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Kia EV6 vs Tesla Model Y, test drive
Feb 1: Test drive of a Kia EV6. Forgive the dust in the photos. Highlights, comparing to Tesla Model Y: - Good acceleration. Handles okay. - More physical buttons (good or bad, depending on preference). - Manual, not auto, adjusting steering column. - Much less storage. - Smaller main screen. Blind spot camera is on an additional smaller screen, behind the steering wheel … in a blind spot! At least, I couldn’t get a good view of it, which defeats the purpose. - HUD (heads up display) was a new discovery for me. It’s terrific to see your speed within the field of view of the windscreen. - 240V V2L outlet in the car, which is great. Apple Car Play. Missing in a Tesla.
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Our 25-minute Model Y 'Juniper' test drive
Our first (and only) test drive of the new Tesla Model Y “Juniper”, at Tesla Mulgrave. We only had 25 minutes in the car, which isn’t much to fully test it. Not enough time to drive to some winding country roads, but we did manage to find a tightly curved on-ramp to a highway. Driving at speed around it, we definitely noticed more body roll compared to our sportier Model 3. This did freak out my passengers. They also found the acceleration more noticeable in the back seat, which seems to tilt down. Tim described the acceleration as prolapsing his sphincter. The Model Y absorbs bumps much better, finding a good median between sport and comfort. This new model has the same acceleration as our Model 3, 0 to 100km/h in 6s., one second faster than the previous Model Y. This is the RWD (rear wheel drive) model, standard range, not the AWD long range. We prefer the RWD because it has an LFP battery, which has no nickel or cobalt, and a longer life span. It’s also cheaper. But slower…
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Cork at Cooks Corner Cafe, finally
Having passed it dozens of times, we finally tried out the Cork at Cooks Corner Cafe, not far from home, in The Dandenong Ranges. We were pushing close to closing time, so we just ordered arancini balls and cauliflower steak. Delicious! Cosy, charming, endearing cafe. We’ll be back. Just across the road, we wandered down the Lyrebird Walk, which lived up to the name.
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Giant donuts and metal echidnas at Warragul market
Day trip out to the farmers market in Warragul. Farms grow giant donuts, right? Also metal echidnas – who knew? Most of the market stalls ran off on site power. Just one stall had a droning generator.
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Easter Thursday traffic into Melbourne
On the Thursday evening, just before Easter, let’s drive into Melbourne city! Crazy. We were picking up one of our adult kids, who hitched a ride from Wagga Wagga. Heading out through the heavy traffic, it took me three of four attempts to navigate the junctions near the leaning arches. I have been through there many times now, buti still have only a 50% success rate at getting the correct exit 😞. Very glad that in bumper traffic, we don’t use any fuel, or generate engine heat or fumes.
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A toasty stop at Lake Nillahcootie, heading home
Rest stop at Lake Nillahcootie, near Bonnie Doon. On our way back home from the Off-Grid Living Festival and Corowa, crossing back over the border into Victoria. To our pleasant surprise, coffee and toasties were on offer from the Kalari Kafe van in the car park by the lake. Unfortunately, the generators powering the van filled the area with noise and some fumes. Hopefully V2L EVs will soon become so common place and accessible that more food vans will be able to use them.
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Strolling the Off-Grid Living Festival, Chiltern
Strolling around the Off-Grid Living Festival today, in Chiltern, Victoria. Such a wide range of exhibitors. Excellent food options, but very little shade. Lots of dust, which destroyed the car wash we did a couple of days ago. Very thankful for a smoothie from the Barefoot Blender. Most of the site seems to be powered from solar, or from V2L EVs. Great to see. Less smelly and noisy generators. Even the security motorbikes are electric. Nice!
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Any power point becomes a charging station, in Corowa
Any power point is a charging station. We drove from eastern Melbourne, Victoria, north to just over the border in Corowa, NSW. We can walk down the road and see Victoria on the other side of the Murray River. We were in Queensland earlier this week 🤪. We’re staying at an Airbnb house for a couple of days, while we attend the Off-Grid Living Festival in Chiltern, tomorrow.
