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Are Tesla Model S Plaid available for test drive in US?
- Thread starter coolmanfever
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whitex
Well-Known Member
If you can't buy Elon's product without seeing it live or testing it out first, you're not the primary target customer. It's much easier to learn to live with something after you've shelled out $150K for it and trust Elon unconditionally - "Elon says yoke is better, so I must just be using it wrong".
whitex
Well-Known Member
Not yet. Stopped buying more Teslas after 4, in 2018. Was very temped by the Plaid but the yoke is a complete deal breaker for me. I even considered a test drive it to see if the stalkless yoke is somehow really better, you know, maybe Elon somehow knows something I don't, but was told no Plaids available for test drive and no more 7 day no questions asked return if I buy a car without a test drive and don't like it (evidently Tesla is not so confident anymore that people will love their cars for 8 days after buying without a test drive). Sadly due to world events I am still waiting for a Taycan Turbo CT. Covid screwed up their production, they had a transport ship sink not long ago with 1,400 Porsches onboard, now the war in Ukraine is further complicating production. My second choice is EQS AMG if I snag an allocation before Porsche hatches one for me. Unlike the Plaid, I was able to test drive both of these cars without having to order and take delivery first. I've never bought a car without test driving it first, I am not about start, especially given a new radical controls which apparently is love it or hate it and learn to live with it.
If Tesla brings back regular steering wheel with stalks to the Plaid, I might consider buying one more if I still cannot get my hands on other brands. But Elon will never admit being wrong, so this would have to be some government intervention forcing Tesla to discontinue stalkless yoke, so that Elon can save face never admitting he was wrong.
I was worried about the Yoke. And even investigated full wheel kits as backup before I bought it. But really, it’s fine. Way overblown. And there are options for that if you hate it.
I also thought I’d have issues switching back and forth with our other car with a regular wheel but that’s been fine too. The Model S is so different that your “legacy” muscle memory doesn’t kick in.
There are a few that hate it, but they are few and far between.
Given a choice today, I’d probably take the Yoke. There are pluses and minuses to each. At times I’d prefer a wheel. But most of the time the Yoke feels great.
One thing that does annoy me is the Yoke is a bit wide. So wide it blocks the lower left corner of the main screen. At least it does for my height and where I set things. Not a big deal. If they kept the screen portrait it would have been perfect.
I wish I could have test driven first too. But it’s all good.
Bottom line is, the demand is so high they don’t need to demo. Demo’s are usually for sale and they are sold instantly. Cars that needed work are sold instantly. If you see car you like in inventory, by the time you check on it, it’s gone.
Good luck finding someone renting out their Plaid. Maybe you might find an LR to try out the Yoke.
I also thought I’d have issues switching back and forth with our other car with a regular wheel but that’s been fine too. The Model S is so different that your “legacy” muscle memory doesn’t kick in.
There are a few that hate it, but they are few and far between.
Given a choice today, I’d probably take the Yoke. There are pluses and minuses to each. At times I’d prefer a wheel. But most of the time the Yoke feels great.
One thing that does annoy me is the Yoke is a bit wide. So wide it blocks the lower left corner of the main screen. At least it does for my height and where I set things. Not a big deal. If they kept the screen portrait it would have been perfect.
I wish I could have test driven first too. But it’s all good.
Bottom line is, the demand is so high they don’t need to demo. Demo’s are usually for sale and they are sold instantly. Cars that needed work are sold instantly. If you see car you like in inventory, by the time you check on it, it’s gone.
Good luck finding someone renting out their Plaid. Maybe you might find an LR to try out the Yoke.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Just search the forum and google. The one I was tempted to get was an add on. So no worries around warranty. And it came off easy too. It was cheap. But a little ugly. Some places are quite expensive, look totally OEM. I think TSportline has one. But there are like 3-4 places that offer it. I have zero interest now that I’ve had it a month.
Most, if not all, round wheel kits is wheel only.
One person put a Model 3 steering column and has stalks and everything working.
whitex
Well-Known Member
I did, found one person who converted to full wheel with stalks but they said it was a ton of work and don't offer it to others. It probably voids Tesla warranty too. Not at all interested in just rounding the yoke since it makes the touch controls from bad to worse (hands are no longer forced to be in the exact same spot, so finding the touch controls becomes so much harder, not that I am a big fan of them to start).
I don’t think making it round makes lack of stalks worse. Any solution that does stalks is gonna mess with warranty.
Not having a stable location for stalks while turning is not that bad. In some cases with them on the wheel (up to 90 degrees each way) the button stays relative to your finger.
