plug-in electric, but as I live in Florida, we have none of these options.

The price of the car I drove was about $ 28,000. Although this is much less than the $ 48,000 expected from the Y model, the total cost of ownership would only be slightly higher for the Tesla if you calculate fuel costs, maintenance and reduced fuel costs. expected amortization of both vehicles.

The acceleration is 8.9 seconds from 0 to 60, against 5.5 seconds in the slowest Y model currently proposed. The number of seats was enough for 5 people, while the Y model will hold 7. I liked the controls, and the help in maintaining the queue was not bad at all. The main problem is that you can not upgrade it and it will not improve over time.

They're not really trying to compete with the Y model, so it's not a fair comparison, but it's the most fuel-efficient car Hyundai had, so I wanted to see how it behaved. It soon became clear that if you did not buy a Tesla, you could opt for performance or economy, but never both.

I should say I own a Hyundai and have been with the company since 1984. It's one of my favorite auto companies (with Tesla and Honda).

My young salesman (under 25) was very interested in my 3 Tesla model.

Nissan

Photo of Zach Shahan | CleanTechnica

I was looking forward to testing the new Nissan Leaf Plus, much faster. I called the dealer and they had leaves of Leafs already used, but no news. Since I owned a Leaf for 7 years, I did not need to drive an old one. So, I said I would drive a Pathfinder because it's the smallest 3-row SUV they have.

They asked me if I was interested in buying that day. I said no. They said that they were busy and that they would simply send me the gift card without the test drive. I said it was okay because I really wanted to test the new Leaf Plus.

I give Nissan a failure to market its new sheet. This is a car that could potentially be competitive with the Model 3 for some people who want more loading space and do not care about the supercharging network (I have a friend who just came into contact with me). buy one), but you can not sell a car that different without having them available to test. Model 3 was an exception: thousands of people have ordered it without driving it (more than 100,000 have actually pre-ordered without seeing it and at least tens of thousands actually ). bought the car without trying it) – but the Model S had been such an incredible car that Tesla got away with it.

Jeep

Image captured from the Jeep Build Configurator.

I then went to the Jeep dealership and they completely misled me. They even asked me that I wanted a Wrangler. I told them I wanted a small 3-row crossover. They did not have it because they only had huge 3-row SUVs. I knew I did not want to, so I just drove a beautiful Jeep Cherokee loaded with a V6. It cost about $ 30,000 and would cost about the same price as a Y model.

I thought it would have power, but it was still pretty slow and slow. It went well and I liked the interior. Model Y has just killed the specifications. It can accommodate 7 people instead of 5. It goes from 0 to 60 km / h in 5.5 seconds instead of 7.0. It will reach more than 100 MPGe against 21 MPG for the V6 that I drove. The loading area is similar to the Y model. The car was equipped with blind spot detectors and a warning if you leave your lane, but nothing to do with the autopilot installed by Tesla for 2 years.

The story is always the same: I can not drive myself, perform or save on one of these cars. They have nice interiors and drive well, but they just can not match what I'm used to.

Honda

Photo of the Honda press kit

Similar to the history of Nissan, I wanted to drive an electric Clarity or at least their plug-in hybrid Clarity, but they did not have it either. I settled for the Honda Accord Hybrid Touring. The car was smooth and with a time of 0 to 60 seconds comparable, but slightly slower than a 3 or Y model. I like that the car uses the electric motor mostly as a motorcycle. Hybrid series and has a simple transmission at a speed. It is there that I had the idea that manufacturers can stop spending a lot of money in transmissions.

The fuel economy is 48 MPG in the city and 49 MPG on the highway, and the price is about $ 35,000. Its security features are quite advanced and are only losing much to Tesla, because they can not be improved after the purchase of the car. It's a nice car and probably the car I would buy if the Tesla Model 3 was not available.

Again, I have to hit the dealer for not having a Clarity available to buy or drive. Manufacturers can manufacture the best cars in the world, but if dealers sabotage them by pushing lower quality gas cars, they will not make the transition. I do not know if dealers minimize electrical options out of ignorance or to save their services (note that they earn most of their money in service charges, not by selling cars), but that is not the case. It does not matter, whether to destroy the automakers who fail to switch to electric vehicles in time.

My salesman (under 25) said that he was trying to convince his father to buy a Tesla. I thought it was great!

Subaru

Photo of Subaru Dealer in Tampa, by Paul Fosse | CleanTechnica

At this dealership, I've tried the sporty 4-door WRX sedan (I think the red above is a WRX). It was a 6-speed manual that cost about $ 31,000. I liked to change myself, but I do not do it anymore. I noticed that the car was making a lot of noise for its 268 horsepower.

Its acceleration is comparable to that of a 3-model, at 5.5 seconds from 0 to 60 seconds, but between the turbo's response time and the need to downshift to have power, it seemed boring. get performance from the car. Call me spoiled by the instant and effortless torque of Model 3.

The model I was driving did not have advanced safety features or autonomous driving. Subaru constantly announces that it's about a car so safe and that it's doing well in crash tests (of course, not as good as Tesla), but the vehicle has taken a lot of delay compared to its active safety features.

It's not really fair to compare the interior space to the Y model because it's not a crossover, but I see no reason to buy it compared to the entry-level model 3 (to unless you do not understand the cost of ownership).

Volvo

Photo of the new Volvo dealership in Tampa, by Paul Fosse | CleanTechnica

One of my favorites was the Volvo XC90 Plug In Hybrid. I tried the self-parking feature and it looked like Tesla's autopark today, except that you have to keep going from back to front when moving to a parking spot. parking, while Tesla automatically switches to your place. Of course, Tesla will improve as it gets new updates, while the $ 105,000 XC90 T8 features are fixed for the life of the car.

This car has allowed me to keep enough room in the luggage, 7 seats, accelerations and 19 km of total autonomy (at half the efficiency of Y model in electricity, the quarter from the efficiency of Y model to the essence).

It still lacks the price ($ 105,000 versus $ 60,000 for a comparable Y model), its maneuverability and autonomous driving ability (after a software update, and no one knows for sure when it will happen of course).

Conclusion

As I had predicted in the intro, no competitor possessed a model close to the Tesla Model Y. If you want acceleration, the seating and the cargo space of 39, a Model Y, a little comparable Gasoline vehicles cost a fortune and have a mediocre economy. If you want a vehicle with compatible operating costs, it carries fewer passengers and freight, and it is slower and handles less well. No Tesla killer found today.

Use my referral link Tesla to get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging on a Tesla Model S, Model X or Model 3, here's the link: https://ts.la/paul92237 (but if any one d & # 39; other helped you, please use his link.).


Keywords: AWD Tesla Model 3, Honda, Honda Accord, Honda Clarity, Hyundai, Hyundai IONIQ, Nissan Jeep, Nissan Leaf, Subaru, Tesla, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y


About the author

Paul Fosse Software Engineer for more than 30 years, first developing EDI software, then data storage systems. Along the way, I also had the opportunity to help create a software consulting company and manage portfolios. In 2010, I became interested in electric cars because gasoline became expensive. In 2015, I started reading CleanTechnica and I became interested in solar energy, mainly because it threatened my oil and gas investments. Follow me on Twitter @ atj721 Tesla Investor. Tesla referral code: https://ts.la/paul92237



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