Glass roof or Sunroof... question..

[ghouston87]

I have read some threads in which people argue the benefits of each, However, I do have a question... i ordered my first Tesla Model S on Sunday, Black exterior, Ultra white interior, I can't decide on the roof type (I have 4 days to change my order). I was wondering, is the All-glass roof tinted darker than the panoramic sunroof? does the All-glass roof cover a larger part of the roof (obviously, excluding the bar in the middle of the panoramic sunroof)

Can someone who has had both give me some insight into what they felt the difference was other than one being static and the other one being able to open. Thanks so much!

 

[Tech_Guy]

Two other basic differences with the Pano Roof you can get XM radio and a Roof Rack, where as with the solid glass you don't have either option.

 

[ghouston87]

Two other basic differences with the Pano Roof you can get XM radio and a Roof Rack, where as with the solid glass you don't have either option.

Thanks Techguy, I really won't be using any of those features. I ordered the All-glass roof but haven't seen it in person, I test-drove the Panoramic sunroof. I loved the open feel but my worry is that the all-glass roof will be tinted even darker. I thought I read somewhere all glass roof is tinted a bit darker but extend a bit more to the sides and front that the panoramic sunroof.

 

[Tech_Guy]

I test drove a P100DL with the full glass roof I can't say I noticed it was any darker then the Pano but it definitely feels larger especially without that center bar. No matter how its tinted from the factory id still recommend a nice ceramic tint on the sunroof to cut the infrared heat! When I got my car I immediately had the Pano tinted with 3M Crystalline at 40%, I did the sides and back but no sunroof. I went for a road trip like that and noticed my head was quite warm from the roof when I got back from the trip I immediately had the roof tinted as well at the lightest option that gave me full heat rejection which was 70% 3m Crystalline.

 

[virtualsmack]

there are some threads here about wind noise on the all glass roof at freeway speeds, and the service center acknowledging it was a known issue.

older s' had leaking pano roof issues that seem to be resolved but they may be working out the kinks w the all glass roof.

i have the pano roof and i can't see the bar from the driver seat so it still feels pretty spacious because of head room height.

 

[IT Geek]

I can't speak as an owner of the pano roof, but I have the all glass roof in my MS 90D and I think it is awesome.

From the outside of the car it almost looks like I have a completely black roof. It certainly does not look like the glass on the windows or the windshield. It's much darker tinted than either of those. It's winter in Michigan right now, so I'm not sure if there will be an issue in the summer with heat through the roof, but so far I've not noticed anything. Also even on the most sunny days we've had here there hasn't been an issue with the amount of light coming in to the car either. I have the white seats as well and I was a bit concerned that things might be "too bright" but I don't feel that way at all.

Like you I ordered the all glass roof without seeing it...but I have no regrets about doing that. I had a sunroof on my previous car but I never opened it...so I figured it wasn't worth the money to upgrade to something that I wouldn't use. For me, Slacker radio also eliminates the need for satellite.

I did read about some people having issues with wind noise on their all glass roof, but I don't experience that either. From what I read there may have been some cars made where the glass was not set in properly which creates a bit of a leading edge for the wind to hit. Ensure that the glass on the roof is flush when you take delivery and that should not be an issue. I picked up my car just two weeks ago and the glass on it was installed properly.

I did do a couple test drives in cars with the pano roofs and I can state that the glass opening on the all glass roof is indeed slightly larger. The roof support across the A pillar (where the sun visors are) is smaller than on the pano roof and the glass also extends out further along the sides at the doors as well.

Overall I think it's a very nice feature of the car and everyone that has gotten in has been rather impressed by it.

 

[GasKilla]

Thanks Techguy, I really won't be using any of those features. I ordered the All-glass roof but haven't seen it in person, I test-drove the Panoramic sunroof. I loved the open feel but my worry is that the all-glass roof will be tinted even darker. I thought I read somewhere all glass roof is tinted a bit darker but extend a bit more to the sides and front that the panoramic sunroof.

I've sat in an all glass roof in the showroom and it does extend futher on the sides than the panoramic sunroof. I'm 6'3" and one of the reasons I didn't get the pano was because there is less headroom with the sunroof than without (in the front, pano has more headroom for the rear seats) and I've hit my head exiting loaner cars with sunroofs, this never happens on my car without a sunroof. The all glass roof seems to have as much as or more headroom (in the front) as the no-sunroof cars. I didn't notice the tinting amount.

But seeing you are in Houston (my hometown) I can understand your concern especially in the summer. FYI the current software has cabin overheating protection which you can turn on to prevent your car from getting too hot while parked outside in the summer. I know this is a bit off topic but something good to know.

 

[Blu Zap]

I did a P100DL 24 hour demo with a glass roof. As far as the roof, it felt no different than my P85+ with the pano roof. (performance is another matter!) I saw no difference in the roof tint and view from the driver's seat. Since you are in Houston, you should consider extra tint with either option. Although not needed here in NorCal. Good luck and congrats!

 

[jdhcon]

I was an idiot thinking the all glass roof was like my MB E550 panorama roof. As I found out the hard way at delivery time, all glass roof takes away satellite radio (and roof racks - not an issue for me) and doesn't open. Tint was darker than I would have liked probably because there is no option to cover roof as in my E550. As I mentioned before, streaming option provided (Slacker) is really good and mitigates not having XM-Sirius (but I have to stream from phone if I want to listen to Howard Stern).

