Autopilot "Yeah" or "Nay"

[addoo]

Autopilot "Yeah" or "Nay"

Hello........just joined the forum!!!!

About to order the 70D. Like most, I want the power liftgate so it looks like I am ordering the Premium Package. Maybe I am naive, but is Autopilot a "must"?

Thoughts on this configuration:

[COLOR=rgb(50.980392%, 51.764706%, 52.941176%)]70 kWh Model S
[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(50.980392%, 51.764706%, 52.941176%)]All-Wheel Drive [/COLOR]



[COLOR=rgb(65.882353%, 15.686274%, 0.784314%)]EXTERIOR[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(50.980392%, 51.764706%, 52.941176%)]Blue Metallic Paint
All Glass Panoramic Roof
19" Wheels[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(65.882353%, 15.686274%, 0.784314%)]INTERIOR[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(50.980392%, 51.764706%, 52.941176%)]Tan Leather Seats
Glossy Obeche Wood Décor
White Alcantara Headliner[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(65.882353%, 15.686274%, 0.784314%)]OPTIONS[/COLOR]
[COLOR=rgb(50.980392%, 51.764706%, 52.941176%)]Premium Package
Ultra High Fidelity Sound
Subzero Weather Package

[/COLOR]Thanks for reading!!

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry about that, I just did a copy and past from the pdf.

70 kWh Model S
All-Wheel Drive
Blue Metallic Paint
All Glass Panoramic Roof
19" Wheels
Tan Leather Seats
Glossy Obeche Wood Décor
White Alcantara Headliner
Premium Package
Ultra High Fidelity Sound
Subzero Weather Package

 

[JohnSnowNW]

I would consider Autopilot a must, but others may not.

 

[mikeash]

Traffic-aware cruise control is amazing. It makes highway driving a hundred times nicer. A million times nicer in heavy traffic. Letting the car take care of not bumping into the guy in front of you removes a ton of stress. Obviously you still need to pay attention to what's going on, but the constant adjustments disappear. Well worth it for that feature alone, in my opinion. Lane keeping and self parking will be great additions once they come.

Your configuration looks pretty good to me otherwise.

 

[Ames]

I know it's personal preference and all that but I would strongly recommend trying to see the new Ocean Blue in person as it may ultimately be more desirable at re-sale (when you are so addicted to Tesla that you will sell your left kidney to update to their newest toy...***cough P85D owners cough***). To answer your original question, YAY. Nothing says cool like a self driving car that runs over your cat on its way to pick you up from the front door.

 

[kp.sfo]

Nothing says cool like a self driving car that runs over your cat on its way to pick you up from the front door.

LMAO! :biggrin:

 

[Pinot.Noir]

I can't imagine not getting the auto pilot software. If you think otherwise you should be looking at used cars, because you will save a bundle if autopilot is not important to you.

 

[kp.sfo]

Thoughts on this configuration:

Lots has been said today about the fact that it doesn't seem right to charge $5k for the power lift gate + some non-essential random odds and ends. I wouldn't be surprised if TM changes their mind and reshuffles their package options, ideally making the power lift gate (which is essential IMO) a standalone option for a more reasonable price.

To answer your question about the configuration (with the caveat that there's no such thing as "the ideal config") I would probably configure the vehicle very similar to yours, with the only exception of the seats - Being an S85 owner with 1st gen seats I have to say they are really not up to snuff IMO. Granted I am 6'4", but they just feel pretty unsupportive. Consider the next-gen seats...

 

[CHG-ON]

I LOVE the autopilot. Even before the steering upgrade. Works like a darn charm. For me, completely worth it in traffic. It reduces my stress hugely and it works surprisingly well. Much more than I expected.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

I LOVE the autopilot. Even before the steering upgrade. Works like a darn charm. For me, completely worth it in traffic. It reduces my stress hugely and it works surprisingly well. Much more than I expected.

Curious....can you give us some specifics on what you have experienced so far? Thanks.

 

[Danal]

The autopilot is in the top 3 reasons I "pulled the trigger" on a Tesla in December. Delivered Mar 2. LOVE that TACC, looking forward to more.

 

[K5ING]

Question...if one doesn't order the autopilot does it still come with a "dumb" cruise control?

 

[mistagogo]

Autopilot is a MUST. It takes away so much stress you can drive for hundreds of miles with a fraction of the stress of other cars. Still, you can activate it later if you are not so sure about it.

 

[svp6]

Yay. Hard to get back to standard cruise control after you use TACC. Is it worth the price? Best advice I have is try it for yourself before ordering.

 

[tga]

Assuming you still get standard cruise control, I'd seriously consider skipping the autopilot package, since you could upgrade for a small penalty in the future, if and when autopilot can actually do something interesting.

TACC? Meh... IMHO, if the traffic is that bad, you shouldn't be using cruise control. You should be paying attention and driving the d**m car yourself.

 

[RAM_Eh]

The autopilot feature is the main reason I would consider upgrading. You will be taking a big hit if you ever decide to sell.

 

[Tamar]

For me, autopilot is WAY more attractive than the liftgate. Why are so many people up in arms about having to close the liftgate manually?

 

[Ugliest1]

Personally I would recommend the Autopilot, even though I haven't driven or ridden in a car with it.

But even without it, on long trips with "normal" (outdated? ancient?) cruise control, the Model S is IMHO a far more relaxing car to drive than an ICE: quiet, no engine vibration, no transmission shifting (auto or manual), one-pedal driving, smooth acceleration and plenty of it immediately when you need it. Plus those "forced" 20-30 minute breaks every two to three or even four hours help a LOT.

Reading descriptions of TACC and lane-keeping etc, I foam at the mouth in jealousy (not really; I'm happy for those with TACC) -- if I had the option now I would certainly take it. Besides the extra safety factor, I tend to hold the steering wheel in a particular way, that after hours and days on the road gets a bit tiring for my wrist or other arm parts. I can see the lane keeping being huge advantage where you could actually rest your hand near the wheel for periods of time instead of constantly repetitive straining the muscles.

 

[mikeash]

TACC? Meh... IMHO, if the traffic is that bad, you shouldn't be using cruise control. You should be paying attention and driving the d**m car yourself.

I completely disagree. TACC does a better job of handling stop-and-go traffic than I can, and better than I've seen any driver handle stop-and-go traffic for more than a few minutes at a time. You still have to pay attention, but not having to constantly play games with the accelerator and brake makes it not only easier, but also safer.

You definitely shouldn't use normal cruise control in those conditions, but TACC is a whole different beast. Don't forget that if it screws up you can take over in an instant. It doesn't see that somebody's merging in front of you? Hit the brakes yourself. The fact that you're not constantly screwing with the controls leaves you more able to pay attention to stuff like that, not less.

 

[Rama]

Just ordered 70D without autopilot convenience features. Figured car ships with the hardware and I was told I can add it for 3K down the line. I'll wait to see if it really becomes a killer app. The power lift gate in IMHO not necessary. If my 5'0" wife can close the lift gate on her own, anyone can. Also with it being part of a 5k package, I didn't consider it for a second.

 

[thegruf]

consider also the resale without autopilot.
It is retrofittable now, but will this alwasy be the case?

Losing the power tailgate is a disappointment, had one an a Honda previously and it was regularly very useful when carrying stuff, much more than a toy.
$5K/£4100 is absurd for the "premium" package, most of which should be included in the price.

Particularly irritated to me as I had to bump my visit to this weekend, and have therefore missed out by a week.