I picked up my Model S at the factory the weekend before Xmas (one heck of a nice present, I must say :biggrin
. Holiday season and all, it sat mostly idle until after Xmas as we did stay-at home holiday stuff. Then we took three trips down to Montery / Carmel and a trip up to the city. In two weeks we put 900 miles on the car. At the end of 30 days (a few days ago), the odometer read 1495 miles.
My config is an 85KW standard (non-perf) which means the 19" tires. Plus Tech package, sound package, leather, pano roof.
Overall thoughts:
This is one heck of a car and one heck of a driver's car. You simply cannot buy the equivalent combination of power, throttle response, handling, ride comfort and passenger and cargo-carrying capacity in any other car that I'm aware of. To say nothing of energy efficiency.
If you want a family sedan, this is an amazingly practical car if the range suits your driving needs. The passenger seats are roomy and comfortable with plenty of legroom. The ride is like a German luxury sedan: reasonably firm but absorbs bumps very nicely. There's a ton of cargo carrying space in the hatch. The well in the back is a great place to put groceries so they won't tip over. I've been able to live without the parcel shelf because I've been able to put stuff in the well and cover it or in the frunk but I'm glad I ordered the shelf. I can see there will be times when I have more stuff in the car and I want to cover it all. I will probably look for an aftermarket solution to get a couple of cupholders in the back when I need them but we've been ok without them so far.
But this is first and foremost a driver's car. The throttle response is ridiculously quick. A really good Ferrarri with a really free-revving engine might, just might equal the S. But there's no upshift so no glitch in power delivery. Again, you can get this with really nice very expensive sports cars that have the F1-derived sequential shifters. With the S, you just put the throttle down: it's a very pure driving experience. The car just does what you want, no muss no fuss.
Handling is an interesting story. The S is a heavy car. You can only do so much to hide the weight when you get into a long steady corner (pretty decent approximation of what happens in a circular skidpad). But the S corners so flat, it's very confidence inspiring which makes it a much more nimble car than any 4700 lb car has a right to be, especially if you take advantage of the ultra-quick throttle response. I'd say the S has good sports sedan handling, probably not up to sports car handling. Although I wonder what could be done with a bit more suspension tuning and wider tires? That would decrease range but big wide contact patches can do a lot to improve road-holding.
Much has been said about the wonderful one-pedal driving experience. It is wonderful. Endless engine braking if you're used to a stick. And I expect my tires and brakes to last a lot longer than on an ICE car. You need to pay attention so you get on the brake when needed though. I still can't predict exactly how the regen braking will slow the car.
I have to say something about the dash. The first time I drove a Prius, my reaction was, "This is supposed to be car, not the Starship Enterprise. I don't need a freaking engine room display on my dash!"
After a month of driving the S, I feel I'm behind the wheel of the Starship Enterprise only in a good way. The all electronic display and big touchscreens are awesome. The most important information is right in the middle of dash: speed, range, power being used. The space on the left and right of the display can be configured to show a smaller version of any of the onboard "apps": music being placed, trip odometers, energy usage and more. This means that you can decide what information matters to you and put it in front of you. Awesome.
When you use the navigation system, you not only get the route showing up on google maps on the touchscreen but the onboard nav puts a display up on the left side of the dash. A lot of the car's features can be controlled from the steering wheel, again, courtesy of the electronic dash. And the google maps in your car experience is just amazing. Like having a laptop connected to your car.
Range anxiety: for daily driving, gone. For day trips, it's there a little. I'm getting about 200-220 miles of range cruising at highway speeds in SF Bay Area winter conditions. I'm seeing lower ranges because I'm running the heat, sometimes defrost, with temps in the 40's power is being used to keep the battery pack warm and I'm not using cruise control. I'm driving it like I'd drive my old BMW 3. I expect to see better range in the warmer months when defrost and battery pack warming isn't necessary. And I'm sure I'd see better range if I set the cruise control to 65 and let it go. But where's the fun in that :smile: ?
Sound system: I got the upgrade and I like it although I'm admittedly a fan of high-end audio gear. It's a very clear and accurate system. The sound is front-weighted by default with real imaging, not immersive (until you really turn it up) like some others. This is a really nice thing for trips where your younger kids are napping in the back. I'm sure you could do better with aftermarket gear but you'd probably have to spend a lot more. I'm happy with it and glad I got it. There are threads on how to tune it for better stereo sound but the short version is turn Dolby off, give mid range a small bump (+1.5-2), bass a bump (2-3), treble an even higher bump (2.5-3.5) and adjust to taste. Warning: the systems not really set up to give you earth-shattering bass. If you really want that, go aftermarket.
