Tesla Service experience & P85+ vs. P85 summary of my experience

[xradr]

Hi All,
Post is twofold (and long). Just wanted to give my experience of my recent service experience and quick review of P85+ vs. P85.


Summary - Wow! (details below)


I had a number of minor service items that I needed to get resolved (slight body panel adjustment to make it flush, key fob replacement, noise issues with AC/Compressor). There were a number of additional bulletin items that also needed to be done. Service was scheduled for 9 am Thursday. I dropped off car Wednesday night. My service rep was awesome. I mentioned that I was looking forward to family road trip for labor day weekend reunion (first long trip ~ 800 miles). Initially they had a roadster loaner that they had offered to give me for Wednesday/Thursday. After hearing about the trip and inquiring about the service work/time frame, he said he's got a better option. They gave me a fully loaded P85+ and told me that my car may or may not be ready Thursday and to just take this one. When I say fully loaded, it was really pretty much every option you could think of except the parcel cover. Needless to say, I didn't hesitate to oblige him.


Comparison of my P85 to P85+ was a bit of relief. After Tesla brought out the P85+, I kept thinking I could have/should have waited, etc. The 85+ drove spectacularly well. I am not a professional driver by any stretch. But, there were only two noticeable differences between the two. The 85+ handling is insane. I tried some higher speed cornering (without the family of course). The vehicle is on rails. The overall feel was sporty/rigid and that translated to the road bumps, etc. I think I prefer slightly more sedan feel of my P85. I am strongly considering going down to the 19 inch rims.


The other difference that noticed was that my P85 was actually more peppy off the line (or felt like it). I thought it was just me when I first started driving the 85+. But when I returned the 85+ and got mine back I could still notice the difference. I thought it might be some electronic throttling on acceleration (they do throttle top speed to 80 mph on the loaner). I inquired but they insisted they do not throttle acceleration on the loaners. Checking peak power usage real time didn't look like I was being throttled but something didn't feel quite right. I have no explanation for this, and was hoping someone in forum might know (honestly I suspect they throttle acceleration a little bit).
Other impressions for the completely tricked out P85+ (all personal preferences):


1. Pano roof - didn't find any value/use
2. Turn by turn directions - outstanding implementation. The major benefit is display into the driver's console. Not sure it would be worth the upgrade in tech package, but came in useful in heavy traffic situations on long road trip.
3. Xeon headlights - much brighter than regular. this might be useful in intermediate ambient light situations (dusk/dawn).
4. Other tech package items (homelink, mirror tilt, etc) - not really useful for me.

Long Summary -
Service was exceptional (all items fixed). Loaner vehicle program is truly outstanding. Although I prefer a more sedan like feel, I can see how someone would just keep the loaner and pay the difference!

I've never heard of any other car manufacturer giving you a top of the line fully loaded loaner. EVER ... This was a treat to say the least and it made me feel special and valued as a customer. They have my trust, respect and loyalty.


Go TESLA!!!

 

[Francis Lau]

Your experience is eerily similar to mine. Last Wednesday, I dropped off my production 85 for a few service items and I was given a performance 85+ loaner. I told them I was going to Vancouver BC for the long weekend and I need my car back. My car was not ready so I ended taking the loaner on the road trip. I still have the loaner today and will return it tomorrow. So after driving the P85+ for a week, here are my comparisons:

1. There is a lot more tire noise from the loaner. I have 19" rims and the loaner has 21" ones with low profile tires. Maybe the stiffer suspension contribute to the noise too. I like my quieter car much better

2. I like my tan interior better than the black. The black shown dust easily.

3. The P85+ definitely drives better when I am driving aggressively. It really hugs the road and handles cornering better

4. The loaner uses more energy than my car. It is hard to say how much but definitely more since I have taken this trip 4-5 times with my MS.

5. My wife invented a phrase while on this trip that I should refrain from "driving like an S in my Model S" - but I told her that it was so much fun to accelerate Like another MS owner call it - identify and occupy

I am looking forward to getting my baby back tomorrow. Maybe I will post an update tomorrow after getting my MS back and seeing how it feels different.

 

[David_Cary]

Perhaps the + helps tame suspension movements during hard acceleration making the car feel a little slower. The squat and slightly out of control feeling in a P85 under full acceleration is a little dramatic. Remove the drama and maybe it doesn't feel as fast.

I suspect we judge acceleration with more than just a G-meter on our back side.

 

[texex91]

I think you're thread is spot on. For those who are coming out of a sports car (Porsche, etc), the + is probably going to be more in line with what we are use to driving. I had originally ordered the P85, but then quickly upgraded to +, as I wanted exactly what was on the test drive. Amazing handling, suspension, sticking to the road, great ride (with air suspen), etc.

I think Tesla hit it spot on with + for those that want a more sporty feel to their S. After reading what cars people are trading out of, it's not a surprise that the + is a great choice for many.

 

[lloyds]

Very true. On the corners, that is when you truly understand the reason to get the +.

 

[vgrinshpun]

Recently I had a P85 loaner and had a chance to compare it with my P85+. I also was initially puzzled that P85 felt a little faster that P85+, but after checking acceleration with my iPhone Dynalolicious app, the reality was that P85 was slower than my P85+.

After thinking it over I came to exactly the same conclusion as David_Cary - the suspension feels looser in P85 and definitely allows car to squat under hard acceleration, creating impression that it is faster than it really is.

 

[xradr]

@ David_Carey & vgrinshpun,

This makes a lot of sense. I suspect it was the perception of acceleration rather than objective difference. Thanks much for the expertise!