Super Fast Car = The Tesla Roadster In Bangkok

[Tonykalniev]

Hi guys,

Today was the day to go and test drive the Tesla Roadster again. I say again, because I tested it before in Los Angeles, but I was only a passenger and it was only 5 minutes of fun then.

First off, I would like to start with a few basic specs about the car:

Tesla Roadster standard, not top model

top speed 200km/h

0-100 in 3.9 seconds

range 350-400 km

7 hours to recharge

54 kwh lithium ion batteries

2 seater

power cable included

no fuel

no oil changes

8.5 million baht

brand American

Thanks to Eton Import for these 2 electric cars (Nissan leaf and Tesla Roadster). We arrived at their car park and saw the white Tesla sitting in the front. It is smaller than I remember (hmm). However, it looks very beautiful. All the exterior panels are carbon fiber for reduced weight. The car is extremely low to the ground. The tires used are Yokohama Neova, a special and secret formula to allow the non slip from the high torque of the motor.

We opened the trunk first. From rear to front: a small trunk is seen with the charging cable in it. The trunk is small, but bigger than the horrible boot space of the Honda Brio, Smart and many other cars. Then comes the controller box with the Tesla Motors logo on it and the AC motor (designed by Nikola Tesla) is underneath the controller box. After that the battery pack, followed by the 2 seats. Opening the front bonnet contains the A/C, electronic brake pump, ABS, cooling system for the batteries and the motor and so on. The vehicle does not have power steering, which I will mentioned how it feels like later on. The roof of the car is a hard top. It can be removed, but we didn't want to do that today, due to heat and pollution.

So entering the car takes quite an effort. I don't remember it being so hard (that's the second thing that I don't remember. why?). But once you get inside and settle yourself in the seats, they are very comfy. The middle contains the hand brake, followed by an ipod/iphone connector and then the drive buttons. A small screen is after that that gives details about a lot of information of the car. The reading said it estimates 130km of further driving. above that you have A/C controls and the Sound system that is a touch screen. The plastics in the car feel cheap, although the leathers feels like better quality than the Mercedes' and BMW's in Thailand. Leg space is great, but you cannot pull back your seats. the gauges are not very visible as the top of the steering blocks it from your view. Air conditioning works great, especially in this heat so I put it at 80% blowing.

Ok, turn the key and a "ting tong" sound appears followed by the sound of cars on the road. I pressed "D" button and of the car went. I had to make a kind of u-turn. That did take a little effort at low speed without the power steering. If there are any female buyers, it will be annoying for them I guess. But for men it is building up a little muscles. No power steering was chosen because it wouldn't drain the battery as well as on high speed it is very effective and doesn't hinder any driving feeling.

dam_n! Traffic. However, I know a back soi that will lead me to the highway, thus making a big circle around. So for now we are stuck. The car actually feels great in traffic. The regenerative barking is very heavy so you basically never use brakes up to the last 2-0km/h. It is a totally different driving experience. the A/C runs great. The car's suspension is great for such a race car. I am surprised. It isn't too stiff or too soft. The car handles potholes very smoothly (sri nakarin is a horrible road).

Finally reached the soi. Let's take a left (humpf! steering). Ok, I am just going to step on it halfway. Oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This thing flies. It has such torque and acceleration, your body gets pushed into the seats as if you were in a roller coaster! Oh, people...I have to slow down. Passed them so let's try again. THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, car crossing, regenerate a little. Again! WWWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The speed 0-100km/h is 3.9 seconds. That is more than a 30 million baht Ferrari or Lamborghini. This thing is insane, and it isn't even the top model! Let's go again! LOOK AT EVERYTHING PASSING BY SO QUICKLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally reached a turn for the highway. I stopped to let all other cars pass, Then I will floor the car. Let's......GO! ...................UNBELIEVABLE! The Tesla grin has appeared on my face again. Now I needed to slow down because I caught up with everyone else almost instantly. The only sound that the car makes during acceleration is "whooeeeeezzzzzZZZZZZZ". Once you go into high speed you hear the tires and the air flowing over the glass and roof.

