Current non-Tesla owners who plan to buy a Model ≡ ; Have you test driven a Model S?

[M0DEL³]

>>Have you test driven a Model S?

Yes. And unlike many here, I did not find it an overwhelming experience. Coming from a Prius, I'm already familiar with the smoothness and quiet of electric drive trains, so that was "normal". The power was, of course, nice. Being a technologist, glass-cockpit technology was quite compelling. But the feel of the car wasn't especially comfortable - let me explain:

To me, the MS feels like a zippy-tank. Quick yes, but the high mass makes the car feel less nimble. The larger wheel-base also makes the turn radius, for me, uncomfortably large. Keep in mind, I'm used to a Prius where I can easily 180 without having to do point turns regardless of how narrow the street is, not the case with the MS. I also find the vehicle requires an adjustment to my driving psychological-bubble that feels uncomfortable. When I get into a truck (I own several), I automatically adjust my psychological bubble to match the size, blind-spots, and movement limits of the vehicle, it's a intuitive process. For reasons I can't explain the MS doesn't intuitively do this. I acknowledge with more experience I would easily adapt to this and it would become a trained response over time, but it's not as intuitive as most other vehicles. The wide width of the MS is such that even with perfectly centered parking, you can count on door dings from adjacently parked cars - at least in my part of the country.

I will be dropping a M3 deposit (perhaps 2) on the 31st, but am seriously hoping the M3 is a bit closer to a Prius ride experience and a less like the MS. Lighter & smaller wheel-base suggests this might be the case. Most certainly I will require a M3 test drive before I'm willing to finalize my future order - but, since I'm in the midwest, I don't expect that to be an issue.

The two must haves for me on a M3 are <1>Range (200 miles won't cut it. Must have a battery option that gets me to a minimum of 260 or more.), <2> AutoPilot (Willing to delay my order for 2nd Gen hardware if necessary), but really want a car that can absorb future full-autonomous capability.

 

[UnitaryExecutive]

When Tesla first announced the Model S for 45K my buddy and I were dead set on buying one. Price ended up being higher than we hoped - and we both couldn't quite justify spending that much on a car. Fast forward to 2013 and a co-worker of mine let me drive his 60KWH model back from Mt. Evans during a owners meet up and came home just blown away. It really felt like my 335i and G35 were obsolete and the experience was as game-changing as going from a flip phone to the first iPhone. You just knew that this was going to be the next big thing. I came home and explained to the wife that I would never buy another car that wasn't a Tesla. Been waiting for a CPO MS < 50k or the Model 3 since (prefer a fully optioned 3 since the MS is a little too big for me). Also test drove a friend's Leaf - and while it was ok, it felt really underpowered.

There have been a few times where the wife has OK'd a MS purchase but I just can't justify buying a 100k car and have been able to hold out. There's still a part of me that's worried that the Model 3 will look like a Leaf or a Volt or have Volt-like performance - Elon's comment that it'll look completely different induced a little anxiety, but I'm all-in and will be in line on Thursday.

 

[Incredulocious]

Yes, I have test driven a couple of Model S's in the early days.

Put in my reservation for a Model S immediately after first experiencing electric drive, with the Nissan LEAF in late 2010. Paid a premium for an "orphaned" LEAF in May 2011 to enjoy while waiting for the Model S. Experienced the ride along at the first factory event (November 2011), then a test drive at the later factory-based test drive event (June 2012) and eventually stopped by a sales center to try out the P85 after it came out. Beautiful car of course but wasn't willing to spend so much money for a car that's not my style: no offense but it's too big and heavy for me, doesn't "feel" nimble and not so much head/legroom anyway. Didn't actually cancel my reservation until months later when Tesla called to get me to finalize. Been waiting for the Model 3 since then – or any reasonably-sized, all electric sporty hatchback with all wheel drive and hundreds of miles of range, ideally with supercharging.

In October 2013, I jumped on the incredible interest-free lease deals for a half-a-Tesla: Toyota's electric RAV4 (45 kWh battery, 130 miles range) for about $34K after rebates, assuming I buy it at the end of the lease. Lent my LEAF to my girlfriend for a year, getting her completely hooked on electric drive before selling it out from under her to a friend. She then grabbed one of the last few available electric RAV4's for herself in September 2014 for an even better deal (about $32K). We both upgraded them to support CHAdeMO, but I've kept an old ICE vehicle for road trips. (Somewhat ironically it's a gas RAV4 kept on a battery tender since I use it so rarely.)

While waiting on the Model 3, I'm tempted now and again to get an S or an X just for the hell of it, despite the cost and size and limits – but I still hate to spend that much on a car. (And I'd still be stuck using my old gas RAV4 given some of the remote locations I go.)

Planning to reserve a Model 3 on Thursday though, sight unseen. Girlfriend's going to wait to see it first. No doubts that a fully-optioned Model 3 is still going to be a chunk of change, much more than $35K.