Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Test drove the 70d and 85d

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Friends, Romans and countrymen,

I just test drove both the 70d and 85d back to back. I did not test drive the p85d for fear of liking it too much.
As background, I had never driven Model S before (I've sat in one) or for that matter an EV. My current car is a high end Acura sedan (don't laugh).

Here is my review.

This car is f'ing nuts! It leaps like a bunny. It feels lithe like a 16 year old gymnast. It looks sexier than all hollywood starlets, smoother than their female counterpart's legs, and yet strong like putin.
The car is big, but doesn't feel big when you drive it. You look behind and really appreciate how big it is, its uncanny. Goes without saying, its roomy and comfy.
You will not like driving an ICE after you drive this - I mean I don't hate driving my ICE, but certainly I feel the vibration and noise now.
The difference between say a ruckety 1985 corolla vs. my car, and my car and Tesla is approximately the same.
The MS is smooth smooth smooth. And even at 45mph on an inside road, with the pano roof open, I coud hear the wind rustling through the leaves.
I could hear tire noise with the pano roof open though (but it had 21" wheels). With the pano roof open 100%, there is significant buffeting, but at 75% its fine.
The sun does not beat down on you with the roof closed.

I couldn't tell the difference between coils/19" and SAS/21".
The Audio both base, and the 2500 ultra hifi whatever are WEAK, both of 'em!.
The $2500 audio is weaker than my Acura, which is just sad. But the $2500 audio is better than the base audio.

Now between 70d and 85d, the freeway speeds here are 55. Frankly the 85d was SLIGHTLY faster, but not 10k faster.
0-30 I don't notice any difference. At 60+ (which I didn't try of course), there was minor difference. My feeling is, get 85d for range, not speed.
Both cars had enough power for normal use. Maybe if your speed limits are 75 routinely, the 85 makes more sense. At 65 speed limit - uhh its a toss up.
At 55, the 85 to me makes zero sense except the extra range.

The speed limit recognition works VERY well. The TACC works well enough for my needs. Didn't get to test the autoheadlights and autopilot isn't out yet.

Finally, they had a new blue on the floor with tan interior. There aren't enough pictures of this new blue on the interwebs, so I took some pictures for all of us to enjoy and lust over.
The new blue is gorgeous, looks especially nice with tan. I saw the new blue from a distance at a service center earlier, didn't care much for it.
But maybe it was the showroom lights? Not sure! I'm back to confused, black or blue! Hmm!

Anyway, here are the pictures, drool away my darlings!

IMG_0082 - Copy.jpg
IMG_0083 - Copy.jpg
IMG_0084 - Copy.jpg
IMG_0085 - Copy.jpg
IMG_0086 - Copy.jpg


Finally, if this post gets indexed, searched, goes viral, please also do realize, Model S is far from perfect.
High maint. costs, questionable reliability, and high repair costs are things you MUST consider.
Please also see this thread - Model S reliability issues
My choice is going to be - I'm gonna go for it. But I will eventually get the extended warranty.
 
Now between 70d and 85d, the freeway speeds here are 55. Frankly the 85d was SLIGHTLY faster, but not 10k faster.

High maint. costs, questionable reliability, and high repair costs are things you MUST consider.

Uh, trust me 85D *is* $10K faster.

"High maint. costs"? What goes into this statement? There is virtually no maintenance.

Your poll does not support a "questionable reliability" verdict.

High repair costs, no doubt.
 
Well hopefully they work out the reliablility issue by now on the 2015 cars. Also the 4 year 50K miles should cover all the small and large issue with the car. That being said, i am now considering getting the bare minimum. I.e. no air no paneramic roof no auto lifegate not cornering fog lights etc. All of these can go wrong and it might be down the road when warranty is out. I guess i can live without all those amenities.
 
@kuttakamina is that the Tysons showroom?

Montogomery mall

- - - Updated - - -

Well hopefully they work out the reliablility issue by now on the 2015 cars. Also the 4 year 50K miles should cover all the small and large issue with the car. That being said, i am now considering getting the bare minimum. I.e. no air no paneramic roof no auto lifegate not cornering fog lights etc. All of these can go wrong and it might be down the road when warranty is out. I guess i can live without all those amenities.

I think either get the full MS experience or not at all. Look at it this way, wait a year, and pick a CPO for 10k cheaper.
The pano roof is nice. The tech package is nice.

One thing I forgot to mention, even if you don't get the autopilot, the blind spot recognition, lane departure warning, and speed limit readings still work. What doesn't work as of today is TACC and auto headlights, and probably more later.

- - - Updated - - -

P85D is the best of them all, it is a marvel. But spendy.

yes. But forget the money part, God has been kind, money thankfully is not an issue. I just don't need a p85d, neither do I have her maturity to handle one.
 
Now between 70d and 85d, the freeway speeds here are 55. Frankly the 85d was SLIGHTLY faster, but not 10k faster.
0-30 I don't notice any difference. At 60+ (which I didn't try of course), there was minor difference. My feeling is, get 85d for range, not speed.
Uh, trust me 85D *is* $10K faster.
70D85DP85D
5.2s 0-604.4s 0-603.1s 0-60
140mph155mph155mph
$57,500 (after whatever)$67,500 (after whatever)$87,500 (after whatever)

70D -> 85D
15% quicker to 60mph = (5.2-4.4)/5.2
10% faster = (155-140)/140
+$10K

85D -> P85D
29% quicker to 60mph = (4.4-3.1)/4.4
0% faster
+$20K

It's much easier to experience the difference (riding/driving) and see the value proposition (#s) for the first upgrade.

