My feedback on my new Tesla Model S.

[aigomorla]

So last Thursday i made pickup on my custom ordered Model S.
She is a P100D i named Nadeshiko.
Yes its funny you can actually name your Tesla, and the name comes out on the App.

The car is great, but it definitely has a lot of faults.
So in my honest opinion i will try to state both of them incase anyone is interested in a Model S from a non Elon worshiper stand point.

Good: (im gonna be brief on this one as im sure everyone has already heard all the goods about the car)

1.The general Drive
The car is amazingly fast.
Instant Torque is no joke.
2.5s 0-60 launch time without ludicrous plus is also no joke.
The other day I pulled next to a 911 on the freeway on ramp.
He was creeping on the light, and then BAM... i can tell he was majorly disappointed that a 4 door basically ground stomped him.
Regenerative braking is awesome.
I almost drive with 1 pedal. The brake is only used when i need to do a complete stop, otherwise its one pedal driving.
I hear because of this the average Tesla undergoes very little brake changes.

2. No need for Gas.
Go home, plug it in.
At work plug it in.
The range on the car is about 284 miles projected @ 90% but i am guessing its more around 240ish actual with a heavy foot on the pedal.
Electricity math puts me at around 40 dollars extra per month on a 800 mile average.

3. Tech on the car.
OK, this is going to be a long one.
The google maps is a god send. Why don't other car makers just use google maps for heavens sake.
Google maps alone will kill any of the other car makers navigation without even trying.
The extremely large touch screen up front is eye candy for techies.
The Summon feature on the car is great for making people go WOW, or that idiot who decides to park really close to you and block your door.
The car has free LTE, it streams from Streamin for music which works pretty good... id say almost on par for XM but its free. Tunein i haven't used much.
The car will also know when charging has started, finished, interrupted, and will also tell me where the car is in case i lose it at a parking lot (unless i have 0 signal on my LTE).


The bad
1. The car has an obnoxiously wide butt.
It literally feels like a corvette in the rear, infact its even wider then a vette and camero. The rear flares out where when you look at your side view mirror, you will see the rear fenders. Vette owners know what i mean when i state that. I guess its for sports handling, but i think it makes the car a bit too wide.

2. The width.
Its wider then my parents Benz S class @ 77.3 inches (1964mm).
It has a really bad turn radius on top, and since its so wide, im having to do more 3 point turns then anything.
This car is the widest thing i have ever driven.

3. The finishes.
Sigh.... i think we all know how bad tesla is with finishes... so i wont go into detail, but my bumper came slightly crooked. Thank god my PPF detailer said he would fix it, since they need to remove the bumper to apply my Xpel Ultimate, but the dealer said they could fix it, but they weren't sure if they can make it perfect, so i told them i'll do it.
But Tesla's definitely have THE WORST finishes.

4. Very difficult car to get in and get out.
The doors are so small on the thing, not to mention your sitting low to the ground, it makes getting in and out of the car difficult.
Again, comparing it to my parents S class, its worlds apart.
This is definitely NOT a car you want if you have bad knee's / hips.
Add to the fact it has no coat hanger handles for you to grip onto, your forced to grab the frame of the car when you want to slide in, and slide out.
This makes me worried on how long the seats and leather will last from all the sliding you do getting in and out.

5. Software Issues.
SIGH.... i was fortunate to get the new MCU which is based off the Intel Processor.
Yes Tesla went with Intel and ditched their partnership with Nvidia.
However the software / firmware, is so buggy it makes me cry sometimes.
My navigation got stuck, had to call tesla and ask for them to reset my car.
Since its a new MCU the tech was sort of lost on how to reset my car and just told me to bring it into a service center. Service center tech tried 30 min to reset the car, got really annoyed, and did the hard reset which involved pulling my 12v battery.
It reminds me of launch on CPU's / Motherboards.
Your going to get all these issues with them until a couple of firmwares roll out, which i find hilarious, but one is a PC, the other is car.
Oh i still also can not get my Wifi to connect reliably on the car, nor can i use the phone app to summon it.

