First Day Thoughts: #1 -- You Don't Need the P85. The 85 is more than Plenty.

[contaygious]

I love the p85 for when I encounter fast cars at the line and can dust them 0-45.

The sound system grows on you. Tweak the settings and turn off Dolby. I didn't like it the first few weeks, but now when I go back to other more powerful systems they sound really muddy in comparison. Also I am told they are working on an update to send more power to the rear speakers so that should help.

I agree you need 85. I drove to Calistoga and back to sf and didnt have much mileage to spare with a normal charge so I can't imagine driving around with a 60 and being anxious all the time unless I never left the city. I also drove from Harris ranch to my house and had 9 miles left so that was already scary enough!

 

[Kaivball]

there was no possible way to visit the moon 40 years ago, if we really did go then how come millions of people say we didnt?

You are kidding, right??

Please?

 

[Laumb]

You are kidding, right??

Please?

He is.

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

The P85 is insanely, utterly, shockingly fast. Amazing grin on my face. But -- the regular 85 would have been more than enough.

I'm sure you're right. But there's a couple of Porsche owners that I need to ambush, then convert... ;-)

I ordered the HPC and highly doubt I need it. It seemed like a good idea but now I see it's a waste of $1,500. The standard 240 charging overnight is plenty. I really doubt I needed the twin chargers either.

As someone else already posted, I think the real value of the twin chargers and the HPWC for me are not in daily use. My longest driving days are rarely over 100 miles in a day, so even with a single charger my battery should be back to full in three hours or so; and that's a worst-case scenario... in a typical day of driving, I'll need maybe one hour of charging time. However, I've been known to wake up and think "oh my God, I forgot to charge the car last night and I have a long drive today". The twin chargers and HPWC will allow me to add 50-60 miles of range in the time it takes me to get out of the house... and that's a lifesaver when it happens. On road trips, the twin chargers are key to being able to take advantage of high-power chargers. More and more 70A chargers to be found out there, and I think that number will grow by leaps and bounds over the next few years.

I ordered the parcel shelf and the 3d row seat which was a waste. They aren't compatible. Ah well. Will sell the parcel shelf if it ever comes in.

They are not compatible if the third row is in use. But you may find that you are often using the car with the third row stowed so the full trunk is available, and then of course the parcel shelf is useful. And you often know whether you'll need the jumpseats or not before leaving home, so you can simply leave the parcel shelf in the garage that day. All I'm saying is, wait until you've had a little time to create a habit of usage patterns and evaluate that pattern before selling the parcel shelf.

 

[interleaf2]

• The Premium stereo is horrible. Not sure it's worth it. Going back into our Lexus GS450h, the one thing that was clear was the Lexus Mark Levison stereo was 10x better than the Tesla Premium Stereo.

Make sure you try the system with Dolby switched OFF. I find that the Dolby option makes everything sound flat, mushy and muddled. I think the Tesla Premium stereo is pretty good if you turn Dolby off and center the sound on the driver's seat. The speakers are not quite as good as the $2,000 B+W system in the Jaguar XJ, but the user interface is much easier and more powerful - except for the absence of a shuffle feature. Also Slacker is great fun but the sound quality is not great and can even cut out and stutter in poor 3G spots, as you would expect. Try listening to FLAC files on USB and I think you will find the amp & speakers will respond very nicely.

As for the acceleration of the P85 - it is ludicrous, but for me it's worth it simply to hear the words "f#!*ing h*ll" explode involuntarily from my passengers' mouths. I never get tired of that for some childish reason.:biggrin:

 

[neroden]

[*]The Premium stereo is horrible. Not sure it's worth it. Going back into our Lexus GS450h, the one thing that was clear was the Lexus Mark Levison stereo was 10x better than the Tesla Premium Stereo.

Interesting. I thought the Standard stereo was extremely nice. Perhaps it's better than the Premium stereo? The Premium seems from the advertising mostly to be "louder". I think I don't have the sort of taste which "premium stereo" is advertised to.

 

[Joyrider]

One of the great things about the Model S diifferent from ICE cars is you can get the performance model with NO penalty in fuel economy.

 

[Electric1]

We picked up our P85 Model S today at the Menlo Park showroom. It took all of 15 minutes and was very simple.

Off to our first roadtrip tomorrow.

