Model S refresh!

[Neilio]

A quick play with the Taycan configurator on the base model taycan - adding just good stuff like park assist and 360 view and lane assist/ cruise, extended batery etc but none of the fancy badges or trims came out just short of £90K. On the top model when you add things like park assist etc you're getting to £150K all of which still puts Tesla pricing as competative but hopefully the Taycan would be built better and delivered better (but I'm a cycnic)

This is what I was thinking. Both are hideously expensive cars but given a choice I'd go for Porsche at that price point. They have a reputation for really high level engineering and Tesla can't fit a rear door properly.

It's interesting that out ofnspec motoring chose a taycan to set the electric cannonball record. Shows that other cars can match the long range capabilites of a Tesla S or X. Although watching the video and the games they had to play with the electrify America network it also shows that the supercharger network still makes any Tesla the best EV for long journeys

 

[pgkevet]

I'd hope that Tesla bring out a LR+ at some stage - the extended 500+ mile range without the insurance loading of sub 2sec acceleration.
As for 2022 deliveries for UK .. presumably they have only one line making them somewhere while concentrating on 3&Y sales and the cyber...

 

[Obliter8]

I love that steering wheel, and I love the white, no-wood trim in the later shot. I really hate this insistence on putting flipping wood veneer all over the shop, just looks naff to my eye.

I really am going to try and make this my S, but would love to know more detail on whether they will do something about the headlight tech. All the other big boys have matrix lights now, why not Tesla? Also - HUD. Come on, it'll be 2022, HUD should be standard at this pricepoint!

 

[DJP31]

Also - HUD. Come on, it'll be 2022, HUD should be standard at this pricepoint!

Elon no likey HUD's I'm afraid.

 

[Obliter8]

Mental!

 

[Zakalwe]

It looks like there are soft buttons (haptic?) on the steering wheel for indicators, etc, if you look closely..

View attachment 631510

Bizarrely, both indicator buttons are on the left hand side of the wheel. I think that's a really poor decision from an intuitiveness point of view, it would've been far more natural to have the right indicator be where the voice activation button is.

BMW motorbikes stuck with that idea for years when every other maker had both indicators located on a single switch on the left. It was far from intuitive and a complete PITA.
Indicators, whether on a car or motorbike are always controlled on the left.

 

[ACarneiro]

Indicators, whether on a car or motorbike are always controlled on the left.

Except in Australia, for some bizarre reason. Made for lots of windscreen wiper activations at intersections and junctions...

 

[ShadowSix]

Cannot get my head around that steering wheel.

There's a really good reason that that yoke shape has always been the reserve of aircraft and racing cars and never drifted across to production cars. It's form over function in the worst possible way in my eyes, bordering on dangerous. I can't wait for motoring journalists to get their hands on them. I'm looking forward to seeing Chris Harris try and catch one in a slide. Or maybe I should be dreading the answer to the question "what happens when you need to turn the wheel quickly through 360 degrees" being, "ah well Sir, our variable ratio steering rack means you'll never have to turn it past 90"! No, no, no.

Not to mention the stalk indicator removal. I've used steering wheel switches on a Huracan, and when the wheel is upside down it was easy to forget in the moment which direction I needed to push for 'left' at the next roundabout exit, let alone which bloody hand I was going to use to flick it.

 

[ShadowSix]

Except in Australia, for some bizarre reason. Made for lots of windscreen wiper activations at intersections and junctions...

And Japan if I remember correctly from my Impreza and Evo days!

 

[Adopado]

BMW motorbikes stuck with that idea for years when every other maker had both indicators located on a single switch on the left. It was far from intuitive and a complete PITA.
Indicators, whether on a car or motorbike are always controlled on the left.

Yes but motorbike indicators indicate left when you move the toggle left and right when you move the toggle right ... that's the intuitive bit. Tesla appear to have decide that you press an up button or a down button!

 

[UrbanSplash]

Does Plaid come with a special badge on the rear? Double underline for example?!

 

[browellm]

And Japan if I remember correctly from my Impreza and Evo days!

Correct. I once got a Toyota Avensis as a hire car many years ago. Indicator stalks on the right. Actually blew my mind.

 

[stigmeister]

Cannot get my head around that steering wheel.

There's a really good reason that that yoke shape has always been the reserve of aircraft and racing cars and never drifted across to production cars. It's form over function in the worst possible way in my eyes, bordering on dangerous. I can't wait for motoring journalists to get their hands on them. I'm looking forward to seeing Chris Harris try and catch one in a slide. Or maybe I should be dreading the answer to the question "what happens when you need to turn the wheel quickly through 360 degrees" being, "ah well Sir, our variable ratio steering rack means you'll never have to turn it past 90"! No, no, no.

Not to mention the stalk indicator removal. I've used steering wheel switches on a Huracan, and when the wheel is upside down it was easy to forget in the moment which direction I needed to push for 'left' at the next roundabout exit, let alone which bloody hand I was going to use to flick it.