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Driving an ICE car again, after years of EVs
Imagine driving an ICE (internal combustion engine) car for the first time, coming from EVs. April 5: We drove in a couple of ICE cars around town (Airlie Beach and Cannonvale) for a few days. It reminded me of a couple of years ago, hopping back in our Mazda CX-5, after owning an EV. Here are my observations: 1. You can’t charge it up while parked at home, or at a shopping center. You have to go to a special “fuel station” to recharge the car. You can’t just leave the car to recharge – you have to stay with it, holding the recharge nozzle. 2. It smells. And the fumes are carcinogenic. The fumes come from the nozzle, but also out of the back of the car while driving. 3. When the car has enough charge (fuel), you put the nozzle back in the pump. But then you have to walk into the service station to pay at the counter. It’s not automatic at the pump, or it’s too complicated for most people to bother that way. 4. There’s a possibility of fire. The fuel is highly flammable. And the car…
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Talking road trips at the Off-Grid Festival
Road tripping through Europe gave us a glimpse into the future of EVs and road trips in Australia. Border Regional Electrification Events invited us to talk about it in the Electrification Tent at the Off-Grid Living Festival, in Chiltern, Victoria (30 minutes from the NSW border). The audience asked some excellent questions. Thanks to all those who attended. Some of the slides from our talk, included here.
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Back to our EV after a week of ICE
Back at Melbourne Airport. Glad to drive our EV again, after our dabble on the dark side driving in some ICE cars. Such a smooth, quiet, drive, with no smoke or heat. Ahh ☺️. Our visit to Airlie Beach was mainly to assist with moving house for one of our kids. But we also loved spending time together at the pool, and local eateries.
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Why NRMA Airlie Beach is a shining EV light
The NRMA Airlie Beach Holiday Park is a shining light. EV destination chargers at each of the new cabins. Fast chargers out front for the public. Efficient electric hot water heat pumps. On site cafe and coffee. E-bikes. Walk to nearby Coles and shopping center. This is the future. Well done, The NRMA! Missing our own EV right now, still parked back in Melbourne airport.
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A 4 am start, off to Airlie Beach
4am is way too early to be up. We’re off to Airlie Beach to visit one of our kids. The only direct flight leaves at 7:25am. Archie is being looked after by Alex and Robin at Wandin Valley Cattery. 😸
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Four hours of Autopilot to Avalon Airshow
The “Long delays” prophecy was fulfilled today, when it took us four hours (from home) to get into the Avalon Airshow. Very happy to have the car’s Autopilot take care of most of the driving, along the highway and then through the walking pace bumper to bumper final few kilometres. The car park was quite a dustbowl. By the end of the day, our hair, skin and clothes had a mixture of car park dust, aviation fuel fumes, and a touch of sunscreen. Mmmm. The show was amazing. Even understanding the physics, it’s still unbelievable how we can get tonnes of metal to zoom around the sky. We spotted a few electric buggies transporting VIPs, one electric bus, and even an electric powered tank and fighter jet (see the photos to figure out the twist 😉). But, still dozens of diesel buses and a few petrol buggies, pouring too many fumes into the packed crowd. But, hey, I think the aircraft exhausts may have overshadowed it all. And of course the “wall of fire” opening act that created an apocalyptic…
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Nine months of soft plastics, off to recycling
Our nearly yearly collection of soft plastics. Even partially compressed, our nine months of soft plastics nearly filled our boot. It turns out that there are many collection points where you can take your soft plastics for recycling. We were passing through anyway, so we made extra use of our solar powered trip. We’ve also discovered that some other places take styrofoam, but we don’t have enough of that yet to warrant a trip.
