Looking to order a X. Rear-view mirror and other quirks

[RavenX]

Hi,
I drove my brother's Model X and in the market for a X myself too now.
I have been driving a BMW 328i all this while. So my perspective might be a little off because I have only been driving a sedan all these years.

But there are a few things that bothered me and wanted to check in the forum.

1. Does anyone else too get bothered by the size of the rear-view mirror? Did anyone try switching it to a wider one?

2. I kept checking the blind spot in the driver's dashboard but it felt like some times, the car hasn't been showing the adjacent car accurately. But this was in December of 2018 though. Not sure if things improved recently. Are there any add-ons that owners have done for this?

3. There has been a warning in the console that the 2nd row hasn't been locked in properly when I slid it a little bit to allow for good enough space for my two toddlers and adults in the 2nd and 3rd rows.

The online order options are the Long Range and the Performance which differ by approximately $20K. Is the P version really worth it in a financial sense for long term value?

And is this a good time to order one, or would it make sense to wait for a couple more months to see if the rumored interior refreshes / faster charging are going to release?

 

[NoSoup4U!]

Hey RavenX, Congratulations on thinking about joining the ranks!
Once you drive an X it will be challenging to find joy in other cars! It's a life changer.
1. No. Has never been an issue. I have the rear camera on the center screen at all times which is much larger than any mirror could be.
2. the animation in the screen behind the wheels is just a crude visualisation of things. It's not to be relied upon. It's getting better with upgrades.
3. no comment
The performance is impressive but mostly for showing off to friends and family. Only you can decide if that's worth it to you. The car is plenty fast without it. Long term value is a crap shoot currently with new car pricing changing all the time.
The interior refresh is just that. A rumor. Elon has not mentioned that at all. Currently, you have the, in my opinion, much better looking interior than the Model 3 combined with the better power and suspension. It's a no brainer to buy now. There will always be something better, later.
Good Luck with your decision!

 

[ajdelange]

1. Does anyone else too get bothered by the size of the rear-view mirror? Did anyone try switching it to a wider one?

Coincidentally I just noticed how tiny the rear view mirror is the other day when I went to adjust it and the reason it is so tiny was immediately apparent: the view through the rear window is tiny. Were you to install a larger mirror all you would see is more of the interior.

2. I kept checking the blind spot in the driver's dashboard but it felt like some times, the car hasn't been showing the adjacent car accurately. But this was in December of 2018 though. Not sure if things improved recently. Are there any add-ons that owners have done for this?

I too am a little nervous about the blind spot detection but it has gotten better with successive software releases. My solution is to adjust the side mirror so I can, by shifting in my seat, see into the blind spot.

The online order options are the Long Range and the Performance which differ by approximately $20K. Is the P version really worth it in a financial sense for long term value?

IMO the extra performance, which I ought to be too old to get a kick from, isn't worth the lost range. But it is offered for those who want to come off the line really, really fast instead of just really fast. If you want that extra Ahh then shell out for it.

 

[RavenX]

Thanks guys. I agree about all the things you mentioned. Just a bit worried about the blind spot detection system still. Will go and test drive the latest model at a showroom soon.
I've seen most of my friends' SUVs (say Acura MDX for example) have a good sensor on the side mirrors. And a warning signal if I about to make a mistake. Any reason why Tesla didn't wanted to go that route?

 

[NoSoup4U!]

Even with a blind spot monitor, you’d be starting to make a lane change into someone before abruptly aborting it, startling people around you. Just do a quick head check before lane changes as you’re supposed too anyway and all is well. Don’t overthink it.

 

[bob_p]

The answer on blind spot detection may depend upon whether you plan to purchase FSD and take full advantage of the driver assist/self driving features Tesla is rolling out in each major release.

The current software, when operating under NOAP (Navigate On AutoPilot) will automatically change lanes - and the software seems to be working well in detecting surrounding vehicles and safely changing lanes.

The dashboard will issue a warning if a lane change is being attempted and there is a vehicle in your blind spot that may pose a problem during the lane change. Though when I'm lane changing - I'm not looking at the dashboard - so the warning should be audible - when you have the turn signal engaged, start moving towards the new lane and the software detects something in your blind spot - you should get an audible warning (don't believe it is doing that now).

As for the performance version - even the non-performance Model X is going to be faster that most vehicles on the road - with acceleration faster than you can use for normal driving. The performance version provides impressive acceleration - but for normal driving, it probably won't provide much value.

 

[KerryOH]

I've found the red blind spot warning line on the visualizer to be accurate on NoA or not. Only had to abort a lane change once recently but that was due to a driver who was doing about 30 MPH over the limit.

 

[ajdelange]

Before changing lanes the NoA turns on the turn signal (you hear that), puts a message on the display and vibrates the steering wheel (if you have that selected).

If you watch cars approaching from the rear in the driver's side lane while monitoring the sonar display you will soon get a picture of the abilities and short comings of the blind spot detection system. It is then your choice as to whether to trust it or not. I choose not to.

 

[RavenX]

Thanks guys. Found an interesting article today : https://electrek.co/2019/08/24/tesla-autopilot-animation-software/
Looks like my experience had been from almost 9 months ago. Will have to check out the latest version.

 

[ajdelange]

Before changing lanes the NoA turns on the turn signal (you hear that), puts a message on the display and vibrates the steering wheel (if you have that selected).

It also chimes once. I forgot to mention that.