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Once you sit in a Tesla, it is hard to want anything else!
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Unless you've sat in a Mercedes S Class 
As much as I love Tesla, if I could get a Tesla Model S drivetrain and battery pack with a Mercedes S Class interior, that's what I would prefer and I bet many customers in this segment may feel the same.
Having said that after you have driven a Model S, it is hard to want anything else but I think that is after DRIVING it and not just SITTING in it
As much as I love Tesla, if I could get a Tesla Model S drivetrain and battery pack with a Mercedes S Class interior, that's what I would prefer and I bet many customers in this segment may feel the same.
Having said that after you have driven a Model S, it is hard to want anything else but I think that is after DRIVING it and not just SITTING in it
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I agree with MsElectric -- it's not the sitting in the Model S that's amazing, it's what happens when you put your foot down on the accelerator. I'm also unreasonably happy about not having to stand by a gas pump in blizzards or heat waves.
muleferg
Active Member
scottf200
Well-Known Member
Unless you've sat in a Mercedes S Class
As much as I love Tesla, if I could get a Tesla Model S drivetrain and battery pack with a Mercedes S Class interior, that's what I would prefer and I bet many customers in this segment may feel the same.
Having said that after you have driven a Model S, it is hard to want anything else but I think that is after DRIVING it and not just SITTING in it
Tesla's customer base cuts across a lot of potential car buying groups. Some buyers are used to what you get for $100,000 in a car. Many are coming from much less expensive cars and are being upsold for one reason or another. I'm currently driving a Buick, but one I bought new in 1992. My current ride has essentially no trade-in value at all. I like some niceties in a car, but I don't need to roll around in the lap of luxury.
I do agree that now that I've found Tesla, I don't want anything else. The Model S is as close as I've ever found to a perfect car, from a performance, convenience, and economy point of view. The only complaint I have is that driving from Portland to the Bay Area in one day would make a very long day somewhat longer. However, I will have forced rests at superchargers and maybe I won't get there quite so fried. We have made the run in one day just stopping for gas and food. I don't have a Tesla to take long trips in yet, so at this point I have no experience of the difference. A lot of people on the forum do prefer long trips in the Model S, so I'll take their word for it until I experience it myself.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
Personally, I don't see what all the fuss is about when it comes to interiors. I've owned Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi in the past and, other than the knobs and button stuck everywhere and a more "molded" look, I find Model S just as nice in the ways that matter to me. More convenience niceties like cupholders and storage bins would be appreciated in future iterations, however.
Krugerrand
Meow
It's certainly a personal preference topic. I can't stand the cluttered interior look of most cars, luxury or otherwise. I find it overwhelming to the senses, but then I don't appreciate clutter in my home, at work etc... where others thrive in that kind of environment. I also don't live in my car, so don't require seating that costs more than my couch at home and that makes toast and ice cream. If it's cold out (and therefore my steering wheel is cold), there's these things called gloves that I use, and so on. I can appreciate a travelling salesman wanting some extras in his car, having to spend so much time in it, but mostly if I'm spending extra on a car it'll be for smoking hot tires, rims and other outer accessories and for extras under the hood, or in this case - in the battery. :smile:
Perhaps not to you but I beg to differ and just about everyone I know who buys premium cars in the $70K-100K+ segment finds the Model S interior and amnesties to be far too Spartan to their liking. The only reason some still buy a Model S is because the driving experience is so much better but the moment Audi or Mercedes offers an EV with a high performance and long range EV drivetrain, Tesla is going to have a more challenging time selling their cars unless they step up the game in the interior department.
This happens often and I don't get it. You speak of "knobs and buttons" and often times when a more premium and better designed interior is mentioned people always assume that has to do with buttons and knobs. No it doesn't. I'm talking about the quality of materials in the interior. How ambient lighting is implemented. And how you should not have to look at an exposed USB port in a car that costs this much and how if you plug a media device to that USB port you should not have to see an exposed cable dangling in a car that costs this much. Of course you can pay extra for a center console that is standard in the most basic Kia that you can buy if you want to conceal the media device and the cable you plug into that exposed USB port but you should not have to buy an accessory to avoid the clutter of unsightly cables in the interior of the car. I'm surprised that after all this time, the cavity under the LCD screen has no cover. The glove box has a cover that you can close and so should that cavity under the LCD screen.
I can understand the Model S interior being a step up from a Prius or other economy car but for those who come from higher end premium cars, the Model S interior is barely adequate to what they are used to. Thankfully the Model S more than make sup for the interior by offering the world's best driving experience.
Finally go and sit in a Mercedes S Class or 7 Series BMW and look at the quality of the interior, and I'm not talking about buttons. Sit in one of those cars at night and notice how thoughtfully and holistically the ambient lighting is implemented, not as some afterthought as they have done in the Model S with night-vision killing bright white light accents. Just realize it is only a matter of time until an S Class interior can be had with a EV drivetrain similar to what Tesla offers.
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But let's say you have a huge white wall in your house wouldn't you put something in front of it, put up a picture or some other design element? That's kinda what the Model S feels to me.
Especially the doors just look like one giant surface, especially with darker colours. And the whole dash just looks kinda boring. Some of the air vents just look like it's some toolbox solution that was put in there, like why does the one on the left perfectly fit into the space, but none of the others? Not to mention they have no symmetry at all.
I drove a modern Audi A6 before and the Model S interior gives me a much better feeling. It feels light years ahead.
Krugerrand
Meow
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. There's beauty in a plain white wall, and with asymmetry. No symmetry OCD for me.
Those luxury cars justify their high price by adding those materials. Some of the things you mention, like subtle lighting is not expensive to do, but higher quality materials cost. The interior niceties on a $100K Mercedes probably adds $20-$30K to the cost of the car. The Model S is as expensive as it is because of the cost of the hardware you don't see, primarily the batteries. If the Model S had the same power train as a standard ICE, it would cost about the same as a Ford Taurus, maybe a little more. You're paying the premium for the electric drivetrain, not the interior.
Tesla did skimp in some areas like storage areas in the passenger department, which is pretty standard in all cars these days. Even my 1992 Buick has door pockets, seatback pockets, and a storage armrest (but no center console like most cars have). A bit more storage would probably please most people across the spectrum of Tesla buyers (from those moving up from something much less expensive to those used to $100K cars).
I suppose Tesla could offer a premium interior package at some point, which would probably cost $20K and some luxury car buyers would probably go for it. Those moving up from much less expensive cars would probably pass.
gnxs
Member
That certainly might be a good option for those needing to feel like they hadn't lost anything (interior wise) coming from their other premium sedan brands. I would be one of those that would certainly pass on it, even if it was far less than $20,000.
taurusking
Member
Merrill
Merrill
This is such a personnel thing, I worked in the car business and and most of high end interiors for me are way to cluttered and what I would call Las Vegas looking. I like the clean look of the Model S, and I think it needs an upgrade in materials used especially the carpets. But would not want gadgets and knobs all over.
I agree with this 100%. There are way too many buttons, lights, gizmos and widgets all over the place and this needs to be curtailed. Sitting in a high end car is like sitting at the Enterprise helm (first generation). I'd be okay with a few other physical switches... maybe just the sunroof and rear seat heater controls.
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