I drove the green Model S today, early afternoon. I was first of my group, which stressed me a bit. Also, things were...okay, maybe not a little rushed, but I don't see how anyone has time to take video, explore all parts of the car, try 50 things on the screen, etc. It was like "okay so you're seated, all comfy/adjusted, let's pull forward now" etc. Maybe I'm just to passive and should've have said "woah can we look at X, Y, Z." But with the seemingly tight timetable for test drives, I kinda just followed orders. My bad, I guess?
Anyway, amusingly, my "handler" was the guy from the DC store that I'd seen there and talked with not long ago. So that was cool--very nice guy, very helpful. And the drive was great! More traffic than I'd've liked, though at one point early on he had me pause, waiting for a good time to punch it--but then a car came up behind, so we had to go. Still, I got to punch it and wow, it was like a rocket taking off. I had to ease up soon (damned early PM Friday traffic), but still, I got a good sense for the acceleration, and did get up to like 65-70 at least a few times I think (I forget! so much going on!).
The accelerator was firm; it took more pressure than I expected to push, but since you get all the power immediately, I can see why they didn't make it loose or easy/mushy--too easy to overdo it and hit something. ;-) And anyway, like I said, when I really pushed it, we took off like a shot! The drive was smooth and very quiet.
The regen was awesome. I drive a manual (stick), so the way it's been described and especially, how they talked about it just before the drive, I realized it would probably be easy to get used to. And it was!
The seatbelts in front were fine, but my other half said in the back seat belt sucked. It was awkward to put on and too tight/snug, any time I tapped the breaks it locked/tightened too much--over compensation. We talked to another Tesla person afterwards and she said the car she'd been in the back seat in was the opposite--too lose!--so I suspect they're still tweaking this. Or is there a setting for it?!
He liked the center armrest/cupholder/cubby (not sure if he opened it). Again, I felt like I didn't have any time to look at things like that--plus I forgot till we were out and another guy getting in, sigh--so I didn't see it.
The shelf under the 17" screen was great. I'm not sure it's quite tall enough, but it looked deep. I wish I'd measured it; I'm curious how it compares to my current car. Anyway, anything in there won't be seen unless it's really sticking out; it's very low and I couldn't see much as the driver! So it's IMHO perfect. Oh and I think mine had the rubberized? plastic-lined? open space between front seats--I forget, sorry. Too little time to really look at the car! On the plus side, the guy said the DC store would have a car for test drives...next month? September? I forget, sorry. My memory bites and this is over 8 hours later, and I had my b'day dinner between then and now. :-D
I liked the MPH/predicted/rated miles display, though the watts used on the right or whatever was confusing/useless to me. I didn't really look at much on the big screen, too busy with the drive, but at one point when I asked about the map, which looked kinda cool, he flipped it so the map was top (before, music controls or something were on top?) which was nifty. I like that kind of flexibility/customization.
Rear window visibility was poor, sad to say, but I'm going with the pano roof and he said that'd help a little. I'm bummed they didn't design the layout/back a little better with that in mind. Yeah the tech pkg has a backup cam, right? But I was trying to avoid that $$$ pkg, seemed like a lot of money for things I don't need. (Plus looking down to look back is confusing to my brain. ;-)
Lessee...side lights that my other half noticed on another car before? after? the drive, that light up when turn signals are on, I think, but it's the Tesla logo--kinda cute/cool sounding. I didn't see it. Anyway, apparently this kinda thing is required in Europe, but not in the USA, so they're doing it across the board to keep things simple. That makes sense, and I've seen (less cool looking) things like that on some US cars but the guy told me they do that for the same reason, doing the same car in the USA and Europe.
Anyway, overall, great experience, enjoyed the ride a lot, sorry my # is so high I won't see the car for almost a year (maybe). Every one was very nice and friendly, but in a down-to-earth way, mostly. All very young! ;-)
Sorry to ramble and thanks for reading me. Party: on!
Anyway, amusingly, my "handler" was the guy from the DC store that I'd seen there and talked with not long ago. So that was cool--very nice guy, very helpful. And the drive was great! More traffic than I'd've liked, though at one point early on he had me pause, waiting for a good time to punch it--but then a car came up behind, so we had to go. Still, I got to punch it and wow, it was like a rocket taking off. I had to ease up soon (damned early PM Friday traffic), but still, I got a good sense for the acceleration, and did get up to like 65-70 at least a few times I think (I forget! so much going on!).
The accelerator was firm; it took more pressure than I expected to push, but since you get all the power immediately, I can see why they didn't make it loose or easy/mushy--too easy to overdo it and hit something. ;-) And anyway, like I said, when I really pushed it, we took off like a shot! The drive was smooth and very quiet.
The regen was awesome. I drive a manual (stick), so the way it's been described and especially, how they talked about it just before the drive, I realized it would probably be easy to get used to. And it was!
The seatbelts in front were fine, but my other half said in the back seat belt sucked. It was awkward to put on and too tight/snug, any time I tapped the breaks it locked/tightened too much--over compensation. We talked to another Tesla person afterwards and she said the car she'd been in the back seat in was the opposite--too lose!--so I suspect they're still tweaking this. Or is there a setting for it?!
He liked the center armrest/cupholder/cubby (not sure if he opened it). Again, I felt like I didn't have any time to look at things like that--plus I forgot till we were out and another guy getting in, sigh--so I didn't see it.
The shelf under the 17" screen was great. I'm not sure it's quite tall enough, but it looked deep. I wish I'd measured it; I'm curious how it compares to my current car. Anyway, anything in there won't be seen unless it's really sticking out; it's very low and I couldn't see much as the driver! So it's IMHO perfect. Oh and I think mine had the rubberized? plastic-lined? open space between front seats--I forget, sorry. Too little time to really look at the car! On the plus side, the guy said the DC store would have a car for test drives...next month? September? I forget, sorry. My memory bites and this is over 8 hours later, and I had my b'day dinner between then and now. :-D
I liked the MPH/predicted/rated miles display, though the watts used on the right or whatever was confusing/useless to me. I didn't really look at much on the big screen, too busy with the drive, but at one point when I asked about the map, which looked kinda cool, he flipped it so the map was top (before, music controls or something were on top?) which was nifty. I like that kind of flexibility/customization.
Rear window visibility was poor, sad to say, but I'm going with the pano roof and he said that'd help a little. I'm bummed they didn't design the layout/back a little better with that in mind. Yeah the tech pkg has a backup cam, right? But I was trying to avoid that $$$ pkg, seemed like a lot of money for things I don't need. (Plus looking down to look back is confusing to my brain. ;-)
Lessee...side lights that my other half noticed on another car before? after? the drive, that light up when turn signals are on, I think, but it's the Tesla logo--kinda cute/cool sounding. I didn't see it. Anyway, apparently this kinda thing is required in Europe, but not in the USA, so they're doing it across the board to keep things simple. That makes sense, and I've seen (less cool looking) things like that on some US cars but the guy told me they do that for the same reason, doing the same car in the USA and Europe.
Anyway, overall, great experience, enjoyed the ride a lot, sorry my # is so high I won't see the car for almost a year (maybe). Every one was very nice and friendly, but in a down-to-earth way, mostly. All very young! ;-)
Sorry to ramble and thanks for reading me. Party: on!