6. Minimalist Design.
Yea, this is where i see the biggest complaints.
If your looking for a luxury car, stay away.
The Interior on the car is very simple.
Its not a BMW, its not a BENZ, its definitely not an AUDI.
If you want those seat massagers, premium stitched leather seats, ambient LED interior, this car is definitely not that.

7. The Insurance / Body Repair
Some insurance companies will not insure a tesla.
It has to do with the tech + all aluminum construction.
That means most of the time if u get into a moderate accident, your car will be totaled, as the repair bill will most likely exceed 70% of the cost of the car.
Alu has 0 memory, requires special machines to repair, and is very labor intensive, so if u dent a door, bend a pillar, that means $$$$. Most cases, the repair shop will just buy a new panel, and put it on vs, trying to pull it out.
Add to the fact there are not many authorized repair centers, or the long wait on getting parts, if your the type to get into an accident (your fault or not) very often, stay away from this car, unless you like watching it from the body shop.

More to come as i drive the car more.
Its definitely a fun car to drive, but slowly i am starting to think its not very practical, and possibly more similar to an exotic.

 

[Zivic]

my brother works in the autobody industry.... sees a fair amount of these get written off. I would suspect this would ultimately be a big factor for some to shy away from them.

other than being techie and a one trick pony with the 0-60, they don't interest me. they just seem like an appliance with no soul. An expensive novelty appliance.

I look at the rimac on the otherhand. it has a soul ... granted at a million plus it should, but until that experience trickles down to a reasonably affordable car I'll leave the electric cars alone

 

[Yuriman]

Frankly I love owning an aluminum car, just don't wreck it. Light weight, don't have to worry about salt/rust, and very minimal body roll. It does seem to transmit road noise a bit more than steel.

 

[aigomorla]

sees a fair amount of these get written off.

I think it also has to do with the fact they get a lot on salvages due to the lithium battery pack.
Most of the time the thing is undamaged, its encased in titanium from my knowledge.
That thing has to be worth $$$$.

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme...educe-risk-of-battery-fires-to-virtually-zero

It does seem to transmit road noise a bit more than steel.

This is another problem with the car.
It being eletric without a varoom varoom noise, your ears tend to focus more on the woosh woosh noise, which is another common problem a lot of tesla owners complain about.

 

[Yuriman]

This is another problem with the car.
It being eletric without a varoom varoom noise, your ears tend to focus more on the woosh woosh noise, which is another common problem a lot of tesla owners complain about.

Tires become doubly important. Of course, grippy tires are not likely to be the quietest ones you can put on the car.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

>> Buys 100K car
>> Starts to think it's not "practical"
>> Compares the car to Vettes and S Class Benz

While there are certainly some high rollers on these forums, you do know that the absolute vast majority of people would not even consider using the word "practical" on this car, or pretty much any car in this price range right? The car is its own "special sauce" of exotic, just like every other car is in that price bracket. There's no sales in "practical" cars for 100K.

 

[bradly1101]

What about the buttonless/knobless dash and steering wheel? What's it like to touch-screen it for everything? I think about how often I use my steering controls or reach over to crank the AC all while keeping my eyes on the road. What's that like?

According to Consumer Reports surveys, it is one of the most unreliable cars in the western world. Does that concern you?

 

[aigomorla]

What about the buttonless/knobless dash and steering wheel?
What's it like to touch-screen it for everything? I think about how often I use my steering controls or reach over to crank the AC all while keeping my eyes on the road. What's that like?

According to Consumer Reports surveys, it is one of the most unreliable cars in the western world. Does that concern you?

I can pretty much do a lot on the knobs on the wheel.
If you push on them they goto like a menu mode where u can select different views for the from display.
The AC option is located at the way bottom.
You can turn it on, adjust the temp, if you want to change the vents tho, you will need to go into the screen options.

As for reliability, i have been doing a lot of research on it.
I have the extended warranty so basically the entire car is covered for 8 yrs or 100,000k miles.
The car is suposed to be overall more reliable then a ICE car of comparable catigory.
I guess only time will tell, but so far its been to the service station twice to get the MCU resetted.

