I just completed a 2200+ mile round trip in my Tesla Model 3 for an early summer vacation with the family. No issues or worries. Charging aligned with bathroom and meal breaks. Passengers were entertained with mounted iPads connected to hot spot. Autopilot allowed for low-stress driving and fostered stimulating conversations. This was the first extended trip we have done with family with the car (despite ripping off several long solo business trips previously) and should be the true test of flexibility to not have an EV limit planning or spontaneous changes to plans.
I haven’t worked out the numbers yet, but the numbers yet, but the supercharger fees appear to be under $250. Note we did charge at our destinations and hotels.
The only beef is the glass roof allowed a lot of UV to pass through into the car. Despite having 20% 3M ceramic aftermarket tint all around (except 30% in front glass) on top of factory tint, and the Tesla branded pop-in mesh sunshade inserts, they was still a lot of heat coming in down south. The AC can keep up, but you still feel the solar radiation on your heads. The glass roof is sexy but holy shit I shouldn’t have to pay $500 in tints and sun shades to keep it as cool as a hardtop car. On the other hand, the car is always kept below 100 degrees and will cool or heat very quickly by simply scheduling departures or opening the app on my phone before I start walking to the car. That was a great feature in the winter.
I’m also hoping that future generations of the car are slightly larger in terms of dimensions so that it is truly in the midsize segment. As previously noted, the car is extremely generous in terms of interior space and storage because of the drivetrain layout, dashboard layout, and innovative packaging. Especially in comparison to it’s exterior dimensions. A few more inches for rear passengers would be welcome . Honestly, I’d love to see a model 3 station wagon with a long straightish roofline along the top alllowing more rear headroom without resulting in a stupid crossover like the model Y.
There will be another EV in our driveway for sure. Most likely another Tesla.
If you're referring to Matt Farrah's and later Freddie Hernandez's million mile LS400, they did mention it's on the original engine. Here's the source with time stamp.
I know a crane guy that carries a folding one on whatever crane he's running that day. He uses it to, "Fuck off to gas station when waiting on the carpenters, iron workers, millwrights, or, god help us, tower guys." Wait, they make ones you can't pedal when the battery runs out?
I'm almost certain the million mile Lexus GSLS400 is still on it's original engine. I'll look into that.
My last car was a Lexus LS. I had intended to take that car to 500k miles. It was an absolute tank. Ran like a new car with 200k+ on it. (However I’ll note that I was proactive on maintenance with OEM parts and only trusted Toyota specialist independent mechanics touching it). Every single LS400,430,460 is a potential 500k+ mile car. But that is because they are ridiculously overbuilt and over engineered for reliability, comfort, and familiarity. They are Toyota’s peak and their pride and joy. But that doesn’t sell cars to rich people who are overly conscious of what their other rich friends think of their car. But they make tremendous used car values. It really is the best used car you can buy and once you own one, it is hard to drive anything else.
I flirt with the idea of picking up another LS460 for long trips., but I don’t really think I will gain anything out of it other than another older vehicle to maintain.
I’m not expecting my Tesla to be as robust as my Lexus but it’s clearly a departure in terms of ownership and construction. There is less to fail, and less to fix. Repairs will be component level and I’m ok with that.
If EV ownership becomes a pain in the ass, I’m going to get into an off lease LS500, used 2015-17 LS460, or similar GX460, Lx460, or if prices normalize, a GS-F. But I don’t see that happening at this point.
That's assuming you're able to keep it off the internet. As I've stated before, IoT is the absolute dumbest fucking thing on the planet, where your entire house can be fucked with if you have "smart" everything, including light bulbs that change into different colors depending on your mood. Why not just change the light bulb or better yet just have a simple switch where it cycles through different colors of light? There's absolutely 0 reason for a fucking light bulb to be connected to the internet, same goes for your vehicle.
Hell, there's been some
articles showing how vehicles connected to the internet can be very easily stolen from your house.
I have about 30 Phillips Hue bulbs and fixtures inside and outside of my house. It’s pretty nice to wake up to a gentle brightening color scheme, different moods for movies or chilling, and different holidays for the exterior lights. But the best part is having certain lights come on upon arrival at home at certain times. The lights connect to a proprietary bridge that is connected to my router.
I’m not really worried that 400lb 4chan hackers will trigger the Dilawi holiday setting and set the brightness change cycle parameter to minimum time and turn my living room into a disco.
Right now I’m enjoying the custom Sneed color pallet that is based on a picture of Sneed. It’s pretty comfy even for a city slicker. Please do not hack my bulbs to fuck and suck.
