Top Gear still hates Tesla

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

Do not use a long winded explanation from a drag racing expert to rant about a difference in a quarter mile time of 0.39 seconds from non-professional drivers.

Realize that you could probably drag race these two cars 100 times and not have a consistent winner. A lot of science goes into drag racing, but drag racing isn't an exact science. When the difference is that small, countless variables could affect it. From the condition of tarmac to the driver's reaction time. The point that should be taken away from this is that both cars are very, very fast.

You should watch the video of the Tesla drag racing. The YouTuber is definitely not a professional, and he drags his car fairly consistently. The times will vary with reaction, the time of day, the amount of charge of the car, the heat in the tires, etc. His Tesla is pretty consistent.

This example from Top Gear just seems like another dig at Tesla—another attempt to misrepresent them.

[ScoobsMcGee]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

You should watch the video of the Tesla drag racing. The YouTuber is definitely not a professional, and he drags his car fairly consistently. The times will vary with reaction, the time of day, the amount of charge of the car, the heat in the tires, etc. His Tesla is pretty consistent.

This example from Top Gear just seems like another dig at Tesla—another attempt to misrepresent them.

It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. The only things apparent from your post is that you really like Tesla and really hate Top Gear.

Pointing out Clarkson's digs at the Prius and the time Elon tried (and failed) to sue Top Gear are completely irrelevant to the comparison at hand. Talk about the price and range difference like I said. Talk about how Elon announced a software update to up the Model S' peak output by 50 HP (really, we should talk about that for a few difference reasons). Bringing up the points you did just weakens whatever valid points you may have by allowing people to dismiss you as a member of the "Cult of Elon."

[chaoskaze]

ZZZZZ.......interweb gossip with no actual testing.

Taycan is onsale already, go pull some strings & produce a video with tesla on a proper track.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

You should watch the video of the Tesla drag racing. The YouTuber is definitely not a professional, and he drags his car fairly consistently. The times will vary with reaction, the time of day, the amount of charge of the car, the heat in the tires, etc. His Tesla is pretty consistent.

This example from Top Gear just seems like another dig at Tesla—another attempt to misrepresent them.

So why would a Tesla not have consistent times tested at the same place by the same people again?

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by ScoobsMcGee

It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. The only things apparent from your post is that you really like Tesla and really hate Top Gear.

Pointing out Clarkson's digs at the Prius and the time Elon tried (and failed) to sue Top Gear are completely irrelevant to the comparison at hand. Talk about the price and range difference like I said. Talk about how Elon announced a software update to up the Model S' peak output by 50 HP (really, we should talk about that for a few difference reasons). Bringing up the points you did just weakens whatever valid points you may have by allowing people to dismiss you as a member of the "Cult of Elon."

We will see if there is enough backlash that they make a new video or retract their statements. I've watched enough Top Gear and seen and read enough car reviews over the years to understand that car reviewers will do their best to research the performance claims of the manufacture and research the real world results of the community and other reviewers before they post their results. Considering their history with Tesla, you would think they would even double down on their research. Instead, they have misrepresented those times or made a huge mistake by accident.

We own an Audi and will likely get the wife into a Tesla X or Y when her Q5 runs through its life, and I will most definitely be owning a Cayman or 911 in the future. This isn't about being a Tesla fan boy. I saw the article, and it appears that Top Gear is biased. As you mentioned, there is a million talking points why the Tesla is better or how the Porsche is different. I'm not trying to claim the Tesla is better than the Taycan. I'm trying to make a claim about Top Gear that goes to their credibility as a car reporter/reviewer.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Spuds

So why would a Tesla not have consistent times tested at the same place by the same people again?

Like I said, they could have not used launch control or could have run the car without ludicrous mode on, or they could have eased off the accelerator. At minimally, a well intentioned reviewer would probably do their due diligence looking up the manufacture's claims and the results from other reviewers and owners because even if that was the best they could achieve, they would likely note that the car has been shown to be capable of better times, wouldn't they? I've seen such things before when it comes to 0-60, dyno numbers, 1/4 mile, etc. Should I post a half dozen videos of the Tesla Raven doing better to show how common it is?

