I always enjoyed reading everyone's "personal reviews" of their new cars after having them for a bit, and the way they adjust to EV life. I just finished the first road trip with mine so I decided to write one up.
probably definitely drive people nuts because I am fascinated by the little details of how cars are designed and built...I've been a fan of Doug DeMuro's for years because I similarly love all the little quirks designed into cars and am always interested to learn the history/"why" something is designed a certain way. Even before Tesla showed up with their new way of doing automotive software, I would talk the ear off anyone who would listen about how car makers needed to modernize their approach to software. I used to fill notebooks with car drawings as a kid. I do autocross racing. My useless skill is that I can identify nearly any car built since the mid-1980s just by its headlight design. I've owned Dodge, Ford, VW, Honda, Kia, Acura, Lexus, BMW. And driven many more besides.
Why did I choose a Tesla? A combination of (1) the aforementioned software contributing to a better/slicker user experience, (2) styling suits me (both outside and in...mostly), and (3) value. I'd been eyeing an EV for a few years, and when Tesla dropped prices, plus the federal tax credit, plus my BMW 340i was starting to have electrical...gremlins...that no one could hunt down (German car tax), I decided it was time. In an ideal world I would have bought a Model S, but I just couldn't find an additional $45k+ of car there over the Model Y to justify it to myself.
Why a Performance model? Because...uh...zoom zoom?
My wife, however, has banned me from flooring it while she's in the car...it's too violent for her (would hate to see her in an MS Plaid). It's not our primary roadtrip vehicle so I'm not too concerned about maximizing range most of the time. And I tend to buy go-fast cars. So I ordered a Performance in Midnight Blue Metallic with a white interior and the tow hitch. No FSD. Ordered July 25, delivered Aug 12.
I will say, the paint quality is atrocious — the worst I've ever seen on any car I've owned. Splotches/weird spots under the clearcoat everywhere, scratches, a few nibs, even what appears to be a slight "undersprayed" area on the hatch (like it didn't quite get enough paint). Unlikely that anyone will ever notice it, and I'm not willing to risk them making it worse by repainting, but still it's disappointing. Truly terribly paint quality. My mid-90s Dodge — truly a paragon of quality manufacturing — had way better paint than this Tesla. I'm a reasonably good DIY detailer, but even after I did clay bar, a two-stage polish, and ceramic...the paint is just okay at best.
As for the car in general, it's pretty much everything I hoped it would be — quiet, fast, good-looking, slick tech (mostly), pretty good sound system, good UX on everything from walk-away-locking to the charging experience. Spacious (especially compared to my snug 3 series). Tons of storage for the footprint. The minimalist interior suits me — I'm a bit of a minimalist where possible in my life, I like things with clean lines and not cluttered, so for the most part the interior works for me. But I do wish there was a HUD with at least some basic info (speed, turn signals). And ventilated seats. Really, really wish there was ventilated seats. It's hitting 107 heat index here this week in the midwest. I wish for that even more than CarPlay.
The ride in the Performance, while firm, is better than I expected (I didn't get a chance to do an extended test drive in a Performance because the Indianapolis Tesla center doesn't offer them for test drives — I just got to spend 5 minutes in a neighbors'). It's firm, but solid and (mostly) planted feeling. Many types of imperfections are reasonably well damped. It's over smaller imperfections that they still have some work to do...and when there's lots of small imperfections in a row, it does feel too busy. Drive this thing on a brick road like I did in East Grand Rapids and it sucks. But overall pretty good. I'll probably upsize the tire width when it's time to replace them and get a little bit more compliance out of a less-stretched sidewall.
And of course it's stupid fast for a midsize crossover. The kids think it's hilarious. It's terrifying to think of teenagers driving these things. I was hooligan when I was 18 and borrowed my neighbor's BMW 540i for prom...and that thing was nowhere near as fast as a base Tesla these days, let alone a Performance model.
The route, using the "Drives" I did over those two days mapped in Tessie:
I wanted to show a version of that map with the Superchargers that I used marked, but the charging map view in Tessie doesn't seem to be working.
When I arrived at my first charging stop (which was also near my destination), it was about lunch time, and I knew I was going to want plenty of charge for the around-town driving I was going to be doing the rest of the day in Holland, plus I needed to drive 30 miles to Grand Rapids for the night. So I let the car charge from 12 to 99% while I got some lunch and killed a little time. This took 1 hour and 2 minutes, and cost $28.86. I was a little surprised at how much it cost. That was actually about the same amount I would have spent on gas to go 230 miles in my turbocharged BMW which got around 34 mpg on the highway and drank $4/gal premium. And only a few $ less than what it would cost to cover the same distance in our big three-row Telluride that gets around 24 mpg at highway speeds.
