I was across the country from my home city of Baltimore in Palo Alto on business last week, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to drop in on the Menlo Park store to see if I could arrange a spur-of-the-moment test drive. Did I luck out! As the store had a few early afternoon openings, in only about half an hour I was behind the wheel of a black Performance Model S. The staff at the store went way out of their way to help me.
As there have been many test drive threads on the site, I'll limit my comments to the most striking elements of the drive. First, the acceleration was beyond my very high expectations, not only from start but at speed on the highway. It's neck snapping. Having so much torque on instantaneous command is a dream, especially for a driver like me who likes to drive very hard. Second, the handling is extraordinary, especially for a car of this size and weight. In on- and off-ramps to the freeway I pushed the car so hard the tires were squealing in protest, but the S maintained a flat posture and the handling was totally predictable. Third, the ride over the very rough roads of the course we followed was very smooth. I own a Chevy Volt, so the Model S's quiet ride was not so surprising (but noticeably better than the Volt's).
While the Volt is a triumph of engineering, the Model S trumps it in almost every way. I can't wait for delivery, but with 8,780 people ahead of me, I'll have to be patient.
As there have been many test drive threads on the site, I'll limit my comments to the most striking elements of the drive. First, the acceleration was beyond my very high expectations, not only from start but at speed on the highway. It's neck snapping. Having so much torque on instantaneous command is a dream, especially for a driver like me who likes to drive very hard. Second, the handling is extraordinary, especially for a car of this size and weight. In on- and off-ramps to the freeway I pushed the car so hard the tires were squealing in protest, but the S maintained a flat posture and the handling was totally predictable. Third, the ride over the very rough roads of the course we followed was very smooth. I own a Chevy Volt, so the Model S's quiet ride was not so surprising (but noticeably better than the Volt's).
While the Volt is a triumph of engineering, the Model S trumps it in almost every way. I can't wait for delivery, but with 8,780 people ahead of me, I'll have to be patient.