Model S Beta

[AnOutsider]

Does have a bit of the old Cadillac feel.

My only thing the the sharp corners of the screen. It feels unsafe and unfriendly. If they could round the corners I think it would go a long way to softening the computer-y feel.

like the prototype

Prototype also had a softer, more luxurious "look". This dash looks hard, cold and uninviting.

 

[vfx]

like the prototype

Prototype also had a softer, more luxurious "look". This dash looks hard, cold and uninviting.

Agreed but I was talking about the screen corners. Ouch.

 

[WhiteKnight]

It feels like a dash from an older vehicle, although I can't quite put my finger on the right decade.

From my perspective it looks like an older vehicle's dashboard because the front seat could easily be a bench seat! Since the floor is flat and the center console is superfluous we could go back to a time when there were far fewer drive-throughs and people didn't need 16 cup holders. If you wanted something to drink in the car then the girl with the roller skates would put that tray on your window to hold your drinks :smile: !

 

[Ardie]

I'll agree that the Model S (beta) dash is an improvement over the Model S (alpha) dash.

My primary worry is that the gigantic center screen will be either washed out when hit by direct sunlight, or way too bright on a moonless night. I will concede that Tesla engineers are fairly clever folks, and I expect that this has already been considered and minimized. That the entire unit is canted slightly toward the driver shows that they are working on such problems.

I'll also muse out loud about the center screen whether it would've been better had it been mounted in landscape mode instead of portrait mode, to accentuate the open spaciousness of the cabin. Maybe the rightmost side of the panel would be too difficult for the driver to reach. Maybe such an arrangement would lure a 3rd person to sit up front, which is currently forbidden for some reason.

As for the banana leaf veneer, I "kind of" like it now, but I think it will grow on me. I know that there have been marketing study after marketing study about wood trim in the cabin, and the results have always been that it is associated with luxury and opulence. Walnut, mahogany, and brazilwood just -oozes- class and comfort. Ask any Gulfstream owner. And I think that the odds might have been fairly high that a plastic dashboard, no matter how it would be colored, textured, or polished, would be considered cheap and classless. And a "wood-alike" plastic trim is only used on the most mediocre of automobiles. The cheesy vinyl stick-on woodgrain exterior on station wagons might be passable for the first six months, but it looks horrible as it ages. Brushed aluminum or stainless steel looks pretty cool nowadays, but it conjures up the sense of stark harshness.

What would I have done differently? I dunno. Maybe have more places (or tuckaway compartments) to hold the usual automotive bric-a-brac that drivers and passengers have - sunglasses, phone charger cable, garage door opener, FasTrack transponder, etc.

-- Ardie

 

[Cobos]

Thank you Ardie it was the tuckaway compartments I was missing. Usually there are several in the dash and one or two in the door as well. I can't see any on this iteration of the dash.

Cobos

 

[WhiteKnight]

I think we're going to see significant improvements to the interior going forward. The Beta is 90% of what the final product will look like. I think the 10% of changes will all happen on the interior with more cupholders / cubbyholes / places for cell phones, sunglasses, Homelink, etc.

 

[TEG]

We know they were 'benchmarking' the CLS when figuring out what they wanted the Model S to be like...

I think the interior on the Model S betas looks a bit British. Perhaps a touch of Jaguar, or even Bentley.

 

[Thumper]

I agree with vfx, the prototype dash integrated the screen more gracefully by slightly rounding the bottom corners. I would like to see that done on the final version. If the screen is not completely integrated into a center console, then I would like to see the open bin under it removed so that front seat passengers can move their feet into that area. I often wish I could move my right foot to the right of the accelerator on long cruise-control trips. If we are to have something in this area at all, then I vote for a full console. Round those bottom corners in either case please.
My wife and I rode in a beta with the lace wood trim and liked it very much. We expect to select it for our interior if the choices remain as they are.

 

[VolkerP]

I think the interior on the Model S betas looks a bit British. Perhaps a touch of Jaguar, or even Bentley.

That means, Peter Rawlinson finished engineering the car way ahead of time and went over to bug the interior design guys. Good thing!

 

[TEG]

 

[shark2k]

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I'm not sure if a screen protector would work, actually. From what I read, the infotainment screen will use IR and not capacitive like smart phones are. This also means that it will work with driving gloves (while your smart phone will not). Anyway, I'm not sure how a screen protector will affect this technology.

Like I mentioned in another thread. This article: Tesla Model S test ride and factory tour (video) -- Engadget says that capacitive touch is on the way.

-Shark2k

 

[JRod0802]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but it looks like the "Revealing Model S Beta" blog entry has been updated today on the Tesla Motors site:

Revealing Model S Beta | Blog | Tesla Motors

It looks like there's more videos, photos, and links to news stories within the entry now.