Did my thing, stayed overnight at a friend's (didn't bother to plug the car in at their house, it would have been a 110V outlet). Overnight the battery dropped 3% because I left Sentry mode on (and maybe also because it got a bit cool that night? Around 50F). Given what happened the next day with time constraints, in hindsight I should have asked him for an extension cord and plugged it in.
On the way home, I was a bit rushed because I had to be back home by 3:15pm at the absolute latest and didn't get out the door in Grand Rapids until about 10:40am. Normally a 4 hour drive, in a gas car that would put me home around 2:40pm. I knew I'd have to charge, but I didn't completely mentally build in enough fudge factor for the reality that the charging stations were not optimally placed for me to only charge at a low state of charge — thus my charging speed would be slower. PLUS, I needed to get home with a certain amount of charge because I had to run errands after getting back.
On this route, there's a Supercharger "void" of 125 miles between Benton Harbor, MI, and Kokomo, IN (unless you really want to detour far off to the other side of South Bend instead of skirting around the west side it). This really limits your charging options.
Summary of the drive:
So that was an experience. And I learned I have to do my own math or augment Tesla's route planning with something like A Better Route Planner (which I don't like because it's buggy) if I have to arrive with a certain state of charge. Everyone around here says "just set the destination and stop where it tells you"...well, yeah that will get you there, but if you need to be charged when you arrive and you're trying to arrive by a certain time...now you've got to think about longer/additional charging stops, the charging curve...things get more complicated. PLEASE Tesla, add an optional "State of charge at destination" parameter to route planning. This one addition, which could show the total travel time after accounting for a longer charging stop (and the associated charging curve), would be a huge quality of life upgrade.
I think that about sums it up! I may revisit/post an update after I've spent longer with the car. Like I said, I always found personal reviews interesting, especially as people adapted to an EV and thought about things they hadn't had to consider before (like in terms of planning roadtrips and stuff like that). So I hope this helps somebody.
Obligatory picture (pre-tint):
Background
My background (because I think that's important context when someone's judging something): I'm a software architect and sometime-entrepreneur who is also a car nerd. I follow the car industry very closely andWhy did I choose a Tesla? A combination of (1) the aforementioned software contributing to a better/slicker user experience, (2) styling suits me (both outside and in...mostly), and (3) value. I'd been eyeing an EV for a few years, and when Tesla dropped prices, plus the federal tax credit, plus my BMW 340i was starting to have electrical...gremlins...that no one could hunt down (German car tax), I decided it was time. In an ideal world I would have bought a Model S, but I just couldn't find an additional $45k+ of car there over the Model Y to justify it to myself.
Why a Performance model? Because...uh...zoom zoom?
My wife, however, has banned me from flooring it while she's in the car...it's too violent for her (would hate to see her in an MS Plaid). It's not our primary roadtrip vehicle so I'm not too concerned about maximizing range most of the time. And I tend to buy go-fast cars. So I ordered a Performance in Midnight Blue Metallic with a white interior and the tow hitch. No FSD. Ordered July 25, delivered Aug 12.Initial Impressions
Delivery was fast and easy — love doing everything in the app. Fit and finish was pretty good, just a few very tiny chips in the front bumper (can hardly even see them unless you really stick your face in) and that was pretty much it. The local delivery center did a poor job prepping it though — polishing compound was everywhere and there was still sticky residue from shipping material on the bumpers.I will say, the paint quality is atrocious — the worst I've ever seen on any car I've owned. Splotches/weird spots under the clearcoat everywhere, scratches, a few nibs, even what appears to be a slight "undersprayed" area on the hatch (like it didn't quite get enough paint). Unlikely that anyone will ever notice it, and I'm not willing to risk them making it worse by repainting, but still it's disappointing. Truly terribly paint quality. My mid-90s Dodge — truly a paragon of quality manufacturing — had way better paint than this Tesla. I'm a reasonably good DIY detailer, but even after I did clay bar, a two-stage polish, and ceramic...the paint is just okay at best.
As for the car in general, it's pretty much everything I hoped it would be — quiet, fast, good-looking, slick tech (mostly), pretty good sound system, good UX on everything from walk-away-locking to the charging experience. Spacious (especially compared to my snug 3 series). Tons of storage for the footprint. The minimalist interior suits me — I'm a bit of a minimalist where possible in my life, I like things with clean lines and not cluttered, so for the most part the interior works for me. But I do wish there was a HUD with at least some basic info (speed, turn signals). And ventilated seats. Really, really wish there was ventilated seats. It's hitting 107 heat index here this week in the midwest. I wish for that even more than CarPlay.
