It's been one week since we received our Tesla Model X 75D and I wanted to give back to this community in the hope it might help someone else thinking about such a purchase. Let me preface this review by saying upfront that this owner review is coming from a true, gritty car nut. I spend nearly every weekend at local cars shows, planning my next car purchase or wrenching on one of the cars in our stable. I speak fluent car: "Columbo V12", "Killer B's", "4AGZE"... My ideal car has big horsepower, a manual transmission, defeatable traction control, and cargo capacity. So my take on the Model X is coming from a bit of a different angle then some I suppose. I do not have any allegiance to any car brand or country of origin and find fault with nearly every car as, like people, none are perfect. I am 50 years old and by my count the Model X is the 86th car I have owned.
Our Model X was delivered to our home January 7th of 2017, some 319 days after we ordered. We have never bought a car of this expense so the 10 1/2 month delay in getting the car was both a blessing as well as.. well.. a blessing. It allowed us time to both prepare for the car from a at-home infrastructure standpoint (set up charging) but also gave us extra time to save even more money towards its purchase and to buy needed accessories online. I was not really anxious to get the car until the very end of 2016 when I realized that the $7500 Fed Income Tax credit would not be applicable to the 2016 tax year if we did not take delivery by years end. (Our tax accountant worked with our DS and together we developed a work around and were able to apply the tax credit to the 2016 tax year even though the car arrived in 2017.) The delay in ownership also allowed us to lease a 2016 Kia Soul EV+ electric car to MAKE SURE we really wanted to commit to buying a $100,000 electric SUV thing with doors that went to the sky and had all the reported issues that the Model X had at launch. By the way, the gap between the Model X and the Soul EV is a lot narrower then you might think. I have written up a comparison between the two here: Model X 75D vs Kia Soul EV+ Owner Review
The Model X was delivered to us after the car carrier it was on reportedly received two flat tires which delayed the cars arrival into the early evening. A Tesla Delivery Specialist arrived in conjunction with the car and walked us through the basics but because we had a dinner engagement that night we were sort of thrown to the wolves. With 75% showing on the battery display we just sort of drove off into the abyss. The funny part is the next day, at the crack of dawn, my wife took the Model X to a high school sports function some 100 miles away and didn't return until that evening and the following day, due to my schedule, I again did not see the car in the daylight. It wasn't until day 3 that I was actually able to see the car in the daylight to inspect it for Falcon Wing Door alignment and general fit and finish.
The car was quite good from a fit and finish prospective. I have read thousands and thousands of posts on this forum of all the issues with these cars.... from their FWD's not lining up to middle row seats making grinding noises to cars with front windshields that are cracked from the factory. Ours had none of these issues (knock on Matte Obeche wood!). Outside of a missing tow attachment and a drivers side sun visor that is out of alignment, the car is darn near perfect. The Midnight Silver Metallic paint is very good, FWD's are smooth and predictable and the touch screen is intuitive if not a little slow when making certain demands of it. We have noticed none of the "ghosting" in the front windshield during night driving that others have reported. I have looked hard for it including raising my seat up high and trying to see if the angle produces it and yet, nothing. All door seals were also excellent and we have had what I would consider normal wind noise at speed. Granted, the Model X certainly has more cabin noise then the aforementioned Kia Soul EV but that is to be expected since the Soul has many advantages on that front including the fact it has but one drive motor, much less glass and a smaller cabin from which sound can resonate. The MX center console works very well but coming from a master of packaging 2012 Honda Odyssey the Tesla is going to struggle on that front. I can't understand why Tesla designers located the cup holders in the armrest area between the front seats where your elbow wants to naturally land nor can I understand why that same center armrest pedestal does not open up to take advantage of the empty space that is obviously inside.
Other interior quirks are no armrests on the center seats of our 6 seat configuration. Nevermind that they don't fold flat, the fact they don't even have armrests is just, well, it's silly. Long distance passengers need armrests. If they come on a $30,000 Nissan Quest minivan the Supermodel X should have them! Other silliness is the gloss back seats. They look amazing... on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show. Not so good with hyper children with their sandpaper like feet as they pile in after a day at the beach! Plan A: Cover them in clear protective film. Plan B: Don't let anyone in the car. I'm going with plan A.
