Great review. Summarises positives and negatives. I was a little put off them at first. Then I drove one and while there soulless and some what a little boring there just so unbelievably practical and easy to drive. Absolutely would recommend every one to drive a Tesla so they can determine if it’s right for them
@@cods41 yeah that is true even in this review I got pretty used to it. Simply because there’s no noise or atmosphere to accompany it. My M135i even while slower (as you saw at the start) still impresses me every time
@@KiwiCarLifeI'm a petrol head and I'm lucky enough to do a lot of driving for work and get paid for it. Went from a Fiesta ST to a Nissan Leaf, which was a decent car, but horrible to drive. And then upgraded to a RWD Tesla model 3 to have a balance of performance, handling and economy. In hindsight I should have just got another hot hatch. The depreciation of the Tesla cancels out any savings on fuel.
@@MarkShaw1 yes, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch. If an R35 GTR got 3.5L/100km I would buy one right now! But this Tesla has the “numbers” of a GTR but it lacks almost everything else. Steering feel, sonorous sound, gear changes, just the feeling of a mechanical car with all components working together. It’s impressive sure, but sometimes the greatest cars aren’t perfect on paper.
Solid video! I found your channel recently and noticed the absence of EV content, to the point I was going to offer up my Model 3 for a video, but you beat me to it. It’s cool to see a petrolhead trying something new and acknowledging the pros and cons, even if it’s a bit different to what you’d usually review. Know it’s not your usual thing, but it would be cool to see some more EV content on the channel from time to time.
My 3 1/2 year old M3 LR still gives me that new car vibe.....I feel special when I drive it and absolutely don't mind a bit when I see a duplicate of my vehicle. Now, the big one in my book...no maintenance. Not having a dealer in my life is reason enough alone to buy one. In addition, you get the fastest car in class and the safest car in the road. The biggest downer to me is loss of car value due in large part to FUD and a corruption of our news networks. In addition, in California, you also have to put up with added fees for owning an EV and very high insurance. I could never go back to ICE!
Nice review, certainly looks pretty quick! I am pretty happy carrying on driving the ice cars that I own, however if some nice second hand EV deals come up down the track then I may look into it.
The most important question.. does it have lift? 😂 but in all seriousness, good review, very unbiased. I can see how it can be comforting and relaxing from the normal screaming engines and manual shifters. No rule that says you cant have both a screaming 4cyl and a quiet, yet fast relaxing car.
Even on small hatchbacks, but it's soulless and therefore to a petrolhead like ne, meaningless. I'd rather do 0 to 60 in 10 seconds with something decent sounding
For the average person who would be in the market for a new car - the price difference between a new Tesla base model at $63,900 plus on roads, and say a new Toyota Camry GX (standard petrol) at $49,990 plus on roads... - how far could you go on $14,000 worth of fuel? Doesn't make sense value wise. Not bagging electric cars - they have their place, and they are very quick. I'm just not a fan of having to wait 15 to 30 mins for a partial charge of the battery after 400kms - I'm more the HEV or PHEV way of thinking personally - 1000kms or so range in less than 5 minutes to fill up for, any day. The faster wear EVs have on tyres due the extra weight of the battery etc.... EVs not for me just yet. But great review! :)
@@JamesTheobald-lh6wd yes but also bear in mind the Tesla has a lot more features and is much faster too. But yes you would have seen from my videos how often I drive between Wellington and Auckland, and if I had an EV I just couldn’t do it. The range is the issue for me. PHEV’s are pointless imo, because you’re basically paying extra to have an average ev, and an average petrol car in one, which is both heavy and inefficient. Just a normal hybrid will get 4-5L/100km all the time while delivering good performance and being relatively cheap to manufacture, keeping resources down etc.
@@KiwiCarLife For sure - the Teslas are fantastic vehicles, and yes definitely quick due to the electric motors etc. I've got a standard hybrid myself - love it. Even has the one pedal function Tesla is known for... along with loads of features like self parking (I have no need for that myself lol), and others that I haven't yet fully discovered. But 100% on the range... I would never own an EV until the buy prices are in line with hybrids, and the kms range I currently get.
