I had the pleasure of driving an X at the Greenwich, CT "Meet the X" event this past weekend. What an amazing vehicle and a level of refinement above the S in my opinion. They had an army of associates and 5 Model X's available for driving and crawling around to help those of us who haven't confirmed our order as of yet. I came away from my Model X drive with many smiles and a few realizations that seem to mirror others in the forum and a few that may not.
1) The 6 vs 7 seat Rear view visibility isn't that big of a deal. I've driven cars with less visability than a 7 seat Model X and didn't see that as a huge problem
2) The 7 seat config makes the 3rd row passengers very confined. My wife sat in the 3rd row and was joined by another 5' 3 female and they both said the 7 seat config made them feel extremely claustrophobic. In the 6 seat config we hopped into next they both said they could ride for hours back there with no problem. I thought well we can fix that- just move the kids and their car seats to the 3rd row for long trips. Low and behold the kids aren't tall enough to see past the 2nd row which wouldn't last long on a long road trip.
3) The 2nd row for taller people (6'2 180lbs) found shoulders leaning against the falcon wing doors during driving. It wasn't uncomfortable but both passengers noted how close they felt to the Falcon doors and one was actually rubbing against them. Not a big deal but worth noting nonetheless.
4) I asked the associate BEFORE driving if there was any way to simulate a 90D version and shockingly he said - OH sure no problem. A few clicks on the touchscreen later and he could simulate any model I wanted from 60 Rear drive to P90DL. He threw it in 85D mode and away we went. First thing I noticed - Geez this he very little get up and go from a stop. Mind you I'm used to a mid 4's 0-60 car if you give it a good hard clutch drop so this felt like it was probably in the low 5's with 4 people in it. Accelerating from 30 or 40mph wasn't bad but not inspiring like say a 85D or 90D sedan. After driving in 85D mode I asked him to give me the beast and let me tell you the first thought that came to mind was "This is just wrong". No nearly 3 ton vehicle (with 4 passengers) should be able to accelerate like this from anywhere in the 0-75mph band.
5) The 3rd row seat folding is clunky at best. Bonnie previously posted screen shots where cargo mode might happen on its own with a press of a button. Putting them down is easy - getting them back up is much harder than it should be. I would be using the car to carry cargo most of the time and 2 kids in the 2nd row so its really no issue for me but worth sharing for those who have a different situation.
6) Front motor whine is noticeably absent from the Model X compared to the Model S. I've seen posts about it and noticed the whine from the Dual motor cars in previous test drives. I drove both cars this weekend so it was even a back to back comparison. See next point
7) There wasn't enough time in the X to enable Autopilot since they were tight on time so the Associate said - Hey lets take my 90D sedan out and I'll show you the new 7.1 features. First thing I noticed - the 90D sedan is MUCH faster than the simulated 85D model X. I have no reason to believe they are simulating incorrectly but the thought crossed my mind for a second or two. The 90D does 0-60 in 4.2 probably 4.4 with 4 people in car and was noticeably more responsive then the X i'm sure due to vehicle weight. If I were looking for an S I would be very tempted to go 90D and save the 30k despite my love for fast cars! In the X I feel like I wouldn't be happy without at least the Performance powertrain.
8) White Seats in Model X - I've seen a few posts about this but 2 of the X's had the white seats and BOTH had tears in them. Associates say they are loading up the X's with signs etc but I noted that the Tan and Black interiors didn't have the rips. I would be afraid of a White seats durability after forum posts and seeing two cars that had less than 1k miles on them with damage.
Summary - The Model X is beautiful and has so much going for it. The new center console is great, the door pockets are a welcome addition, Falcon doors work great in my testing, and the 6 seat version makes the 3rd row far more usable. Tesla has done a great job on the vehicle and I think they are going to sell a bunch of them. I am stuck with the proposition of waiting for a used Performance model for a couple years and picking up a Model S CPO in the meantime or waiting for a real 90D production version of the X to be available to test drive in hopes that the simulated 85D was underpowered.
