Car & Driver review of Model X P90DL

[ohmman]

Doesn't Summon makes the utility of close quarters opening of the falcon doors redundant?

Summon, as it exists today, is a time consuming gimmick. It's not a feature for regular use, at least not that I can tell. I've tried it a few times, but it requires lining the car up properly, holding the phone while you wait for the car to go in, etc. From a time perspective, it is many multiples longer than just driving in and dealing with tight conditions.

I do think Summon will evolve. But today, it feels like a toy to demonstrate, and not something for daily use.

 

[newtman]

Summon, as it exists today, is a time consuming gimmick. It's not a feature for regular use, at least not that I can tell. I've tried it a few times, but it requires lining the car up properly, holding the phone while you wait for the car to go in, etc. From a time perspective, it is many multiples longer than just driving in and dealing with tight conditions.

I do think Summon will evolve. But today, it feels like a toy to demonstrate, and not something for daily use.

There seem to be a lot of S and X drivers on this forum who use Summon on a regular basis, typically use the key fob. Pulling the car out to get the kids in seems like an ideal use case.

 

[Shumdit]

That's a tall curb. And it's about time you short people feel the pain of being tall

Admittedly, I have not done much research on curb heights so it could be they are not that tall but it seems they are more than 3 or 4 inches here. I am not a basketball player, but I am not short either. Just trying to figure why some people might think hitting the doors is a concern if you understand.

 

[vandacca]

I have a curved drive out of my garage, so I don't expect summons to work for me. Also, summons will not work with steep inclines. It is still fairly limited.

 

[ksquared]

This article erroneously listed a much higher base price for the P90D in the comparison table accompanying the article.

 

[FA1820]

My garage is in the back of the property and once you pass the gate, the clearance is around 2 ft wide on each side if not more. Summon doesn't work for me as I had hoped. My car almost hit the 6ft tall gate's post on a "tight'" setting option. So I had to drive it through the gate all the way to the back of the property. Then I parked it straight in front of the garage, and tried to send it in. Once I started Summon, the wheels turned to the right and stayed well clear of the side of the garage by more than 2 ft. It parked itself in the garage, taking up more than 60% space, not enough room for another car. Then I used Summon /reverse to see if it could come out. I reversed all the way until it got the the side driveway that would take it to the street. It refused to go! A few more times, I figured it didn't like what it saw, which was about 2 ft wide clreance, from house on one side and fence on the other on each side of this "tunnel". So i still have to take the car to the garage manually. I guess if you have a big garage in the front of the house with enough clearance, then it will work. Beta it is and it is still a very cool concept. Hope it improves its performance. Wasn't there a setting to change the clearance to a few inches on each side? I cannot seem to find it on the display.

 

[FlatSix911]

Enough said ...

Quote from Car and Driver article regarding falcon wing doors:

I used to sell new Chrysler minivans back in the day. In fact, I still own one w/o the power sliding doors or power rear hatch door. When the minivans first came out with these power options, many of the same things were said. Yet today they are almost considered a must-have for a new minivan purchase. This despite the fact that manual sliding doors and manual closing hatch doors are quicker and easier to open/close (which doesn't necessarily imply more convenient). In fact, if you go way back, I wonder what Car and Driver would have said the first time they reviewed a car with power windows, or other such innovations? I can hear the Car and Driver quote now: "Mostly, you just want windows to open easily and quickly... why push a button and wait 3 or 4 seconds when you can roll it down by hand in half that time?"

 

[ohmman]

I used to sell new Chrysler minivans back in the day. In fact, I still own one w/o the power sliding doors or power rear hatch door. When the minivans first came out with these power options, many of the same things were said. Yet today they are almost considered a must-have for a new minivan purchase.

So the logic here is that "because something is new, people won't like it, but it will always end up better?" That's not supported by the vast majority of evidence. In the case of the van door, the automated sliding van door was an evolution of the manual sliding door, which had years of acceptance behind it. Gull wing doors could be considered the precursor to the falcon wing doors, but they don't have years of acceptance and usage behind them. They're typically one-offs.

The doors might turn out to be great and broadly used in vehicles. I don't have that experience with them, and find them just as annoying as most professional reviewers. I don't think that the automated sliding van door example correlates to the potential success or failure of the falcons. It's like saying "everyone thought a smartphone was a stupid idea, but then the iPhone came out and took the world by storm. So Google Glass is going to be on everyone's face, whether it has bad reviews or not."

 

[heysteveh]

So the logic here is that "because something is new, people won't like it, but it will always end up better?" That's not supported by the vast majority of evidence. In the case of the van door, the automated sliding van door was an evolution of the manual sliding door, which had years of acceptance behind it. Gull wing doors could be considered the precursor to the falcon wing doors, but they don't have years of acceptance and usage behind them. They're typically one-offs.

Well, I didn't mean for the logic to come across quite like that. When I read the part of C&D's review that dealt with the Falcon Wing Doors, I chuckled out loud, not because I thought it was silly but simply because the comments could have been torn directly from the pages of reviews that were written about the minivan power sliding doors in the past. As a salesman, I used to put my arm in the path of the rapidly closing door and when it lightly touched my arm it would reverse direction... proving to potential customers that it was indeed "safe". The only logic I had in mind when making the comparison to FWD's was more along the lines of "lets look at some historical examples of similar new technology in past vehicles and see now with hindsight how those fared". You have correctly pointed out instances of where the similarities end in my comparison.

I don't think that the automated sliding van door example correlates to the potential success or failure of the falcons.

I would certainly agree with this, with just a side note that the C&D review of the FWD, and past reviews of minivan power sliding doors are uncannily (and even humorously) similar.

The doors might turn out to be great and broadly used in vehicles. I don't have that experience with them,

Really, this is the bottom line for the long-term success or failure of every newly introduced car feature. IF a significant majority of people like and become accustomed to the new feature it will probably stick and be successful. In your case, you do not like the FWD's, and if enough people have the same experience as you they may eventually just be considered as one of the undesirable quirks of the car. Personally, I chose to buy a minivan without the power sliding doors back in the day (they were optional) and I still own that van and am still happy with it. Unfortunately for you, there was no choice with the FWD's!

On a final note, I do not own, nor have I driven a Model X. Therefore I will let others continue the great FWD debate as I am not really qualified to go any further then this.

 

[electracity]

A sliding door on a minivan solves the big door problem.

The point of FWD is prestige, especially for owners with drivers and black car services. Both the MX and the M3 are China-oriented. Hopefully Musk can close his China factory deal and then build some cars for Americans with dogs.