Lead reader Anton F. Rented Tesla car from Hanover to the Handball World Cup in Poland to support the German team. His record is ruined.
You have to plan a trip with a Tesla electric car differently. Friedrich Bangert / Imago
From 2035, only zero-emission electric cars will be allowed to be sold in the European Union. But until then, it is clear that many problems still need to be solved so that electric cars are not only suitable for the city, but also for longer distances.
Anton V. Distance from Hanover to Katowice: about 800 km.
He enjoyed the games in Poland, but driving a Tesla became a nightmare for him and his friend.
Here is his story:
The Thursday before last, my friend and I, both ardent handball fans, left early in the morning for the World Handball Championship in Poland. At first we had to choose a rental car. Traveling with Deutsche Bahn was not an option for us because we wanted to attend many matches and had to commute between Katowice and Krakow. Our first target on Thursday was the Qatar-Netherlands game at 3:30pm in Katowice. The delay was not part of our plans.
With a combustion engine, you don’t have to worry about that
My biggest disappointment was when the rental car company could not provide us with the VW combustion engine we had pre-booked: the car did not have a reasonable profile for winter tyres. As an alternative, we were offered the Tesla Model Y, which immediately gave me a bad feeling. With an e-car around 800km away and back, is that a joke? I also heard rumors that the battery capacity is not as sufficient in the winter as it is in the summer. However, the manager assured that everything will go well and highlighted the free charging at Tesla charging stations as an advantage. In the end, we had no other choice, because we finally wanted to leave.
We had to plan our route differently now, because with an e-car, you only have a few options for charging. With a combustion engine, you don’t have to worry about it: fill up at the next gas station and drive on. However, with Tesla, we had to plan the time to charge in advance and spread it out on the road. At least the track function helped us and showed all the Tesla filling stations on the map.
A Tesla Model Y at a charging station.Anton V
Tesla only had to be charged after 250 kilometers
The journey has now begun. After a while, it turned out that the car, running approximately 520 kilometers with a fully charged battery, according to the German adjuster, at a speed of 120-130 km / h after 250 kilometers of driving was only ten percent and was charged. Certainly, in the winter you need a little heating. The distance at the end is still scary.
For the first time we had to “refuel” at the Tesla station on the A14 motorway between Magdeburg and Leipzig. As promised, it was free, but it took about 50 minutes. We sat in the warm car so it was fine. When we had to pack near Dresden for the second time, the long shipping time was a bit annoying. Because we were only on the road for five hours and had an hour and a half to charge. The goal of getting to the game by 3:30 p.m. is becoming increasingly blurry. In the end, we were on the road for about 11 hours and spent nearly two and a half hours charging. We missed a game at 3:30 p.m. With the combustion engine, we would do the eight-and-a-half-hour mile with a short break.
From now on, we can no longer charge at Tesla stations
But this was just the beginning of our Tesla adventure. After we easily charged the car the first time in Poland, an error message popped up on the dashboard asking us to store a payment method in the Tesla app. However, only the owner of the car can use the Tesla app, so we tried contacting the rental company, the actual owner. But the company couldn’t help us. For us, this meant that we could no longer go to Tesla charging stations, but had to go to public charging stations, which cost money and, due to poor power, more time. Instead of 50 minutes, we suddenly had to charge the battery for over an hour and a half. It made me more aware that this car is not for long distances. You are wasting a lot of time that you don’t have.
In addition, there are problems with the assistance systems, and they are so immature that the car simply brakes automatically on the highway, although no other car could have seen it beforehand. At a speed of 120 km / h, this is very dangerous. With other German and Asian brands with e-cars on display that we have presented, these systems work better.
The most important thing: the heating no longer worked
So on the way back, we had to make three big stops to charge at a non-Tesla station for an hour and a half each time. The highlight was another error message on the dashboard shortly after the last charge in the Halle: “Air conditioning, please hold.” Heating stopped working immediately – not a great experience at -2 degrees. We had to put on all the warm clothes we had.
The screen displays the capacity of the batteries.MiS/Imago
I ask myself: how is that possible in a car with only 5,000 km? With the combustion engine, we certainly could have kept warming up. When we confronted the provider with all of these questions, they brushed any blame away and referred us to the manufacturer.
My conclusion: An e-car might be good for people who only drive around town or have their own charging station at home. For longer distances, especially in winter, an electric car is now a no-go. Such a car can compete not only with diesel engines, but also with ordinary gasoline engines. In addition to spending time, the finances are also annoying: we had to spend almost 50 euros per charging session, which in turn was only enough for 250 kilometers. I can get twice the distance with fuel. These circumstances make it inconsequential for me as a driver to drive such a vehicle, but I will rely on combustion engines as long as possible.
Do you have feedback? Write to us! briefe@berliner-zeitung.de
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