 

[bob_p]

I've had a pano roof on our S P85 for 4 years - in Houston - and haven't had any problems with the roof, nor did I find any need to add more tinting to the roof.

We've ordered a pano roof on our new S 100D.

During much of the year, for driving near the house, I will open the windows and pano roof - and get close to a convertible experience.

Plus, we use the XM radio on road trips, especially to get access to local sports games when out of town. And you can only get XM radio with the pano roof.

One nice feature of the pano roof is the ability to "vent" the roof using the smart phone app. By using the app to pre-cool the car and/or vent the roof, the car is always cool by the time we get to the car, even if it's been sitting out in the hot sun for extended periods.

 

[SMAlset]

Can't offer a comparison of the two but we went with the Pano on our order (arriving soon). We do open up our sunroof on our other cars to cool down the car quickly especially in our summer heat. Even leaving it open a crack or so will help dissipate the interior heat when parked. Plus we occasionally like the fresh air in the cabin and prefer it from overhead. We didn't go black exterior on our car but the Midnight silver is close enough and thinking it might retain heat better than our other lighter colored cars (we ordered black interior too). The body is aluminum and wondering how that will factor in in comparison to our other cars. Sure there's AC but it also will be a drain on the mileage when that might count. I understand there's UV and/or IR tinting on at least some of the windows but never saw anything from Tesla elaborating on this to any detail.

Another thing I just read on here that's a concern is down the road issues with the 17 inch screen delaminating (presumably from the heat?). Not sure one can do much about that either way ultimately depending on where you live but keeping the interior cooler from the perspective of leather is probably a good thing.

 

[bob_p]

With the new overheat protection in the 8.0 software, the interior shouldn't get hot enough to cause any damage. Though venting the sunroof reduces the need to rely on the overheat protection (and energy usage).

Early Model S cars had some touchscreen problems (including ours). I suspect those were likely due to defective touchscreens and not because of excessive heat. Toyota/Lexus have been making touchscreen car displays for a long time, and we never had any problems with our Toyota & Lexus displays.

 

[ghouston87]

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the advise! At the end, I ended up choosing the all-glass roof. Although i do open the panoramic sunroof, it seems the all glass roof does extend further to the edge. I really like the look of it. I have never had an all glass roof and some of the newer upcoming cars like the new Range Rover have it so I'll give it a try. I hope the glass roof with ultra white seats doesn't make the interior TOO bright. Worse case scenario, I'll have it tinted darker. I should be taking delivery early May at the North Houston Service Center.

I opted for the 60kwh battery as I'm hoping I'd get a higher trade-in value from Tesla in a couple of years due to the fact they switch their 60s into 75s when selling them CPO. I'm putting 10% down and I'm looking to at least break even or not too upside down on the loan. Hopefully the model 3 won't depress model S trade-in values too much.

 

[ACExpress]

Congrats on the car. This week I took delivery of my 60D with all glass roof. I doubt you'll need any tinting of the roof, as it's pretty dark already. For the most part, I think it's a passenger feature, as there's not a ton of light coming in and you're looking ahead and not up while driving. However, it feels like a lot more headroom and does have a bit more open feel.

 

[Yinn]

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the advise! At the end, I ended up choosing the all-glass roof. Although i do open the panoramic sunroof, it seems the all glass roof does extend further to the edge. I really like the look of it. I have never had an all glass roof and some of the newer upcoming cars like the new Range Rover have it so I'll give it a try. I hope the glass roof with ultra white seats doesn't make the interior TOO bright. Worse case scenario, I'll have it tinted darker. I should be taking delivery early May at the North Houston Service Center.

I opted for the 60kwh battery as I'm hoping I'd get a higher trade-in value from Tesla in a couple of years due to the fact they switch their 60s into 75s when selling them CPO. I'm putting 10% down and I'm looking to at least break even or not too upside down on the loan. Hopefully the model 3 won't depress model S trade-in values too much.

Congrats! We have the 60D with the all glass roof as well. LOVE it. We miss the ability to use a roof rack every now and then, but we would not hesitate to order it again.

 

[IT Geek]

I hope the glass roof with ultra white seats doesn't make the interior TOO bright.

That was a concern that I initially had as well...but I don't have that thought now. I've put about 2200 miles on my car in the first month (well three weeks) that I've had it and I really don't find that to be an issue whatsoever. Enjoy your new car when you get it.

 

[ctpennysaver]

DEFINITELY SUN

 

[P85DBeast]

Id go with Pano. All 3 of ours cars and whenever we order our 100D will have pano. We were given this P85D as a loaner about 2 weeks ago. :85 kWh Performance Model S 5YJSA4H25FFP79943 | Tesla without pano and to say the least it felt cramped. You should do a side by side comparison between Glass Roof V Pano. And see which one you like better!

 

[LED_FT]

I have the pano roof. I just traded in my BMW hardtop convertible and I already find myself using the sunroof more often than driving with the convertible top down. In SoCal having the option to open up the roof for some fresh air is a nice break from using air conditioning. The tint on the pano is more than sufficient to cut the heat. I just need the other windows tinted (Monday) to help reduce the heat build up in the cabin. I am also an XM listener so this was a no brainer for me.

 

[theslimshadyist]

I have the pano and chose this option over the all glass. It was 65 and sunny today so I slid the roof back!