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One Week Ownership Review

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I'm a 5 year Volt owner, ordered my MS last year, but didn't take delivery until last Friday. I'm going to start by saying that the Volt is clearly the "gateway drug" to electric vehicle ownership. I took a plunge and got one of the first Volts - trading in my Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (AWD, 0-60 in 5 seconds wet or dry). My wife thought I was nuts.

Well, now she knows I'm nuts. We took delivery of our S90D last Friday in Tampa. The delivery experience was a little disappointing - no red ribbon, boxes so close to the car in the garage that we couldn't really even get a good picture of it. Got the goodie bag with a couple of pens, a couple of fob holders, coffee mug, lapel pin, and that was nice.

I have researched this car forever, really went back and forth on some of the options (SAS and UHFS, in particular) and am actually MORE impressed with it over this first week of ownership than I had even dreamed. Are there little quirks with it? Sure - but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. I'll focus this review on the couple of things that I struggled with instead of just a general overview of the car.

70D vs 90D vs P90D
Many of you might recognize my name from the Speed Regrets thread. I also started a poll comparing the 70 and the 85 at one point too. Yes, I'm absolutely thrilled that I got the 90D over the 70D for speed reasons. I'm also thrilled I got the 90D over the P90D for $ reasons. I really think the 90D hits the sweet spot for performance AND range AND price.

Smart Air Suspension (SAS)
I went back and forth - did polls with folks here - drove both cars with SAS and coils - and ultimately made the decision to get the SAS for efficiency and range. While it might not amount to much, the lowering of the car is cool, but more importantly, it does add another 2-3% to the range depending on who you ask. That, coupled with the 19s instead of 21s, could get me another 5% overall. So, I'm happy I added this option.

Ultra High Fidelity Sound (UHFS)
This was actually the LAST option we added - again, I did another poll here too. I know $2500 can get you a good (probably better) sound system than the UHFS, but I didn't want to have to deal with getting it added afterwards, having the inside of the car ripped apart, and have another system installed. (However, if I did, the NVX is the way to go, IMHO). I've tweaked the settings and currently have the Dolby on, and my settings at+8.5, -3.5, +8.5 for bass, middle, treble, respectively. I'm getting pretty good bass response from this setup.

Overall, I can't say enough great things about this car. My wife wanted us to get our dream car - which used to be a Corvette when we got married 17 years ago. Now, I think we both know that dreams change and we're absolutely thrilled we have a back seat for our 16 year old in our dream car! :)
 
Enjoy, but really try turning off the Dolby and fade front to rear to between -8 and -14 and listen at about 7 to 9'volume depending on material. I think most here dislike the Dolby, but like you, I started listening this way when I got mine, but turned it off after about a week.

Try not to get a ticket! 0 to 60 easily turns into 0 to 100.
 
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Enjoy, but really try turning off the Dolby and fade front to rear to between -8 and -14 and listen at about 7 to 9'volume depending on material. I think most here dislike the Dolby, but like you, I started listening this way when I got mine, but turned it off after about a week.

Try not to get a ticket! 0 to 60 easily turns into 0 to 100.

These are good thoughts. Thanks. I'll tweak the stereo today while my son drives a little on our maiden long-trip voyage.
 
We took delivery of our S90D last Friday in Tampa. The delivery experience was a little disappointing - no red ribbon, boxes so close to the car in the garage that we couldn't really even get a good picture of it.
I snapped this picture last Thursday while I was in line for the Model ≡ just because it struck me as funny. Tampa's version of a red carpet - a doormat from Office Depot.

 
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I snapped this picture last Thursday while I was in line for the Model ≡ just because it struck me as funny. Tampa's version of a red carpet - a doormat from Office Depot.

Yup. This was my delivery location too. I was just underwhelmed with the delivery experience. The car is absolutely amazing in every way. Did a 400 mile trip today up to Ocala and back - superchargers worked flawlessly. Ran into my good friend with his Signature 200 miles from our home town! Very odd!
 
I went 2011 Mustang GT --> 2012 Volt --> 2014 S P85. Similar journey. P85 performance is real close to the 90D, and I agree it's just about right. I set my UHFS sound at +2, 0, 0 currently, with Dolby off. Lately I've been inching the fade more towards the back, close to -10 now. I was happy to move away from the Volt because I do a lot of highway driving, and was driving on gas a lot. Now I have the S and I'm loving it! Congrats on yours.
 
I'm one week in today. Took delivery in Nashville. No bow, but the car was covered with a black Tesla car cover, and when it was time, it was "revealed". Not too corny, but made it special. My path to Tesla was a little different: Mercedes E550, Ford F250, and now S90D. Couldn't be happier.