Range restored

Awoke this morning to good news twice over. The calm view from the hotel bedroom window announced that yesterday's storm had passed, and we looked out over Rye harbour at a calm sky with no wind or rain.

Then I switched on the iPhone, clicked on the Tesla app, and it told me the second piece of good news. It confirmed that the car parked down below, attached by its umbilical cord to the hotel's electrical supply via a basement window, was now showing an available range of 204 miles based on current battery condition. What an improvement overnight, up from the meagre 66 miles it had been showing yesterday evening. Hooray.

What's more, the charging was with the hotel's compliments, which seemed pretty fair even considering that the cost in electricity on a night tariff was probably less than a fiver.

Recharging issues apart, I have loved driving the Tesla. It is a remarkable car, a luxurious five seater with sports car performance: 130 mpg top speed, 0-60 mph acceleration in 4.2 seconds. The satnav screen is enormous, stretching 17 inches down the centre of the dash. Saving the planet in this zero emission supercar doesn't come cheap though. Prices at at £50,000 and this Tesla S P85 Plus model is over £90,000. Big ouch.