After an hour of testing, we came back to the parking. I glanced at the small screen of estimated range. It read 130km still. I guess the regenerative braking is very strong. Coming outside of the car you could hear the cooling system at work. Although the top speed is 200km/h, I believe a Veyron's top speed of 400+km/h is completely useless. It is the acceleration that matters!

Thanks to Eton Import for bringing this car to Thailand. However, anybody ready to buy this car will have to fork over 8.5 million baht. So if you have this money in your pocket and are considering of showing off, then buy this car!!!!!!!!!!!! And don't worry about maintenance because Tesla engineers are coming from the States to train Eton's mechanics so that warranty will still be included for the car.

Thanks everyone. I apologize for not making a video. I was driving and totally forgot about it. Speaking of forgetting, do you remember I spoke about not remembering small negative details of my previous encounter with the car in LA? Well, the car is so much fun and exciting that such little things are easily forgotten.

Enjoy my pictures and go to test drive it yourself!!!!!!!!!

Tony

[Tonykalniev]

Hi guys,

Please read my review of the Nissan Leaf as well as other review of the Honda Jazz Hybrid.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/488437-nissan-leaf-in-bangkok/

[thaicbr]

i'm sorry but you can not call a car super fast when it takes you 5 times as long to go 800km's

[thaicbr]

i'm sorry but you can not call a car super fast when it takes you 5 times as long to go 800km's

okok, super acceleration. but a full charge of 350km costs 60 baht. how far could you go in a ferrari for that money? exactly 2 km.......

well. if its a 54kw/h battery and we presume that it has to charge 50 kw of that then that would be 160b at 3.6b per unit.

So the Ferrari could go ummm 5 km, then refuel again in 60 seconds etc, etc

Ps. technically it's an astounding car.. but here in Thailand...nah

pps. if you want to change my mind... buy me one

pps. what about electric motorcycles? you do know that they have one made here in Thailand. The Tiger

http://tigermotor.co.th/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=35&Itemid=76

Edited August 12, 2011 by thaicbr

[Tonykalniev]

i'm sorry but you can not call a car super fast when it takes you 5 times as long to go 800km's

okok, super acceleration. but a full charge of 350km costs 60 baht. how far could you go in a ferrari for that money? exactly 2 km.......

well. if its a 54kw/h battery and we presume that it has to charge 50 kw of that then that would be 160b at 3.6b per unit.

So the Ferrari could go ummm 5 km, then refuel again in 60 seconds etc, etc

Ps. technically it's an astounding car.. but here in Thailand...nah

obviously depends on the area in bangkok due to different tarrifs. eton told me about 60 something baht for a full charge. obviously its not a full charge as you will never empty the battery up to 0% usually its 10-20% and then you charge. so remove that amount from the kilowatts, times it to different tarriffs...

The tiger IMPORTS that motorcycle. so the price for it is ....uuuhhhh.....NOT MENTIONED. I called them many times before, they didnt clearly state anything about how to register, warranty, maintenance, price. completely useless service. then i found out someone that was driving it in rama 2 in a forum. but no name or contact details so another useless information.

However, he did state that for 1300 kilometers of electric motorcycle driving, it cost him 76 baht!!!!!!!

Edited August 12, 2011 by Tonykalniev

[metisdead]

A post using all caps has been removed. There's no need to shout to make your point.

[Tonykalniev]

A post using all caps has been removed. There's no need to shout to make your point.

lol, no worries, just got way over excited

[thaicbr]

i'm sorry but you can not call a car super fast when it takes you 5 times as long to go 800km's

okok, super acceleration. but a full charge of 350km costs 60 baht. how far could you go in a ferrari for that money? exactly 2 km.......

well. if its a 54kw/h battery and we presume that it has to charge 50 kw of that then that would be 160b at 3.6b per unit.

So the Ferrari could go ummm 5 km, then refuel again in 60 seconds etc, etc

Ps. technically it's an astounding car.. but here in Thailand...nah

obviously depends on the area in bangkok due to different tarrifs. eton told me about 60 something baht for a full charge. obviously its not a full charge as you will never empty the battery up to 0% usually its 10-20% and then you charge. so remove that amount from the kilowatts, times it to different tarriffs...