Fair comment, but there are EVs that are a lot cheaper than a Tesla, and a Model 3 is a lot quicker than a Camry. For me it's not an either/or thing. EVs are better at certain applications and ICEs are better at others. My BMW i3 is perfect in the city and suburbs, but I wouldn't want to tow a caravan the length of the country with it. I also agree that PHEVs are a compromise - low range on battery and heavy for an ICE - but under certain specific circumstances they can be the best option.
@@IanHebblethwaite there are cheaper Evs certainly - Tesla is much quicker than a Camry (but if you drove the Tesla hard and did the same with the Camry for example - you'd drive a much shorter distance than the Camry that's for certain.) I was aiming for a comparable sized vehicle - whereas the cheaper EVs are more usually smaller or much older - not of the same quality of vehicle etc... Towing is another factor that put me off Evs.
You should really drive the new model 3 performance if you get the chance to. They have improved the car so much from what it used to be! Also would love to hear your opinion on the ND mazda mx5. Love your videos mate, keep em coming!
@@KiwiCarLife wasn't too sure cos I've heard they used to give free supercharging on teslas but I guess if you've got solar at home you're all set anyway - loved the review by the way 👍
The car is not the problem the batteries are. How much is the car worth if only 30 KM range remaining? I never understood the take up of these vehicles if we don't have battery replacement program. And by that I mean get discount from the old battery and purchase a new one. And recycle the dead ones in NZ
@@RS-ve8nq yeah given this one is 5 years old and still has like 90% of its charge remaining I’d say battery replacement won’t be an issue long term. But you still have the problem of when these are 15 years old and worthless, then how do you dispose of the nasty chemicals in the batteries?
Couple points: Car batteries, unlike cellphone and laptop, will have a design life of 15-25yrs, so at worst it’s a problem for a decade down the road. Tech moves fast these days. Also, not sure about nasty chemicals, but the lithium and cobalt etc inside is worth upwards of $10/kg (10x Ali) so and expended batteries will be a solid money maker to process and extract.
It is hard to deny that they check a lot of boxes for a lot of people. It is the perfect example of what a primary school aged student would love to have as a 'Boss car'' in a deck of cards containing all the different cars and their specifications. Adkin to having a holographic Pokémon trading card. I think however if you grew up in a certain period of time you'll find a hard time putting it in the same company of cars as M or AMG or RS cars although it is comparable. They do still have appeal but just to a vastly different generation. Dinosaurs are amazing but they were eventually extinct because it can be argued their environment outlived them. The future will look back at our M, AMG or RS cars and eventually laugh and maybe think "Gosh those guys used wads of toilet paper to wipe themselves
@@Sam-go3mb Yeah they do get a bit meaningless, I’d argue against a liftback though as it has a flat loading lip, possibly doesn’t have the performance to be classed as a shooting brake, but maybe at the time it did, just. Shooting brake seems kinda snobby so prob comes from the wrong country to be in that class, also I don’t think a shooting brake is necessarily allowed 4 passenger doors. I did see a dealer class it as a SUV once, so I guess it can be anything to anyone.
@@Sam-go3mb LX Torana also came in what was officially called a hatchback. It had 6 and 8 cylinder versions. It's another car that might be better described as a liftback, though.
"The only rear wheel drive 6 cylinder hatchback ever made .." *Ford Capri* has entered the chat > *Holden Torana* LX has entered the chat > *Nissan Z and ZX family* has entered the chat > *Renault Clio V6 Sport* has entered the chat >
Nissan Z cars are sports cars not hatches. No one says they're going to get in their 350Z hot hatchback... Same with Capri and Torana. They're a fastback coupe not a hatch, and their age makes them irrelevant today. e.g. Mitsubishi Mirage "hatch", Mitsubishi Cordia "liftback", even though they're both two door, 4 seat cars with the rear glass opening with the boot so "technically" a hatch. Clio V6 is rare as hens teeth so not even worth talking about. So yes you're right there are more... But the 130i and M135i are the only RWD 6 cylinder hatchbacks people actually "buy".
@@matty893 the N55 runs less than 10psi of boost and 10.2:1 compression stock. It’s actually not particularly highly strung from factory which is why they have so much overhead. It says in the fuel cap 95 octane. There’s no need to run higher it was tuned from the factory for 95.
