Model S First Drive Reviews

[SuperCoug]

New review on Cars.com

Quite an exhaustive and overall positive write-up.

They used a vehicle with old firmware (pre-creep), but mention it's upgrade a few days after they returned their loaner.

And, of course, the butt-sensor gets it again!

Wow, if I was John Q. Public reading about this car for the first time I would never buy one based on this article (at least not a 2013 model). At best, it describes the car as innovative and a lot of future potential. At worst, it makes it sound like it isn't anywhere near ready for prime time, riddled with annoyances, and being built by a company that might not be around long enough to read the article.

While I can't point to any one thing in the piece as "unfair" I do think it has a tone that reads "wow, this could be a really cool car someday, BUT..."

 

[eelton]

New review on Cars.com

Quite an exhaustive and overall positive write-up.

I think it's a fair and accurate review. We're all enthusiasts on this board, but you have to admit the car is a work in progress. I wouldn't suggest the average Lexus buyer cross-shop a Tesla just yet.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

I think it's a fair and accurate review. We're all enthusiasts on this board, but you have to admit the car is a work in progress. I wouldn't suggest the average Lexus buyer cross-shop a Tesla just yet.

I upgraded from driving an LS430 to my Model S. I love the S compared to the Lexus. The Lexus does have some pretty comfy seats. I am liking the S seats a little better now that I found a good tilt angle and back support position. After one month and 2400 miles - I love the car

 

[jomo25]

I upgraded from driving an LS430 to my Model S. I love the S compared to the Lexus. The Lexus does have some pretty comfy seats. I am liking the S seats a little better now that I found a good tilt angle and back support position. After one month and 2400 miles - I love the car

Having 985 posts on the TMC forum, you probably aren't the "average Lexus buyer" eelton is referring to. I also owned a Lexus. But also, I am/was not the average Lexus buyer either.

 

[Jeeps17]

New first drive review on Autos.ca

A few of my favorite quotes:

“First surprise? This car is one front bench-seat away from a 1970 Plymouth Belvedere. Without a gasoline-engine drivetrain and the associated packaging concerns, the Model S is almost weirdly spacious.”

“And then, blissfully, at one of the all-too-brief passing lanes created during road improvements for the winter Olympics, the truck oozes over to the right, I show the Model S the clear road ahead and, lulled by quiet comfort, stomp on the accelerator. At which point, we are apparently rear-ended by the Millennium Falcon.”

“Let me just put this out there: horsepower is now an outdated measurement. With no transmission, transfer-cases or other drivetrain slop to soak up the power, the Model S transforms nearly all that stored electric power to instant, full-torque thrust. It’s a completely different beast than an equivalently powerful internal-combustion-powered sedan – in fact, the last time I was on this particular piece of road, it was in the much-lauded Porsche Panamera GTS. The Porsche growled, where the Tesla utters little more than an amusing “phfweeeee!”, but the electric car is faster. Much faster.”

I think he liked it... :smile:

 

[vfx]

This is classic!

Front and back, the dagger-shaped “T” badges resemble nothing so much as the nail Tesla’s trying to drive into the internal-combustion engine’s coffin.

 

[rlpm]

New first drive review on Autos.ca
“And then, blissfully, … I show the Model S the clear road ahead and, lulled by quiet comfort, stomp on the accelerator. At which point, we are apparently rear-ended by the Millennium Falcon.”

Friggin' awesome!

 

[brianman]

New first drive review on Autos.ca

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Um, OK?

- - - Updated - - -

This Tesla is equipped with the 85-kWh battery back and hi-po drive inverter that puts out the equivalent of 416 horsepower. Let me just put this out there: horsepower is now an outdated measurement.

Hm, let's see...
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictH.html

horsepower (hp)
a unit of power representing the power exerted by a horse in pulling. The horsepower was defined by James Watt (1736-1819), the inventor of the steam engine, who determined after careful measurements that a horse is typically capable of a power rate of 550 foot-pounds per second. This means that a horse, harnessed to an appropriate machine, can lift 550 pounds at the rate of 1 foot per second. Today the SI unit of power is named for Watt, and one horsepower is equal to approximately 745.6999 watts. (Slightly different values have been used in certain industries.) Outside the U.S., the English word "horsepower" is often used to mean the metric horsepower, a slightly smaller unit.

416 hp * (745.7 W / hp) = 310kW

Why does that number seem so familiar...

 

[jcstp]

lets call it Thrust instead of hosepower?
Or warpdrive?

 

[Jeeps17]

Hm, let's see...
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictH.html

416 hp * (745.7 W / hp) = 310kW

Why does that number seem so familiar...

View attachment 15509

I don't think that comment was meant to be taken literally...

That also applies to the Millenium Falcon rear-ending, BTW :wink:

 

[brianman]

I don't think that comment was meant to be taken literally...

Right, but it was interesting to see the numbers line up.

 

[60TTuC]

Tesla Model S (2013) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online

 

[brianman]

Tesla Model S (2013) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online

It's a little odd for a foreign reviewer to be saying it (IMO) but it's a grinner nonetheless:

the single most significant American car for decades

 

[EarlyAdopter]

Tesla Model S (2013) CAR review | Road Testing Reviews | Car Magazine Online

Nice review. But who the heck is this "gtrslngr" person dumping FUD and diatribe all over the comments section?? Even proclaims to be an American, oddly trolling a UK site. TMC powers activate!

 

[jerry33]

Nice review. But who the heck is this "gtrslngr" person dumping FUD and diatribe all over the comments section?? Even proclaims to be an American, oddly trolling a UK site. TMC powers activate!

Not really necessary. It's obvious to most people that those kind of comments are just trolling, and the ones that agree with the troll aren't going to change their opinion anyway. It's best to lead by example.

 

[dsm363]

Nice review. But who the heck is this "gtrslngr" person dumping FUD and diatribe all over the comments section?? Even proclaims to be an American, oddly trolling a UK site. TMC powers activate!

He even brought up that NY Times article.

I agree though, not worth engaging.

 

[CapitalistOppressor]

Tesla S, a bodice ripper of an EV | miles, leaf, tesla - Home - The Orange County Register

 

[Jeeps17]

A very positive review from Road and Track.

 

[Arnold Panz]

A very positive review from Road and Track.

Fantastic review -- they totally "get" the car and the revolutionary aspect of the Model S. Their complaints, such as they are, are about mundane things (much discussed at TMC, like wiper sensors, no interior storage etc.), and they are quick to point out how cool it is that their complaints are about such mundane things. The last line is the best:

Beautiful, well-crafted, cool, and seriously fast, the Model S isn't just the most important car of the year. It's the most important car America has made in an entire lifetime.

 

[ElSupreme]

A very positive review from Road and Track.

My favorite quote:

When you're in a supercar-fast electric car like the Tesla, the driving experience is an odd cognitive mash-up-somewhere between shouting Greenpeace-approved obscenities at Toyota Priuses and dusting Corvettes from stoplights on a cruise night.

I feel this all the time when driving.

It is funny they hated the door handles. I think the door handles are great! I absolutely love them. I know they are going to be a maintenance problem in the (hopefully distant) future. But I'll still take them.