Disagree. Model S is hardly in the E Class in terms of quality, refinement and feel of luxury. It would like to. But it's not.
Disagree with you - and my prior car was an E55 AMG. The only area MBZ has an edge on Tesla is in the subjective feel of some materials (and perhaps long term durability and scratch resistance of some plastics and the exterior paint) and the refinement of the seats.
In every other area the Tesla is more refined.
It handles better, the controls are smoother. The interface is way ahead. The throttle response is truly instant. There is no engine noise whatsoever at low speeds in around-town traffic. Oh yeah - it drives itself.
These are things which actually matter.
- The ultimate luxury is typing this message to you as my car drives itself. THAT'S refinement. THAT'S luxury.
- Driving to my condo at the village at Mammoth from L.A. to ski for the weekend, pulling into the underground parking lot and plugging into a Tesla destination charger - rather than screwing around with a gas station in blustery winter weather - THAT'S luxury.
- Almost 16,000 miles of zero service or repair visits instead of the close personal relationship I developed with Mercedes and BMW dealership technicians - THAT'S quality.
- Self driving behavior and user interface which has dramatically improved via over the air software updates in the six months I've owned the car at no extra cost to me - THAT'S luxury.
- Ordering my car online rather than dealing with the clowns at the dealership - THAT'S luxury.
But if "refinement" and "quality" to you means a higher grade of vinyl on your armrest, a deeper "thunk" sound when you close the driver door and smaller panel gaps then more power to ya man.
What would make this a perfect car is a more luxurious ride, some better sound insulation and seats on par with BMW and Benz's best seats.
These cars may not be competitors in your brain but I vote with my dollars and have owned a string of Benzes, BMWs and Bentley.
In my case Tesla directly stole money from Mercedes that would otherwise have been spent on another E class or, more likely, an S Class.
I will admit I have a 2016 Tesla with the premium interior - not a 2013 - and the car has come a long way since then. If you appreciate clean, minimalist modernist interior design in architecture then the Tesla is as luxurious as anything else out there. Again, some of the materials could still use an upgrade even though they have come a long way since 2013. But the things it does right are SO MUCH more important to a true definition of luxury.
The game has changed and so has the definition of luxury. Prior to autonomous cars and electric propulsion, the kinds of things MBZ excels at actually did matter because there wasn't a lot else to differentiate them from the competition.
But Mercedes has no answer for Tesla - for now - in the new definition of what luxury and quality are. Mercedes' Drive Pilot is a joke.
When their electric competitors and their autonomous cars are more than vaporware we can revisit the discussion and compare what they will bring to market with whatever Tesla is selling at that time.
I promise it till only take 2-3 minutes and you'll enjoy it!