I didn't think that was really an issue anymore? Coz most owners just charge overnight at home so it's always fully charged in the morning, and there's fast charge places around the country for longer trips.
It sounds cool so I don't care haha. 13k to buy, and $120 to brim the tank means I could drive 160,000km in my 3.0L before it reaches the purchase price of this Tesla. And that's not including the horrendous depreciation of these EV's, and charging costs. A cheap EV makes sense, but an expensive one does not from a "cost saving" perspective.
Wouldn't own one purely for their performance on gravel roads. Cant huck them though corners, stability control is very badly tuned for fast gravel and with the weight of them you need it on. Absolutely atrocious. Would be interested to see how they go with some handling mods
@KRBY555 it's a genuine reason, half of my old 50km one one commute was on windy gravel roads. What's wrong with wanting a car that can maintain the 100kph speed limit.
Yeah I think if that's the kind of driving you do then I wouldn't want to risk a boulder damaging the battery underneath, plus the intrusive stability control
@fredericoespinoza city slicker opinion lmao. Nz has over 32000km of gravel roads, none of which are off-road. My mates lowered s3 drives them fine at 100kph, as does my honda and toyotas. Even the work truck with half a ton of tools in the back goes good. Why can't tesla just make a VSC that just works on gravel?
Hey they're certainly far from "awful". I'd agree they're a bit soulless, and will never compare to a petrol car for sound and engagement, but they're better than a Daewoo HAHA. That's awful!
Great review. Summarises positives and negatives. I was a little put off them at first. Then I drove one and while there soulless and some what a little boring there just so unbelievably practical and easy to drive. Absolutely would recommend every one to drive a Tesla so they can determine if it’s right for them
Yeah I think they make a lot of sense for the right kind of people. I wouldn't buy one though.
Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favourites, such regular rich content to learn from!!
@@jonahhorsfield2919 great to hear!
After driving the model 3 Performance was shocked to learn just how quickly the novelty of the acceleration wore off, genuinely wasn't expecting that.
still waiting for it to wear off after 3years…
Agreed, it's very different to the addictive acceleration you get from a turbo charged, or high capacity petrol engine
@@cods41 yeah that is true even in this review I got pretty used to it. Simply because there’s no noise or atmosphere to accompany it. My M135i even while slower (as you saw at the start) still impresses me every time
@@KiwiCarLifeI'm a petrol head and I'm lucky enough to do a lot of driving for work and get paid for it. Went from a Fiesta ST to a Nissan Leaf, which was a decent car, but horrible to drive. And then upgraded to a RWD Tesla model 3 to have a balance of performance, handling and economy.
In hindsight I should have just got another hot hatch. The depreciation of the Tesla cancels out any savings on fuel.
@@cods41do you actually save a lot on fuel. How much extra does home electricity cost.
R35 GTR performance with the running costs of a Toyota Aqua is pretty sweet
@@MarkShaw1 yes, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
If an R35 GTR got 3.5L/100km I would buy one right now! But this Tesla has the “numbers” of a GTR but it lacks almost everything else. Steering feel, sonorous sound, gear changes, just the feeling of a mechanical car with all components working together. It’s impressive sure, but sometimes the greatest cars aren’t perfect on paper.
Solid video! I found your channel recently and noticed the absence of EV content, to the point I was going to offer up my Model 3 for a video, but you beat me to it.
It’s cool to see a petrolhead trying something new and acknowledging the pros and cons, even if it’s a bit different to what you’d usually review. Know it’s not your usual thing, but it would be cool to see some more EV content on the channel from time to time.
Thanks man! Would be cool to get an IONIC 5
Electric cars are great, as a second car alongside a petrol one 🤙
Yep that’s where it makes sense
Tbh it makes the petrol car obsolete
@@Tommmmmmmmmmmm obsolete to who? Definitely not obsolete to people who like them, which would be most car enthusiasts
My 3 1/2 year old M3 LR still gives me that new car vibe.....I feel special when I drive it and absolutely don't mind a bit when I see a duplicate of my vehicle.
Now, the big one in my book...no maintenance.
Not having a dealer in my life is reason enough alone to buy one. In addition, you get the fastest car in class and the safest car in the road.