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XPeng G6 — second test drive
We took another test drive of an XPENG G6, this time from a new dealership in Berwick, Victoria, which is closer to us. Nice interior, comfy seats, great tech. The handling wasn’t bad on some windy roads, but not as sporty as the Tesla Model Y. Disappointing storage. The auto driving hesitated quite a bit around bends. The lack of full stop on one pedal driving is annoying, but they will reportedly solve that in a few weeks via an OTA (over the air) software update. The G6 includes auto parking and lane change, which costs extra in a Tesla. It has vehicle to load, but it requires some adapter plug into the external charge port, which wasn’t available. We had a chance to play with Apple CarPlay, which is great to have. But the XPeng doesn't seem to support pinch and zoom in Apple Maps, which makes it very limited. Acceleration was terrible (doesn’t move for a second), until I turned in “launch mode”. I couldn’t figure out how to enable launch mode and regenerative braking (x-pedal) at…
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How to drive efficiently with a soup cauldron
How to optimise your driving for efficiency: 1. Place one large slow cooker cauldron of soup in the car, between your passenger’s feet. 2. Select the most windy route to your destination. 3. Try not to let your feet slip into the pot. 4. Along the drive, aim for smooth driving, minimising harsh acceleration, braking, cornering and potholes. 5. Gauge your success from the car’s measured kWh per km. 6. Verify your success by measuring how much soup remained in the pot, and how burnt your ankles are.
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A foodie treasure hunt in the Macedon Ranges
Off to The Macedon Ranges today, for a Mystery Adventures Picnic. It’s basically a foodie treasure hunt. Great Christmas gift, thank you Helen 😋. First stop at 3 Little Pigs Gisborne cafe, for coffee. Then, on through Watt's Fresh Woodend, Kyneton to Malmsbury, stopping along the way for a food platter, chocolates, bits, drinks and bread. Picnic at Malmsbury Botanic Gardens, with a walk to the Malmsbury Railway Viaduct.
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Graham Norton, and a Pj O'Briens dinner
Night out to see Graham Norton, at Melbourne Art Centre, along the Yarra River. Keeping with the Irish theme, dinner first at Pj Obriens.
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Ballarat run to the airport, with three bags
Random drive out to Ballarat to pick up a family friend and take them to the airport. Two medium large bags and one carry on all fit into the boot, thanks to the sub trunk space. Before we left, I gave the car a “full service” by topping up the washer fluid. The screen showed that the tyre pressures were good there’s no engine oil or radiator fluid etc to check in an EV.
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A Dutch Festival, and a painting in the Tesla
Random day, including: 1. A trip to the Dutch Festival in Carribean Gardens, to grab croquets, olliebollen and other goodies. 2. Picked up a large painting, bought on marketplace, and managed to fit it in our Tesla Model 3, along with three people. We might need a bigger car. 3. Found an echidna in our back yard, which inspired one of today’s NYT puzzle connections.
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The final stretch of a 4000 km road trip
The final stretch of this 4000km road trip, to get home. We stayed last night in Gobbagombalin (near Wagga Wagga) with our grandson (oh, and his parents 😉). Just a couple of bakery stops, in Holbrook and Yea. The first cafe in Holbrook was closed, so we looked through the window like lost puppies. While parked, we kept the car in Camp Mode, with the air con on, to keep our camp fridge going and our food cool. No exhaust or additional heat.
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Springs Resort Mittagong, and Yass for breakfast
We stayed last night at Springs Resort, in Mittagong – a good value motel. The RSL next door has a fast charger but doesn’t serve breakfast after 9am, but we typically barely get out the door before 10am 😴. So, we drove into town for some brekky. Stopped in Yass at Kaffeine 2582 for a light lunch and a driving break. We arrived in Wagga Wagga a little too early to meet up with family for the night, so we used the extra time to top up the car.
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Electric utes and trucks at Everything Electric Sydney
We spotted a few utes and trucks at the Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show), in Sydney. Some conversions, some plug in hybrid (PHEV), and one large battery swap unit for a semi, in just 3 minutes. We sat in the huge frunk of the F150 Lightning, made possible because no engine is needed. Some electric utes have been popular for mining operations, so as not to poison the air in the shafts, and to avoid the need to truck in fuel to remote sites. On the way out, we spotted a BYD Shark (PHEV) parked at a fast charger on the street. Frustratingly, they hadn’t plugged in. There were a couple of parking cops who were hopefully about to post an infringement notice. Chargers are for charging, not just parking 🤦♂️.
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Electric vans at Everything Electric Sydney
Checking out electric vans at Everything Electric (from Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.
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The Cybertruck, big and ridiculous, in Sydney
At The Everything Electric Show in Sydney (by the Fully Charged Show), checking out the Tesla Cybertruck. Impressive, but ridiculously big, like most oversized utes.
