So I wanted to get a dialogue going on this. In June of this year I took delivery of a Model S 100D. However, Tesla delivered the car to me with a small dent on the bumper and recently took the car back to swap out the bumper. It's taken a little longer than expected for the repair to happen and the paint to get blended, so for about 10 days I've been driving a loaner 2014 P85 Model S, which was coincidentally also a car I pondered getting as a CPO vs the new 100D. Even though I have already purchased the 100D, this has also made me evaluate whether for me the new 100D versus a pre owned P85 was the right call. Here are my experiences and thoughts thus far.
First, the specs for my car. My 100D is silver metallic, premium upgrades, enhanced autopilot, glass roof, cold weather package, and black on black leather interior. The ride is sweet. Like nothing I've driven before. Acceleration feels faster than 4.2, handling is great, and going over potholes and bumps in New England are no big deal, like they were on my old Lexus IS250. Enhanced autopilot is great. Not sure if it's $5K great, but I think the updates will continue to make it better, and it's fun to summon the car in and out of tight parking spots. No regrets on EAP. I like both the sunroof and the glass roof, but am happy with the glass roof visually, and since I typically never open the sunroofs on my cars (my last three had them and got opened about once every two years), I like the savings of the glass roof. Cold weather package won't be needed as much as I thought since I'll be warming up the car from my Tesla app in the winter, like I cool it now in the summer prior to hopping in. But I'm still happy I got it. Car is a dream, and while expensive to me compared to previous car purchases (never more than $30K on a car prior), the ride is great.
Now, the specs on my red loaner 2014 P85. Has sunroof, red brake calipers, premium leather seats with red stripe (nice touch), and I think that is about it from what I can tell. Range is 260 miles now when fully charged, down from 265 supposed range when new. Still a Tesla, and still fun, but there are major differences which I have discovered.
The P85, not being AWD, is noticeably more slippery when driving around. The tread on the tires is fine so it's not a bald tire issue, but even the Tesla employee who handed the P85 over to me said that the RWD cars handle more like a sports car, and can slide around the road more than the AWD cars. That's great for someone who wants that kind of ride, but I like how the AWD hugs to the road, and is better in the winter. It might be that I'm just used to the ride of AWD cars, since my last three cars were all AWD, but for me using this as a family car in New England, I like the AWD.
The 100D, to me, surprisingly feels faster. Even from a deadstop, the 100D shoots off like a rocket, while the tires for the P85 (at least my loaner) would spin momentarily before gaining traction and taking off. This makes the 100D seem much faster than the P85, even though they both have 4.2 listed 0-60 times (my car was bought before 4.1 0-60 time for newer 100Ds). Secondly, my loaner P85 is less user friendly than the 100D. The rear of the 100D has two cup holders, which my young daughters use all the time. The P85 does not have those, and with only two cup holders up front, this is a minor but noticeable inconvenience for road trips when the wife and kids are all in the car. The center console was also lacking from my P85. I might be wrong, but I believe that center consoles can be added to pre owned cars without them, but that's an additional expense. The center console on my 100D has two more cup holders, lots of storage for small items, and a built in iPhone charger, which I prefer over the wires coming from the USB ports from the P85. In addition, the wireless connection seems to be worse on the P85. Not sure if that was just my loaner or if that is the case with the 2014 and earlier cars. Whenever I try to voice command a song for my kids in the backseat on the P85, half the time I'm getting no response. The 100D would pull up the song without issue from voice command. Not a deal breaker on one versus the other, but just an observation.
Also, if someone is eyeballing a CPO or pre owned Tesla from earlier Model S years, definitely look for one that has the tech package. My loaner P85 does not, and I had to call roadside support to find out why the navigation couldn't take me anywhere, only to have the support guy apologetically inform me that I was given a car without it. Total weakness. The navigation on the 100D is not the best out there, but it's certainly not bad, and a lot better than nothing. Cruising around in a P85 with my phone plugged into a USB port using Google maps or Waze didn't quite feel as cool as hopping in the car and using voice command to get to where I wanted. Also, having to use my phone for navigation left me at a disadvantage from a charging standpoint this past weekend when doing a road trip that was about 230 miles round trip. As one might expect, the fully charged P85 at a supposed 260 range miles could not make the 230 trip without a stop to charge up. I was able to find the nearest charger by pressing the lightning bolt on the P85 map screen, but without nav, had to use my phone to get us there and hope that we had enough range to do it. We found a great Supercharger in Seabrook, NH right near a bunch of restaurants and stores, so it worked out great to stop. But the 335 range miles on my 100D would have been nice to know at least I could have made the whole trip without a stop, should I have so desired.
