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Extended Test Drive Opportunity All Day This Sunday. What To Look For?

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rjpjnk

Active Member
Mar 12, 2021
1,472
1,064
NJ
I was able to arrange a Model Y test drive this weekend from 6pm Saturday to 10am Monday. This will give me all day Sunday to have the car at home and take a good long look at it. Though I placed an order on April 1st, I have actually never seen one up close in person before or driven one, so I'm pretty excited and so grateful to have such an extended test period while still on the hook for just 100 dollars.

In addition to all the wonderful things I already know I'll love about the car, this extended test drive will give me a chance to take a closer look at the few things that concern me -- all based only on reading reviews and opinions of others, but never experienced in person.

(1) That large glass roof. Not a sunroof guy, so this will be an adjustment. Wish I had a sunshade to try.
(2) Sound system. Want to see if I am ok with using only compressed bluetooth audio quality.
(3) General integration with iPhone given lack of Apple CarPlay. Hotspot vs premium connectivity, ease of streaming audio, etc.
(4) Life without BSM mirrors (I've gotten so used to them on my Prius). Wondering if the Tesla screen will make me not miss them.

Anything else I should look it while I have it? I would appreciate any wisdom from experienced owners regarding things worth evaluating, especially those that might not have been evident until after many months of use.

Thanks for any tips.
 
I was able to arrange a Model Y test drive this weekend from 6pm Saturday to 10am Monday. This will give me all day Sunday to have the car at home and take a good long look at it. Though I placed an order on April 1st, I have actually never seen one up close in person before or driven one, so I'm pretty excited and so grateful to have such an extended test period while still on the hook for just 100 dollars.

In addition to all the wonderful things I already know I'll love about the car, this extended test drive will give me a chance to take a closer look at the few things that concern me -- all based only on reading reviews and opinions of others, but never experienced in person.

(1) That large glass roof. Not a sunroof guy, so this will be an adjustment. Wish I had a sunshade to try.
(2) Sound system. Want to see if I am ok with using only compressed bluetooth audio quality.
(3) General integration with iPhone given lack of Apple CarPlay. Hotspot vs premium connectivity, ease of streaming audio, etc.
(4) Life without BSM mirrors (I've gotten so used to them on my Prius). Wondering if the Tesla screen will make me not miss them.

Anything else I should look it while I have it? I would appreciate any wisdom from experienced owners regarding things worth evaluating, especially those that might not have been evident until after many months of use.

Thanks for any tips.
How did you arrange an extended test drive?
 
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Regarding (1), the panorama roof is pretty awesome, but a motorized sunshade would make it so much better. One of my favorite features of the ID.4 was the motorized sunshade. It's slow as hell, but it was a nice touch. Okay, that and the massaging seats!

Anyway, enjoy the take home test drive. Take it to a supercharger, take it on highways, rougher surface roads, use AP, auto lane change, park it in your garage/normal parking space, plug it in at home...do it all. Make sure your spouse/partner feels comfortable in all the seats, including driving position. Try to live with it as if you owned it for those 16 hours.
 
(2) Sound system. Want to see if I am ok with using only compressed bluetooth audio quality.
(3) General integration with iPhone given lack of Apple CarPlay. Hotspot vs premium connectivity, ease of streaming audio, etc.

@rjpjnk how did it go? Regarding 2 & 3 on your list: the Tesla supports AAC codec for audio, which is well-supported on iPhones (unsurprisingly, given that it's an Apple codec). I haven't had a lot of time for streaming so far, but even from my Android device (which are known to struggle with AAC), it's been a positive experience so far. I still need to tweak the EQ a bit but it's sounding good so far. Lack of CarPlay/Android Auto is unfortunate for sure. Fortunately for me, I came from an older vehicle that was a bit too old to support either, so I never got used to having that support (so I don't really know what I'm missing). But yeah, how did it go? And updates on your list items? Anything else to remark upon?
 
How did you arrange an extended test drive?
I took out a LR 3 a couple of weekends ago for an overnight test drive (6PM Sat to 6PM Sun, though I could have kept it till 9AM Mon). I just emailed an advisor at my local Tesla store that had previously sent me an email about a test drive. Said I was interested in an overnight test drive to see if a 3 was big enough for my family, and they texted me back that I could test drive one over the weekend. Even got a couple of free 1/43rd diecast Model 3s for the kids when I went to pick it up.
 
How did you arrange an extended test drive?
I called the number for my local dealership and spoke to the usual answering service person (It is impossible to call any dealerships around here in NJ. The dealer explained to me that this is because they have a policy of not answering phones if anyone is in the showroom, and so all calls reroute to the answering service). I left a message that I wanted an overnight test drive and to have a local dealer call me back. I received a text instead from the dealership and we worked out the details by text. He explained that if I wanted to pick it up Sat evening it did not have to be back until 10am Monday morning.
 
