I drove about 300 miles yesterday. I'll be driving 350 miles on Sunday and 300 miles on Monday.
But I'm weird.
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Ask Me Anything -- Motor Trend's Jonny Lieberman Defends Picking the Benz
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I drove about 300 miles yesterday. I'll be driving 350 miles on Sunday and 300 miles on Monday.
But I'm weird.
That puts you in the top 1% of drivers in terms of daily distance. Then yes, for you especially if you have no access to Superchargers the Model S wouldn't work well. You shouldn't color your review and the usefulness of the Model S with your experience without qualifying it as ~98% of daily trips are under 200 miles I believe (remember that statistic from the DOT somewhere).
DrComputer
TeslaClubLA President
I think the entire premise of comparing the S550 to the Model S was flawed. If you did it to create controversy and a catchy story than you achieved your goal. Without saying how you define "a better car" then you've failed in your journalistic presentation.
As others have said, the Model S and the S550 are in two separate car classes. The S550 being in the luxury class and the Model S being in the premium class. That they are comparably priced is a meaningless coincidence as buyers of either of these categories do not buy on price alone.
Since you are comparing apples to oranges it is a logical conclusion that the luxury class Mercedes S500 is a better overall luxury vehicle than the premium class Tesla Model S. Having previously owned a Lexus LS600hL prior to my Tesla Model S, that too was a better overall luxury car in terms or comfort and amenities. I have told many friends that if Leuxs made the LS600hL a pure electric vehicle that it would be the best car on the road. The same could be said if Mereceds offered the same thing in the S class.
So one can continue to debate with you over range anxiety and your inadequate home charging situation as being negative factors for the Model S. But all of those shortcomings still don't help when you are trying to compare two different market segments products without defining your score chart for comparison. Yes, you created a well produced video but I'm not sure how much value it has to any potential buyer of either car.
As others have said, the Model S and the S550 are in two separate car classes. The S550 being in the luxury class and the Model S being in the premium class. That they are comparably priced is a meaningless coincidence as buyers of either of these categories do not buy on price alone.
Since you are comparing apples to oranges it is a logical conclusion that the luxury class Mercedes S500 is a better overall luxury vehicle than the premium class Tesla Model S. Having previously owned a Lexus LS600hL prior to my Tesla Model S, that too was a better overall luxury car in terms or comfort and amenities. I have told many friends that if Leuxs made the LS600hL a pure electric vehicle that it would be the best car on the road. The same could be said if Mereceds offered the same thing in the S class.
So one can continue to debate with you over range anxiety and your inadequate home charging situation as being negative factors for the Model S. But all of those shortcomings still don't help when you are trying to compare two different market segments products without defining your score chart for comparison. Yes, you created a well produced video but I'm not sure how much value it has to any potential buyer of either car.
Even if I had a Supercharger in my bed and only had to drive 5 feet, those five feet would let me know that the S550 is the better car.
DrComputer
TeslaClubLA President
I think you should also not discount the hundreds of thousands of EV miles driven by the combined Model S and Roadster owners here. Almost all (I'd wager all) of us come from driving an ICE prior to a Tesla so we have experience with both. You've also heard from drivers of other luxury Mercedes, BMWs and Lexus cars who say they love the Model S even more and think it is a better car. Sure you can dismiss us all saying we are deluding ourselves to defend out $70k+ purchase but feel giving some weight to our combined experiences would be wise.
SCW-Greg
Active Member
Okay 9 pages of comments on this thread in less than a day!
Must be some passion in here, but I'm skipping the pages in the middle.
I assume someone has already brought this up, but...
Seriously?
Of the things that truly matter, like utter disruption of the auto industry models, like propulsion ( think about it, a single moving part in the electric motor, only the size of a water melon, out performs a massive 1,000+ piece engine), resulting drive dynamics, fueling/charging technology, controls system, upgrade-ability, etc. etc. lost out to interior array of physical buttons and seats?
Not to mention the purchasing process!
What is more important? What is truly, fundamentally, changing here? Posh interior like never before? Boring exterior design, but slightly less boring?
Respectfully of course.
Must be some passion in here, but I'm skipping the pages in the middle.
I assume someone has already brought this up, but...