Nits:
Audio: shuffle play would be nice. I'm sure it's coming. My current workaround is to put a bunch of tunes in a folder and play by folder. That plays in alphabetical order which is pretty random compared to playing by artist or album. Uploading music into onboard storage isn't there yet. I'm sure it's coming. Allowing artwork in the tracks to override the artwork pulled down from the cloud would be good too for those cases when the cloud gets it explicably wrong or the cloud doesn't have the artwork to begin with and starts guessing.
The car could really use a one-touch unlock for when I'm picking someone up. Or make the lock and unlock buttons stand out somehow on the control display. Currently it's two touches and I invariably have to hunt for the "unlock" button because I don't use it much and it's not prominent. It feels like I'm racing to see if I can find the button before the passenger reaches the door. Annoying. Note: I read below that hitting "park" again will do the trick. I'll have to try that.
I'm really looking forward to the app so I can defrost the car before getting in it.
Surprisingly nice:
The side mirrors act like they're heated. And they're auto-dimming like the rear view mirror. Very nice.
I'm surprised by how good the HD rear view camera is for backing up and how useful it is for parking. The jury is still out but with some experience (or lines on the display that I know are coming, ahem), it might be possible to do without the parking sensors. Although I'd still like the sensors as a backup (har har).
No brightness problems with the sunroof. It cuts down enough light so glare's not an issue but let's enough through that the car feels open and roomy.
Fit and finish is very nice. Seems on par with other luxury cars that I've seen.
Oh, a word about the "Tesla-time, etc." experience. Here in the Bay Area, people are pretty jaded about cars. We've got BMWs, Mercedes and Porches running around all over. It's not uncommon to see Ferrari's, Maserati's, Bentleys, etc. And we're ground zero for the Tesla since the factory is here. In spite of that, I do get looks in traffic, the occasional big thumbs up. My wife commented that one guy spun his around so fast , it practically went through his window. I think that some of the people don't even know the car is electric, what catches their eye is how good the car looks. Two thumbs up to Franz and the team for designing a truly beautiful car. The new Mercedes may have a lower Cg but boy, it's nearly as good-looking as the S.
Center console: I thought I'd miss the lack of storage space. I don't. Yes, it would be nice to have a little bit of covered space and two more conveniently placed cupholders but it hasn't proven to be a big deal. I like the open feeling that the flat space gives you. And the two cup holders are surprisingly functional given how far back they're placed.
Summary: this is an amazing car and is clearly the wave the future. I'm a very happy camper and I expect those who haven't picked up your cars yet will be too once you get it.
. Holiday season and all, it sat mostly idle until after Xmas as we did stay-at home holiday stuff. Then we took three trips down to Montery / Carmel and a trip up to the city. In two weeks we put 900 miles on the car. At the end of 30 days (a few days ago), the odometer read 1495 miles.My config is an 85KW standard (non-perf) which means the 19" tires. Plus Tech package, sound package, leather, pano roof.
Overall thoughts:
This is one heck of a car and one heck of a driver's car. You simply cannot buy the equivalent combination of power, throttle response, handling, ride comfort and passenger and cargo-carrying capacity in any other car that I'm aware of. To say nothing of energy efficiency.
If you want a family sedan, this is an amazingly practical car if the range suits your driving needs. The passenger seats are roomy and comfortable with plenty of legroom. The ride is like a German luxury sedan: reasonably firm but absorbs bumps very nicely. There's a ton of cargo carrying space in the hatch. The well in the back is a great place to put groceries so they won't tip over. I've been able to live without the parcel shelf because I've been able to put stuff in the well and cover it or in the frunk but I'm glad I ordered the shelf. I can see there will be times when I have more stuff in the car and I want to cover it all. I will probably look for an aftermarket solution to get a couple of cupholders in the back when I need them but we've been ok without them so far.
But this is first and foremost a driver's car. The throttle response is ridiculously quick. A really good Ferrarri with a really free-revving engine might, just might equal the S. But there's no upshift so no glitch in power delivery. Again, you can get this with really nice very expensive sports cars that have the F1-derived sequential shifters. With the S, you just put the throttle down: it's a very pure driving experience. The car just does what you want, no muss no fuss.
Handling is an interesting story. The S is a heavy car. You can only do so much to hide the weight when you get into a long steady corner (pretty decent approximation of what happens in a circular skidpad). But the S corners so flat, it's very confidence inspiring which makes it a much more nimble car than any 4700 lb car has a right to be, especially if you take advantage of the ultra-quick throttle response. I'd say the S has good sports sedan handling, probably not up to sports car handling. Although I wonder what could be done with a bit more suspension tuning and wider tires? That would decrease range but big wide contact patches can do a lot to improve road-holding.
Much has been said about the wonderful one-pedal driving experience. It is wonderful. Endless engine braking if you're used to a stick. And I expect my tires and brakes to last a lot longer than on an ICE car. You need to pay attention so you get on the brake when needed though. I still can't predict exactly how the regen braking will slow the car.
