I wanted to share some thoughts on my new P85D. For reference, my previous cars have been an 2001 Acura 3.2CL, 2004 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, 2010 Audi Q7 TDI, 2010 Lexus HS250h (hybrid). I had high expectations for the Model S, basically hoping for way better economy than my Hybrid, quality/luxury close to that of my Audi, and performance that beats everything I've ever owned, and it delivered. I can already tell it is the best car I have ever owned.
Now, I'm the kind of person that has lots of ideas and I wanted to share them here. I know there are people on the forums that don't own a MS yet, please don't take any of this to mean I'm unhappy with the vehicle. In fact I'm hoping many of these could be improved through software updates (what's the official method to suggest those?) and likely others can be fixed/improved with suggestions from more veteran owners.
First, the disadvantages I was aware of up front:
Next, some disadvantages I learned after placing my order and doing my test drive (through the forums) but certainly didn't cause me to change my mind:
Some nice surprises I have learned about the car:
Finally, some things I have observed during my first 24 hours and some suggestions to Tesla:
Now, I'm the kind of person that has lots of ideas and I wanted to share them here. I know there are people on the forums that don't own a MS yet, please don't take any of this to mean I'm unhappy with the vehicle. In fact I'm hoping many of these could be improved through software updates (what's the official method to suggest those?) and likely others can be fixed/improved with suggestions from more veteran owners.
First, the disadvantages I was aware of up front:
- I would have loved to have a convertible option (perhaps even a hard-top?) but obviously not realistic today. Perhaps the panoramic roof will be an adequate substitute, but it is summer in Atlanta right now so I can't report on that yet.
- Once in a while I'll miss the engine sound... there are some cars that sound great I could have bought for $100k+ (e.g. I love the sound of a Maserati). On the other hand, the car is even quieter and smoother than I expected, even with 21" wheels. Also loud engines get noticed by police too.
- I would have liked air-conditioned seats, however I have already found that using the mobile app to pre-condition the car is a substitute or really better than a/c seats (if you remember to do it).
- I had a heads-up display on my Lexus and it was very nice, I will miss that a little (although admittedly the Lexus one didn't get along with my polarized sunglasses so I didn't use it as much as I should have).
Next, some disadvantages I learned after placing my order and doing my test drive (through the forums) but certainly didn't cause me to change my mind:
- No spare tire: this is my first vehicle without a spare tire. I hear roadside assistance is great, but I'm fearing being stuck in Alabama with a flat tire or damaged wheel with my wife and two kids and a deadline to meet. Especially with the 21" wheels.
- I'd heard about Tesla service coming to you, but found out I'm more than 10 miles from the service center. But then I realized my work is within 10 miles so I'll just get them to drop off the loaner and pick up my car from work.
- Performance on the P85D decreases as charge level decreases. In reality I haven't even noticed any decrease going from 100% charge down to 50% charge. Perhaps I will one day.
- I'm going to have to deal with registering the can in GA since Tesla isn't a dealership. Not looking forward to that.
- I'm going to be charged $200/yr for an EV tax that is most likely not deductible on my federal taxes. Sadly enough I live so close to work and used to drive a hybrid that this might be more than I paid in gas. However we'll probably use the Tesla for some road trips that we would have done in our mini van so that will save some gas.
Some nice surprises I have learned about the car:
- Again, the quiet is stunning.
- The all-black interior with matte wood looks incredible.
- The performance is still stunning, at all charge levels and speeds I have incredible power.
- My 3.5yo daughter loves the 3rd-row seats (which we didn't get to see before ordering).
- The GUI-based walk-through of HomeLink setup was incredible, much better than using the manual.
- I can't tell for sure, but it seems the lane-departure vibration actually feels like it is coming from the side of the car that is causing the issue.
- We have dynamic speed limit signs on I-285 in Atlanta and it seems to read those correctly.
Finally, some things I have observed during my first 24 hours and some suggestions to Tesla:
- The only thing that really bothers me is that Creep Mode and Sport/Insane acceleration mode are NOT tied to driver profiles. My wife wants both of these set to the opposite of what I want them set to. The reality is we are going to have to agree on common settings because it is a hassle to manually change them back and forth each time and a possible safety concern if one of us forgets to change them.
- I was surprised at the lack of storage in the front seat such as no door pockets, etc. This is my first vehicle without a sunglasses holder, for example. I'm using the small shelf under the main display, however even with the rubber grippy lining my glasses fly out during acceleration.
- I kind of like the lack of center console, kind of freeing. But I really need better cupholders. I ordered the evannex insert and it didn't match my decor well enough, now I have ordered the official one.
- I'd like to be able to map air suspension control to the steering wheel (like you can with the pano roof). It is kind of slow to increase the height via the main display. Perhaps as I get more settings stored with GPS it will be less necessary (does the car tell you when it is adjusting based on GPS?)
- I'm surprised you can only have three HomeLink devices, it would be nice to have more (not that I need them, but some people might). I do like how the menu drops down when you get near the location of the devices but perhaps those could be on the steering wheel controls too?
- I'm not willing to jump into the learning mode for pre-conditioning quite yet, not sure it will give me enough visibility into what it is doing and why. But I'd like to be able to schedule without using the VisibleTesla app.
- For scheduled charging, why can't we tell the car when we want charging to finish rather than telling it when to start? I'd love the charge to finish right at about 7:45AM each morning but when it should start depends on how much it needs to charge.
- I was unloading groceries from my car and making several trips. Each time I opened the door the A/C started up, then when I closed the door it stopped. Seems inefficient, would be nice perhaps if it just kept running for a bit after leaving the car? But I do like that I can open the door for my wife or kids and the A/C starts before I'm in the car.
- Blind-spot detection is pretty useless at the moment, I'm assuming it will improve with more AutoPilot improvements.
- With traffic-aware cruise control, the vehicle starts braking too late IMO. I'd like to see it ease off the gas earlier and use only regenerative braking whenever possible. It makes me nervous too, but perhaps I'll get used to it.
- When pulling in to my garage it seems impossible to avoid getting the red "stop" warnings from the parking sensors. It seems to alert that I'm only a few inches away from the edges of the door opening from side to side but I'm moving forward so it doesn't seem that big of deal to me. I'm hoping AutoPilot can handle my garage's size.
- I'd like a little stronger indication that the car is in park and the brake is on, perhaps an audible confirmation? The first time I wanted to get out of my car on my very steep driveway I was pretty freaked out that the car would start rolling downhill.
- As far as I can tell, if I set the audible warning to say 10mph over the speed limit, then the little white line on the speedometer will also be drawn at 10mph over. I suppose I'd love to have the white line represent the speed limit while also having an alarm at say 20mph over.
- Waze integration would be great
- Pandora would be great
- I've heard there will eventually be an SDK for third-parties to create new apps. That would be great!
- I was happy to hear there was an API but then unhappy to hear that technically we aren't supposed to use it (e.g. VisibleTesla).
- Slacker Radio will cost me something after the first year, right?
- Does the LTE connection ever cost anything?
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