For those who are intrigued, I would like to leave a review of how the 2021 Model S Plaid compares to the 2018 P100D. Those who hate tesla, I know you can't help yourself to troll and comment. So have at it
P100D already was able to do a 2.28sec to 60mph and had a lot of luxury amenities. Have the car for another 2 months till lease is up.
Looks: the Plaid has wider tires and extended wheel arches. Like a M3 compared to a 330i. Also the front facia and rear diffuser moldings are more sporty and aggressive looking. When I line the cars up side by side, the difference is pretty staggering in a great way. The blacking out of all the chrome bits, I guess looks better as well, I just dont' really care that much about that like other people do.
Handling: the P100D already handled much better than any other sport sedan I have driven. Not on a track, but on twisties and sweeping on ramps. The speed I can take them was astounding, with the batteries on the floor of the car giving a great center of gravity planted feel. The Plaid with the bigger tires, brakes, wheels and wider stance, has improved to another level.
Yoke steering wheel: Like most reviews, I didn't really like it. I am getting used to it. Mostly dont like the buttons for blinkers and everything else. Taking away the center horn like any other car was a horrible choice. In an emergency you hit that without looking, now its a small button amongst a few others, so you have to look for it. The yoke is much wider than it needs to be and doesn't have speed sensitive steering, like other models. More turning ratio at lower speeds, and less at higher speeds. Or at least the extreme turning ratio that ferrari's have would of been really helpful, to avoid the hand over hand in u-turn or 3 point turnabouts. Plus the turning circle for this car is pretty bad, almost as bad as a truck. I am getting used to the yoke now and kind of like it.
Performance and speed: It literally feels twice as fast as the P100D. At freeway speeds, if you punch it, it feels faster than the P100D does from 0-60. And it never lets off. I went from 80 to 145 in just a quick blip of the throttle the other day. And the regen braking is much better and comes to a complete stop and holds the brake for you at a stop light so you don't have to touch the brake at all, unless needing to stop quicker.
The speed is so insane around town, that even with the much better brakes, you are carrying way too much speed to slow down enough for stoplight and signs. You hit at at 40mph and you are doing 100, and then panic braking. It is kind of stressful and unsettling. At the same time you are laughing and smiling.
With my 14 year old son, we got in the P100D after driving around the Plaid for a few days. Every time I punched it, we both thought is that it. It felt like something was broken with it. And as if it was pulling a pallet of bricks. Nothing was wrong with it, its just our perspective of what feels fast has shifted in a big way.
Interior build quality: Still not up to par with the germans (MB,BMW,Audi,porshce) but so much better than previous models. Its feels like a luxury car and much more sturdy quality control. The double pane windows gives a much more vault like quiet to the cabin. And the noise cancelling system hasn't been uploaded yet, and is supposed to come with a software update soon. The new sound system is really amazing. The set up with storage and looks is a huge upgrade as well.
So far I really love this car as a DD.