The biggest downer to me is loss of car value due in large part to FUD and a corruption of our news networks. In addition, in California, you also have to put up with added fees for owning an EV and very high insurance.
I could never go back to ICE!
Fair enough!
I have a SR+ Model 3 - great daily especially with the autopilot for highways. Defs want a fun manual petrol car eventually for the weekends tho
Yeah agree, Tesla and a fun petrol is a good combo
As an ev driver I completely agree. I love my car. But I see them EVERYWHERE and I must admit I miss a bit of noise every now and then
That's why I reckon having this, and a fun weekend petrol car is the way to go
Nice review, certainly looks pretty quick!
I am pretty happy carrying on driving the ice cars that I own, however if some nice second hand EV deals come up down the track then I may look into it.
Yeah they kinda make sense as a daily, but I wouldn't have one as my only car
As the Top Gear guy James May opined..it's just a different way to spin a shaft when all's said and done.[or words to that effect]
@@tolrem well yeah haha I guess
The most important question.. does it have lift? 😂 but in all seriousness, good review, very unbiased. I can see how it can be comforting and relaxing from the normal screaming engines and manual shifters. No rule that says you cant have both a screaming 4cyl and a quiet, yet fast relaxing car.
@@CL9andThings yeah this definitely makes sense if you also have a super fun petrol car.
Acceleration on quick evs is absolutely bone shattering 🤣🤣
Sure is!
Even on small hatchbacks, but it's soulless and therefore to a petrolhead like ne, meaningless. I'd rather do 0 to 60 in 10 seconds with something decent sounding
@@JuicingDailyTV agree!
Rear wheel drive 6 cyl hatchback : Ford Pinto V6 hatch. Genuine hatchback.
lol
As a car guy, id love one of these as my daily. Just a tad exxy for me.
@@fredericoespinoza yeah that’s where they make sense, Tesla daily, fun petrol weekend car
For the average person who would be in the market for a new car - the price difference between a new Tesla base model at $63,900 plus on roads, and say a new Toyota Camry GX (standard petrol) at $49,990 plus on roads... - how far could you go on $14,000 worth of fuel? Doesn't make sense value wise. Not bagging electric cars - they have their place, and they are very quick. I'm just not a fan of having to wait 15 to 30 mins for a partial charge of the battery after 400kms - I'm more the HEV or PHEV way of thinking personally - 1000kms or so range in less than 5 minutes to fill up for, any day. The faster wear EVs have on tyres due the extra weight of the battery etc.... EVs not for me just yet. But great review! :)
@@JamesTheobald-lh6wd yes but also bear in mind the Tesla has a lot more features and is much faster too. But yes you would have seen from my videos how often I drive between Wellington and Auckland, and if I had an EV I just couldn’t do it. The range is the issue for me. PHEV’s are pointless imo, because you’re basically paying extra to have an average ev, and an average petrol car in one, which is both heavy and inefficient. Just a normal hybrid will get 4-5L/100km all the time while delivering good performance and being relatively cheap to manufacture, keeping resources down etc.
@@KiwiCarLife For sure - the Teslas are fantastic vehicles, and yes definitely quick due to the electric motors etc. I've got a standard hybrid myself - love it. Even has the one pedal function Tesla is known for... along with loads of features like self parking (I have no need for that myself lol), and others that I haven't yet fully discovered. But 100% on the range... I would never own an EV until the buy prices are in line with hybrids, and the kms range I currently get.
Fair comment, but there are EVs that are a lot cheaper than a Tesla, and a Model 3 is a lot quicker than a Camry. For me it's not an either/or thing. EVs are better at certain applications and ICEs are better at others. My BMW i3 is perfect in the city and suburbs, but I wouldn't want to tow a caravan the length of the country with it.
I also agree that PHEVs are a compromise - low range on battery and heavy for an ICE - but under certain specific circumstances they can be the best option.
@@IanHebblethwaite there are cheaper Evs certainly - Tesla is much quicker than a Camry (but if you drove the Tesla hard and did the same with the Camry for example - you'd drive a much shorter distance than the Camry that's for certain.) I was aiming for a comparable sized vehicle - whereas the cheaper EVs are more usually smaller or much older - not of the same quality of vehicle etc... Towing is another factor that put me off Evs.
