Austin Test Drive
There have been so many great accounts of the test drive experience, so I’ll be brief.
Remarkable.
Tesla flipped a quarter and landed it standing up on its side – a driving experience so unique that it leapfrogs the status quo while also one so natural, intuitive, and familiar that one is instantly comfortable in the car.
They’ve even nailed the sequencing. When you buy something from Apple, the joy starts with the beauty of the box – with the Model S, it’s the door handles. Artful, scientific, high performance, beautiful – the handles tell you the story of the whole car. You expect a different experience when those things present themselves to you. And you get it.
Acceleration? Fabulous, and we drove the standard so if I buckle and spring for the performance we’ll have another amazing moment. Handling? Superb. The car felt more agile than nimble, more fast than quick, and with the right settings, better than my BMW. But it didn’t feel too big for us. Aesthetics? Beautiful. I love the exterior and interior, the materials are quality. Front storage is coming, more cup holders, reading lights, mirror lights, etc. OK, I’ll take them, but I’d drive it out of the storefront and through the mall as is. Display? Totally bitchen’. My 10 year-old son has found his first love. What else? Pano roof, trunk/frunk, stereo, seats, etc. I guess you’ll find flaws if you look for them, you’ll find a lot of greatness too.
Here was a cool takeaway - as quiet as it was in the car, what was more amazing was watching one pull away, silently. Remember the landspeeder hovercraft Luke Skywalker cruised across the desert. Yup, that’s what it sounded like.
It feels like we should have been driving a car like this for the last 50 years. Can we please correct our course over the next 50?
The Tesla reps were cool, said they made it from Houston to Austin on 61KW, driving 70+ with AC on, 60 some odd miles to spare. Probably a 175-mile trip. Glad to hear of an Austin store and showroom by the end of 2012, can’t wait until they stretch 80 miles further south to San Antonio….
When we got back into our 5-series BMW to drive home, my wife, who was a skeptic 60 minutes earlier, remarked, “It’s kind of a letdown,” to which I asked, “What?” And she replied, “This (BMW)” My daughter, after complaining about getting dragged up to Austin from San Antonio, stopped texting and said, 'Dad, that was cool'. My son asked if it was too late to get a Signature.
That sums it up.
All in.
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