I probably won't be saying anything groundbreakingly new, and I'm sure many of you have driven a Model S or X for at least a brief period (as had I-a Classic S85 and a P90DL), but I had a fun weekend and while I'm still on the high I want to share my experiences and thoughts. If anything, it's not about HUDs or panel gaps so hopefully it will be slightly refreshing/amusing! 
Since my Volt is in the shop thanks to an Oak tree, I decided to spoil the family (not to mention myself) and rented a 2016 Model S 75 this weekend via Turo. Plus since before this I'd probably spent a grand total of about a half an hour driving a Tesla having a full 48 hours with one would serve to either reinforce or negate moving ahead with the soon to be available Model 3.
My first impression after 5 minutes driving is I wish I'd sat in the car for an hour playing with the screen and the menus. By the end of the weekend this was a non-factor, but there is a difference between learning the controls on a regular car and running a touch screen computer. My other two experiences I had a sales rep or an owner sitting next to me, which makes a difference. I imagined the speed readout being right next to my right hand on the 3s landscape screen and I predict it will take me about 3 days to adjust to it and never think about it again. Also, I suspect the landscape orientation might be better as well, as the lower part of the Model S screen is fairly low, not that I'd want it smaller but just saying. I loved the option of having the back up camera on all the time- if for no other reason that visibility out the back window rivals my Miata with the top up (that's no complement) and I really hope the Model 3 can do this as well.
Being "only" a S75 I figured this was the closest I could get right now to a RWD 3 with the big battery this side of putting on my ninja suit and breaking into the Palo Alto HQ, so if it is a fairly close approximation all I can say is:
Wow!
No, really:
I expected to yawn a little at it after the P90DL I drove-albeit just over a year ago- but that simply wasn't the case. While it may not have the "crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women" passing power that the "L" does, it still will make any pass/acceleration any semi-judicious person (and some not) ever needs to make on public roads. I sold an E36 M3 sedan just over a year ago, and even at 60-80 I think it was slower in 3rd gear than the S75.
The car had the standard tires and did NOT have air suspension- and still drove wonderfully. I had just climbed out of the Miata and the S still "shrunk" around me. The way it squats down on it's haunces and squirts out of corners reminds me of some the the mid engine/rear wheel cars I've driven on the track. It had less body roll and more grip than my Miata on Tein Flex coilovers that I drove right before picking it up and after dropping it off. Once again, it's fully capable of going as fast as any sane/judicious person should be on public roads, and you'll have fun doing it!(Note: for any Northern Californians I live near Lake Berryessa so you KNOW the kind of roads I was driving it on!)
-If the base Model 3 sounds system is close, I'll be happy with it, as would most non-audiophiles.
-I would turn lane departure warning off except for long trips, I found it too nanny-like.
-WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NON D FRUNKS! poo
-It's good you have all the sensors, hard to see the edges of the car.
-I'm actually questioning my "must have a sunroof" stance. I hope I get to sit in a glass roof model before ordering.
-I stopped thinking about the minimalist interior 10 minutes behind the wheel and never thought about it again.
On supercharging:
I want to cry. I want to cry because for the last year and a half I considered 12 miles/hour charge rate to be "pretty fast" charging. There are some things you are better off not knowing, and I now know what it's like to get around a 190 mile/hour charge rate. I don't think long distance travel in a Tesla will even have much effect on our stops to be honest, all it will dictate is where we stop and rather than stop-gas up-move car-pee-eat-leave it will be plug in-pee-eat-leave. You'll probably have to go move the car before your food is served, too. I think this is underrated until you actually experience it, and as a noob all I can say is the future is going to be OK.
While I had the car, it updated Autopilot 2.0 the night before I took the car back. I was a little underwhelmed at first, and now I'm completely sold LOL! It already does exactly what I want/need it to do: make the most boring driving I do less tiresome. Yes, you still need/want to watch it like a hawk, but you can see it's getting there. If anything there is something almost MORE dangerous about it now because it inspires such confidence but will still blow through that red light if there is no one in front of you. At least it seems to have about caught up to AP 1.0 now, which portends good things for us Model 3 folk. I don't think I'd plunk down money for FSD in the next year, but AP 2.0? Yes, yes I'll be checking that box.
In closing, I'd like to say I know this was a Model S, not a 3, and if Elon's tweets are accurate I'll have to adjust back to the roll up windows of my childhood again with the Model 3. Your experiences/mileage may vary, but even if the 3 is 80% of what the base level S75 is (and a car without the tech package or air suspension to boot!) we are still in for something very, very special. I myself am not sure if I made the wait any easier or harder for myself, but it went a long way towards solidifying what I stood in line for in October of oh-it-feels-like-so-long-ago. Thanks for reading and keep hanging in there: at least that's what I'm telling myself now!
