My test drive is today - Help!

[archibaldcrane]

Hi everyone, I have my test drive in 4 hours in Santa Monica and I was wondering if people had tips about what to ask, what features to check out, or anything else that will help me get the most out of this precious limited time with the car. I'm a P12,000-something so I'm not expecting the car until Q3 of next year. Hit me!

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[strider]

If you follow this board well I believe we've answered as much as there is a public answer for. I would just enjoy the ride. Figure out what's important to you and play with those things (touchscreen, pano roof, performance, ride, quiet, etc). I would just go out and play on this drive and then next Spring take another drive where you can poke and prod different parts (like where to put your phone and sunglasses, how are the kids going to fit, etc).

 

[JackA]

Handling in curves, acceleration and comfort. If you are planning to buy a standard S ask to drive one. Be sure to ask what options are installed on the car you are driving so you can decide if you want/need them on the car you order. Have Fun! Let us know what you think when the ride is over.

 

[ElSupreme]

Right now I would just look for comfort and driving. Do you fit? Does your stuff fit? Will other people fit? Can you see around the car properly? Does it drive nicely (hehehe, like that is a real question)? Is it too big? Is it too small?

Most of the technical stuff can be found here and other places. And you can always do another trip to determine options. Besides having just completed my first test drive, you will forget half the stuff you wanted to look at. Don't stress about all that now. Just enjoy the drive, and make sure it is comfortable and roughly the right size and form factor.

I forgot to open a glove box and see if my stuff would fit in it. And I had it written down on a piece of paper, that I brought with me and was putting check marks on.

 

[archibaldcrane]

Pretty sure they just have one test drive car, and it's a red sig performance with the sunroof and tech, not exactly comparable to the 40 or 60 with only air suspension I'm planning on getting. Hmmm.

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[ElSupreme]

Pretty sure they just have one test drive car, and it's a red sig performance with the sunroof and tech, not exactly comparable to the 40 or 60 with only air suspension I'm planning on getting. Hmmm.

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Just don't put the pedal on the floor. The cars really shouldn't differ much, other than acceleration, based on battery size.

 

[skwasha]

How far in advance did you have to call to make the reservation? I'm p11000ish and would like to take one for a spin as well. Is the red perf the only one they had avail for drives? (I'm prolly lookin at a perf but wouldn't mind being able to try both) Last time I was at the 3rd st. showroom a cpl months ago there was a black beta and they were still waiting for tester cars...

 

[ddruz]

archibaldcrane--Sit in the back seat and check the headroom. The car you will be test driving with a pano roof has 1.5 to 2.0 inches more headroom than cars without pano roofs. This is a world of difference because even with the pano roof the rear seat headroom is borderline for many adults.

You have indicated your only option will be air suspension. That suggests you are planning on a hard top. You need to be completely OK with a very tight rear headroom if you get a hard top. Spend plenty of time in the back seat and imagine having 1.5 to 2.0 inches less headroom.

If you almost never have adult rear seat passengers it might not matter to you. But on the occasions that you do, well... think about it seriously before you pass on the pano roof. I am one of those who consider the pano roof the number one most important option because IMO a car this expensive should have a useable back seat for adults. You may disagree, as do others, which is perfectly cool but you should arrive at your decision well informed.

 

[jkirkebo]

If you almost never have adult rear seat passengers it might not matter to you. But on the occasions that you do, well... think about it seriously before you pass on the pano roof. I am one of those who consider the pano roof the number one most important option because IMO a car this expensive should have a useable back seat for adults. You may disagree, as do others, which is perfectly cool but you should arrive at your decision well informed.

Also one should consider getting the pano roof if a roof rack will be used. It has integral mounting points for a roof rack, much better than using generic racks that grab around the roof edges.

 

[archibaldcrane]

No plans on using a roof rack, and the additional headroom provided by the sunroof doesnt extend all the way back - if I have my 5'11" head on the headrest in the rear, my hair touches the ceiling in both the sunroofed and non versions. My wife drives a jetta sportwagen with the sunroof and in comparison i find the model S's sunroof to be disappointing. I was going to get it just for the headroom until i realized it doesn't totally solve that issue either (because it doesn't extend all the way back to the headrest). My wife is 6'0" and seemed comfortable with the headroom in the back, but I don't anticipate people as tall as she is to be sitting in the rear often at all.

It was a fun test drive, its such a solid and substantial vehicle. My wife didn't want to drive so she just sat in the rear, getting distracted by the poor finishes and stitching in the not-quite-production model.

To the person who asked, when i inquired about a test drive they had availability about 3 weeks later, so just call and ask for the next available drive. The sig perf tech package sunroof red is the only test drive vehicle at the santa monica location, but they have a different car down in newport beach, I hear it has cloth seats so i want to check it out at some point.

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