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@rjpjnk how did it go? Regarding 2 & 3 on your list: the Tesla supports AAC codec for audio, which is well-supported on iPhones (unsurprisingly, given that it's an Apple codec). I haven't had a lot of time for streaming so far, but even from my Android device (which are known to struggle with AAC), it's been a positive experience so far. I still need to tweak the EQ a bit but it's sounding good so far. Lack of CarPlay/Android Auto is unfortunate for sure. Fortunately for me, I came from an older vehicle that was a bit too old to support either, so I never got used to having that support (so I don't really know what I'm missing). But yeah, how did it go? And updates on your list items? Anything else to remark upon?
I thought the audio sounded fine. I didn't take the time to compare the same tracks in high resolution (via USB stick) but it didn't seem harsh or grainy as some bluetooth experiences have been. I noticed that I was able to stream high res audio using the Tesla web browser connected to my iPhone hotspot, so if I really want to I suppose I could go that route. Bottom line is I think I can live with the BT quality streaming from the iPhone via 256kbps AAC. I would never use the built in Tesla Spotify at 64 kbps though. Also, the "Immersive Sound" option is pretty cool as long as you don't mind some added effects.

As for the other items, the sunroof is beautiful and really well tinted (dark). You can almost look at the sun through it. I think it adds immensely to the appeal of the vehicle as does my wife. However, it is not good for napping. I like to take naps in my car sometimes and I tried this Sunday and found that the sun directly overhead definitely caused too much light and heat to be comfortable. No way to compensate using sunglasses or blinders, or AC. The heat just bakes right through in the reclined position. The only solution I found was to place one of the floor mats on top of the roof where the sun was. Instant relief! I was going to buy one of the sunshades, and while I'm sure that would work, now that I see how beautiful the roof is I hate to cover it all the time just for the occasional nap, so I'm thinking maybe just a small shade I can place where needed.

As for the lack of BSM mirrors. Well, yeah, they were sorely missed. I noticed that the visual display did detect most of the vehicles around me though, so I could glance at the screen before changing lanes and that was helpful, but sometimes it would miss a car or two. I guess it's not 100% reliable. I also experimented with leaving the rear camera on while driving and that certainly provides a wide view. Maybe I could get used to that.

One negative I did not expect was the poor visibility out the rear. The rear window is small and placed relatively high up giving a pretty poor view of behind you. Also, the side portions of the car around the window are especially thick and further obscure visibility out the back. All drivers of the car commented on just how poor the rear visibility was. I suppose it depends what you are used to. It really seemed dangerous to me, though I suppose I might adjust to it in time. The rear view mirror is tiny as well, but making it larger would not help since there is nothing more to see. Unfortunately the side mirrors are also small. All together I have never experienced a car with such impaired rear visibility. The view out the front, however, is amazing!

Other negatives were overall quality of interior. Though the MY is priced like a luxury vehicle, it is not appointed as one. I think most of the cost must be due to the expensive batteries and drive train. The sparse interior is not cheap feeling, but it is not luxurious either. It is just sort of medium. The steering wheel, however, did feel a bit cheap. Wish they wrapped it in something that made you want to touch it like some nice leather. It seemed too thick and lacked grip.

The positives are too many to count. Of course, the acceleration is amazing. The car felt very confident and planted even on wet roads. The regen breaking is nice once you get used to it. I found the touch screen intuitive and easy to use. I never felt the lack of a forward instrument cluster to be a problem. There is Sooooooo much storage space. It is bigger overall than I expected, higher too. It actually seems bigger inside than out, which is nice.

The seats are extremely comfortable, but unfortunately they do not fully recline to napping position. They get pretty close though. I liked the dark factory tinting of the rear side windows (Due to the fact it is an SUV I'm told). I was really thrilled with the user profiles. It was so nice to have all the seat and mirror positions, steering wheel, and climate control, etc saved for each driver to recall at the push of a button.

Autopilot seemed to work well. Didn't try the FSD. Tried a supercharger and it was simple. Nice instrumentation for charging on the screen as well.

I think I will probably buy one, but I am going to test drive an M3 next to see if it's not too small. Definitely leaning towards the MY though at this point.
 
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@rjpjnk great write-up, and it all seems about in line with my thoughts. One thing for the rear-visibility: the rear and side repeater cameras really help. The rear-facing camera comes up when in reverse but you can swipe up on that screen and get the two side repeater cameras to show as well--they really help with parking so you can see if you're lined up and straight and not going to scrape anything on the sides. You can also bring up these cameras at any time, not just in reverse, by tapping the little camera icon on the bottom row of the screen. While better actual rear visibility would be better, this definitely helps.
 
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How did you arrange an extended test drive?
Curious as well most I’ve been able to get is an overnight during the week. You should also try the cruise control in traffic I noticed a hash jerky braking with loud noise coming from the brake pedal in stop and go traffic which I didn’t appreciate. Outside of that I didn’t miss the roof shade. Always had my X3 roof without the shade open however it is going to be 90 degrees this weekend. Sound system was great to me with and without Bluetooth.
 
I took out a LR 3 a couple of weekends ago for an overnight test drive (6PM Sat to 6PM Sun, though I could have kept it till 9AM Mon). I just emailed an advisor at my local Tesla store that had previously sent me an email about a test drive. Said I was interested in an overnight test drive to see if a 3 was big enough for my family, and they texted me back that I could test drive one over the weekend. Even got a couple of free 1/43rd diecast Model 3s for the kids when I went to pick it up.
Which store was this at