The drivers seat itself has a good range of adjustment as does the steering wheel. I tend to prefer my seat down low to lower my own center of gravity and bring the steering wheel down low so it is solidly in front of me and the Model X does this well. The thick leather steering wheel can cut off the top portion of the gauges if lowered to much but overall the drivers cockpit has a wide fit range. The non-perforated white vinyl seats on our car have become nicknamed the "Marshmallow Thrones" for their incredible pillowy softness and odd, foamy like appearance. I am 5' 6" in height and I still find the bottom cushion of both front seats to be a bit short in length. My leg (Femur) sort of hangs off the end of the seat a bit. I wish the bottom cushion was just a tick longer or even adjustable for length as it is in many German rivals.
My last peeve about the cars overall design is the exterior profile. It doesn't work on a BMW X6 or the Mercedes-Benz GLC and it's doesn't work here. Yes, it is more energy efficient having a teardrop shape but I'd give up that efficiency for a more standard "box" shape so that I could fit, oh, I don't know... box shaped things in the the back! I regularly have to transport packed bicycles in large shipping boxes (53"L x 29"H x 8"W) and I was JUST able to slip 2 such boxes into the MX if I lower the 3rd row seats and move one of the middle row seats all the way forward but I risked making contact with the 2nd row glossy black seatbacks. For comparison, a 2013 Honda Fit will swallow 4 such bike boxes. The Model X is short on the "utility" front.
Due to the sloped rear glass and fixed rear wing (why is there a wing at all?) the view out the back is pretty horrendous. This doesn't bother my wife as she is one of the growing number of drivers that "drive by rear-view camera" but I am old school. I properly place my hand on the back of the passenger seat as I articulate my body so as to look backwards when backing up. But damn if that makes little to no difference. You just cannot make out the corners of this vehicle. It is the first car I have driven in quite some time that that actually drives bigger then it is. From the outside the car does not look overwhelming large. But inside, it just seems immense. It feels wide and ponderous at slow speeds and, keep in mind, that is with the aviary like amount of glass around you. If this car did not have that massive windshield it would feel like piloting an aircraft carrier from one of the lower decks. And the reverse camera is mounted at such an angle as to not show you the actual rear corners of the car. As others on this forum have discovered, the guide lines on the screen suggest where said corners are but they are only there to fool you into backing into something it seems. Beware!
So why did I commit to buy this if a more affordable, better thought out vehicle existed? Because I believe the Model X is the greatest value in a car since the Ford Model A. When you consider everything, it's efficiency, ease of use, tax and utility breaks, performance and the fact that the car gets over the air updates essentially making for an exciting, always changing car ownership experience, this car is a no brianer. It is made in the U.S.A.! U.S.A!! U.S.A!!! Heck, it is made in California! U.S.A.! U.S.A!! U.S.A!!! It is made almost entirely out of aluminum, something that no auto manufacturer that I can recall has even attempted. (Ford, Land Rover and Audi do not count as they only make the exterior skin and small bits out of aluminum.) Oh, and the vehicle has the capability of piloting, parking and if those doors could flap hard enough, fly itself into the future. What a car! What a value. Nothing else on the market, for any amount of money can do what this vehicle can. For $2.6 million dollars you can buy a Bugatti Chiron that can do none of this. But the Tesla can do a darn good impression of a Chiron from a standing start! Again, this is the best value in a car going. Imagine, a $100,000 car.. that is an out and out bargain!
So how does it drive? Well the first pleasant surprise for me has been how good the steering was. I expected the typical dead feeling electric steering that has become the norm on so many mass produced modern cars and while the steering in the Model X is not a first generation Mazda MX-5 Miata in terms of steering feel, it is quite good. It weights up nicely as cornering forces build and has a satisfying speed to the steering during quick maneuvers. Speaking of quick maneuvers, I am still new to this vehicle so I haven't pushed the envelope to 10/10ths but I can say that the cornering traction while under heavy throttle inputs is just phenomenal especially for a 5300lb behemoth such as this. It definitely fights above it's weight class in this regard. No nasty cornering tendencies near the limit and the instant throttle response is an out and out revelation! Like a light switch of speed. Flip it, and your simply throttled to the next corner.
The Speed: Everyone is enamored with the speed produced by Tesla's electric drivetrains. From auto magazines to owners to passengers.. to the people with mustaches and little blue lights on top of their cars. These cars produce forward momentum unlike almost any car in history. But how does that translate in the real world? Our Tesla Model X 75D produces a 0-60 time of 6.0 second according to Tesla. But in the real world that means a world of hurt for cars that are, on paper, much faster. Example: Entering the highway on a loooong on ramp the 2014 Audi S6 in the next lane, complete with it's 450hp 4.0 liter twin turbo V8 pins the throttle at the same time I do. I am car lengths ahead before his dual clutch transmission and delayed turbos can even respond. Yes, a car such as that will eventually real in a 75D but by that time the battle has already been won. I am already onto the highway at a rather interesting speed and the Audi owner is left wondering how a vehicle that weighs 900 lbs more and gives up 120hp left them for dead. And that is a regular occurrence. Whether it be passing maneuvers or simply watching in amazement as the cruise control will steadfastly refuse to deviate from the speed selected even when ascending or descending steep grades, the power and instantaneous response of that throttle make the Model X feel like a time machine.
Would I buy a MX again?... hmmm... well the Model S is most certainly a better looking vehicle in my opinion and it can realistically carry more stuff until such time that Tesla offers up a folding 2nd row in the 6 and 7 seat configurations of MX. But what the Model X has is a sense of fun. It is goofy. It is 80's Miami (especially with that Don Johnson white interior!). It is probably the most "baller" car on the market right now and I am including all the big boys in that statement... Ferrari, Rolls, McLaren... When you go about your day in this car even the most innocuous daily chore becomes an event. You have to make the decision whether to open one of it's Icarus doors because, be prepared, the stares are coming. You can feel them from near and afar. For instance, yesterday, sadly, we attended to a memorial service for a good friend of mine... a fellow "car guy"... and when we all piled out of the MX the somber gathering all stood slack jawed at first and then they all started smiling. And while the cars electron fed drivetrain doesn't have the "soul" that is inherent in a great gas powered car, any vehicle that can raise the mood at a memorial service awash in real car lovers is a winner in my book.
Our Model X was delivered to our home January 7th of 2017, some 319 days after we ordered. We have never bought a car of this expense so the 10 1/2 month delay in getting the car was both a blessing as well as.. well.. a blessing. It allowed us time to both prepare for the car from a at-home infrastructure standpoint (set up charging) but also gave us extra time to save even more money towards its purchase and to buy needed accessories online. I was not really anxious to get the car until the very end of 2016 when I realized that the $7500 Fed Income Tax credit would not be applicable to the 2016 tax year if we did not take delivery by years end. (Our tax accountant worked with our DS and together we developed a work around and were able to apply the tax credit to the 2016 tax year even though the car arrived in 2017.) The delay in ownership also allowed us to lease a 2016 Kia Soul EV+ electric car to MAKE SURE we really wanted to commit to buying a $100,000 electric SUV thing with doors that went to the sky and had all the reported issues that the Model X had at launch. By the way, the gap between the Model X and the Soul EV is a lot narrower then you might think. I have written up a comparison between the two here: Model X 75D vs Kia Soul EV+ Owner Review
The Model X was delivered to us after the car carrier it was on reportedly received two flat tires which delayed the cars arrival into the early evening. A Tesla Delivery Specialist arrived in conjunction with the car and walked us through the basics but because we had a dinner engagement that night we were sort of thrown to the wolves. With 75% showing on the battery display we just sort of drove off into the abyss. The funny part is the next day, at the crack of dawn, my wife took the Model X to a high school sports function some 100 miles away and didn't return until that evening and the following day, due to my schedule, I again did not see the car in the daylight. It wasn't until day 3 that I was actually able to see the car in the daylight to inspect it for Falcon Wing Door alignment and general fit and finish.
