Electric driving (continued...)

For years, I’ve heard many times that a Tesla is a “computer on wheels” due to the significant amount of computing power and advanced technology integrated into its design. The sophisticated onboard computer system controls many aspects of the vehicle, like navigation, autopilot features, energy management, and more. 

If we stay on the subject of navigation and “range anxiety”, which happened to yesterday’s themes, each time a destination is picked on the GPS, it tells with great accuracy – I’ve found – how much energy will be left in the battery at destination (see illustration).

That’s a big deal, because if one has to travel another 100 miles, a 14% reserve may look skimpy and unreliable, yet, as I have experienced it, if the amount of reserve goes down, a warning flashes on the screen, admonishing the driver to stay below a certain speed. 

Likewise, when that margin is low, I stick to the speed limit instead of setting my cruise control slightly above it as I normally do. So, when I reach my destination I not only equal, but do better than the forecast reserve. This alone does much more in reassuring me about driving an electric car than any other consideration. 

Tomorrow we’ll compared driving a Tesla and a Citroën 2cv…