If you are turning more than that stalks typically are gonna not be used in the middle of that action (e.g. parking). For U turn you’d signal before. Not likely want to active AP. Only valid argument would be the horn. Which is fixed in hardware pending firmware.
There is no way to test drive a Plaid here in Seattle, more than a year after they launched the Plaid. Despite a heavy concentration of Tesla customers around here, the sales manager at Tesla just rolled their eyes when I asked about a test drive and said there are no test drives planned anytime in the future.
Personally I think it's the yoke and the touch controls, they know people are going to hate it on a test drive. The sales people probably don't want to put up with that.
Personally I think it's the yoke and the touch controls, they know people are going to hate it on a test drive. The sales people probably don't want to put up with that.
I think the pros and cons of the yoke, etc. have been debated sufficiently in other threads. For the moment, I think the OP's question has been answered.
Bruce.
Bruce.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
You may be interested in the actual number of cars that were lost on the Felicity... a number of production vehicles including a few rare models.
These Are the Cars That Sank With the Felicity Ace Cargo Ship
Not just new cars, but classics, too.
www.thedrive.com
The manifest reveals the specific numbers of vehicles that had already been confirmed on board: 15 Lamborghini Aventadors (representing the final production run, which Lamborghini is now gearing up to replace), 20 Huracans, and 50 Uruses, for a total of 85 Lamborghinis now resting on the ocean floor. Audi lost 846 vehicles, Porsche saw over 580 cars lost, and Volkswagen 523 cars (some of which were non-US models intended for Mexico and Central/South American markets, likely alongside the 3 Seat Atecas lost). Bentley lost 190 cars alone, which represents a not-insignificant chunk of the 14,659 cars the company built in total last year.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Perhaps the 1,400 number I saw was the total number of cars, not just Porsches. I stand corrected - 580 Porsches lost.You may be interested in the actual number of cars that were lost on the Felicity... a number of production vehicles including a few rare models.
These Are the Cars That Sank With the Felicity Ace Cargo Ship
Not just new cars, but classics, too.
The manifest reveals the specific numbers of vehicles that had already been confirmed on board: 15 Lamborghini Aventadors (representing the final production run, which Lamborghini is now gearing up to replace), 20 Huracans, and 50 Uruses, for a total of 85 Lamborghinis now resting on the ocean floor. Audi lost 846 vehicles, Porsche saw over 580 cars lost, and Volkswagen 523 cars (some of which were non-US models intended for Mexico and Central/South American markets, likely alongside the 3 Seat Atecas lost). Bentley lost 190 cars alone, which represents a not-insignificant chunk of the 14,659 cars the company built in total last year.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Not if you turn the yoke into a wheel, unless you do that just for esthetics, i.e. never grab the wheel anywhere but the original yoke position. If you grab it in elsewhere, your fingers may not be anywhere near the turn signals, and if the wheel is turned you have no way to tell without looking where the turn signal touch controls are (e.g. a curve I drive many times a week which requires a signal, but is not curved "enough" to automatically disengage the turn signal).
Enough people online who loved the Plaid continue to say that they are still getting used to or learning to live with the yoke weeks later. I'm sure you can eventually get there, some people quicker than others, but to me any feature that you have learn to live with or get used to is not a desirable feature. Before COVID I used to travel more and often rented a Prius with a speedo in the middle of the car (like Model 3/Y). Sure I got used to it after a couple of days, but still not something I like or would choose for my car.
I see your point. But you tend to use stalks when the wheel is in neutral any way. So it should not be that hard to find them by feel or muscle memory. Yeah there more wrong places your hands can be with a wheel and no stalks. But I don’t think it would that much worse over time.
You could argue Yoke is safer because you can’t wrest your hand at noon
But that’s not common on Tesla’s any way because of AP nag.Yoke does work good for AP nag. It’s so wide it takes less weight to keep AP happy.
Overall it’s pretty darn good. I really thought turning around in my driveway would be awkward but it’s fine. Even on day one it was fine.
Only thing you really don’t get is letting the wheel slide through your hand as it returns to neutral. Your hands just tend to got with the wheel more on strong turns. Which I find ironic, because most of (if not all) the after market full wheels are not round and will still make that smooth action awkward.
It can't hurt to call nearby dealerships to see if they can arrange a test drive for you. My local SC/dealership calls me when they have a customer who really wants to see or drive one before ordering. They have been taking very good care of me and I'm happy to return the favor.
I'm very happy with the yoke in mine. I would not trade it for a round wheel now.
I'm very happy with the yoke in mine. I would not trade it for a round wheel now.
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