The car was quite good from a fit and finish prospective. I have read thousands and thousands of posts on this forum of all the issues with these cars.... from their FWD's not lining up to middle row seats making grinding noises to cars with front windshields that are cracked from the factory. Ours had none of these issues (knock on Matte Obeche wood!). Outside of a missing tow attachment and a drivers side sun visor that is out of alignment, the car is darn near perfect. The Midnight Silver Metallic paint is very good, FWD's are smooth and predictable and the touch screen is intuitive if not a little slow when making certain demands of it. We have noticed none of the "ghosting" in the front windshield during night driving that others have reported. I have looked hard for it including raising my seat up high and trying to see if the angle produces it and yet, nothing. All door seals were also excellent and we have had what I would consider normal wind noise at speed. Granted, the Model X certainly has more cabin noise then the aforementioned Kia Soul EV but that is to be expected since the Soul has many advantages on that front including the fact it has but one drive motor, much less glass and a smaller cabin from which sound can resonate. The MX center console works very well but coming from a master of packaging 2012 Honda Odyssey the Tesla is going to struggle on that front. I can't understand why Tesla designers located the cup holders in the armrest area between the front seats where your elbow wants to naturally land nor can I understand why that same center armrest pedestal does not open up to take advantage of the empty space that is obviously inside.
Other interior quirks are no armrests on the center seats of our 6 seat configuration. Nevermind that they don't fold flat, the fact they don't even have armrests is just, well, it's silly. Long distance passengers need armrests. If they come on a $30,000 Nissan Quest minivan the Supermodel X should have them! Other silliness is the gloss back seats. They look amazing... on the floor of the Detroit Auto Show. Not so good with hyper children with their sandpaper like feet as they pile in after a day at the beach! Plan A: Cover them in clear protective film. Plan B: Don't let anyone in the car. I'm going with plan A.
The drivers seat itself has a good range of adjustment as does the steering wheel. I tend to prefer my seat down low to lower my own center of gravity and bring the steering wheel down low so it is solidly in front of me and the Model X does this well. The thick leather steering wheel can cut off the top portion of the gauges if lowered to much but overall the drivers cockpit has a wide fit range. The non-perforated white vinyl seats on our car have become nicknamed the "Marshmallow Thrones" for their incredible pillowy softness and odd, foamy like appearance. I am 5' 6" in height and I still find the bottom cushion of both front seats to be a bit short in length. My leg (Femur) sort of hangs off the end of the seat a bit. I wish the bottom cushion was just a tick longer or even adjustable for length as it is in many German rivals.
My last peeve about the cars overall design is the exterior profile. It doesn't work on a BMW X6 or the Mercedes-Benz GLC and it's doesn't work here. Yes, it is more energy efficient having a teardrop shape but I'd give up that efficiency for a more standard "box" shape so that I could fit, oh, I don't know... box shaped things in the the back! I regularly have to transport packed bicycles in large shipping boxes (53"L x 29"H x 8"W) and I was JUST able to slip 2 such boxes into the MX if I lower the 3rd row seats and move one of the middle row seats all the way forward but I risked making contact with the 2nd row glossy black seatbacks. For comparison, a 2013 Honda Fit will swallow 4 such bike boxes. The Model X is short on the "utility" front.
Due to the sloped rear glass and fixed rear wing (why is there a wing at all?) the view out the back is pretty horrendous. This doesn't bother my wife as she is one of the growing number of drivers that "drive by rear-view camera" but I am old school. I properly place my hand on the back of the passenger seat as I articulate my body so as to look backwards when backing up. But damn if that makes little to no difference. You just cannot make out the corners of this vehicle. It is the first car I have driven in quite some time that that actually drives bigger then it is. From the outside the car does not look overwhelming large. But inside, it just seems immense. It feels wide and ponderous at slow speeds and, keep in mind, that is with the aviary like amount of glass around you. If this car did not have that massive windshield it would feel like piloting an aircraft carrier from one of the lower decks. And the reverse camera is mounted at such an angle as to not show you the actual rear corners of the car. As others on this forum have discovered, the guide lines on the screen suggest where said corners are but they are only there to fool you into backing into something it seems. Beware!