That said, there's always a premium for top of the line. But, if you're able to use it (locale and/or track events), the "jump" from 0 in a P85D is, well, a singular experience among vehicles in multiple categories (sedans, EVs, price range, etc.).
 
70D85DP85D
5.2s 0-604.4s 0-603.1s 0-60
140mph155mph155mph
$57,500 (after whatever)$67,500 (after whatever)$87,500 (after whatever)
70D -> 85D
15% quicker = (5.2-4.4)/5.2
10% faster = (155-140)/140
+$10K

85D -> P85D
29% quicker = (4.4-3.1)/4.4
0% faster
+$20K

It's much easier to experience the difference (riding/driving) and see the value proposition (#s) for the first upgrade.

That said, there's always a premium for top of the line. And, if you're able to use it (locale and/or track events), the "jump" from 0 in a P85D is, well, a singular experience among vehicles in multiple categories (sedans, EVs, price range, etc.).

Yes but I seriously doubt there is any difference between 70d and 85d in 0-30.
I wish there was a breakdown of 0-30 and 30-60.

Either way, 70d is "fast enough for me" :)
 
Yes but I seriously doubt there is any difference between 70d and 85d in 0-30.
I wish there was a breakdown of 0-30 and 30-60.
You might want to keep an eye on this thread:
0-60/30-50/50-70 comparitive times for 70D/85D/P85D

Note that post 2 has a wiki.

That said, I find it odd that you think the meat of the 0.8s difference between the 85D and 70D is in the 30-60 part of 0-60 rather than in the 0-30 part. You might want to look here (graph of S85 vs. P85 vs. P85D) to see why I find that odd:
P85D 691HP should have an asterisk * next to it.. - Page 68
 
You might want to keep an eye on this thread:
0-60/30-50/50-70 comparitive times for 70D/85D/P85D

Note that post 2 has a wiki.

That said, I find it odd that you think the meat of the 0.8s difference between the 85D and 70D is in the 30-60 part of 0-60 rather than in the 0-30 part.

That thread reads like this -->

"We can't really tell which is faster, we need super accurate instruments to be 100% sure".

Meanwhile, I can measure the saved 10K quite accurately.
Thats a free McD ice cream for the next 29 years! (Not considering inflation)
Everybody loves ice cream!
 
Yes but I seriously doubt there is any difference between 70d and 85d in 0-30.
I wish there was a breakdown of 0-30 and 30-60.

Either way, 70d is "fast enough for me" :)

i agree with your assessment completely. I ordered the 70D after the test drive. I cannot tell the difference at my average speeds. We're talking about 0.8 sec... Maybe I am not sophisticated enough to feel it but to me the 10k difference was not worth it. I just used the money to get every upgrade I wanted. The range is also not a huge issue for me. Plenty of chargers around and a superchargers all around with the closest one 5 miles away.

Now if anyone can tell me how to summon the patience needed to suffer throug the months leading to delivery :)

- - - Updated - - -

That thread reads like this -->

"We can't really tell which is faster, we need super accurate instruments to be 100% sure".

Meanwhile, I can measure the saved 10K quite accurately.
Thats a free McD ice cream for the next 29 years! (Not considering inflation)
Everybody loves ice cream!

Did I just waste 29 years worth of ice cream on the upgrades? ;)

- - - Updated - - -

This car is f'ing nuts! It leaps like a bunny. It feels lithe like a 16 year old gymnast. It looks sexier than all hollywood starlets, smoother than their female counterpart's legs, and yet strong like putin.

I'm back to confused, black or blue!

The strong like Putin part is awesome :). Now I can't get his shirtless, horseback image out of my head.

As for the colors, I think the Titanium is a great color. New, so there won't be a ton of other MS's around looking like yours for a while. Light enough so that every speck of dust is not visible from a mile away but not white which would suffer from the same problem.

Black is is a great color but not practical. I've driven a black 5 series for a while and while it looked great it was NEVER clean. It looked dusty right out of the car wash.
 
The 85D has the 70D to thank for being so fast.

When the 85D was announced/released it wasn't as fast as it is now. It was made faster when they announced the 70D, and updated the firmware on the 85D.

I think that plays a part as to why the 85D often gets ignored or overlooked. It meets the really sweet spot in terms of power/price between the 70D, and the P85D. But, both of those cars took the spot light.

Its still not a P85D because it doesn't have the same handling that comes with a P85D or the harsh ride. If I was someone that wanted a comfy fast sedan than the 85D would be pretty ideal. For me personally when I select a car for performance I want the better handling even if it comes at a cost of a harsh ride.

Performance wise the only thing I really feel like I'm giving up with the 70D is the 30-70 time. It's the one area where I can see the 85D being significantly faster. We still don't have the numbers, but I'm sure the 85D is at least 1 to 1.5 seconds faster than the 70D.
 
Last edited: