Get Amped Tour: Washington D.C., 7/13 - 7/15

[digitaltim]

My bro tagged along and documented the afternoon at the DC/Gaithersburg event - here are the photos:

Improve Your Experience | Facebook

I'll post a video when he gets it online.

Overall the car met my expectations...quiet, sophisticated, powerful and minimalist interior...on par with my BMW performance wise, but maybe a little loose in high speed turns. I drove the non-performance green w/ 19" wheels and no pano roof. I have the performance w/ 21" wheels on order, so I expect that to close the gap.

 

[PhatCat]

My bro tagged along and documented the afternoon at the DC/Gaithersburg event - here are the photos:...

Thanks for the pix. The overcast sky really helped bring out the body lines and details, especially on the Sunset Red.

 

[digitaltim]

@PhatCat...thanks...professional photographer helps too!!!

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Thanks, Todd, for the review (and for the wife's vote on the Green!)

Thanks, digitaltim, for the pics.

Mods, shouldn't these reviews be moved to the specific Get Amped thread? This thread is reserved for reviews from the auto press and the like, isn't it?

 

[AnOutsider]

Seems that problematic rear passenger side door handle is still being a pain. Wonder why it's always that one?

 

[dflye]

We got in the area way earlier than planned, so even after eating lunch at the hotel, had time to follow one of the test vehicles around the route to get a feel for things prior to driving it myself. Good thing they were limiting the Model S speed, or would have been tough to catch up a few times!

Test drove the white Performance initially, then shortly after that got a 2nd lap in the silver Performance (this time as a passenger)

Acceleration and handling were impressive, although I don't think I'd ever use a setting other than 'sport' for steering -- copilot set it to the other settings briefly to get an idea of the play in the other modes.

Both displays were crystal clear, even in the light with the sunroof open. Forward looking view is unobstructed, but the rear view is a bit pinched -- but as a NY cabbie will tell you "What is behind me is not important!" :wink:

As others have mentioned, the rear seat belts are on par with the quality of safety belts on a carnival ride -- not comfortable, quirky locking behavior, rough feeling material.

Open sunroof and stereo seemed to be a good combination at higher volume levels, but forgot to grab my USB drive with some better sample music, oh well.

Handling in the 2 curving freeway off-ramps was great, way too easy to catch up to other vehicles there, so had to make sure to stay WAY back before entering the turns.

Lucked out as far as the weather goes, got rained on in the AM in Arlington, then on the way home in the afternoon, torrential downpours around DC. Not sure if anyone got to test out the traction and visibility in adverse weather, would be interesting to hear how the ride was when caught in one of the thunderstorms.

Friend that came along for the test drive who is looking to buy a convertible and was leaning towards an Audi, but now he has fallen in love with the Roadster that showed up between test drives.

Put a few pics from the drive and ride-along on FB here: Tesla Model S Test Drive

The video I took as a passenger ended up split into 2 parts (switched from video to still frame while at the light turning around at the end of 370):

http://youtu.be/nlFm9QalGeU
http://youtu.be/wPxxsQn_dME

After taking the one turn a bit over 50 on my lap, the other driver took it up a notch (appears topped out around 56):

Overall, awesome way to spend the afternoon, can't wait to take delivery (hopefully in a few short months!) :biggrin:

 

[brianman]

Thanks for the detailed review, Todd!

Todd reminded me of something I didn't remember to mention in my Seattle test drive writeup: When approaching Aurora for the nearly blind entry, the car rolled backwards a little from the uphill stop. I'm not saying it had reverse creep, I'm saying it felt like it was in neutral -- i.e. no creep.

Nitpick: We might want to move these posts to the appropriate Amped threads, since the First Drive Reviews thread was generally press reviews.

 

[MikeK]

That's a great still from your video!

 

[digitaltim]

Sorry for hitting wrong thread...move makes sense...was too quick with my cross post from TM site.

 

[doug]

Moved those misplaced posts here.

 

[doug]

My bro tagged along and documented the afternoon at the DC/Gaithersburg event - here are the photos:

Improve Your Experience | Facebook

This Don's car?

 

[teslasguy]

@teslasguy - I think it shows up in the picture.

View attachment 7770

You're right. I see it now with your markings. Actually, if I look at my screen by swivling it to nearly sideways, it really jumps out.
Thanks.

 

[Todd Burch]

Thanks for the detailed review, Todd!

Todd reminded me of something I didn't remember to mention in my Seattle test drive writeup: When approaching Aurora for the nearly blind entry, the car rolled backwards a little from the uphill stop. I'm not saying it had reverse creep, I'm saying it felt like it was in neutral -- i.e. no creep.

No problem. You're right Brian--on a slight uphill at a red light the car did drift slowly backward. Firmware update can change that behavior in the future, I'm sure.

 

[Todd Burch]

Here are a few pics from my test drive in D.C. this weekend (click to enlarge). I felt so rushed (partly by the wife ) that they aren't great pics...but maybe someone will find something interesting!

 

[brianman]

@Todd, re: rolling back on uphill - Nah, I like it. I presumed it meant the setting was on "more like a manual transmission" (if there is one).

 

[Todd Burch]

One other interesting thing: Maybe he's on this site somewhere, but someone parked their $400,000 Lexus LFA at the test drive (sorry, no pic. It wasn't electric, so I wasn't interested ). Maybe a Lexus dealer?

I have enough trouble swallowing the idea of driving almost $100K around the streets...I'd die of fear driving around a $400K car!

 

[Todd Burch]

@Todd, re: rolling back on uphill - Nah, I like it. I presumed it meant the setting was on "more like a manual transmission" (if there is one).

I didn't write that clearly. I was addressing those who were interested in a hill hold feature. In general I'm OK with it because I live in a fairly flat area. If I lived in San Fran, though, I'd probably really appreciate a hill hold feature!

 

[donauker]

This Don's car?

Yeah, that's it.

Bit of an amusing story there.

I was planning to drive my Roadster but a quick check for chargers in the immediate area came up empty. I called the DC store to ask about Roadster charging at the event and was told they would have charging but the Model Ss had priority so they couldn't guarantee availability for my Roadster. He told me it might be best if I drove my other car. I asked "Seriously! You want me to bring my Fisker Karma to you're Model S event?". There was a bit of a pause and he asks "That's your other car?". Said yeah that's it, and he said "Sure, bring the Karma I haven't seen one yet."

 

[brianman]

One other interesting thing: Maybe he's on this site somewhere, but someone parked their $400,000 Lexus LFA at the test drive (sorry, no pic. It wasn't electric, so I wasn't interested ). Maybe a Lexus dealer?

I have enough trouble swallowing the idea of driving almost $100K around the streets...I'd die of fear driving around a $400K car!

Lexus LFA - Compare the LFA
I find it amusing that they took the effort to include the Tesla Roadster (Sport and non-Sport) in their Competitive Comparison web site feature, but didn't bother to find the fuel economy information.

 

[doug]

I was planning to drive my Roadster but a quick check for chargers in the immediate area came up empty. I called the DC store to ask about Roadster charging at the event and was told they would have charging but the Model Ss had priority so they couldn't guarantee availability for my Roadster.

I think it's public knowledge that there was a Supercharger at Fremont. I wouldn't be surprised if there was one somewhere around the Palo Alto HQ as well, but I wouldn't expect there to be one yet at the other locations. So charging probably is at a premium.