Bottom line, I think both cars are still great. But I certainly have become spoiled by driving the new 100D first, and am happy I snagged it despite the approx 2X price multiple versus a CPO 2014 P85. Anyway, that's my experience with both cars. Good luck to all of you out there still contemplating your next move for a purchase of an S (or X, or 3). Enjoy the ride!
First, the specs for my car. My 100D is silver metallic, premium upgrades, enhanced autopilot, glass roof, cold weather package, and black on black leather interior. The ride is sweet. Like nothing I've driven before. Acceleration feels faster than 4.2, handling is great, and going over potholes and bumps in New England are no big deal, like they were on my old Lexus IS250. Enhanced autopilot is great. Not sure if it's $5K great, but I think the updates will continue to make it better, and it's fun to summon the car in and out of tight parking spots. No regrets on EAP. I like both the sunroof and the glass roof, but am happy with the glass roof visually, and since I typically never open the sunroofs on my cars (my last three had them and got opened about once every two years), I like the savings of the glass roof. Cold weather package won't be needed as much as I thought since I'll be warming up the car from my Tesla app in the winter, like I cool it now in the summer prior to hopping in. But I'm still happy I got it. Car is a dream, and while expensive to me compared to previous car purchases (never more than $30K on a car prior), the ride is great.
Now, the specs on my red loaner 2014 P85. Has sunroof, red brake calipers, premium leather seats with red stripe (nice touch), and I think that is about it from what I can tell. Range is 260 miles now when fully charged, down from 265 supposed range when new. Still a Tesla, and still fun, but there are major differences which I have discovered.
The P85, not being AWD, is noticeably more slippery when driving around. The tread on the tires is fine so it's not a bald tire issue, but even the Tesla employee who handed the P85 over to me said that the RWD cars handle more like a sports car, and can slide around the road more than the AWD cars. That's great for someone who wants that kind of ride, but I like how the AWD hugs to the road, and is better in the winter. It might be that I'm just used to the ride of AWD cars, since my last three cars were all AWD, but for me using this as a family car in New England, I like the AWD.
The 100D, to me, surprisingly feels faster. Even from a deadstop, the 100D shoots off like a rocket, while the tires for the P85 (at least my loaner) would spin momentarily before gaining traction and taking off. This makes the 100D seem much faster than the P85, even though they both have 4.2 listed 0-60 times (my car was bought before 4.1 0-60 time for newer 100Ds). Secondly, my loaner P85 is less user friendly than the 100D. The rear of the 100D has two cup holders, which my young daughters use all the time. The P85 does not have those, and with only two cup holders up front, this is a minor but noticeable inconvenience for road trips when the wife and kids are all in the car. The center console was also lacking from my P85. I might be wrong, but I believe that center consoles can be added to pre owned cars without them, but that's an additional expense. The center console on my 100D has two more cup holders, lots of storage for small items, and a built in iPhone charger, which I prefer over the wires coming from the USB ports from the P85. In addition, the wireless connection seems to be worse on the P85. Not sure if that was just my loaner or if that is the case with the 2014 and earlier cars. Whenever I try to voice command a song for my kids in the backseat on the P85, half the time I'm getting no response. The 100D would pull up the song without issue from voice command. Not a deal breaker on one versus the other, but just an observation.
Also, if someone is eyeballing a CPO or pre owned Tesla from earlier Model S years, definitely look for one that has the tech package. My loaner P85 does not, and I had to call roadside support to find out why the navigation couldn't take me anywhere, only to have the support guy apologetically inform me that I was given a car without it. Total weakness. The navigation on the 100D is not the best out there, but it's certainly not bad, and a lot better than nothing. Cruising around in a P85 with my phone plugged into a USB port using Google maps or Waze didn't quite feel as cool as hopping in the car and using voice command to get to where I wanted. Also, having to use my phone for navigation left me at a disadvantage from a charging standpoint this past weekend when doing a road trip that was about 230 miles round trip. As one might expect, the fully charged P85 at a supposed 260 range miles could not make the 230 trip without a stop to charge up. I was able to find the nearest charger by pressing the lightning bolt on the P85 map screen, but without nav, had to use my phone to get us there and hope that we had enough range to do it. We found a great Supercharger in Seabrook, NH right near a bunch of restaurants and stores, so it worked out great to stop. But the 335 range miles on my 100D would have been nice to know at least I could have made the whole trip without a stop, should I have so desired.
Bottom line, I think both cars are still great. But I certainly have become spoiled by driving the new 100D first, and am happy I snagged it despite the approx 2X price multiple versus a CPO 2014 P85. Anyway, that's my experience with both cars. Good luck to all of you out there still contemplating your next move for a purchase of an S (or X, or 3). Enjoy the ride!
