2017 Tacoma vs Tesla - Entertainment/Phone System

[GuyGadois]

I own a Model S that I purchased in December 2015 and just purchased a 2017 Tacoma TRD Offroad. I am surprised about how much better certain parts of the entertainment system in the Tacoma than my beloved Model S. My model S was about 105k and the Tacoma about 40k. Here are some of the items which make the Tacoma a better entertainment system.

Voice commands that work faster and do a whole lot more. Want the current weather, forecast, want a doppler of the current location? Just ask. Want to listen to an Artist on your USB key just say, "Play" and then the artist (or a song or genre or playlist). It can open different apps to the display like XM or Slacker or Navigation without having to take your eye off the road. Its darn fast.

XM - yeah, it is standard without having to buy premium and glass roof

USB key seems to actually load (and quickly. My Tesla seems to take forever even with 2.42.40)

Text message can be programed to show on screen when received

Phone: You can designate certain telephone numbers as favorites. Am I the only one out there that makes 80% of my calls to about 10 numbers? I also love the ability to say "Dial number" and then read the number out loud. Want to call someones cell without having to do the extra step just say "Call" and then the name and type of phone, like Cell.

Bonus: wireless charging for my phone. Just put it in the cubby area and it wirelessly charges.

I love my Tesla but I can't believe my pickup truck has a more refined phone and entertainment system.

 

[Eclectic]

I have a similar point of view and will add that my F150 is quieter and more comfortable than my Tesla. As time goes on and the curiosity factor of Tesla ownership wears thin, I find myself driving the F150 more.

 

[kort677]

I'm curious, when you buy a vehicle are you buying transportation or an entertainment center?
while having all the fancy accoutrements you've mentioned is certainly nice, is a high end sound system what you are buying or is it the car that you are buying?
My model S in no way can match the creature comforts that I had in my previous cars and while I miss some of the luxuries missing in the Tesla those items do not compensate for all the pluses of the Tesla.
bottom line, if those items found in the toyota outweigh what the Tesla offers, maybe the Tesla is not the perfect car for you. YMMV

 

[bob_p]

Tesla's big advantage is the huge 17" display - and with that larger display, the user interface does look much better than any of the other infotainment systems. The Google satellite maps look wonderful - and look even better when the auto-hide feature removes the status and icon bars at the top.

But when comparing actual functionality, even with the latest 8.0 update, the Tesla software lags behind functionality available in other cars, even those that cost much, much less than the Model S/X (basic functionality like waypoints and playlists are still missing). And as more cars get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Tesla will appear to be even further behind.

And from a usability standpoint, while the Tesla interface looks great, it does not appear to be optimized for use by a driver - unnecessarily requiring additional screen interactions for typical functions.

Fortunately, these issues can be improved through software updates, if and when Tesla believes this is important enough to devote resources to address.

In a few months when the Bolt goes on sale - the infotainment deficiencies in the Model S/X could become a larger concern...

 

[mal_tsla]

Agree 100%. As a tech forward manufacturer Tesla should have class-leading infotainment in their cars. People forgive horribly outdated electronics in things like Ferrari, but that car comes from an engine company. Not the same.

I don't understand the attitude that "it's a car, not a stereo, if you need a better interface get a different car." Its a whole package, and the infotainment (nav, phone, music) is a major part of the experience.

Tesla needs to keep up. If they had manual windows in their cars, would people be in here telling you to go get a car with fancy power windows if that's most important to you?

 

[GuyGadois]

I'm curious, when you buy a vehicle are you buying transportation or an entertainment center?
while having all the fancy accoutrements you've mentioned is certainly nice, is a high end sound system what you are buying or is it the car that you are buying?
My model S in no way can match the creature comforts that I had in my previous cars and while I miss some of the luxuries missing in the Tesla those items do not compensate for all the pluses of the Tesla.
bottom line, if those items found in the toyota outweigh what the Tesla offers, maybe the Tesla is not the perfect car for you. YMMV

Maybe you misread my post. I am speaking of just the entertainment/phone system and how a 40k Toyota truck is ahead of Tesla's offerings. I am not speaking of the driving dynamics or overall car.

 

[Jeff4155]

In some ways i can find many lower priced vehicles that have better systems in them, whether it be entertainment or something like rain sensing wipers that is standard in a Kia Picanto but cost extra in a BMW for instance.
On another topic I wish we could get proper "Trucks" like the F150 or the Tundra in SA, our "Bakkies" as they are called here consist mostly of the smaller Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux.

 

[McRat]

$40k for an import small truck? My how things have changed. 20mpg highway? Nearly all the full sized trucks do better than that. My 1 ton, 8' bed crew cab 4x4, empty is 8,040lb does 20 mpg hwy unladen.

That class of truck in the USA ranges up to at least 30 mpg highway today.

Well at least they spent money on the radio. They certainly saved a ton on powertrain engineering.

 

[kort677]

Maybe you misread my post. I am speaking of just the entertainment/phone system and how a 40k Toyota truck is ahead of Tesla's offerings. I am not speaking of the driving dynamics or overall car.

I think you missed my point. are you buying an entertainment center or a vehicle?

 

[GuyGadois]

$40k for an import small truck? My how things have changed. 20mpg highway? Nearly all the full sized trucks do better than that. My 1 ton, 8' bed crew cab 4x4, empty is 8,040lb does 20 mpg hwy unladen.

That class of truck in the USA ranges up to at least 30 mpg highway today.

Well at least they spent money on the radio. They certainly saved a ton on powertrain engineering.

Ha! Again, missing the point of my post about the entertainment/phone system.