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Wrapping up Everything Electric Sydney, past a V8
The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) wrapped up in Sydney for another year, but will be back, for the first time, in Melbourne in November. In the car park, we walked past four guys standing around the open bonnet of a V8 ute, saying “we should have gone electric”. Very fitting end. Amber showed off her Tesla Tripping tote bag, as we said goodbye. 3000km done and 1000km to go. Car fully packed again, with the addition of four old computers we had left behind when we moved from the Central Coast, two years ago. One of the sharp iMacs showed its abandonment issues by cutting my bare foot. Next stop, for dinner, in Campbelltown. We shared a roast and dessert. Then on to Mittagong for tonight’s accommodation, booked at the last minute, as usual.
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Some classic conversions to electric, in Sydney
A few of the electric converted vehicles at The Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney.
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Electric motorbikes, including Savic, at Sydney
Just a few of the electric motorbikes at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney. Including locally built Savic Motorcycles.
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V2L in action: DJs, coffee machines and TVs
Portable power. A few V2L (vehicle to load) examples at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show). Including an EV DJ, coffee machine, large TV, and power tools. Most EVs now include V2L, so you can plug just about any household appliance into your car, and power it without running an engine, so no heat, exhaust and noise. Tesla, however, does not currently offer this feature, except on the Cybertruck. Very disappointing.
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The Deepal E07: hatch meets ute tray
Great to see some innovative new EV designs at Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney. This Deepal E07 has a hatch that’s kind of like a small ute tray. Full cabin plus a tray/boot. Opens electronically. You can even extend the tray length by folding down the rear seats (unlike the Cybertruck). Australian pricing and release expected at the next exhibition, I think in April.
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First look at the new Model Y 'Juniper'
Checking out the new 2025 Tesla Model Y “Juniper”. Easier for passengers to get in and out, compared to our lower Model 3. Love the ventilated seats. So much room in this thing, more than any other competitor vehicle, it seems. And the most efficient. I’ve added photos of Phil lying down in the back of another Tesla Model Y (not Juniper), on a Tesla mattress, to show how much space there is with the seats down Still no vehicle to load (V2L) or Apple Car Play, like most competitors have. At Everything Electric (Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.
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XPeng G6 — first look at the Everything Electric Show
The Xpeng G6 is a strong competition against the Tesla Model Y. We viewed both at The Everything Electric Show (Fully Charged Show) in Sydney. A few weeks earlier, we took a G6 for a test drive at the XPENG Port Melbourne showroom (also pictured). The Xpeng G6 and Tesla Model Y both have great tech, great efficiency, ventilated and heated front seats. The G6 doesn’t have frunk storage, has small subtrunk storage, smaller boot, no glovebox, but has a bit more rear passenger room and probably more comfy seats. It has Apple Maps and Vehicle to Load (V2L). It is $10k cheaper, but requires paid regular servicing and and has longer warranty. It includes auto lane change (extra purchase on the Tesla). The Tesla has faster acceleration, sportier handling, one pedal driving comes to a full stop without the brake, and has more fast charging options. It has a screen for rear passengers and powered rear seat folding. It has much more storage overall, including huge sub trunk, boot and frunk. It…
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Central Coast farewells, off to Everything Electric
Great memories, spending some time with family on the NSW Central Coast. Tomorrow: Off to Everything Electric (by Fully Charged Show), in Sydney.
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Thai and pizza at Erina Fair, again
A couple of visits to Erina Fair, while we’ve been staying nearby, this week. Pineapple fried rice at Thai Thyme. Teriyaki pizza at GPK. Tomorrow we’re off to the Fully Charged Everything Electric Show in Sydney.
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A different EV: the Sydney train
I tried a different EV today, on my way from The NSW Central Coast to Sydney. It powers while in motion, directly from overhead wires, is semi autonomous, has vehicle to load on every seat, designated quiet spaces, tray table, and giant windows. Not bad! Even the anti EV haters seem to accept this one 😉. After my commute for work, we met up with our dear friends, Hugh and Margaret, for dinner at The Elenora Hotel, followed by choc mousse, fruit and coffee back at the villa. Lots of stories to share about EV road trips in Europe, New Zealand, Western Australia and Far North Queensland.