The ride in the Performance, while firm, is better than I expected (I didn't get a chance to do an extended test drive in a Performance because the Indianapolis Tesla center doesn't offer them for test drives — I just got to spend 5 minutes in a neighbors'). It's firm, but solid and (mostly) planted feeling. Many types of imperfections are reasonably well damped. It's over smaller imperfections that they still have some work to do...and when there's lots of small imperfections in a row, it does feel too busy. Drive this thing on a brick road like I did in East Grand Rapids and it sucks. But overall pretty good. I'll probably upsize the tire width when it's time to replace them and get a little bit more compliance out of a less-stretched sidewall.
And of course it's stupid fast for a midsize crossover. The kids think it's hilarious. It's terrifying to think of teenagers driving these things. I was hooligan when I was 18 and borrowed my neighbor's BMW 540i for prom...and that thing was nowhere near as fast as a base Tesla these days, let alone a Performance model.
The Roadtrip — charging and Autopilot experiences
On the 6th day of ownership, I took it on a 230ish mile (each way) road trip from Indianapolis to the Holland/Grand Rapids, MI area. Up on a Friday, back on Saturday. This was my first trip in an EV. I used the Tessie app to schedule an automation that changed the charge limit to 100% at about 5 am (from 80%), which got the car charged up to 100% before I left at 9am using my Tesla Wall Charger I installed in the garage.The route, using the "Drives" I did over those two days mapped in Tessie:
I wanted to show a version of that map with the Superchargers that I used marked, but the charging map view in Tessie doesn't seem to be working.
Autopilot..ish
On the way, I tried out whatever flavor of Enhanced Autopilot/FSD I have on free trial (it's a HW4 car, so I don't have the latest FSD Beta, as far as I know)...I hang out on this forum too much and I still don't know what version of this service I technically have right now. Anyway, I turned on all the Autopilot options I could, and tried to use it. Observations from the trip:- A couple of times, it aborted a lane change (initiated by me with the turn signal stalk) halfway through...the car swerved and canceled for no apparent reason. Alarming.
- Car's perception of things’ distance is jerky (like trucks) — is that truck next to me 5 feet away or 10 feet away? Dancing around on the screen.
- Couldn’t handle some of the construction lane shifts even though they were clearly marked with both cones/barrels and fresh paint. Some it did OK.
- Sometimes rode too close to the left line of my lane, close enough that I could tell the car next to me was feeling a little crowded.
- The attention nagger (apply force to the wheel) seemed totally random. Sometimes it would nag less than 5 seconds after I engaged Autopilot, sometimes it would go nearly a minute with me not touching the wheel and it wouldn't do anything. On that note, this is annoying...a capacitive sensor would be way nicer, just to know my hand is on the wheel, instead of having to apply force to it.
- The car would brake/slow down for yellow flashing intersection caution lights on US 31...far too much. It was dangerous because no one behind me is expecting me to slow down, and the car would decelerate quite suddenly (because it wouldn't "see" the lights until they were pretty close, relatively speaking, at 70mph). And then it seemed unsure if they were yellow or red lights sometimes.
- There was one spot the car was convinced there was a traffic signal and slowed down, where there hadn't been a traffic signal for a year (it is being converted to an overpass). And this is on the main north-south route through Indiana, not some side road.
- It was too slow to accelerate back up to the set speed after slowing down (because of a car in my lane or whatever). This resulted in me sitting in the left lane, very gradually coming back up to speed after another car had moved over, and irritating the people behind me. And this is the midwest, where drivers aren't anywhere near as aggressive as they are in many coastal cities.
Charging
On the way up, I drove around 70 mph for a lot of the trip. I made it to the Superchargers at Meijer in Holland, 221 miles, without stopping (it would turn out every charging stop on this trip was at a Meijer, by coincidence), and with about 12% remaining on the battery. So extrapolating, that would suggest a 255 mile range with the driving conditions that day. Not bad.When I arrived at my first charging stop (which was also near my destination), it was about lunch time, and I knew I was going to want plenty of charge for the around-town driving I was going to be doing the rest of the day in Holland, plus I needed to drive 30 miles to Grand Rapids for the night. So I let the car charge from 12 to 99% while I got some lunch and killed a little time. This took 1 hour and 2 minutes, and cost $28.86. I was a little surprised at how much it cost. That was actually about the same amount I would have spent on gas to go 230 miles in my turbocharged BMW which got around 34 mpg on the highway and drank $4/gal premium. And only a few $ less than what it would cost to cover the same distance in our big three-row Telluride that gets around 24 mpg at highway speeds.