Actually 39k out the door. I opted for the Off road version because our cabin has lots of trails and off-road fun around it. Yeah, gas mileage isn't very good. The Tacoma, though, is a good truck and there is a reason why the resale on these trucks is so good. Tesla can only hope to have a resale even close to that of a Tacoma.

 

[GuyGadois]

I think you missed my point. are you buying an entertainment center or a vehicle?

I bought for the car but am amazed that the entertainment system and phone aren't up to snuff on what's available in a pickup truck (or Camry for that). I love the car but can't believe how behind the entertainment system is. But hey, my Truck does have any Easter eggs hidden in the infotainment system.

 

[Pdub2015]

I used to be perplexed that the audio system in my 06 Audi S4 was outperformed by any rentalcar Camry or Kia. But that always went away after a quick blast down a canyon road.

I understand that Tesla has limited resources, and has to make hard decisions on the allocation of those resources in order to manufacturer world-changing transportation. So better they focus on driving dynamics than the latest in infotainment interfaces for now; I trust they will get around to that at some point.

 

[mal_tsla]

If Tesla would add support for CarPlay and Android Auto, their infotainment systems would instantly leap forward, and then advance much more rapidly without them spending another minute of their own resources on it.

When we test drove the Q7, we just plugged in the iPhone and stopped caring one bit about their own infotainment system. Everything was there, including all our music and playlists, Apple Music and Spotify apps. I'm sure apps like Waze will follow soon, and I'm sure the experience is similar with Android. iOS even has Maps APIs that would enable any developer to build useful Tesla compliments such as supercharger-aware routing. Tesla would get those Apple/Google features and all future improvements "for free."

Rather than a fullscreen takeover, I'd love to see it as one of their screen panes, so we could put it onscreen alongside things like the AC controls, battery readout, etc.

Hopefully we'll see something like this happen in the next generation of Tesla cars.

 

[Gizmotoy]

So better they focus on driving dynamics than the latest in infotainment interfaces for now; I trust they will get around to that at some point.

The problem you see on the forum is that a lot of people here have been owners for a relatively long time and had the same opinion as you. Trusting them to get around to fixing it when it's new is one thing. After 4 years of no movement, has the opinion changed? Up until very recently, that was the average amount of time the first owner kept a new vehicle! (It's closer to 5.5 years now).

So in my opinion I think you're probably seeing a bit of that. Patience is starting to wear thin.

 

[somnambule]

This isn't just the infotainment system, right? We can all come up with long lists of things that car X does better than Tesla (I'm pretty sure even "econo-boxes" these days have coat hooks and rear cup-holders).

But the reality is that Tesla is a small company with limited funding and has to prioritize which features to focus on, both from a development resource point of view as well as cost/complexity/weight/other aspects. The real question is, what would you rather have Tesla give up in order to have a better infotainment system? Range? Some AP features? Something else?

I don't mean to completely exonerate Tesla. They made some bad calls early on. Instead of insisting on their own UI for everything, they should have planned better to adopt Apple CarPlay, Android Auto etc., which would have solved a lot of these issues at least on infotainment front (I know Elon has hinted at adopting these, but I don't know when). But these sorts of things always do get back to tradeoffs and priorities. At least for my personal usage, I'm happy with the choices Tesla has made in terms of what to prioritize.

 

[Dax279]

I am not sure if Toyota/Lexus has fixed it yet, but one thing that really frustrated me was the fact that I could never set the navigation while driving. Not even the passenger could do this. I also found their voice recognition for voice control to be very sub standard.

 

[mkspeedr]

My company CMAX is better than my 2015 P85D on the info/entertainment comparison. The voice controls are better, the USB and music interface is better. I hope the next generation is a big leap forward.

But...the Tesla display makes up for the shortcomings - back camera, navigation, music,etc...are way easier to use.

But...I am so Tesla biased. It is easily the best car I have ever owned and I enjoy driving more than any car I own (that is more than a few).

 

[kort677]

I am not sure if Toyota/Lexus has fixed it yet, but one thing that really frustrated me was the fact that I could never set the navigation while driving. Not even the passenger could do this. I also found their voice recognition for voice control to be very sub standard.

there is an override code, I'd share it with you but I haven't had a lexus in awhile

 

[jgillispie]

I have a similar point of view and will add that my F150 is quieter and more comfortable than my Tesla. As time goes on and the curiosity factor of Tesla ownership wears thin, I find myself driving the F150 more.

This is a bit baffling to me as my dad has a 2014 F150 Platinum and it actually makes me a bit nauseous after riding in it for too long from all the bumping and swaying. It is very quiet on the inside which I assume being so far up from the road helps.

 

[Canuck]

Ha! Again, missing the point of my post about the entertainment/phone system.

I get your point. We shouldn't excuse Tesla for what's lacking with their entertainment/phone system just because they excel in other areas. My cheapo MP3 player remembers my podcast location even if I go to other apps and listen to other stuff. Tesla jumps back to the start if I just leave my car for a minute, let alone want to change inputs. It's simple basic stuff that Tesla can't even do right and it's mind-boggling to say the least. My car will play podcasts overnight by itself, such that I have make sure it's always on repeat and also remember where I left off, or write it on a post-it note. I don't care how great the car is in other ways (well I guess I do) but there's just no excuse for how lacking the entertainment system is.

What gets me is that tech like this should be Tesla's strong point. When you see what other automakers are doing in this area, Tesla only looks good with the size of their screen and AP.

We need to continue to hold Tesla's feet to the fire. The good thing to note is that Tesla can make positive changes with updates (although they haven't proven that yet. My entertainment system was way better on 6.2), whereas you're stuck with you got with other automakers from day 1.