>> Buys 100K car
>> Starts to think it's not "practical"
>> Compares the car to Vettes and S Class Benz

While there are certainly some high rollers on these forums, you do know that the absolute vast majority of people would not even consider using the word "practical" on this car, or pretty much any car in this price range right? The car is its own "special sauce" of exotic, just like every other car is in that price bracket. There's no sales in "practical" cars for 100K.

I consider some luxury cars as practical.
The Benz S class is a very practical car, if you can afford it.
It has great seats, it feels great when you drive it.
It has a lot of tech on the car, while having a very flashy interior with its RGB interior lighting.

I also like the BMW 7 class.
I also feel that is a very practical car.
And the A8 is an AMAZING car which i also see as practical.

Why does a car need to be a Camry or an Accord to be practical?

Heck, people that can afford Bently's even call the Benteyga a great and practical SUV, with a MSRP of 229k.

Infact no one told me a Tesla would be considered as an exotic.
All the reviews compare it to an S class, or 7 series.
The test drive i got to do with it for 15-20 min i feel now was not enough.

Would i still buy the car knowing everything now?
Probably, i access to other cars if i need something more long range and comfortable.
The car is, and will be exciting to drive especially with the launch time it is.

I made this thread so i could share somethings people should note of when looking at the car.
If it offends you, then sorry, i'll just stick to a tesla forum to share views on it, since it seems like its offending some.

 

[Yuriman]

Why does a car need to be a Camry or an Accord to be practical?

Do you feel comfortable stuffing a sheet of plywood in the cabin in your Tesla, or throwing some dirty tires in the trunk? A bicycle half hanging out? Bags of dirt, which might leak/spill?

 

[aigomorla]

Do you feel comfortable stuffing a sheet of plywood in the cabin in your Tesla, or throwing some dirty tires in the trunk? A bicycle half hanging out? Bags of dirt, which might leak/spill?

plywood yes, i have a weatherized trunk matt.
Dirty tires... again yes because of weatherized tire mat.
Bycycle... i dont think it will even fit half way in the trunk... maybe if i fold the chairs down, but again... yes i wouldnt mind.
I allow my dog to ride in the back seat, if that will answer your question.

Bags of dirt? really? i wouldnt do that even in a Camry or an Accord.
Would you and risk getting all that all over the place in your car and fronting a car wash detail bill?
I would use my companies cargo van for things like that... i have even loaded it up with maneur before, but that car i would not consider practical as a daily driver.

 

[XavierMace]

throwing some dirty tires in the trunk? A bicycle half hanging out? Bags of dirt, which might leak/spill?

I wouldn't do any of that in a Hyundai either. It's $20 to rent a pickup from Home Depot, that's cheaper than the hours it's going to take me to clean my car after trying to use it as a pickup.

 

[thedarkwolf]

It isn't just that aluminum is harder to work with it is also that the body shop has to be approved by Tesla. The body shop basically has you by the balls and can charge what ever the hell they want because *%$# you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18MItauAgKo
Good example of $34k worth of damage to a model s. Insurance companies will just say the hell with it, they save more money by totaling it and auctioning it off because they bring good money at auction.

 

[Accord99]

The google maps is a god send. Why don't other car makers just use google maps for heavens sake.
Google maps alone will kill any of the other car makers navigation without even trying.

Though I believe that's only for display, the underlying navigation engine is someone else and has some limitations, like no waypoint support.

 

[bradly1101]

Yes, plunking down that much cash to some is practical. Nice things are nice (although I'd stick to CR's rec. Lexus over S's or 7's for the many, many reasons they list).

I can't imagine, but I guess some people lease those, and every little scrape from someone else's car must be dealt with or lease return could get ugly, and with aluminum, sheesh! It's good that you can afford that though as a purchase, and I truly have a lot of respect for very successful people.

I had a lady back into my newish car last week in a parking lot and pushed a little metal in and a trim piece sticks out a little now. I thought about all the hassles about estimates, repair, loaner, her insurance going up... It's not worth it. I'm never going to sell the car so what do I care? She acted as if I was a saint or something, and going by the damage on her car I wanted to get her a backup camera.

