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Yoke Steering

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Thanks for posting Omar, it seems you are getting more comfortable with the yoke. For me, it's a no. Even if I get comfortable after a while I won't be able to confidently loan the car to family members. Hoping a wheel with stalks is offered soon.

my biggest concern beyond just say to day frustration is what will happen in emergency maneuvers. Generally, in those situations, you flip back to muscle memory / instinct….I can see a lot of folks grabbing for a wheel instinctively and just snatching at air right before they hit something.
 
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What's interesting is that if I mute your commentary and just watch, it looks like someone struggling and just trying to make a bad idea work.
The last video is things I do not normally do--shuffle steer, parallel park (the 4 times a year comment was not hyperbole) and I had to drive 20 min to get to that traffic circle. I put this last video out because it convered were common questions. If someone needs to parallel park everyday, then my guess is they'll become a champ with the yoke in a few days. My everyday driving is uneventful and drama-free, but no one really wants to watch a video of me on a taco run, it would be kinda boring.
 
So, after living with the new control scheme for a couple of weeks, I will say I have become a fan of the turn signals. I like having them under my thumb and always accessible for most driving situations. With a stalk, you need to reposition our hand of perhaps loosen you give to flick the stalk, but with the buttons, you can use them when and still maintain a trim grip on the yoke. BTW, this really is not a yoke-specific thing. If Tesla ever releases a round wheel, I will assume it will have the same stalkless button setup.
 
The last video is things I do not normally do--shuffle steer, parallel park (the 4 times a year comment was not hyperbole) and I had to drive 20 min to get to that traffic circle. I put this last video out because it convered were common questions. If someone needs to parallel park everyday, then my guess is they'll become a champ with the yoke in a few days. My everyday driving is uneventful and drama-free, but no one really wants to watch a video of me on a taco run, it would be kinda boring.
It works for your use case and that's good. I have to do 3 or 5 point turns twice/day to get into/out of my garage. Watching you change gears on the screen was painful.
 
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why did Randy go to the round wheel for Pikes Peak?
Because of the way he drives, you'll notice how he pushes and pulls the wheel incrementally through tight turns. His hands end up at various positions that either don't exist on the yoke, or are awkward non-round edges that stick out to a different radius from the center at various points. If I drove like that on a track (which I don't, I keep my hands at 9-3), I would also find the yoke annoying/distracting/dangerous.
 
America has, in the main, large roundabouts - which actually defeats the objective, which is to slow traffic to a crawl so as to allow safe filtering - but in many parts of the world we have mini-roundabouts. These require almost 90’ turns in and out in quick succession plus the obligatory indicators. Which could be anywhere!
What might become acceptable to some in the US I think will be a huge turn-off for most of TROTW.
I think Tesla is going to have an essentially unsellable in quantity flagship product.
 
What's interesting is that if I mute your commentary and just watch, it looks like someone struggling and just trying to make a bad idea work.

I just tried watching the video with the sound muted and had the opposite thought. It made me appreciate how easy it is to use the turn indicators. It also showed how clean the view of the instrument cluster is. A round wheel will always obstruct the view at least partially. I remain undecided, but I can see some definite pros. The difficulty is deciding whether the pros outweigh the cons for everyday driving, and that will boil down largely to individual taste.

I wish someone with a round wheel would make a video for comparison. And also to answer the question of whether the buttons are the same on the round wheels.
 
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@omarsultan , after driving for several weeks, have you found any advantages of the yoke over the round wheel of your previous Teslas? We had to get used to several things on our Tesla's (one-pedal driving, touch screen everything), but they always have advantages that quickly outweigh the new learning curve.
OK, with ~1,000 miles under my belt, this is what I like:
  • Cockpit is feels much more open without the stalks and the smaller steering wheel. I recognize this is a "soft" benefit. but I really appreciate the new cockpit--I was driving my wife Model X while my car was getting tint and ceramic coat and it felt busy by comparison
  • Related to there above, the yoke allows full visibility to the instrument cluster--it opens up possibilities with the UI going forward
  • I have become a. big fan of the stalkless aspect of the yoke. Really like having the turn signals always under my thumb. In general, I like having controls within reach of my thumbs, so hand stay on the yoke.
  • I like the profile of the yoke--it is thicker and easier to grip than the Model X wheel
So, big win for design and aesthetics from the yoke and improved ergonomics from stalkless controls. I think, because the yoke forces a 3-9 o'clock hand position, it makes the stalkless aspect work, so they work together.

For me, I love the yoke, I would not swap back if Tesla gave me the option.
 
@omarsultan , after driving for several weeks, have you found any advantages of the yoke over the round wheel of your previous Teslas? We had to get used to several things on our Tesla's (one-pedal driving, touch screen everything), but they always have advantages that quickly outweigh the new learning curve.
I don't fully agree about the touchscreen - I find it difficult to touch the right place with my left hand finger (RH drive car, in case anyone was about to make a caustic comment) when moving and keeping my attention on the road.
It's great for settings and that sort of thing, but a pain when needing something like demist and you find you've switched on the seat heater or brought up the A/C menu.
 
