Maybe Tesla isn't lying about the continual development of the Model S. Last week I rented a 2014 rear wheel drive 60 on Turo recently (great car, great owner) - and it was a great opportunity to compare it to my 2016 70D.
Handling comparison
First off, my 2016 70D is a dramatically better handling vehicle than the 2014 60 - I was quite shocked actually and convinced at first that the 2014 had the air suspension (I have coils). But when I asked him, the owner told me his is riding on coils as well. His car is way more floaty over bumps and feels less settled through transitions than my 70D.
Taken alone the 2014 60 would be great - but comparing to two more years of suspension and drive train engineering it is evident that Tesla has continued to work on chassis tuning.
Audio
As for the audio system - I think they may have been working on this too. His 2014 high fidelity sound system seemed somehow - inferior - to my ears than my 2016 base system audio (I did not order the high fidelity). FWIW I'm a home theater nut and I have a dedicated projection room in my home with a pretty well calibrated and substantial sound system and acoustically treated room I built up over a number of years. I've gotten my theater to the point where the speakers entirely disappear to one's ears.
That "disappearing" sense of the speakers is what I experience in my 2016 70D with the base audio system. It isn't fantastic audio by any means, but I can't pinpoint where the sound is coming from. But in contrast, the 2014 Tesla high fidelity sound did have more low end but the sound stage seemed more constricted to me and somehow less natural. I played around with Dolby vs non-dolby, adjusted the graphic equalizer, moved the center of the sound stage back and forth etc. - but never got it to sound as natural as my 2016.
I have NOT heard a 2016 with the $2,500 audio option - that one may be the best of all.
Maybe I'm crazy on this one and my ears have simply adapted to my own car's sound and now prefer it.
Seats
The 2014 base seats in my rental car seemed to ride at least an inch higher than my 2016 Next Gen seats - I am 6'0" and I could not get the 2014 seats low enough to give decent head room unless I leaned the seat back - it seemed like I was perched higher in the car than my 2016 Next Gens. Now that I've been able to spend a couple days driving base model seats after owning next gens, I wouldn't go back to base seats. I do however look forward to a new Model S with the Model X seats.
Handling comparison
First off, my 2016 70D is a dramatically better handling vehicle than the 2014 60 - I was quite shocked actually and convinced at first that the 2014 had the air suspension (I have coils). But when I asked him, the owner told me his is riding on coils as well. His car is way more floaty over bumps and feels less settled through transitions than my 70D.
Taken alone the 2014 60 would be great - but comparing to two more years of suspension and drive train engineering it is evident that Tesla has continued to work on chassis tuning.
Audio
As for the audio system - I think they may have been working on this too. His 2014 high fidelity sound system seemed somehow - inferior - to my ears than my 2016 base system audio (I did not order the high fidelity). FWIW I'm a home theater nut and I have a dedicated projection room in my home with a pretty well calibrated and substantial sound system and acoustically treated room I built up over a number of years. I've gotten my theater to the point where the speakers entirely disappear to one's ears.
That "disappearing" sense of the speakers is what I experience in my 2016 70D with the base audio system. It isn't fantastic audio by any means, but I can't pinpoint where the sound is coming from. But in contrast, the 2014 Tesla high fidelity sound did have more low end but the sound stage seemed more constricted to me and somehow less natural. I played around with Dolby vs non-dolby, adjusted the graphic equalizer, moved the center of the sound stage back and forth etc. - but never got it to sound as natural as my 2016.
I have NOT heard a 2016 with the $2,500 audio option - that one may be the best of all.
Maybe I'm crazy on this one and my ears have simply adapted to my own car's sound and now prefer it.
Seats
The 2014 base seats in my rental car seemed to ride at least an inch higher than my 2016 Next Gen seats - I am 6'0" and I could not get the 2014 seats low enough to give decent head room unless I leaned the seat back - it seemed like I was perched higher in the car than my 2016 Next Gens. Now that I've been able to spend a couple days driving base model seats after owning next gens, I wouldn't go back to base seats. I do however look forward to a new Model S with the Model X seats.