What are some underrated features?

Footbag · May 25, 2015

I have been doing quite a bit of advocating for Tesla to others the past couple of weeks, extolling the virtues of the car. Certain things always get mentioned: performance, range, quietness, one footed driving. It got me thinking, what feature(s) do you very much appreciate, but at the same time, never really talk about to others?

- High beam assistant - I find this works incredibly well, better than I have experienced with Lexus vehicles at least. It just isn't very sexy to talk about.
- The car prompting you to save your profile when moving your seat. If it is a temporary adjustment, easy enough to ignore the pop up. That said, I have found a few times where I actually made the adjustment purposefully, but would not have thought to save it had it not prompted me to do so.
???

spentan · May 25, 2015

Google Search in Nav, (and how easy it is to use),

My 2015 S550 one was a fkn nightmare

Ugliest1 · May 25, 2015

- "Navigate to <pick somewhere>" and "Phone <whoever>"
- no shifting (an all-electrics advantage, one that tends to be so subtle one doesn't realize it for... more than a year... oops)
- another subtle one, no engine vibration on long trips. No feet getting burned off from the engine heat still making it through the firewall. And no (as someone here on TMC put it in some thread a while ago) ramping-up revving engine on acceleration to [possibly] encourage road rage (hey... it's a theory.).

SteveS0353 · May 25, 2015

Over the Air (OTA) firmware updates, adds features and makes the car better (?) over time. No other car has this capability -- yet.
Charge at home, full "tank" every morning, never have to go to a smelly, dirty gas station ever again.
Cheaper to run than conventional gas car. With solar on the house, potentially free to run.

jbcarioca · May 25, 2015

The bluetooth mobile phone connection that works every time all the time perfectly with voice actuation that is impeccable, and even learns both English and Portuguese pronunciations. Siri has problems with that last bit from time to time. When I compare to my BMW it does seem to be from the ICE Age.

SteveS0353 · May 25, 2015

Enormous amount of storage (trunk and frunk).
"Free" fast DC supercharging for road trips

ChadS · May 25, 2015

Ugliest1 said:
- another subtle one, no engine vibration on long trips.

I second that one. Few notice when they first drive an EV, and even when explained they don't see it as a big deal. But drive an EV for a while, and you get really used to it - and you definitely notice when you have to drive an ICE. The missing vibrations (along with less noise and smell) really does matter on a long trip. Road trips in an EV aren't as exhausting (heh) as those in an ICE.

It often gets lots in the accolades over the acceleration, but to me the responsiveness of the accelerator is a bigger deal. You touch the pedal, and you are moving faster. In a LEAF, maybe just a little faster; in a P85D, a lot faster. But in both cases, the car responds right away. Not having to wait for downshifts, turbo lag, rpm building, and even just driveline slack really spoils you. ICEs just feel mushy and broken. This is something that passengers can't notice; they have to drive the car. Even then, the whole experience is so difference they often don't notice on the first drive. But like the lack of vibration, after you drive one for a while you definitely notice if you have to go back to an ICE.

AEdennis · May 25, 2015

Lack of decent cup holders has cut down my soda consumption.

SteveS0353 · May 25, 2015

AEdennis said:
Lack of decent cup holders has cut down my soda consumption.

Way to turn a negative into a positive! Good one!

trils0n · May 25, 2015

My favorite is the backup camera can be left on all the time. It has become my 4th mirror and is really helpful for keeping aware of my surroundings. Must have feature now that I've used it like that for over 2 years.

hiroshiy · May 25, 2015

ChadS said:
I second that one. Few notice when they first drive an EV, and even when explained they don't see it as a big deal. But drive an EV for a while, and you get really used to it - and you definitely notice when you have to drive an ICE. The missing vibrations (along with less noise and smell) really does matter on a long trip. Road trips in an EV aren't as exhausting (heh) as those in an ICE.

It often gets lots in the accolades over the acceleration, but to me the responsiveness of the accelerator is a bigger deal. You touch the pedal, and you are moving faster. In a LEAF, maybe just a little faster; in a P85D, a lot faster. But in both cases, the car responds right away. Not having to wait for downshifts, turbo lag, rpm building, and even just driveline slack really spoils you. ICEs just feel mushy and broken. This is something that passengers can't notice; they have to drive the car. Even then, the whole experience is so difference they often don't notice on the first drive. But like the lack of vibration, after you drive one for a while you definitely notice if you have to go back to an ICE.

