Well we (my 3 year old and I) picked up our car at 10:00 AM Saturday 25 May at the Waipahu center - Lucky the Cab driver had GPS - my goodness not easy to find. Ok, before I go on my RANT,...I want to say there a quite a few things I love about the car. Some are clever, some are what interfaces should be, and some devices look like both of my other 2 cars, both MB's. SO my very first drive in the new car was out the driveway and onto the Highway back home to Kahala-that's when buyer's remorse "almost" set in!
Wow was I PO'd. The NOISE from the "AIR BRAKES" they call mirrors is overwhelming. We have an S550 and I've had Lexus 4xx's and they are so much better for interior noise and comfort compared to this electric WiND NOISE MACHINE! This is a serious issue both in terms of mirror design and cabin noise deadening. Another fine blunder is even though you can "Manually" retract the mirrors - they soon run into the window/environment - not closing/folding all the way...what a mess! Because of this wind noise I can't tell you how happy I am I didn't spring for the upgraded sound system. Of course I will really be upset if I try to park somewhere and need to retract them...requiring me to get out of the car first-ugh.
I set my driving in "SOFT OLD MAN MODE" and it was anything but soft. I have no idea how it will be when I put it in the more extreme modes. Funny - the car drives just like the Nissan Teana that my wife bought in China, made in China, and of course driven on excellent Chinese roads all over China for 2 years. The Tesla S didn't impress me on my first drive in it.....usually the telling example of the car. Front of car seems light - who know's what the back feels like as it seems to be just a bump or two away from not being stable.
So what happen to the "radar/proximity" alerts as one gets close to objects, available and standard on most high end luxury cars for the masses, i.e. MBs, Lexus, & BMW's ? Mysteriously absent in this car. Looked at website today - not an option....my goodness are we in the stone age?
I won't even go into seat controls as another poster has outlined those shortcomings. Memory settings?
I guess driving in Hawaii it won't bother me too much that I don't have a spare tire. If I was in my home in Lake Tahoe/Reno I'm pretty sure I would never buy a Tesla. I can't imagine driving to Las Vegas and being in the middle of the trip and having a flat tire, perhaps out of cell range - or even in range, I can't imagine how long it would take someone to get to the breakdown location.
I also have never had a car manufacturer tell me how to specifically close a hood/frunk so as not to damage it since it is - fragile!
So, not sure any of you go to the automated car washes on Kapiolani Blvd - but that seems to be a no-no with a TESLA. Seems that if you get out of the car, i.e. no heavy object in car, the parking brake is automatically set. Many places, unsure about the ones here in Hawaii, have an insurance restriction on staying in the car through a car wash - and others, like in Las Vegas - you sit right there....we shall see about that shortcoming in the near future - as I'm sure the Pearl White will be dirty soon. Too bad there wasn't a control button on the HUGE SCREEN that said push for CAR WASH!
Ok, my rant is almost over - I have calmed down enough to figure out I'll hardly ever go over 60mph here in Hawaii, that my wife will never drive the car - so memory seats are not required (In fact she won't get in the car...say's it smells like a dead cow - if she only knew), I can have it hand washed, I won't park in underground garages that are tight (Chinatown), I'll go get the car TINTED so that my 3 year old doesn't cook in the back seats (and we have a solid roof), I'll get a plastic - chip gard installed on the back bumper so my children don't destroy the paint getting in and out, and I learn how to set-up the car so that every time I walk through the garage it doesn't spring to life with lights flashing and door handles protruding and charger flashing. I love this car....