Since my Volt is in the shop thanks to an Oak tree, I decided to spoil the family (not to mention myself) and rented a 2016 Model S 75 this weekend via Turo. Plus since before this I'd probably spent a grand total of about a half an hour driving a Tesla having a full 48 hours with one would serve to either reinforce or negate moving ahead with the soon to be available Model 3.
My first impression after 5 minutes driving is I wish I'd sat in the car for an hour playing with the screen and the menus. By the end of the weekend this was a non-factor, but there is a difference between learning the controls on a regular car and running a touch screen computer. My other two experiences I had a sales rep or an owner sitting next to me, which makes a difference. I imagined the speed readout being right next to my right hand on the 3s landscape screen and I predict it will take me about 3 days to adjust to it and never think about it again. Also, I suspect the landscape orientation might be better as well, as the lower part of the Model S screen is fairly low, not that I'd want it smaller but just saying. I loved the option of having the back up camera on all the time- if for no other reason that visibility out the back window rivals my Miata with the top up (that's no complement) and I really hope the Model 3 can do this as well.
Being "only" a S75 I figured this was the closest I could get right now to a RWD 3 with the big battery this side of putting on my ninja suit and breaking into the Palo Alto HQ, so if it is a fairly close approximation all I can say is:
Wow!
No, really:
I expected to yawn a little at it after the P90DL I drove-albeit just over a year ago- but that simply wasn't the case. While it may not have the "crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women" passing power that the "L" does, it still will make any pass/acceleration any semi-judicious person (and some not) ever needs to make on public roads. I sold an E36 M3 sedan just over a year ago, and even at 60-80 I think it was slower in 3rd gear than the S75.
The car had the standard tires and did NOT have air suspension- and still drove wonderfully. I had just climbed out of the Miata and the S still "shrunk" around me. The way it squats down on it's haunces and squirts out of corners reminds me of some the the mid engine/rear wheel cars I've driven on the track. It had less body roll and more grip than my Miata on Tein Flex coilovers that I drove right before picking it up and after dropping it off. Once again, it's fully capable of going as fast as any sane/judicious person should be on public roads, and you'll have fun doing it!(Note: for any Northern Californians I live near Lake Berryessa so you KNOW the kind of roads I was driving it on!)
-If the base Model 3 sounds system is close, I'll be happy with it, as would most non-audiophiles.
-I would turn lane departure warning off except for long trips, I found it too nanny-like.
-WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NON D FRUNKS! poo
-It's good you have all the sensors, hard to see the edges of the car.
-I'm actually questioning my "must have a sunroof" stance. I hope I get to sit in a glass roof model before ordering.
-I stopped thinking about the minimalist interior 10 minutes behind the wheel and never thought about it again.
On supercharging:
I want to cry. I want to cry because for the last year and a half I considered 12 miles/hour charge rate to be "pretty fast" charging. There are some things you are better off not knowing, and I now know what it's like to get around a 190 mile/hour charge rate. I don't think long distance travel in a Tesla will even have much effect on our stops to be honest, all it will dictate is where we stop and rather than stop-gas up-move car-pee-eat-leave it will be plug in-pee-eat-leave. You'll probably have to go move the car before your food is served, too. I think this is underrated until you actually experience it, and as a noob all I can say is the future is going to be OK.
While I had the car, it updated Autopilot 2.0 the night before I took the car back. I was a little underwhelmed at first, and now I'm completely sold LOL! It already does exactly what I want/need it to do: make the most boring driving I do less tiresome. Yes, you still need/want to watch it like a hawk, but you can see it's getting there. If anything there is something almost MORE dangerous about it now because it inspires such confidence but will still blow through that red light if there is no one in front of you. At least it seems to have about caught up to AP 1.0 now, which portends good things for us Model 3 folk. I don't think I'd plunk down money for FSD in the next year, but AP 2.0? Yes, yes I'll be checking that box.
In closing, I'd like to say I know this was a Model S, not a 3, and if Elon's tweets are accurate I'll have to adjust back to the roll up windows of my childhood again with the Model 3. Your experiences/mileage may vary, but even if the 3 is 80% of what the base level S75 is (and a car without the tech package or air suspension to boot!) we are still in for something very, very special. I myself am not sure if I made the wait any easier or harder for myself, but it went a long way towards solidifying what I stood in line for in October of oh-it-feels-like-so-long-ago. Thanks for reading and keep hanging in there: at least that's what I'm telling myself now!