100% agree. It might be one of the primary reasons for ordinary people to move to EVs, or Tesla. Unfortunately the differences, no vibration and higher responsiveness, are not noticeable or recognizable on test drives, as @ChadS noted.

With ICE, I didn't travel like 200 miles a day in a car - used to take bullet train instead. However with Tesla it's much nicer experience to go 400 miles in one day round trip than bullet train! And I'm not even using Superchargers. Only CHAdeMO at the destination.

Ugliest1 · May 25, 2015

ChadS said:
Road trips in an EV aren't as exhausting (heh) as those in an ICE.

I saw what you did there... but I probably wouldn't have if you hadn't (heh)'d it... LOL

ChadS said:
It often gets lots in the accolades over the acceleration, but to me the responsiveness of the accelerator is a bigger deal. You touch the pedal, and you are moving faster. In a LEAF, maybe just a little faster; in a P85D, a lot faster. But in both cases, the car responds right away. Not having to wait for downshifts, turbo lag, rpm building, and even just driveline slack really spoils you. ICEs just feel mushy and broken. This is something that passengers can't notice; they have to drive the car. Even then, the whole experience is so difference they often don't notice on the first drive. But like the lack of vibration, after you drive one for a while you definitely notice if you have to go back to an ICE.

A friend of mine once described ICEs as internals all fighting each other for direction. I.e. the pistons go up and down, the crankshaft rotates at 90d (or whatever), the differential translates the crankshaft motion another 90d into driving power for the wheels, all of these mechanical things are trying to do something different than the thing next to it; result: shaking, rattling, and (eventually) rolling in presumably the right direction. What drama to get there. In contrast, not sure about other EVs but the Model S's motor and wheels go in the same direction. Very simple, but wow what a difference.

That's my complete layman's understanding of harnessing the gods beyond my power, anyway.

AmpedRealtor · May 25, 2015

Being able to enter a complete address into a simple search box for navigation is priceless! Most other cars force you to enter the numeric portion into a separate field, then the street name in another field, etc. Tesla's implementation makes sense if you've ever used a PC, Mac, or tablet. Everyone else's implementation is lame.

brucet999 · May 25, 2015

Ugliest1 said:
No feet getting burned off from the engine heat still making it through the firewall.

What ICE have you been driving, a '35 Hudson?

- - - Updated - - -

AEdennis said:
Lack of decent cup holders has cut down my soda consumption.

Apparently you have switched to lemonade?

EarlyAdopter · May 25, 2015

Being able to fill up at home.

This is the single biggest game changer for me, yet was something I couldn't even fathom the importance of until actually owning an EV, and the top reason why I will never be able to buy a gas car again.

brucet999 · May 25, 2015

I haven't yet ordered, but I always check out backseat comfort when shopping for a car. I was impressed that the center back seat in the MS is as cushy and comfortable as the side seats, so on road trips passengers don't have to draw straws to see who gets stuck in the middle.

David99 · May 25, 2015

EarlyAdopter said:
Being able to fill up at home.

This is the single biggest game changer for me, yet was something I couldn't even fathom the importance of until actually owning an EV, and the top reason why I will never be able to buy a gas car again.

I agree, that is so important and convenient. This is so hard to explain to people that don't have EVs.

I think the car's top safety is the most underrated thing. Most of us will never need it, but when it comes to it, it makes all the difference between surviving or not.

mspohr · May 25, 2015

Heated Steering Wheel!

chriSharek · May 25, 2015

mspohr said:
Heated Steering Wheel!

Yeah, I'm in Florida and I'm actually thinking about adding it to my order since it's only $1k!

I may eliminate my premium audio too - very disappointed with that.

Barry · May 25, 2015

chriSharek said:
Yeah, I'm in Florida and I'm actually thinking about adding it to my order since it's only $1k!

Why?
P.S. I have it, but it gets cold here :smile:

What are some underrated features?

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