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Breakfast with Ric Richardson in Byron Bay
We managed to catch up with a kindred spirit, Ric Richardson, for breakfast in Byron Bay at the Marvell Street Cafe. We’ve worked on a few projects together, over the years, building apps to demonstrate various patents. Emails, chat messages and video chats are great ways to communicate data and specs. But there are some people where you just cherish the chance to meet face to face. As usual, we have all of our gear, including food, packed in the car. We left the car with aircon running, on low fan. We set the Tesla to "Camp Mode" so that it would keep power on for the camp fridge we have in the back seat. But, it seems we can't keep Camp Mode and Sentry Mode active at the same time 😞.
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A Byron Springs Guest House stay
We stayed last night at Byron Springs Guest House. Private room and shower, shared pool, lounge room and kitchen. Beautiful setting, in a suburban street.
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A Hunter Valley stay at Beltana Villas
March 1-3: A couple of nights in the Hunter Valley, NSW, to catch up with my Mum and sister. We stayed at Beltana Villas. Beautiful setting, spacious villas with a balcony, pool and spa. The visiting kangaroo family topped it off. We experienced one of the worst smells, and it wasn’t an animal. A human had apparently previously put milk in the water intake of the coffee pod machine. No trace in the water container, but the first pod we tried gave a smell that made us gag, as it blasted something more than water through it. Our hosts kindly replaced it. Brunch at Ronnies in the Hunter Valley Gardens Shopping Village. Dinner up the road at Harrigan's. Coffee from Cafe Enzo. We managed to fit Mum’s walker (and Mum) in the car, without removing our camp fridge and luggage. We might need more car or less relatives. The least we could do for another serving of boiled eggs. Thanks Mum ☺️.
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The 'Best Scones' sign lured us in again
The “Best Scones” sign on the highway lured us in again, south of Port Macquarie in North Moorland. We had the cafe courtyard to ourselves, apart from the staff and chickens.
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Charging belly and car at The Hill Cafe
Arriving at a cafe before 2:30 makes all the difference. On the way north, last week, we stopped here at about 3pm and all the lunch places were shut. On our way south now, The Hill Cafe is a great option for stopping to charge the belly and charge the car. There’s a big sign on the way into the shopping center in Thrumster (near Port Macquarie) that says something like “Shop, Eat, and Recharge”. No petrol station on this side of town. It’s a snippet of the future.
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Mac and cheese, finally, at Emerald Beach
Last night we stopped at Emerald Beach Pizza & Pasta. We have been dreaming about their mac and cheese, for the past year, but we couldn’t stop on our way north last week. We mentioned how far we’d traveled for this culinary delight, but the staff just looked at us as if we were crazy (which is possible). We brought it back to our accommodation near Coffs Harbour, unwrapped it from the foil container, only to discover that it wasn’t really full. Sometimes it’s best not to meet your heros. Prior to that, we had a short walk on Emerald Beach. A couple of years ago, we were planning on moving somewhere near here, but we ended up in Emerald Victoria instead. Both Emeralds are green and filled with kangaroos. We opted for the one with lower humidity. Our accommodation was an Airbnb apartment at Pacific Bay Resort. Well appointed by the owner. Beautiful setting. We enjoyed cooling off in the pool. This morning, we stopped at The Clog Barn, on our way out of Coffs Harbour. I’m not sure how…
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Mexican at Miss Margarita, Byron Bay
Arrived in Byron Bay, in time for some Mexican fajitas at Miss Margarita, and a stroll along the waterfront. This morning we were in Wellington Point, catching up with our old friends (Tom’s youth group leaders from decades ago, when we were youth), Ross and Sharon. Lunch with them at the local Redlands Sporting Club, and a peak at possibly their new housing block.
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Superchargers and a pyramid bridge at Harwood Hotel
Time for a stretch. We followed the Tesla navigation to the Superchargers at the Harwood Hotel, on the Clarence River. Love the sign. The bridge construction looks like a modern day pyramid. Very impressive.