Did my thing, stayed overnight at a friend's (didn't bother to plug the car in at their house, it would have been a 110V outlet). Overnight the battery dropped 3% because I left Sentry mode on (and maybe also because it got a bit cool that night? Around 50F). Given what happened the next day with time constraints, in hindsight I should have asked him for an extension cord and plugged it in.
On the way home, I was a bit rushed because I had to be back home by 3:15pm at the absolute latest and didn't get out the door in Grand Rapids until about 10:40am. Normally a 4 hour drive, in a gas car that would put me home around 2:40pm. I knew I'd have to charge, but I didn't completely mentally build in enough fudge factor for the reality that the charging stations were not optimally placed for me to only charge at a low state of charge — thus my charging speed would be slower. PLUS, I needed to get home with a certain amount of charge because I had to run errands after getting back.
On this route, there's a Supercharger "void" of 125 miles between Benton Harbor, MI, and Kokomo, IN (unless you really want to detour far off to the other side of South Bend instead of skirting around the west side it). This really limits your charging options.
Summary of the drive:
- Leave Grand Rapids at 74%
- Stop to charge in Benton Harbor (at a Meijer) at 35% -> charge to 76% (18 minutes, $12.87). This was as far as I could go, I wasn't going to make it to the next Supercharger otherwise.
- Realize that if I drive slowly (65-70) I can make it home, but won't arrive with enough charge to run errands. So I'm going to have to stop to charge again, which will take time...which means I need to drive faster (80), so now I definitely need to charge because driving faster is less efficient, which means I'll need to charge even more to make up for driving faster. Weird damned-if-you-do/don't situation.
- Stop in Kokomo to charge (also at a Meijer), 22% -> 55% (10 minutes, $10.73)
- Arrived home at 3:07pm with 30% SoC, enough to run my errands for the rest of the day and finish the day around 14%.
So that was an experience. And I learned I have to do my own math or augment Tesla's route planning with something like A Better Route Planner (which I don't like because it's buggy) if I have to arrive with a certain state of charge. Everyone around here says "just set the destination and stop where it tells you"...well, yeah that will get you there, but if you need to be charged when you arrive and you're trying to arrive by a certain time...now you've got to think about longer/additional charging stops, the charging curve...things get more complicated. PLEASE Tesla, add an optional "State of charge at destination" parameter to route planning. This one addition, which could show the total travel time after accounting for a longer charging stop (and the associated charging curve), would be a huge quality of life upgrade.
Summary: Pros and Cons
Pros
- The car feels great to drive. Smooth, powerful, handles reasonably well for what it is.
- Love the ability to remote start the climate from my Apple Watch (using Tessie) from inside a store on a hot day.
- It was very comfortable for the 4+ hour road trip. Seats were great. It was quiet. Music streaming and bluetooth via my phone of audiobooks worked effortlessly.
- I am happy every time I get in it. The whole user experience is pretty good — removing little pieces of friction like having to lock/unlock, press a start button, turn the car off, the fact that everything from the driving settings to the vent position is tied with my driver profile...it all adds up to an easy/seamless experience.
- I no longer feel guilty if I need to talk a very short trip in the Tesla vs firing up a gas car. We live in a small suburb's downtown area, it's mostly walkable where nearly everything is within a mile or two of our house...but certain stores, while very close distance-wise, are not that walkable because you have to cross 5 lanes of traffic or it's just a little too far to want to walk when it's really hot.
Cons
- Enhanced Autopilot/whatever watered-down version of FSD my HW4 car is currently running is barely better than a joke. In its current form, it's not any better (and in some ways is worse) then driving aids that have been available on mainstream automakers' cars for 4 or 5 years now. I know Tesla's continuing to invest heavily in development, and I am open to re-evaluating when the newest version becomes available for my car. But right now, I can't believe people pay extra for this.
- The parking aid/"sensor" functionality is also a joke, which I have ranted about in other threads. It's constantly off by multiple feet and the car's interpretation of its environment is sketchy at best. Probably the worst instance was when it freaked out because it thought I was going to hit...a painted white line on the pavement.
- Trip/charging planning isn't as powerful/flexible as I'd like it to be. You've got to do a fair amount of mental math and/or fiddle with third party tools like ABRP to make sure you can align desired arrival time and arrival state of charge (which is buggy when it comes to setting target departure/arrival times).
- Supercharging is expensive. Pretty much as expensive as gas, but is less convenient and takes longer.
- Ride is on the firm side, too "busy" on certain surfaces
- No cooled seats
I think that about sums it up! I may revisit/post an update after I've spent longer with the car. Like I said, I always found personal reviews interesting, especially as people adapted to an EV and thought about things they hadn't had to consider before (like in terms of planning roadtrips and stuff like that). So I hope this helps somebody.
Obligatory picture (pre-tint):