OK, with ~1,000 miles under my belt, this is what I like:
  • Cockpit is feels much more open without the stalks and the smaller steering wheel. I recognize this is a "soft" benefit. but I really appreciate the new cockpit--I was driving my wife Model X while my car was getting tint and ceramic coat and it felt busy by comparison
  • Related to there above, the yoke allows full visibility to the instrument cluster--it opens up possibilities with the UI going forward
  • I have become a. big fan of the stalkless aspect of the yoke. Really like having the turn signals always under my thumb. In general, I like having controls within reach of my thumbs, so hand stay on the yoke.
  • I like the profile of the yoke--it is thicker and easier to grip than the Model X wheel
So, big win for design and aesthetics from the yoke and improved ergonomics from stalkless controls. I think, because the yoke forces a 3-9 o'clock hand position, it makes the stalkless aspect work, so they work together.

For me, I love the yoke, I would not swap back if Tesla gave me the option.

After 800+ miles in the last 6 days, I agree with his comments on the yoke.
 
Because of the way he drives, you'll notice how he pushes and pulls the wheel incrementally through tight turns. His hands end up at various positions that either don't exist on the yoke, or are awkward non-round edges that stick out to a different radius from the center at various points. If I drove like that on a track (which I don't, I keep my hands at 9-3), I would also find the yoke annoying/distracting/dangerous.
I can't fault Randy at all. When you are driving up to 140 mph on a winding mountain road without guard rails, that isn't the time to try something new and different. That said, Randy's choice for that particular race doesn't mean it would be wrong for someone else who has had plenty of experience with a yoke. Different spokes/yokes for different folks. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
 
Ever since Tesla decided to return my $1k deposit after the plaid-plus-cancellation-debacle where they initially refused to refund, I have been feeling better about Tesla and the possibility of buying a refreshed model S. The problem is the yoke wheel, where even though I respect the opinion of @omarsultan and others, I really don't want it. In particular I noticed when driving in recent days all the times I effortlessly let the wheel slide between my fingers with just the right pressure to smoothly recenter it after every sharp turn. You just can't do that with a yoke. The loss of that and Tesla's turning stalk controls into capacitive buttons is just no good for me.

But otherwise, the MS is a great enough car that I would be willing to pay up for a really good aftermarket steering wheel, which would bring me back to wanting to replace my old P85D with a new Plaid. The Tesla alternative real wheel which some people found hidden pictures of on the company website a while ago looks kind of ugly and still has the capacitive buttons. However it would be great if someone takes the basic frame and airbag unit to create a more stylish wheel that amounts to a Ferrari-esque manettino style steering wheel with physical buttons to replace the stalk functions where you can easily identify the buttons and thumb wheels by feel, and visually by color.

If someone comes up with this (I'm thinking of you, Unplugged Performance) then the MS would be back on my shopping list.
 
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I agree with @Hayseed_MS and @omarsultan. Love the yoke steering. Wasn't hard for me to get used to, feel like I have great control of the car at all times.

Also I think the yoke sets this car apart from others (even model Y and 3 among other things). Really gives a unique and premium feel to this car. Justifies paying more for a car like this.

Wouldn't trade it for a round wheel if given the option.
 
I agree with @Hayseed_MS and @omarsultan. Love the yoke steering. Wasn't hard for me to get used to, feel like I have great control of the car at all times.

Also I think the yoke sets this car apart from others (even model Y and 3 among other things). Really gives a unique and premium feel to this car. Justifies paying more for a car like this.

Wouldn't trade it for a round wheel if given the option.
If you love it, then more power to you: you have the car controls you want. But I’m too old to try to change my muscle memory on the hope I won’t make a mistake in a difficult driving situation. But the right aftermarket wheel lets us each have what we want.
 
Omar, I just watched your video. When you showed yourself parallel parking using the Yoke wheel that wasn't real life parallel parking. You had way to much room between the 2 cars. You could have just pulled in front of the first car and parked. It looked like you had 80 feet between the 2 cars. Try doing that again between 2 cars that are 25 feet apart and if possible with traffic behind you. I think that it will be much more difficult and frustrating trying to go from drive to reverse 3 or 4 times while the other people are waiting for you.
 
Omar, I just watched your video. When you showed yourself parallel parking using the Yoke wheel that wasn't real life parallel parking. You had way to much room between the 2 cars. You could have just pulled in front of the first car and parked. It looked like you had 80 feet between the 2 cars. Try doing that again between 2 cars that are 25 feet apart and if possible with traffic behind you. I think that it will be much more difficult and frustrating trying to go from drive to reverse 3 or 4 times while the other people are waiting for you.
It was about 2 car lengths, and sure, I could have parked in front of the BMW or I could have let AutoPark hand the task, but the goal was to demonstrate hand positions on the yoke while parallel parking.

As far as the screen shifter, I agree it is not as fast as the stalk-shifter, but on the other hand it is no worse than having a regular console or floor mounted shifter in terms hand motions. Personally, I'd love to see Tesla map the shifter to the right thumbwheel.
 
Omar, I just watched your video. When you showed yourself parallel parking using the Yoke wheel that wasn't real life parallel parking. You had way to much room between the 2 cars. You could have just pulled in front of the first car and parked. It looked like you had 80 feet between the 2 cars. Try doing that again between 2 cars that are 25 feet apart and if possible with traffic behind you. I think that it will be much more difficult and frustrating trying to go from drive to reverse 3 or 4 times while the other people are waiting for you.

Where I live and venture, there is not much parallel parking so yoke or not, I am not smooth. However, on the one occasion in the last week, it was doable. I did not see the screen shifter to be any hinderance.
 
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