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Tetris-ing four people, a fridge and luggage into a Model 3
We know our Tesla Model 3 can fit a 50L camp fridge. And we know it will take a large travel suitcase, or four people and some luggage. But we didn’t know if it would take all that at the same time. It took a fair bit of Tetris-ing, and the boot strained at the seams, but we managed to get everything in. I think we might need a bigger car. First stop at Eumundi Markets. We parked in the shade and later opened the boot so the fridge had some outlet for the hot air. Second stop along the highway at Burpengary for some fast food lunch. Then we delivered Erin and Isaiah to their accommodation in Brisbane before their flight back to Airlie Beach tomorrow.
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Following Tesla nav to a locked fence
We arrived at our accommodation, booked on-line an hour before. By “arrived” I mean we followed the car’s navigation to… a locked fence. Apple Maps also suggested we break through. But we decided it was better to drive around the (very large) block to the main entrance. The Tesla navigation showed two destination chargers on site – win! But we soon discovered they were out of action – lose. PlugShare shows them as having been off-line for a long time, which is disappointing. The large mob of wallabies more than made up for the arrival hiccups. The whole site, at Sirromet Winery, Mount Cotton, is beautiful. We stayed next to a lake in one of the glamping tents, with all the mod cons, including modern shower room, toilet and small kitchen. We helped ourselves to the minibar provided red wine, and our last pack of cheese and crackers. Dinner at the on site restaurant was a great chance to relax, enjoy the view and more wallabies. Tiramisu was shared, as a balance of indulgence and…
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Wappa Falls, and Grill'd in Maroochydore
We spent a couple of hours exploring the Wappa Falls and Wappa Dam. We left the literally death defying leaps to the younger ones. Dinner at Grill'd Maroochydore, Sunshine Plaza.
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Crepes for breakfast at Botero Cafe, Maclean
Crepes filled with chocolate mousse, banana and cherry sauce is a perfectly legitimate breakfast, according to Botero Cafe, in Maclean. Onward north towards Coollum Beach in Queensland.
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An overnight stop in Maclean
Concluding the third leg of our trip from Emerald Victoria to Coolum Beach in Queensland, we stayed the night in Maclean. Good value little motel. Takeaway dinner from up the road at the Peking Chinese Restaurant. Along the pretty walk on the levee bank, I noticed that the road and river seem to be at about the same height. Jeremy has run the Waterview Motel for the past two years. He installed a bank of EV destination chargers, 22kW of solar panels and 60kWh of battery storage. The solar charges up the battery and any cars during the day. At night, the battery powers the site and any cars still plugged in. Jeremy has his own BYD Atto 3 EV, which he drives locally and to Brisbane. Like many motels, this one has a sign to ask drivers not to back into the parking in front of the rooms, since it fills them with carcinogenic fumes. EVs are of course exempt. I watched the driver of one large 4WD take several attempts to back in, idling in between, which made the porch air unbreathable. I…
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IGA snacks and driver-attention checks in Thrumster
We stopped for lunch at the Thrumster shopping center. Unfortunately, the few food outlets all seemed to have closed the kitchen for the afternoon. So, we grabbed some supplies at the IGA and had some healthy snacks in the car. The Tesla watches me watching the road. I had only brief glances away at the map, while on Autopilot, but the car was unforgiving, warned me a few times, then suspended autopilot privileges. I had to pull over and park briefly to reset it 😤. I do think it’s too sensitive now.
Formerly: Tesla Tripping
Come along on our EV road trips around Australia and Europe, and follow as we progressively electrify our home in Emerald, Victoria.
Join us on the road. We set off in late 2022 and drove eastern Australia in our Tesla Model 3 — Sydney, Dubbo, Armidale, Brisbane, Cape Tribulation, then down through Queensland and back. We've since upgraded to a Model Y.
We've kept exploring — Uluru, the Snowy Mountains and Gippsland, and a longer run through Europe in 2024. There's plenty more on the map, so come along for the next leg.
At home in Emerald, in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, we're progressively electrifying everything: rooftop solar, a home battery, a hot water heat pump, air conditioned heating and cooling, and EV charging straight from the sun. We're going fully electric, off the gas.
Got questions, or insights of your own? We'd love to hear them — please drop a comment on any post.