The tiger IMPORTS that motorcycle. so the price for it is ....uuuhhhh.....NOT MENTIONED. I called them many times before, they didnt clearly state anything about how to register, warranty, maintenance, price. completely useless service. then i found out someone that was driving it in rama 2 in a forum. but no name or contact details so another useless information.

However, he did state that for 1300 kilometers of electric motorcycle driving, it cost him 76 baht!!!!!!!

Tiger... Build and exports that vehicle. But the main expertise has come from the company in the US that has the rights for it. I do believe that they are available here for special order. As you are probably aware registering any vehicle here is not so easy and the Thai government do not offer much in the way of electric vehicle incentives.

[Tonykalniev]

Tiger... Build and exports that vehicle. But the main expertise has come from the company in the US that has the rights for it. I do believe that they are available here for special order. As you are probably aware registering any vehicle here is not so easy and the Thai government do not offer much in the way of electric vehicle incentives.

well, thanks for clearing that, cuz the lady on the phone........arggh.

so basically they build, export it and if you want to buy it, you import it back in. the same thing what happens with the rice in hotels right? thailands exports its rice and imports it back at a premium into the hotels and calls it "5 star dining"

anyway, i have a much more superior design from Malaysia coming in 4 months. I will make a review on it too. Here is a picture of it. time to electrify the city

Edited August 12, 2011 by Tonykalniev

[wandrinstar]

Im just supping Nescaffe and waiting for a "My Cruze is far better Value" Post.

[guzzi850m2]

Hi Tony, thanks for the informative test, sounds like a fun car to drive.

Are electric imported cars taxed like a "normal" car?

[wandrinstar]

Any Idea how much the Aircon Uses, when its110 and your stuck in a Gridlock.?.

[ignis]

maybe best to wait for the new electric Volvo C30 and S60, Is on test now, range 750 - 1,000km with on-board generator

[Tonykalniev]

Any Idea how much the Aircon Uses, when its110 and your stuck in a Gridlock.?.

Well as you can see from my review I kind of spread that info out. At first the computer told me 130km. After 80% blast of A/C and hardcore pushing of the car as well as regen, came back after 1 hour and it still said 130km...traffic is where an electric car beats any other car. what happens if you forgot to refuel your current car and went out to drive all the way to the shopping mall where you get stuck for 2 hours, like those cops do with the red light? no more fuel, what u gonna do?

Also I am not sure about imported tarrifs. Thailand doesn't clearly state them. However, another person stated in my other topic that it is about 80% import duty, 10% excise tax and a little more percentages here and there. You CANNOT as a customer, call up tesla and buy it directly from the states. You must, in thailand, use an import company or start your own company and sell them. so the 8.5 million baht includes eton's profit. after all, it is a business that he is running.

[Tonykalniev]

maybe best to wait for the new electric Volvo C30 and S60, Is on test now, range 750 - 1,000km with on-board generator

Do you know how much they are leasing them now in the USA? 2000 USD per moth. That is 60,000 baht per month. Volvo is horrible. for that money you will buy this car and pay it for the next 6 years.

Nevertheless, Volvo is currently developing a new type of battery that will become the body panels of the car. In addition to combining them with solar cells, you could essentially make a never ending battery for an electric car.

[ignis]

Nevertheless, Volvo is currently developing a new type of battery that will become the body panels of the car. In addition to combining them with solar cells, you could essentially make a never ending battery for an electric car.

Not in my lifetime but can see people talking about the old cars, you had to keep stopping to fill up with fuel... Guess if the Oil Companies were not to powerful and the governments big cash cow, taxing fuel so high, we would have seen many more electric cars on the road today, or would have been much further forward.

[bangkokeddie]

Any Idea how much the Aircon Uses, when its110 and your stuck in a Gridlock.?.

Also I am not sure about imported tarrifs. Thailand doesn't clearly state them. However, another person stated in my other topic that it is about 80% import duty, 10% excise tax and a little more percentages here and there. You CANNOT as a customer, call up tesla and buy it directly from the states. You must, in thailand, use an import company or start your own company and sell them. so the 8.5 million baht includes eton's profit. after all, it is a business that he is running.

