I just got back from my test drive at the Scottsdale event. I got to drive the dark gray performance model with the pano roof. Just let me say that the car is awesome. It was actually better than I expected. Many of the things that the other have said are true regarding the incredible acceleration and road handling. This is definitely a big sedan. I’d say it is on par with the size of a Mercedes S class or BMW 7 series and the ride feels similar to those as well. My last 2 cars were a Mercedes SL-55 AMG and a Porsche 911. The Model S has more pin you in your seat acceleration than either with a much smoother refined feel. The sound it makes during this acceleration is strait out of sci-fi. Just the overall feel of the car is very solid. My drive lasted 20 minutes and my rep did a great job. We didn’t go on the 101 because it was packed due to traffic, but instead I did get to floor it a couple of times on a relatively empty Pima road. 0-60 in 4.4 is no joke! What is even more impressive is what happens when you floor it going at 40 - still pins you back - something that is hard to do in an ICE car.
Living in Arizona, the two concerns I had were of how powerful the electric AC would be and how hot the car would be with the pano roof. Although it was a somewhat overcast day in Phoenix, the temp was still in the low 100’s and the AC had no problem at all cooling the car. The glass roof is seriously tinted (my rep told me that it blocks 95% of the light coming through) and really was perfect. I don’t even think that I’ll need to use the shade even in daylight driving. So I’m not worried anymore about the car turning into a greenhouse in the sun.
I’ve read that others have been accidentally touching the cruise control lever instead of the turn signal lever, but this didn’t happen for me. In fact, the levers are exactly where they were in my Mercedes.
The only minor criticism would be that when you look over your right shoulder for a lane change, there is definitely a blind spot that is blocked by the rear pillar. Maybe in the future, they will put side cameras that automatically display in the touch screen when you have your turn signal on.
Some other facts that about the car that I learned is that Tesla is going to provide cellular access to the car for free for the first year. There was no specifics on pricing beyond the first year or which carrier they would be on. As far as charging, the car with the large battery will charge from complete depletion to full in 9.5 hours from a 240v 40 amp connection (dryer type connection). This is without the high power wall charger or the additional charger in the car. If you get the wall charger and the additional in-car charger, this time will drop to about 4.5 hours. There is no advantage to getting the additional in-car charger if your are not going to get the wall charger and if you do want the wall charger, it needs to be connected to a 100 amp circuit.
The hardest decision for me will be which color I get. I would recommend that everyone actually see the color samples in the showroom because the colors displayed on the website are less than accurate in real life. I was leaning toward the blue, but on seeing it in person, it seems a bit dark. I’m leaning towards the brown, but the dark gray was also beautiful. As others may have said, the darker performance wheels are actually the silver color underneath and may tend to show scratches more than the silver wheels.
I’ve driven many cars before, but overall, this is the best I’ve ever experienced. Today, I’ve seen the future of what cars can and should be.