I think my car is worth about a quarter of a Tesla's price. I think I'd want Star Trek shields around a Tesla, but I forget that to some it's not that much money. That's cool, and I'd never compare myself to that cuz I wouldn't look so good to me.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

There's no sales in "practical" cars for 100K.

https://www.trucks.com/2017/09/28/ford-super-duty-limited-pickup-truck-100k/

 

[TheGreatBigDog]

So last Thursday i made pickup on my custom ordered Model S.
She is a P100D i named Nadeshiko.
Yes its funny you can actually name your Tesla, and the name comes out on the App.

The car is great, but it definitely has a lot of faults.
So in my honest opinion i will try to state both of them incase anyone is interested in a Model S from a non Elon worshiper stand point.

Good: (im gonna be brief on this one as im sure everyone has already heard all the goods about the car)

1.The general Drive
The car is amazingly fast.
Instant Torque is no joke.
2.5s 0-60 launch time without ludicrous plus is also no joke.
The other day I pulled next to a 911 on the freeway on ramp.
He was creeping on the light, and then BAM... i can tell he was majorly disappointed that a 4 door basically ground stomped him.
Regenerative braking is awesome.
I almost drive with 1 pedal. The brake is only used when i need to do a complete stop, otherwise its one pedal driving.
I hear because of this the average Tesla undergoes very little brake changes.

2. No need for Gas.
Go home, plug it in.
At work plug it in.
The range on the car is about 284 miles projected @ 90% but i am guessing its more around 240ish actual with a heavy foot on the pedal.
Electricity math puts me at around 40 dollars extra per month on a 800 mile average.

3. Tech on the car.
OK, this is going to be a long one.
The google maps is a god send. Why don't other car makers just use google maps for heavens sake.
Google maps alone will kill any of the other car makers navigation without even trying.
The extremely large touch screen up front is eye candy for techies.
The Summon feature on the car is great for making people go WOW, or that idiot who decides to park really close to you and block your door.
The car has free LTE, it streams from Streamin for music which works pretty good... id say almost on par for XM but its free. Tunein i haven't used much.
The car will also know when charging has started, finished, interrupted, and will also tell me where the car is in case i lose it at a parking lot (unless i have 0 signal on my LTE).


The bad
1. The car has an obnoxiously wide butt.
It literally feels like a corvette in the rear, infact its even wider then a vette and camero. The rear flares out where when you look at your side view mirror, you will see the rear fenders. Vette owners know what i mean when i state that. I guess its for sports handling, but i think it makes the car a bit too wide.

2. The width.
Its wider then my parents Benz S class @ 77.3 inches (1964mm).
It has a really bad turn radius on top, and since its so wide, im having to do more 3 point turns then anything.
This car is the widest thing i have ever driven.

3. The finishes.
Sigh.... i think we all know how bad tesla is with finishes... so i wont go into detail, but my bumper came slightly crooked. Thank god my PPF detailer said he would fix it, since they need to remove the bumper to apply my Xpel Ultimate, but the dealer said they could fix it, but they weren't sure if they can make it perfect, so i told them i'll do it.
But Tesla's definitely have THE WORST finishes.

4. Very difficult car to get in and get out.
The doors are so small on the thing, not to mention your sitting low to the ground, it makes getting in and out of the car difficult.
Again, comparing it to my parents S class, its worlds apart.
This is definitely NOT a car you want if you have bad knee's / hips.
Add to the fact it has no coat hanger handles for you to grip onto, your forced to grab the frame of the car when you want to slide in, and slide out.
This makes me worried on how long the seats and leather will last from all the sliding you do getting in and out.

5. Software Issues.
SIGH.... i was fortunate to get the new MCU which is based off the Intel Processor.
Yes Tesla went with Intel and ditched their partnership with Nvidia.
However the software / firmware, is so buggy it makes me cry sometimes.
My navigation got stuck, had to call tesla and ask for them to reset my car.
Since its a new MCU the tech was sort of lost on how to reset my car and just told me to bring it into a service center. Service center tech tried 30 min to reset the car, got really annoyed, and did the hard reset which involved pulling my 12v battery.
It reminds me of launch on CPU's / Motherboards.
Your going to get all these issues with them until a couple of firmwares roll out, which i find hilarious, but one is a PC, the other is car.
Oh i still also can not get my Wifi to connect reliably on the car, nor can i use the phone app to summon it.

