Ohmman's Model X - A One Month Perspective

[K-MTG]

Thanks for the feedback! I have been waiting for this thread, my X made its first trip to the SC today (it will be going back on June 3 for my appointment) The motors on the passenger door has to be replaced. Overall it is pretty good but not perfect.

 

[Phil K]

Great site up. Thank you for sharing your opinions and real life experience.

 

[aesculus]

I know there are some falcon wing lovers out there who have a different opinion

Me. Me. Pick me!

 

[ohmman]

Final Thoughts
In the end, I'm glad we bought and own the X. It's an electric crossover with a lot of interesting features. The electric part is the most important to me, but the windshield and Autopilot are huge bonuses. If an electric drivetrain weren't important to me, I'd probably have never purchased the vehicle, and would have been happy with our Honda Odyssey and the Model S. But since going "fully electric" has been part of our agenda, the X is a great addition to our garage.

The way I see it, the Model S is a much better sedan than the Model X is a crossover. But while I think the S is a more solid vehicle all-around, it also makes for tough competition as it's one of the best cars ever made. To expect Tesla to hit another one completely out of the park is pretty unfair. Step 2.5 shouldn't have had the manifestation of hubris that Elon mentioned. I hope Tesla learned (or is continuing to learn) their lesson as these early Model X vehicles are coming back to the Service Center for tweaks and alignment and latches, etc.

I'm confident that it'll get sorted out. The cars will reach a quality equilibrium. They'll likely never meet the utilitarian promise of "what will you do with all this space," but they'll carry people comfortably, in style, and without emissions. Supercharger-enabled cross country trips will be taken, and gorgeous views will be enjoyed through the windshield. The falcon wing doors will continue to visibly delight their intended audience, and Tesla will move on to the Model 3.

And I'll keep doing my best to get over the doors.

 

[sukhi]

@ohmman, great review, I agree with pretty much everything you said since my experience is very similar.

My less than elegant summary :

• The obvious things I like about the car like the acceleration, handling, interior space, seats, center console screen, user interface, dashboard. front contours
• The things I prefer that X did not have: FWD, Auto presenting doors, 3rd row seats with pointless electric mechanism
• Things I wish X had: True adoptive headlights, headlight washers, brighter headlights, larger rearview, better sealing to reduce wind noise, folding 2nd row seats, haptic response screen, better backside contour (not a huge fan of BMW X6 like backside, it makes 3rd row less roomy, reduces viability and cargo space)

 

[ecrsail]

I took delivery of my X almost exactly two months ago, and as I've posted elsewhere, it has not had any major issues. I will however admit to being nervous every time I say (or type) those words. Perhaps my vehicle was one of the lucky ones to be quality tested by Elon....? In any event, so far no trips to the service center.

Like @ohmman and @sukhi, I do wonder how well the FWD doors will hold up over time, but I also know the doors enabled (or caused) the giant windshield, the superior rigidity and strength of the passenger cabin, and significantly easier entry and exit for second and third row passengers. These tradeoffs are part of what make the X unique and interesting, and as an engineer who has led teams that designed and built various significantly less complex hardware/software products from scratch, I'm very impressed and thrilled that Tesla has been able to continue to innovate and take these sorts of risks after the success of the Model S -- and still deliver such a remarkable new and distinct vehicle as the Model X.

So far, my list of "I wish they would fix this..." items for the X is entirely populated by software bugs or software feature requests.

 

[ksquared]

Thanks for this very insightful series of reviews. I'm guessing I will have similar perceptions, based on my reading of both consumer and critical impressions of the MX. For me, although we have one car that seats the whole family, this will be a move from a BMW 5-Series, and as we have four children (all in or approaching teenage years) the BMW barely holds me and the kids comfortably, and I think a 2/2/2 configuration car is ideal for us. I am also thrilled with the electric and performance aspects, and as someone with a long daily commute, looking forward to the AP features. I am also nervous about the FWD. Despite the fact that they're cool as h*ll, I'm worried that they'll also be a hassle under certain circumstances and may not be 100% ready for prime time. Finally, as someone who has driven mostly Acuras/Hondas and BMWs, I'm a bit disappointed by the finish issues. The appearance of your third row when folded showing seat material and wiring is atrocious. Given the size of our family, that row will be folded only when hauling stuff, but it seems sloppy.

 

[hollyatl]

Thank you so much for these detailed reviews. We are also a family of four, with a tween and a teen, and two dogs, and we similarly do not need the FWD and I personally do not want the added attention they will receive nor the likely additional service calls. I'll be honest here. If there were any other fully electric SUV out there (with good range), I would be looking very closely at it vs. the X. But there is not. So here I am, about to configure a $100K+ car that I am not sure that I will be 100% thrilled with. All for one extra passenger seat above the S.

 

[Coolcarx]

Thank you so much for these detailed reviews. We are also a family of four, with a tween and a teen, and two dogs, and we similarly do not need the FWD and I personally do not want the added attention they will receive nor the likely additional service calls. I'll be honest here. If there were any other fully electric SUV out there (with good range), I would be looking very closely at it vs. the X. But there is not. So here I am, about to configure a $100K+ car that I am not sure that I will be 100% thrilled with. All for one extra passenger seat above the S.