So why did I commit to buy this if a more affordable, better thought out vehicle existed? Because I believe the Model X is the greatest value in a car since the Ford Model A. When you consider everything, it's efficiency, ease of use, tax and utility breaks, performance and the fact that the car gets over the air updates essentially making for an exciting, always changing car ownership experience, this car is a no brianer. It is made in the U.S.A.! U.S.A!! U.S.A!!! Heck, it is made in California! U.S.A.! U.S.A!! U.S.A!!! It is made almost entirely out of aluminum, something that no auto manufacturer that I can recall has even attempted. (Ford, Land Rover and Audi do not count as they only make the exterior skin and small bits out of aluminum.) Oh, and the vehicle has the capability of piloting, parking and if those doors could flap hard enough, fly itself into the future. What a car! What a value. Nothing else on the market, for any amount of money can do what this vehicle can. For $2.6 million dollars you can buy a Bugatti Chiron that can do none of this. But the Tesla can do a darn good impression of a Chiron from a standing start! Again, this is the best value in a car going. Imagine, a $100,000 car.. that is an out and out bargain!
So how does it drive? Well the first pleasant surprise for me has been how good the steering was. I expected the typical dead feeling electric steering that has become the norm on so many mass produced modern cars and while the steering in the Model X is not a first generation Mazda MX-5 Miata in terms of steering feel, it is quite good. It weights up nicely as cornering forces build and has a satisfying speed to the steering during quick maneuvers. Speaking of quick maneuvers, I am still new to this vehicle so I haven't pushed the envelope to 10/10ths but I can say that the cornering traction while under heavy throttle inputs is just phenomenal especially for a 5300lb behemoth such as this. It definitely fights above it's weight class in this regard. No nasty cornering tendencies near the limit and the instant throttle response is an out and out revelation! Like a light switch of speed. Flip it, and your simply throttled to the next corner.
The Speed: Everyone is enamored with the speed produced by Tesla's electric drivetrains. From auto magazines to owners to passengers.. to the people with mustaches and little blue lights on top of their cars. These cars produce forward momentum unlike almost any car in history. But how does that translate in the real world? Our Tesla Model X 75D produces a 0-60 time of 6.0 second according to Tesla. But in the real world that means a world of hurt for cars that are, on paper, much faster. Example: Entering the highway on a loooong on ramp the 2014 Audi S6 in the next lane, complete with it's 450hp 4.0 liter twin turbo V8 pins the throttle at the same time I do. I am car lengths ahead before his dual clutch transmission and delayed turbos can even respond. Yes, a car such as that will eventually real in a 75D but by that time the battle has already been won. I am already onto the highway at a rather interesting speed and the Audi owner is left wondering how a vehicle that weighs 900 lbs more and gives up 120hp left them for dead. And that is a regular occurrence. Whether it be passing maneuvers or simply watching in amazement as the cruise control will steadfastly refuse to deviate from the speed selected even when ascending or descending steep grades, the power and instantaneous response of that throttle make the Model X feel like a time machine.
Would I buy a MX again?... hmmm... well the Model S is most certainly a better looking vehicle in my opinion and it can realistically carry more stuff until such time that Tesla offers up a folding 2nd row in the 6 and 7 seat configurations of MX. But what the Model X has is a sense of fun. It is goofy. It is 80's Miami (especially with that Don Johnson white interior!). It is probably the most "baller" car on the market right now and I am including all the big boys in that statement... Ferrari, Rolls, McLaren... When you go about your day in this car even the most innocuous daily chore becomes an event. You have to make the decision whether to open one of it's Icarus doors because, be prepared, the stares are coming. You can feel them from near and afar. For instance, yesterday, sadly, we attended to a memorial service for a good friend of mine... a fellow "car guy"... and when we all piled out of the MX the somber gathering all stood slack jawed at first and then they all started smiling. And while the cars electron fed drivetrain doesn't have the "soul" that is inherent in a great gas powered car, any vehicle that can raise the mood at a memorial service awash in real car lovers is a winner in my book.