First day learnings and minor mistakes in ordering:

• The P85 is insanely, utterly, shockingly fast. Amazing grin on my face. But -- the regular 85 would have been more than enough. While that's fun, the max performance is utterly unuseable in the real world. I like to go fast. But the regular 85 would have been more than enough. If you order the regular 85, that's 100% fine. If I got a second Tesla for some reason, that's the way I'd go.
• I would have been unhappy with the 60 kWh. I didn't need the P85. But having driven it just one day, it's clear the 85 is a better deal than the 60. It's just enough range to eliminate any range anxiety driving around the Bay Area. Less than that, combined with a lot of HVAC and some strong acceleration, would have produced some range anxiety, at least for me.
• I ordered the HPC and highly doubt I need it. It seemed like a good idea but now I see it's a waste of $1,500. The standard 240 charging overnight is plenty. I really doubt I needed the twin chargers either.
• I ordered the parcel shelf and the 3d row seat which was a waste. They aren't compatible. Ah well. Will sell the parcel shelf if it ever comes in.
• The Premium stereo is horrible. Not sure it's worth it. Going back into our Lexus GS450h, the one thing that was clear was the Lexus Mark Levison stereo was 10x better than the Tesla Premium Stereo.
• Sensory Overload from the Screen. Slacker radio totally rocks. The nav rocks. But it's a lot when we are already connected 24x7x365.
• Tesla is Still a Start-Up. On one hand, Tesla employees are charming and super enthused about the product -- like a start-up. They were genuinely excited I was there to pick up the car. On the other hand, they are still learning -- like a start-up. No one had any idea when the car was ready. The Android app doesn't seem to work, or is flaky vs. iOS app. It was almost impossible to email or reach anyone during the purchasing process. The trade-in thing is goofy. Most of it is great. Some of it feels like an internet start-up.

First day learnings. Tomorrow, Supercharging in Gilroy. Fingers crossed.

Same day, diffferent coast, but after 200 miles I must say that I agree almost completely with you, save for the radio, which sounds fine to me, tough I wish I could have heard the standard next to the premium before deciding to put down an extra K.

All told, I am a very happy camper and I believe that Tesla will fine tune the few quirks with an outstanding product and young team.

Just wish I could drive it tomorrow, but I've got to save my charge as my 14-50 won't be installed until later this week. Back to ICE.

 

[mai]

I have to say that I find the Slacker streams to be of relatively low quality - likely due to low bitrate samples. The same songs in 192 kbps mp3's just sound a lot better. I actually find the standard Tesla radio to be pretty good, just a bit lacking in deep bass.

 

[CyberDutchie]

I have the Sound Studio and I agree, it needs a lot of work. Mids and trebles seem fine, but the bass tends to rattle, even at volume levels around 6 on certain songs. The sound image is very driver-centric. Doesn't feel very centered in the car.

Really? I think the bass is amazing, best of any car audio I have heard.

Try on Slacker the song O Lance from Brazilian band Azymuth, I turn the volume up all the way to 8, and bass on +9, Dolby off. No rattles, no distortion at all. Only visible vibration in the left side mirror.

I agree with the sound image being too much biased to the front.

 

[Lyon]

The P85 isn't necessary, it's just fun! My problem now is that everything else seems slow as hell.

 

[K Hall]

About the sound system: since sound quality seems only adequate with both versions, the question for me becomes: are there any features you get with the upgraded system that you don't get with the standard version?

You get XM Radio with the premium sound and more speakers.

 

[Robert.Boston]

I've found that using FLAC with the Sound Studio produces some amazing, crisp sound. While I would like more staging left/right and a less forward sound, I'm overall quite pleased. It's tough to compare across vehicles, though, because all the other stereo systems have to compete with the ICE sounds.

 

[huntjo]

You get XM Radio with the premium sound and more speakers.

I believe it is only a week long trial of XM radio.

 

[aviators99]

I believe it is only a week long trial of XM radio.

No, what he is saying is that you get an ACTUAL XM radio. Not a subscription.

 

[huntjo]

No, what he is saying is that you get an ACTUAL XM radio. Not a subscription.

Oh the receiver. I gotcha

 

[Lloyd]

Oh the receiver. I gotcha

I don't think I'll subscribe to XM. I like the Internet choices much better!

 

[montgom626]

I don't think I'll subscribe to XM. I like the Internet choices much better!

Same here. XM does not offer me anything I really need with USB drives and Internet radio.

 

[CanuckS#69]

The P85 isn't about need, but more about want. I wouldn't trade my P85 for an 85, having driven both and my go pedal does hit the floor on a regular basis. What I find is that I don't care about high speed, it is getting there that is all the fun.

 

[engle]

Same here. XM does not offer me anything I really need with USB drives and Internet radio.

Do any of you have the XM optional subscription? How does the sound compare to the other audio source choices in Model S?

I have lots of tracks and albums on my iPhone, but am too lazy and busy to organize properly into playlists, etc. So I listen to Sirius/XM radio mostly when driving. Also good when I'm with clients in my business vehicle. Switch to 'chill', 'new age' or a classical channel.

Thanks!

Anxiously waiting for 2014 and my Model X Perf with a 110 kWh battery -- please, Elon, please? ;-)

PS. Hmmm... Hope you guys don't represent the average American automobile music listener? If you do, then I better sell my ##K shares of SIRI bought at avg. price of ~38 cents!

PS to mongom626: like the way you provided reasoning behind your config instead of just what you selected. Agree white best to avoid heat (and looks cleaner longer). My wife likes white anyway. Did you go with std white or pearl white?