The Toyota Camry will be built well and have an all round ownership experience so my pick is the Camry
You should really drive the new model 3 performance if you get the chance to. They have improved the car so much from what it used to be! Also would love to hear your opinion on the ND mazda mx5. Love your videos mate, keep em coming!
@@ThisaraGamalath thanks! Yeah one day I’m sure I’ll check it out, and yeah I’d love to do an ND MK5, done the NB and NC
What's the battery like at 130k?
It will lose roughly 4% within a couple of months, then about 1-2%/yr depending on other factors
This one still had heaps of charge, owner bought it in Queenstown and said he could do 350-400km on a charge
And still under warranty even.
I would want to try one just to see if I like it or if I'm ready to buy one
Yeah well having driven a few new electric cars I kinda get the appeal. Only as a daily though, would have to have a 2nd car too
I enjoy your video's and the improvement in quality lately. Next step could be improving your own presentation and dressing a bit nicer
Thanks for the feedback
Great review, made sense.
Thanks
It'll cost nothing to fill up in terms of fuel but electricity isn't free or do teslas have free charging? 1:56
Well… play on words. Next to nothing to fill, compared with a C63 AMG V8 that the power and torque rivals
@@KiwiCarLife wasn't too sure cos I've heard they used to give free supercharging on teslas but I guess if you've got solar at home you're all set anyway - loved the review by the way 👍
The car is not the problem the batteries are. How much is the car worth if only 30 KM range remaining? I never understood the take up of these vehicles if we don't have battery replacement program. And by that I mean get discount from the old battery and purchase a new one. And recycle the dead ones in NZ
The batteries don't degrade quickly on these like Nissan leafs and are generally designed to last the life of the car
Battery is still under warranty for a few more years
@@RS-ve8nq yeah given this one is 5 years old and still has like 90% of its charge remaining I’d say battery replacement won’t be an issue long term. But you still have the problem of when these are 15 years old and worthless, then how do you dispose of the nasty chemicals in the batteries?
Couple points: Car batteries, unlike cellphone and laptop, will have a design life of 15-25yrs, so at worst it’s a problem for a decade down the road. Tech moves fast these days. Also, not sure about nasty chemicals, but the lithium and cobalt etc inside is worth upwards of $10/kg (10x Ali) so and expended batteries will be a solid money maker to process and extract.
@@MarkShaw1 What is life of the car? its all down to life of the battery. Sure, Tesla are better but its still looking at loosing value after 10 yrs
Do some diesels
Yep more videos on the skoda coming
It is hard to deny that they check a lot of boxes for a lot of people. It is the perfect example of what a primary school aged student would love to have as a 'Boss car'' in a deck of cards containing all the different cars and their specifications. Adkin to having a holographic Pokémon trading card. I think however if you grew up in a certain period of time you'll find a hard time putting it in the same company of cars as M or AMG or RS cars although it is comparable. They do still have appeal but just to a vastly different generation. Dinosaurs are amazing but they were eventually extinct because it can be argued their environment outlived them. The future will look back at our M, AMG or RS cars and eventually laugh and maybe think "Gosh those guys used wads of toilet paper to wipe themselves
Yeah that's a good analogy, it would be the ultimate pokemon card, but that really means nothing in the real world
The Altezza Gita is arguably a rear wheel drive 6 cylinder hatchback. Dimensions are smaller than a current Corolla.
It’s more of a wagon tho isn’t it…
@@KiwiCarLife you could say that, but I’m not sure why really, has a sloping back and not much boot space
@@paul--b Then it's technically a 'liftback' isn't it? or a 4 door shooting brake? the definitions become a bit meaningless tbh 😂
@@Sam-go3mb Yeah they do get a bit meaningless, I’d argue against a liftback though as it has a flat loading lip, possibly doesn’t have the performance to be classed as a shooting brake, but maybe at the time it did, just. Shooting brake seems kinda snobby so prob comes from the wrong country to be in that class, also I don’t think a shooting brake is necessarily allowed 4 passenger doors. I did see a dealer class it as a SUV once, so I guess it can be anything to anyone.