Seriously?
Of the things that truly matter, like utter disruption of the auto industry models, like propulsion ( think about it, a single moving part in the electric motor, only the size of a water melon, out performs a massive 1,000+ piece engine), resulting drive dynamics, fueling/charging technology, controls system, upgrade-ability, etc. etc. lost out to interior array of physical buttons and seats?
Not to mention the purchasing process!
What is more important? What is truly, fundamentally, changing here? Posh interior like never before? Boring exterior design, but slightly less boring?
Respectfully of course.
Are you being serious? It's hard to tell on the internet sometimes. If you are then the review was likely doomed from the start as any objectivity just isn't there. I assume you only have to drive less than five feet to fuel your S550 then?
As I said before while I care about the environment I don't feel you must drive a car the size of a smart car to feel good about yourself. Or even an EV for that matter. But if you fail to even consider fuel economy, efficiency and what parts of the world your fuel comes from (or your car for that matter) then your review is flawed.
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lolz
why is everyone so mad about this. Lieberman is entitled to his opinion.
The Model S Sales and demand is still huge, Anyone buying a S550 (imho) is making a great choice. I just think that the Model S is a better choice.
But people make the wrong choices all the time. Just ask my uncle who bought a 2012 740Li, he hates the thing, is waiting for a new Model S (refresh), or he'll buy the 2014 S550 when it is available in the used-car market
The Leaf is more efficient. TRUTH! as the kids would say. And I'm hardly a troll.
I am here to defend my opinion that after spending two weeks with both cars, given $125K to buy one of them with, I'd choose the Mercedes because I like it better.
These words have pure bias built in. The drivetrain of the S-class is junk compared to the Model S. When you take into account the total cost of ownership for each, there really is no comparison. How much of a factor is the free gasoline you get for the vehicles you drive? My guess is that makes a huge difference.
amzng_ev
Member
You like it better for the price, because they are different classes of automobile. There is no doubt the new S550 will be the leading standard for even Bentley to reach up to. However, Tesla is a different class, more comparable with the CLS63. Plus, electric does have a slight premium cost, which will be saved in fuel later. Both are large sedans, but incomparable.
No one is arguing the Leaf is more efficient. (not by much). I thought you didn't care about efficiency or fuel economy though. The is a big difference between the S550 being clearly a 'better car' and you saying 'I like the S550 better for these reasons. The advantages I see in the Model S are this but the S550 with these advantages makes it a better car for me'
I agree. The S550 is a large luxury/comfort car while the Model S is more of a large performance car. If you're going for luxury/comfort, the S550 is the clear winner. But if you're going for performance/handling/fun, then the Model S is the winner.
I think it's important to define how you're judging/comparing the two cars and I think that's where Jonny, you haven't done a good job in detailing your judging criteria. If you were to say, the car with the best luxury/comfort is the best car and that's how I'm going to make a decision, then that's fine. But without defining and criteria and then just claiming "apples to apples" the "S550 is the better car" is confusing at the best.
Overall, I think the S550 vs Model S is the wrong head-to-head comparison. It's like comparing a BMW M5 with a Lexus LS. What's the point? They are two different cars with completely different market segments. If you want performance, get the M5. If you want luxury/comfort, get the Lexus LS.
I think a better head-to-head would have been the Model S P85 vs a BMW M5. That would be interesting and fun to watch.
I totally compared them. Hence, comparable.
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The Model S would smoke the M5. That would be boring to make.
Now you have lost all credibility with me, and you are bordering on downsy. Not smart enough to start out with a full tank in the Model S, but then mentioning the leaf as it's some kind of a breakthrough? The Model S is twice the size, has 4 times the power, and if driven conservatively, can get very close to the efficiency of the Leaf. That is impressive. You must not have much automotive experience to make such comments.
Please. You can compare anything. That isn't the point. I would expect a little more professionalism.
Why not compare a Tata to the Model S and claim the Tata the winner since it is so much easier to refuel when traveling. See? I just did a comparison.
Get smoked by the M5? Your clearly do your research.
Tesla Model S vs BMW M5 Drag Race - YouTube
The M5 is definitely a better track car but it doesn't 'smoke' the P85+ in every instance.
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