THB 2.6m in the USA (USD 85,000)

THB 8.5m in Thailand (USD 275,000)

Crackers.

Edited February 9, 2012 by bangkokeddie

[transam]

Any Idea how much the Aircon Uses, when its110 and your stuck in a Gridlock.?.

Also I am not sure about imported tarrifs. Thailand doesn't clearly state them. However, another person stated in my other topic that it is about 80% import duty, 10% excise tax and a little more percentages here and there. You CANNOT as a customer, call up tesla and buy it directly from the states. You must, in thailand, use an import company or start your own company and sell them. so the 8.5 million baht includes eton's profit. after all, it is a business that he is running.

THB 2.6m in the USA (USD 85,000)

THB 8.5m in Thailand (USD 275,000)

Crackers.

Correct AND they don't quite sound right eh.

[Tonykalniev]

Any Idea how much the Aircon Uses, when its110 and your stuck in a Gridlock.?.

Also I am not sure about imported tarrifs. Thailand doesn't clearly state them. However, another person stated in my other topic that it is about 80% import duty, 10% excise tax and a little more percentages here and there. You CANNOT as a customer, call up tesla and buy it directly from the states. You must, in thailand, use an import company or start your own company and sell them. so the 8.5 million baht includes eton's profit. after all, it is a business that he is running.

THB 2.6m in the USA (USD 85,000)

THB 8.5m in Thailand (USD 275,000)

Crackers.

Correct AND they don't quite sound right eh.

I know right?? It is quite silly, since they have that eco car segment that shouldn't be more that 1200cc and have pollution regulations. In my opinion, electric cars fall right under this segment because they have no cc's and have no "direct" pollution....

so the Tesla should be 0% import tax on it dammit!!! if it was, i would buy it immediately as im not married and have no kids so perfect for me!!!

[kartman]

]

I thought you were building your own electric car why buy somebody else's?.

[VocalNeal]

So if you have this money in your pocket and are considering of showing off, then buy this car!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well at least this bit is correct for the Thai market.

[aussiebebe]

This is a great post about the Tesla, very informative and the car looks stunning in the photos. I know the old saying that if you have to ask, you can't afford it, but out of interest how does insurance work with a car like this? It's interesting that Tesla engineers trains eton staff to handle the warranty, but how does an insurance premium run to cover a factory repair? It must take someone with great big swinging rhino-balls to drive a Tesla among all the crazy drivers in Bangkok - you have my respect, sir.

[WarpSpeed]

Here's a car that fits the OP..

http://www.gizmag.co...cing-car/21212/

Not quite road legal though ......

[Tonykalniev]

@ kartman I am building my own ev company. but this car is my role model and gave me the courage to start it. so as an enthusiast, i want it

@aussiebebe I heard the insurance is between 100,000-200,000 baht per year. It is way too high....for my ev car it would be way lower, close to normal vehicle owners There are currently 4 tesla roadster owners in thailand, 2 nissan leaf owners as well...and 2 mitsubishi imiev owners.

@warpspeed i know dude, this is an awesome racing ev. it regenerates also from the suspension system too. time to change the world

[WarpSpeed]

@ kartman I am building my own ev company. but this car is my role model and gave me the courage to start it. so as an enthusiast, i want it

@aussiebebe I heard the insurance is between 100,000-200,000 baht per year. It is way too high....for my ev car it would be way lower, close to normal vehicle owners There are currently 4 tesla roadster owners in thailand, 2 nissan leaf owners as well...and 2 mitsubishi imiev owners.

@warpspeed i know dude, this is an awesome racing ev. it regenerates also from the suspension system too. time to change the world

I had the idea of pioneering an electric car class years ago and just as racing has always done to vehicle technology it would generate the technology to advance the process, education, interest and funding. I have/had an idea that could be implemented to even run enduro races in them without having to stop for recharges but can't get anyone with the means or great enough vision to implement it but I'm certain it's feasible..