@@Sam-go3mb LX Torana also came in what was officially called a hatchback. It had 6 and 8 cylinder versions. It's another car that might be better described as a liftback, though.
Is a golf gti/r more boring? You labelled them pretty boring
@@Pixels1920 oh no this is way more boring haha
"The only rear wheel drive 6 cylinder hatchback ever made .."
*Ford Capri* has entered the chat >
*Holden Torana* LX has entered the chat >
*Nissan Z and ZX family* has entered the chat >
*Renault Clio V6 Sport* has entered the chat >
Nissan Z cars are sports cars not hatches. No one says they're going to get in their 350Z hot hatchback...
Same with Capri and Torana. They're a fastback coupe not a hatch, and their age makes them irrelevant today. e.g. Mitsubishi Mirage "hatch", Mitsubishi Cordia "liftback", even though they're both two door, 4 seat cars with the rear glass opening with the boot so "technically" a hatch.
Clio V6 is rare as hens teeth so not even worth talking about.
So yes you're right there are more... But the 130i and M135i are the only RWD 6 cylinder hatchbacks people actually "buy".
@@KiwiCarLifeAll liftbacks are hatchbacks. .. in the same way all lions are cats.
Now you have me thinking should I convert my ' 380 ' to an EV ?
Would probably make it faster!
Why rush the transition at 0:37? I like your usual Clarksonesque cadence when you dramatically say "compared... to that"!
Funnily enough my gf and I watched the video tonight before posting and she thought it was too long which is why I shortened it...
@@KiwiCarLife mate! always a joy to watch your videos. I don't mind a few minutes longer haha.
@@GeorgeXianhaha thanks for the feedback I’ll keep that in mind
Putting 95 into a high performance, high compression turbo engine - why do you not put 98 in??
@@matty893 the N55 runs less than 10psi of boost and 10.2:1 compression stock. It’s actually not particularly highly strung from factory which is why they have so much overhead. It says in the fuel cap 95 octane. There’s no need to run higher it was tuned from the factory for 95.
Yeah throwing your money away unless the car absolutely requires it.
_A good review however you left out one of the BIGGEST issues that affects many EV’s and many of their owners..long charging ⚡️😡 times_
I didn't think that was really an issue anymore? Coz most owners just charge overnight at home so it's always fully charged in the morning, and there's fast charge places around the country for longer trips.
@@KiwiCarLife _fair call, perhaps here in Oz I’ve seen them queue up and wait_ ⏳
How many EV owners actually change the batteries ?
Not many... when the battery dies, the car is borderline worthless anyway.
A 3 litre 6 cylinder engine sounds like a money pit to me petrol wise.
It sounds cool so I don't care haha. 13k to buy, and $120 to brim the tank means I could drive 160,000km in my 3.0L before it reaches the purchase price of this Tesla. And that's not including the horrendous depreciation of these EV's, and charging costs.
A cheap EV makes sense, but an expensive one does not from a "cost saving" perspective.
I'd definitely consider an older Nissan Leaf as a commuter car.
Wouldn't own one purely for their performance on gravel roads.
Cant huck them though corners, stability control is very badly tuned for fast gravel and with the weight of them you need it on. Absolutely atrocious.
Would be interested to see how they go with some handling mods
Calm down Colin McRae
@KRBY555 it's a genuine reason, half of my old 50km one one commute was on windy gravel roads. What's wrong with wanting a car that can maintain the 100kph speed limit.
Yeah I think if that's the kind of driving you do then I wouldn't want to risk a boulder damaging the battery underneath, plus the intrusive stability control
"Wouldn't own one purely for their performance on gravel roads. "
Its a city car its not made to go offroad.
@fredericoespinoza city slicker opinion lmao. Nz has over 32000km of gravel roads, none of which are off-road. My mates lowered s3 drives them fine at 100kph, as does my honda and toyotas.
Even the work truck with half a ton of tools in the back goes good.
Why can't tesla just make a VSC that just works on gravel?
Awful cars. Soulless plastic box for the brainwashed.
Hey they're certainly far from "awful". I'd agree they're a bit soulless, and will never compare to a petrol car for sound and engagement, but they're better than a Daewoo HAHA. That's awful!