After driving S loaner car I'm even more satisfied with the X. As someone driving Suburban's for the past 18yrs the X feels ok. You sit higher than S and have the ability with Air Suspension to go much higher. Obviously space is not even close to the Suburban. I still have a Suburban & Sprinter for deep snow or long trips with 2 big dogs and three kids.

 

[xkwizit]

I took delivery of my X almost exactly two months ago, and as I've posted elsewhere, it has not had any major issues. I will however admit to being nervous every time I say (or type) those words. Perhaps my vehicle was one of the lucky ones to be quality tested by Elon....? In any event, so far no trips to the service center.

Like @ohmman and @sukhi, I do wonder how well the FWD doors will hold up over time, but I also know the doors enabled (or caused) the giant windshield, the superior rigidity and strength of the passenger cabin, and significantly easier entry and exit for second and third row passengers. These tradeoffs are part of what make the X unique and interesting, and as an engineer who has led teams that designed and built various significantly less complex hardware/software products from scratch, I'm very impressed and thrilled that Tesla has been able to continue to innovate and take these sorts of risks after the success of the Model S -- and still deliver such a remarkable new and distinct vehicle as the Model X.

So far, my list of "I wish they would fix this..." items for the X is entirely populated by software bugs or software feature requests.

@ecrsail - I am with you on this. You penned exactly my thoughts. Sometimes I wonder if I got lucky as mine was one of the Q1 "rush" delivery but then there were many more MXs delivered by my SC than we discuss in this forum. My XPel guy had 7 in his shop when I picked up mine and he said he saw some issues with just one of the 8 he worked upon. So obviously we rarely hear from owners who have no issues. Many are likely not even active in this forum. And of course we hear mostly that have issues because they have genuine problems that need resolutions.

Everything considered, there is no other vehicle that meets the complexity that Tesla has tried mostly successfully with this car that provides unparalleled ride experience IMHO. They could have made the ownership experience for early adopters a bit better by better equipping the SCs with parts and additional staff. My SC has been really awesome and has been getting the parts pretty quickly and getting my car in within the week but I read others who were given 5weeks wait time and that is aggravating.

 

[Skryll]

wrote:

• The obvious things I like about the car like the acceleration, handling, interior space, seats, center console screen, user interface, dashboard. front contours
• The things I prefer that X did not have: FWD, Auto presenting doors, 3rd row seats with pointless electric mechanism
• Things I wish X had: True adoptive headlights, headlight washers, brighter headlights, larger rearview, better sealing to reduce wind noise, folding 2nd row seats, haptic response screen, better backside contour (not a huge fan of BMW X6 like backside, it makes 3rd row less roomy, reduces viability and cargo space)

Everybody has their own preferences I guess. I absolutely want the FWD and auto present doors. The headlights are brighter than what I am used to.

I do agree however rearview could be better, folding 2nd row seats would be nice, but not a deal breaker for me. Overall more interior space like a 7 or 8 seat version that can be used by adults in all seats, perhaps by having a bigger longer car it could also allow more battery capacity.

But I am willing to make those compromises and trade in my 8-seater Honda Oddysee and only put bikes on the external bike rack instead of in the car because everything else is so super awesome.

 

[fengshui]

Thanks! I do wonder how much the FWD are also a marketing device for the Model 3. They certainly start conversations.

 

[ohmman]

Thanks! I do wonder how much the FWD are also a marketing device for the Model 3. They certainly start conversations.

I see that, and I don't think there's any question they draw attention. I like the idea, but it's important to consider the cost of that marketing. If it comes at the cost of owner happiness/satisfaction, then maybe I'm not quite so thrilled with it.

 

[K-MTG]

Don't forget that windshield, some people prefer a roof over their heads. (Not me, I only prefer a sunshade over my head)

 

[goneskiian]

Don't forget that windshield, some people prefer a roof over their heads. (Not me, I only prefer a sunshade over my head)

Curious what difference you see between your version of a sunshade and a traditional roof? Seriously. You don't want ANY light coming through your sunshade, right?

 

[K-MTG]

Curious what difference you see between your version of a sunshade and a traditional roof? Seriously. You don't want ANY light coming through your sunshade, right?

No light at all!

 

[electricity]

One huge plus I see with the FWD (I don't have my X yet so who knows what i will think later) , is the ease of entering the car when its fully open. How you kinda walk into the car. If FW doors where the norm , and a SUV would come out today with regular doors.. people would complain of how much added difficulty it is now to enter that particular car. I still think the complaints with the FWD have more to do with the change in how we do stuff. I can think of many reasons why regular doors suck starting with the classic head bump on the roof.

 

[loganintx]

the ease of entering the car when its fully open.

I was at my SC today and there was a P90DL Midnight Silver Metallic with Black on Black interior with both FWDs open in the parking lot.
I stood under the door and I'm 6'5" (195.5cm) without shoes on. My hair didn't even touch it.

 

[xkwizit]

@loganintx - so why did you stand under the FWDs of that car "without shoes on" ..sorry just being facetious!!

 

[ohmman]

One huge plus I see with the FWD (I don't have my X yet so who knows what i will think later) , is the ease of entering the car when its fully open. How you kinda walk into the car.

Yeah, as I mentioned - if you regularly carry adults, this might apply. I generally have kids in the back. They don't hit their heads in my Model S. Then again, neither do I...