I took a trip yesterday to our local delivery and service center in Smithtown Long Island in hopes of actually seeing a refresh S as so far I have only seen pictures of them. They had 5. 3 were plaids and 2 LR. There was a mix of 19 and 21 inch wheels on both versions. Sad to report they are all summer tires. 4 had black interiors and 1 LR had cream with wood interior. The wood is darker than pictured on the configuration page. I was hoping for a lighter shade of wood, but oh well. I took my time and walked around the 4 that were parked outside to examine fit, finish, etc closely. 1 was inside being prepped, so I couldn't really get a good look at it. According to the SA insides the ones I looked at were literally right off the truck and had not yet been touched it looked at yet. They still had white plastic over the black trim and other signs that not much had been done to them. The paint appeared perfect on all 4. There was 1 red, 1 white, 1 black and 1 MSM. I have a white one on order, but damn, that MSM is pretty. Panel gaps and bumper alignment, etc appeared correct on all 4. 1 of the plaids had a paper sticker inside the rear glass that said the rear hatch was at its "best fit" as of 8-12-21. The gaps appeared even and correct. I could not verify if it opened or closed properly. On all 4 the door handles were either perfectly flush or 1 or 2 of them were about 1 mm below flush. I did see a slight mis alignment on the door trim of the driver's door on 2 of them. It was correct for height, but was set a bit too wide and appeared easily adjustable. The red plaid was unlocked and a gentle press of the driver's door handle had all 4 handles present correctly. The door opened easily and I sat in the driver's seat briefly. I am coming out of a 2018 Volvo S 90 with some of the best seats in the industry. I did not attempt to adjust the seats in the new car, but I am convinced they will prove to be as good at the very least. They are a deeper bucket with better side bolster support. Didn't I read that Tesla hired Volvos chief of interior design a few years back? The last S I test drove was a 2016 P90D and these seats are in a different league. The only real issue I saw was the rear door panels. All of them were misaligned the same way. The door panel is higher than the the section next to the seat. It appeared very consistent. I next went in to speak with someone and to as I a favor. Could they remove the aero cover from a 19 inch wheel so I could see the wheel itself. The SA was very accommodating and took me into the shop where one was being prepped for delivery. The underlying wheel in my opinion is very nice. It is a polished dark titanium lobster fork design. It only need the center caps and lug nut covers to look beautiful. The 21s that I saw were a mat black finish and thought the 19s looked better. Perhaps the 21s still had a protective coating on them for transport? I then discussed the trimmand door panel issues I saw and was told that they have seen a significant improvement in the quality of the vehicles they have been getting lately. They haven't seen any paint issues in a while. He said the 4 outside hadn't been looked at yet, but they were very picky about getting the cars correct before the customer picks it up and encouraged me to inspect my car at deliver closely. The SA wouldn't give me any BS, would he? Ha!
Next up... The fly on wall report.
I also got a chance to observe the service department in action. This was on a Sunday mind you and they were not well staffed. I only saw 1 technician working on a vehicle. Someone had their older S flat bedded into the shop because it had gone unresponsive in his driveway, dead screens, etc. After it was taken off the flat bed, it suddenly came back to life. The owner said he had a trip to go on that afternoon and wasn't sure he could trust it. The service advisor said he was also concerned and didn't want him driving it, so they gave him an S 75D as a loaner. He said to keep it for however long it took to find the issue with his vehicle. I don't know how old the customers car was, but he was quite happy with the arrangements. I would have been ok with that as well. He seemed genuinely concerned that the customer was pleased.
All in all, it was an interesting Sunday afternoon. To say I'm eagerly anticipating the delivery of my new S, is an understatement.
