Think best to go with Japanese or German EV to get lots of buttons, anyway Elon Musk doesn't want to make slow cars he said. So Nissan Leaf or Mercedes EQC gives you both slow acceleration and buttons.I am impressed with the technical acumen detailed here. It saddens me, though, because it is just one more piece of evidence to me that Tesla autos are not for the senior set (of which I am a reluctant member).
I own a Model 3 and drive it only infrequently ... especially now during the Covid-19 crimp on places to go. Now I'm sure all you young'uns out there will puzzle over how I could possibly lose some sharpness in my senior years; after all, you (and I, too, when I was a young'un) are bright, quick on your feet, sharp memory, and all the rest of the admirable characteristics of not-old humans, AND YOU'LL NEVER GIVE IN TO THE RAVAGES OF AGE, EITHER. Am I not right?
The Tesla autos have sometimes been called, with pride, "a computer on wheels." However, when I describe my M3 that way to others, it's with an inward groan. Why? It is so difficult to do anything, even simple things like open the glove box. In all the ICE cars I've ever driven, it's been easy. A/C? Sure, just reach over WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD and make the adjustments by touch. No way to do that in my computer on wheels.
(btw, I fully expect there will be many crash descriptions of seniors taking their eyes off the road too long and crashing into some innocent car, guard rail at the edge of a cliff, or oncoming fully loaded semi.)
Or, say you want to flip on the windshield wipers to wash off a bug flattened right in your line of vision. If you’re like me, you’ll have to pull over to the side of the road and browse through the logical decision tree on the touch screen (that saves a lot of weight, I’m sure) before you can home in, minutes later, on the part of the algorithm that gives you several choices for windshield wiper activation.
This retired aerospace engineer, who helped design the control system of the GPS satellite decades ago, longs for the simplicity of an old ICE car! Same for my wife, who refuses to drive the M3 because it is “Too complicated.”
Elon! Here’s a demographic that you might not reach until you design a simple ecar: The really senior cohort that really doesn’t need 0 – 60 in 3 seconds. (I tried to think of a name for a senior-appropriate Tesla that could be added to the S3XY lineup, but I nodded off. Maybe after my nap.)
I also notice that it's "buggy" computer on wheels. Meaning when I put Tesla in reverse or drive, I often have to do that MORE than once to do it, and it seems unpredictable - so I look at the screen to see the tiny D or R to make sure I don't crash in a wall because the car did not respond to my use of the D/R handle.
With a stick shift, this is never an issue - once you put it in reverse, the car will for sure go in reverse! Unlike Tesla.
I love the acceleration, the main reason for Tesla - so I'll live with the "quirks". Not loving that, Asian brands are good at slow acceleration cars.