I have to say something about the dash. The first time I drove a Prius, my reaction was, "This is supposed to be car, not the Starship Enterprise. I don't need a freaking engine room display on my dash!"
After a month of driving the S, I feel I'm behind the wheel of the Starship Enterprise only in a good way. The all electronic display and big touchscreens are awesome. The most important information is right in the middle of dash: speed, range, power being used. The space on the left and right of the display can be configured to show a smaller version of any of the onboard "apps": music being placed, trip odometers, energy usage and more. This means that you can decide what information matters to you and put it in front of you. Awesome.
When you use the navigation system, you not only get the route showing up on google maps on the touchscreen but the onboard nav puts a display up on the left side of the dash. A lot of the car's features can be controlled from the steering wheel, again, courtesy of the electronic dash. And the google maps in your car experience is just amazing. Like having a laptop connected to your car.
Range anxiety: for daily driving, gone. For day trips, it's there a little. I'm getting about 200-220 miles of range cruising at highway speeds in SF Bay Area winter conditions. I'm seeing lower ranges because I'm running the heat, sometimes defrost, with temps in the 40's power is being used to keep the battery pack warm and I'm not using cruise control. I'm driving it like I'd drive my old BMW 3. I expect to see better range in the warmer months when defrost and battery pack warming isn't necessary. And I'm sure I'd see better range if I set the cruise control to 65 and let it go. But where's the fun in that :smile: ?
Sound system: I got the upgrade and I like it although I'm admittedly a fan of high-end audio gear. It's a very clear and accurate system. The sound is front-weighted by default with real imaging, not immersive (until you really turn it up) like some others. This is a really nice thing for trips where your younger kids are napping in the back. I'm sure you could do better with aftermarket gear but you'd probably have to spend a lot more. I'm happy with it and glad I got it. There are threads on how to tune it for better stereo sound but the short version is turn Dolby off, give mid range a small bump (+1.5-2), bass a bump (2-3), treble an even higher bump (2.5-3.5) and adjust to taste. Warning: the systems not really set up to give you earth-shattering bass. If you really want that, go aftermarket.
Nits:
Audio: shuffle play would be nice. I'm sure it's coming. My current workaround is to put a bunch of tunes in a folder and play by folder. That plays in alphabetical order which is pretty random compared to playing by artist or album. Uploading music into onboard storage isn't there yet. I'm sure it's coming. Allowing artwork in the tracks to override the artwork pulled down from the cloud would be good too for those cases when the cloud gets it explicably wrong or the cloud doesn't have the artwork to begin with and starts guessing.
The car could really use a one-touch unlock for when I'm picking someone up. Or make the lock and unlock buttons stand out somehow on the control display. Currently it's two touches and I invariably have to hunt for the "unlock" button because I don't use it much and it's not prominent. It feels like I'm racing to see if I can find the button before the passenger reaches the door. Annoying. Note: I read below that hitting "park" again will do the trick. I'll have to try that.
I'm really looking forward to the app so I can defrost the car before getting in it.
Surprisingly nice:
The side mirrors act like they're heated. And they're auto-dimming like the rear view mirror. Very nice.
I'm surprised by how good the HD rear view camera is for backing up and how useful it is for parking. The jury is still out but with some experience (or lines on the display that I know are coming, ahem), it might be possible to do without the parking sensors. Although I'd still like the sensors as a backup (har har).
No brightness problems with the sunroof. It cuts down enough light so glare's not an issue but let's enough through that the car feels open and roomy.
Fit and finish is very nice. Seems on par with other luxury cars that I've seen.
Oh, a word about the "Tesla-time, etc." experience. Here in the Bay Area, people are pretty jaded about cars. We've got BMWs, Mercedes and Porches running around all over. It's not uncommon to see Ferrari's, Maserati's, Bentleys, etc. And we're ground zero for the Tesla since the factory is here. In spite of that, I do get looks in traffic, the occasional big thumbs up. My wife commented that one guy spun his around so fast , it practically went through his window. I think that some of the people don't even know the car is electric, what catches their eye is how good the car looks. Two thumbs up to Franz and the team for designing a truly beautiful car. The new Mercedes may have a lower Cg but boy, it's nearly as good-looking as the S.
Center console: I thought I'd miss the lack of storage space. I don't. Yes, it would be nice to have a little bit of covered space and two more conveniently placed cupholders but it hasn't proven to be a big deal. I like the open feeling that the flat space gives you. And the two cup holders are surprisingly functional given how far back they're placed.
Summary: this is an amazing car and is clearly the wave the future. I'm a very happy camper and I expect those who haven't picked up your cars yet will be too once you get it.
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