I was really hoping the test drive would make this so much easier and in fact its made it harder!
1) The 6 vs 7 seat Rear view visibility isn't that big of a deal. I've driven cars with less visability than a 7 seat Model X and didn't see that as a huge problem
2) The 7 seat config makes the 3rd row passengers very confined. My wife sat in the 3rd row and was joined by another 5' 3 female and they both said the 7 seat config made them feel extremely claustrophobic. In the 6 seat config we hopped into next they both said they could ride for hours back there with no problem. I thought well we can fix that- just move the kids and their car seats to the 3rd row for long trips. Low and behold the kids aren't tall enough to see past the 2nd row which wouldn't last long on a long road trip.
3) The 2nd row for taller people (6'2 180lbs) found shoulders leaning against the falcon wing doors during driving. It wasn't uncomfortable but both passengers noted how close they felt to the Falcon doors and one was actually rubbing against them. Not a big deal but worth noting nonetheless.
4) I asked the associate BEFORE driving if there was any way to simulate a 90D version and shockingly he said - OH sure no problem. A few clicks on the touchscreen later and he could simulate any model I wanted from 60 Rear drive to P90DL. He threw it in 85D mode and away we went. First thing I noticed - Geez this he very little get up and go from a stop. Mind you I'm used to a mid 4's 0-60 car if you give it a good hard clutch drop so this felt like it was probably in the low 5's with 4 people in it. Accelerating from 30 or 40mph wasn't bad but not inspiring like say a 85D or 90D sedan. After driving in 85D mode I asked him to give me the beast and let me tell you the first thought that came to mind was "This is just wrong". No nearly 3 ton vehicle (with 4 passengers) should be able to accelerate like this from anywhere in the 0-75mph band.
5) The 3rd row seat folding is clunky at best. Bonnie previously posted screen shots where cargo mode might happen on its own with a press of a button. Putting them down is easy - getting them back up is much harder than it should be. I would be using the car to carry cargo most of the time and 2 kids in the 2nd row so its really no issue for me but worth sharing for those who have a different situation.
6) Front motor whine is noticeably absent from the Model X compared to the Model S. I've seen posts about it and noticed the whine from the Dual motor cars in previous test drives. I drove both cars this weekend so it was even a back to back comparison. See next point
7) There wasn't enough time in the X to enable Autopilot since they were tight on time so the Associate said - Hey lets take my 90D sedan out and I'll show you the new 7.1 features. First thing I noticed - the 90D sedan is MUCH faster than the simulated 85D model X. I have no reason to believe they are simulating incorrectly but the thought crossed my mind for a second or two. The 90D does 0-60 in 4.2 probably 4.4 with 4 people in car and was noticeably more responsive then the X i'm sure due to vehicle weight. If I were looking for an S I would be very tempted to go 90D and save the 30k despite my love for fast cars! In the X I feel like I wouldn't be happy without at least the Performance powertrain.
8) White Seats in Model X - I've seen a few posts about this but 2 of the X's had the white seats and BOTH had tears in them. Associates say they are loading up the X's with signs etc but I noted that the Tan and Black interiors didn't have the rips. I would be afraid of a White seats durability after forum posts and seeing two cars that had less than 1k miles on them with damage.
Summary - The Model X is beautiful and has so much going for it. The new center console is great, the door pockets are a welcome addition, Falcon doors work great in my testing, and the 6 seat version makes the 3rd row far more usable. Tesla has done a great job on the vehicle and I think they are going to sell a bunch of them. I am stuck with the proposition of waiting for a used Performance model for a couple years and picking up a Model S CPO in the meantime or waiting for a real 90D production version of the X to be available to test drive in hopes that the simulated 85D was underpowered.
I was really hoping the test drive would make this so much easier and in fact its made it harder!