Totally agree, I've had Tesla's since 2017, love the cars, love the company. I have a Model X on order, it will be cancelled predominantly on the basis of this stupid wheel and no stalks for indicators rather than the wait time. Form over function and too much design bias towards FSD that just won't land in Europe in any usable form for some years IMO. The interior is lovely, but that wheel is just impractical at best and un-safe at worst.

It wouldn't push me into a Porsche like many have said, I'll just stick with my 2019 MX Performance and watch it increase in value if people have to wait a year for a new one.

 

[browellm]

I very much doubt this steering wheel will come to the UK due to regs. There will be a regular wheel as some of the interior shots have already alluded to.

 

[Adopado]

Except in Australia, for some bizarre reason. Made for lots of windscreen wiper activations at intersections and junctions...

It used to be a RHD/LHD thing and in the UK we went through a phase of a total mix of left or right stalks for indicators. Eventually all the manufacturers decided to stick with left because it was a real pain for drivers switching between cars.

 

[Durzel]

BMW motorbikes stuck with that idea for years when every other maker had both indicators located on a single switch on the left. It was far from intuitive and a complete PITA.
Indicators, whether on a car or motorbike are always controlled on the left.

Well, I don't know about motorbikes (or much care really) since they're a completely different mode of transport.

All I know is that from my own experience of driving a different stalkless car with the below steering wheel, for a year, it became intuitive very quickly.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Incidentally 458s steer like go-karts but they still have circular(ish) steering wheels.

 

[Neilio]

And Japan if I remember correctly from my Impreza and Evo days!

Agreed , my MR2 was on the right as well

 

[TheManofMead]

I am distinctly underwhelmed by this makeover. It seems bizarre to me to make lots of changes to the "premium" Model S...to make it much more like the 'cheaper' Model 3. The exterior changes are so minimal it seems hardly worth the bother. Don't like the wheels. Unusable steering wheel. I think that wheel is only for the Plad. Which by the way is a ridiculous name and yes I've deliberatley spelt it wrong.

Did anyone notice Elon saying the Supercharger network is going to be opened up to other manufacturers...so charging is potentially going to get harder.

Back to wheels, personally I would prefer a great alloys and lose 10 miles of range than have some of these aero efficient things.

Finally, the pricing has made the Taycan start to look good value. In the same week Tesla have announced the S makeover, Porsche have released the rear wheel drive "Taycan" starting at 70k. With some conservative speccing you can bring it's price in below the new "Long Range" S. Realistically most S buyers will surely upgrade the wheels and choose a seats or colour cost option so the final price is always going to be around £90k. That even allows the Taycan 4S (AWD) to be at a very similar price. Before anyone says it, yes I know, I know the Taycan doesn't have the range of the S. Having lived with a Model S 70D for two years with a range of around 217 miles currently I certainly wouldn't hesitate to go with the 79kw Taycan. You really don't have to have 400 miles of range....but I guess it's always nice to have.

And one last thing. The acceleration. 3.1 seconds for the long range 0-60. I really don't think it is necessary. Very novel to show your friends (if they are ever alowed in the car with you again) but in day to day driving the novelty of brutal acceleration rapidly wears off, especially for the passengers. Having had our M3P for around 9 months now I have come to the conclusion the extra cost over the long range wasn't worth it. Great fun, but not worth it long term.

Given the naming of the only option Model S (excluding Plad) as "Longe Range" that suggest to me its leaving room for a "Standard Range" cheaper S to be introduced...plus maybe a Long Range +.

Sermon over.

 

[Durzel]

Don't understand the logic at all of opening the supercharger network up to competitors. Right now that could be a deciding factor in certain mindsets, certainly against the Taycan. It is rapidly going to become Tesla's last remaining USP as time goes on.

I also agree on the acceleration front. Even the Model X seems to chase bizarre supercar acceleration goals. I can only assume that there's no room for more battery, so the motors are what they are, but as said previously they could easily detune the car a bit - get some extra range that way maybe? Or at the very least not leave people with ridiculous insurance quotes because of the supercar acceleration. It's completely unnecessary. Model Xs are for families, and whose missus (or kids) are going to suffer their partner blasting around everywhere at Mach 1?

 

[Kenners]

Given rhd is looking like next year I presume that what we see now and what appears then is going to be quite different. If the top spec plaid is due by the end of this year new battery cells will be here, as that 500 mile range depends on that. Plus it seems that while the battery pack has been changed, they are still using the cells from the old S, rather than the ones from the 3/Y. I love the new interior but wouldn't want to drop 100k on this when I know the new cells are pending and all the benefits they bring. But that might not be a problem by 2022!

What happens to the people ordering S and Xs before the update, wasn't the site suggesting March delivery! Have they been dropped like hot potatoes?