Curious to see if this resonates with any of you.
I've had Mr. T for about three weeks now. It was love at first sight, love even harder at first drive, and love out the wazoo now. There are some little fit and finish things that could be improved over the next few iterations, but none that really bother me. I mean, even Cindy Crawford has a mole. The fundamentals -- the platform -- are amazing.
The best part of Model S performance is that it doesn't feel like performance. It feels effortless. There is a formal definition of acceleration (second derivative of position with respect to time), but when I think of a car "accelerating", I think of the relationship between a jockey and a horse: it's a collaboration, and takes a certain degree of effort from both man and beast. The jockey controls the beast, but it is still a beast. You must communicate with the beast, the beast must yield, and the beast must work very hard to honor your command, if it even can.
The Model S is entirely different. I never "accelerate". I just go where I want to go. If I have to move faster or slower to get there, it just... happens. Immediately. The car feels like an extension of my body and mind. Driving it is as effortless as walking.
Sheer power is certainly part of it, but the real magic of Model S is its immediacy. There is no synchromesh delay, no torque converter delay, just absolutely instant response to the pedal. That's what makes it feel like part of you, rather than like a separate entity that needs to be convinced. It is unlike anything else I've ever driven, and I don't think I could ever go back.
I've had Mr. T for about three weeks now. It was love at first sight, love even harder at first drive, and love out the wazoo now. There are some little fit and finish things that could be improved over the next few iterations, but none that really bother me. I mean, even Cindy Crawford has a mole. The fundamentals -- the platform -- are amazing.
The best part of Model S performance is that it doesn't feel like performance. It feels effortless. There is a formal definition of acceleration (second derivative of position with respect to time), but when I think of a car "accelerating", I think of the relationship between a jockey and a horse: it's a collaboration, and takes a certain degree of effort from both man and beast. The jockey controls the beast, but it is still a beast. You must communicate with the beast, the beast must yield, and the beast must work very hard to honor your command, if it even can.
The Model S is entirely different. I never "accelerate". I just go where I want to go. If I have to move faster or slower to get there, it just... happens. Immediately. The car feels like an extension of my body and mind. Driving it is as effortless as walking.
Sheer power is certainly part of it, but the real magic of Model S is its immediacy. There is no synchromesh delay, no torque converter delay, just absolutely instant response to the pedal. That's what makes it feel like part of you, rather than like a separate entity that needs to be convinced. It is unlike anything else I've ever driven, and I don't think I could ever go back.