[ScoobsMcGee]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

We will see if there is enough backlash that they make a new video or retract their statements. I've watched enough Top Gear and seen and read enough car reviews over the years to understand that car reviewers will do their best to research the performance claims of the manufacture and research the real world results of the community and other reviewers before they post their results. Considering their history with Tesla, you would think they would even double down on their research. Instead, they have misrepresented those times or made a huge mistake by accident.

We own an Audi and will likely get the wife into a Tesla X or Y when her Q5 runs through its life, and I will most definitely be owning a Cayman or 911 in the future. This isn't about being a Tesla fan boy. I saw the article, and it appears that Top Gear is biased. As you mentioned, there is a million talking points why the Tesla is better or how the Porsche is different. I'm not trying to claim the Tesla is better than the Taycan. I'm trying to make a claim about Top Gear that goes to their credibility as a car reporter/reviewer.

If not a fan boy, that further validates the point of how the info was presented and the cited sources. It really does come across as someone grasping at straws to defend Tesla. As for Top Gear, they've already doubled down releasing test numbers and claiming that the Model S Performance was actually slower than the numbers they posted, so they used numbers from a test two years prior. If they are full of it, direct comparisons from other sources will prove it. Despite the price difference I am sure it will be a frequent comparison.

As for future cars, I wouldn't mind a Model S once the lease is up on the WRX. A Model 3 is more reasonable, but I can't get past the schnoz and single LCD mid-dash. Hopefully within the next couple of years there will be more electric options that don't cost more than my house (Taycan), so I can more easily make excuses to myself to justify them.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

If the Porsche bogged down in traction control or the Tesla spun the tires and ran a 13.0 then would they show that race and claim it realistically demonstrates the performance comparison? No..

Well, that's pretty much what i said in the second paragraph, that to me the suspicion they didn't use launch mode in the S was more concerning to me then the misposting (intentional or otherwise) of the numbers.

[Lantanafrs2]

Both of those cars are pretty damn fast either way.

[reni]

People still watch Top Gear?

[Lantanafrs2]

Originally Posted by reni

People still watch Top Gear?

In England

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by reni

People still watch Top Gear?

Top Gear USA isn't what the original is and neither is the Grand Tour, even if it has the original cast.

[DandoX]

Bunch of folks in the car chat channel at work are so up the bum about Teslas. I think they are kind of lame. I also hate the sparse Tesla interior and giant Ipad look.

On a related note, I hear that Teslas over 3-4 years old are in danger of this one source of memory failing, which causes the car not to turn on at all and require a $3,000 fix. All due to this one bit of flash memory constantly being written to for excessive data logging that it does internally. There are zero symptoms of this imminent failure and it could happen to any Tesla over 3-4 years old at any time with no warning. So stack that anxiety on top of the normal range anxiety.

Also you can't work on Teslas yourself, you can't take it to a normal shop, you can't just buy spare parts. I think it is a risky choice to buy these NOT CHEAP cars that may or may not randomly fail when they get a little old. Plus they are all ugly as sin (except the lotus body). Here in SoCal Tesla drivers are creeping up there as some of the more asshole drivers on the road.

If you can't tell I am up to here with all this talk from Tesla fan boys Im surrounded by. I GET IT your so fucking green and progressive and don't pay for gas!

I apologize for the rant.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by DandoX

Bunch of folks in the car chat channel at work are so up the bum about Teslas. I think they are kind of lame. I also hate the sparse Tesla interior and giant Ipad look.

On a related note, I hear that Teslas over 3-4 years old are in danger of this one source of memory failing, which causes the car not to turn on at all and require a $3,000 fix. All due to this one bit of flash memory constantly being written to for excessive data logging that it does internally. There are zero symptoms of this imminent failure and it could happen to any Tesla over 3-4 years old at any time with no warning. So stack that anxiety on top of the normal range anxiety.

Also you can't work on Teslas yourself, you can't take it to a normal shop, you can't just buy spare parts. I think it is a risky choice to buy these NOT CHEAP cars that may or may not randomly fail when they get a little old. Plus they are all ugly as sin (except the lotus body). Here in SoCal Tesla drivers are creeping up there as some of the more asshole drivers on the road.

If you can't tell I am up to here with all this talk from Tesla fan boys Im surrounded by. I GET IT your so fucking green and progressive and don't pay for gas!

I apologize for the rant.

I don't think that anyone that buys a Tesla has any intent of working on their car themselves regardless of brand