6. Minimalist Design.
Yea, this is where i see the biggest complaints.
If your looking for a luxury car, stay away.
The Interior on the car is very simple.
Its not a BMW, its not a BENZ, its definitely not an AUDI.
If you want those seat massagers, premium stitched leather seats, ambient LED interior, this car is definitely not that.

7. The Insurance / Body Repair
Some insurance companies will not insure a tesla.
It has to do with the tech + all aluminum construction.
That means most of the time if u get into a moderate accident, your car will be totaled, as the repair bill will most likely exceed 70% of the cost of the car.
Alu has 0 memory, requires special machines to repair, and is very labor intensive, so if u dent a door, bend a pillar, that means $$$$. Most cases, the repair shop will just buy a new panel, and put it on vs, trying to pull it out.
Add to the fact there are not many authorized repair centers, or the long wait on getting parts, if your the type to get into an accident (your fault or not) very often, stay away from this car, unless you like watching it from the body shop.

More to come as i drive the car more.
Its definitely a fun car to drive, but slowly i am starting to think its not very practical, and possibly more similar to an exotic.

The Tesla is a nice car. I remember getting my first one, I got it for my wife actually and that was well before there was a Model S.
Since then we have purchased more of their cars when we need a new vehicle.

 

[bigi]

OP. Thanks for your thoughts.

Most of your feelings are well known by now. Some are facts, some are subjective as well. In any case, I can relate to the door size and getting in and out.

We went to test drive the Model X last year. It was all great with the X. I also wanted to just sit inside model S and could not get in at all. Can't imagine getting in/out on daily basis. It had more to do with seat to roof height.

Next, Model S is already showing its age. It's been reported from model 3 owners that they prefer model 3 a lot more than their model S. Also, model 3 by now have been only rear drives. Now, I want to see how dual motor model 3 preforms.

Enjoy your S. I am sure it is a beast overall.

 

[bradly1101]

A quick read on the 7.

http://www3.forbes.com/business/15-new-cars-to-avoid/2/

 

[dave_the_nerd]

A quick read on the 7.

http://www3.forbes.com/business/15-new-cars-to-avoid/2/

How old is that article? It doesn't mention model years, but mentions Scion, but they got canned by Toyota a couple years ago.

*scratches head*

 

[bradly1101]

How old is that article? It doesn't mention model years, but mentions Scion, but they got canned by Toyota a couple years ago.

*scratches head*

I'm not sure, I think the photo is of the newest model, but I read an article a long time ago in CR, and also back then S's, Q's, and 7's didn't rate well at all.

 

[Gillbot]

You spelled CamAro wrong n00b

 

[BurnItDwn]

I wouldn't do any of that in a Hyundai either. It's $20 to rent a pickup from Home Depot, that's cheaper than the hours it's going to take me to clean my car after trying to use it as a pickup.

These are all things a Subaru does

 

[dave_the_nerd]

These are all things a Subaru does

I happen to know that you can fit enough 2x4s (4' and 8' lengths) to reframe most of a kitchenette in a 2007 Ford Focus.

And it's a 2007 Ford Focus, so you don't really care if it's dirty or not.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I happen to know that you can fit enough 2x4s (4' and 8' lengths) to reframe most of a kitchenette in a 2007 Ford Focus.

And it's a 2007 Ford Focus, so you don't really care if it's dirty or not.

Indeed, a Focus is a fine automobile. Especially the older Wagon Trims, but, the hatchback trims are certainly useful.

To be honest, my previous car was a Chrysler 300M, which is more or less like the poor mans Benz, and I loaded the thing up with like 16 or 17 bags of topsoil when I needed some minor regrading to stop all the rain and all the snow melt from going directly into my basement. though a window well.

I also once loaded over half a ton of cinderblocks into the 300M.

My forester has seen a LOT more heavy loads of misc dirty crap over the years. It did have head gasket issues around 115K, but since fixing that, its been solid the last 15K.

 

[Pantoot]

In case the service center didn't tell you, you can reboot the MCU yourself by holding in both scroll wheels on the steering wheel.