Various thoughts on Model S

[FlasherZ]

What I suspect he's suggesting is that using a 14-50 directly is a fast enough nightly charging rate to be considered acceptable for general use. Only "rare"ly will you need a faster charging rate so that you can, for example, burn through the entire battery on Saturday, sleep less than 5 hours, and immediately burn thru the entire battery again on Sunday.

So let's make it simple: if all you're doing is overnight charging, that's right.

I do have a real use case for it though: frequently I'm out on business trips, and the St. Louis airport is ~65 miles from me (with no charging stations in the lot I park in). There are many trips -- a monthly basis or so -- where I come home on a Friday morning, the family packs, and then we head out for a run to my in-laws' roughly 150 mi away. I'll be looking for new parking lot candidates - ones that might offer a charging station - over the next year or so, but I'm not aware of any.

Take away the high-speed charging need then consider the convenience. Will you need to carry your UMC with you to charge elsewhere? Frequently? Will you mind unplugging the 14-50 and coiling the cord neatly in the trunk/frunk on a daily basis (I have a 14-50 welder that's a BEAR to unplug), or would you keep the first UMC in the car and buy another UMC (rumored $500) to coil up and hang in the garage? In the end the price differential for another UMC vs. the HPWC is on the order of $700 - would you pay for double-speed charging for that $$?

[EdA]

ModelSxxxx,

You stated "Air suspension a must for this car..." - is this because of the weight of the battery?
Did you take a test drive?

/Ed

[JRP3]

Some have noted the Pano roof may add head room in the rear. I have certainly noticed rear headroom tapers quickly toward the rear side and corners. No secret that Tesla is working to whittle a few extra millimeters while revamping the (cheap, easily broken) rear lighting.

What I wonder is if they need a little bit more headroom why not shave some foam off the seat cushion which lowers the seat height? I'd bet they could get a good half inch or more and not compromise comfort, especially with a good suspension. Or make a removable pad for taller people who need the headroom.

[Larry Chanin]

The 60kWh battery will have supercharge hardware included (that is clear) BUT it appears that Tesla is debating about whether to ENABLE the hardware (by including the necessary software) without an additional fee. Seems punitive and I noted this. It appears there will be a fee for 60kWh battery to be supercharge ENABLED. Glad the Hardware will be included though.

Perhaps I missed this, but I couldn't find any official Tesla statement that supports the highlighted statement. Can you please state the source for this remark?

Thanks.

Larry

[smorgasbord]

Take away the high-speed charging need then consider the convenience.

If you take your road trips twice a month, the HPC will end up costing you about $5 for each unplug/plug pair you save over a decade.

[rcc]

ModelSxxxx,

You stated "Air suspension a must for this car..." - is this because of the weight of the battery?
Did you take a test drive?

/Ed

I took a test drive so I'll answer: it's a must-have because the handling is awesome and the ride is very smooth. Like combining the best of a sports car and a luxury car suspension. I think the Tesla rep told me that the car was originally designed for the air suspension and they added the standard suspension in after but don't know if that's really true. The rep considered the air suspension and the premium sound the two best "bang for the buck" upgrades.

[vfx]

What I wonder is if they need a little bit more headroom why not shave some foam off the seat cushion which lowers the seat height? I'd bet they could get a good half inch or more and not compromise comfort, especially with a good suspension. Or make a removable pad for taller people who need the headroom.

Ahhh but you are assuming that they have not already done that.

[EdA]

I took a test drive so I'll answer: it's a must-have because the handling is awesome and the ride is very smooth. Like combining the best of a sports car and a luxury car suspension. I think the Tesla rep told me that the car was originally designed for the air suspension and they added the standard suspension in after but don't know if that's really true. The rep considered the air suspension and the premium sound the two best "bang for the buck" upgrades.

I took a test drive too (video posted by Cinergi) but if you d0n't drive one without the air suspension how can you compare?
Presumably they all have it at this point?

[rcc]

Maybe I'm drinking the kool-aid but I don't see how you get that combination of very smooth ride and tight handling with a standard suspension.

I drive a BMW 330i with the sports suspension and I drove the test course with my BMW after I left the event. The Model S cornered flatter in the turns than my 330i, out-accelerated it up the hills and the ride was far far smoother on the rough roads. The 330i might out-do the Model S in a slalom given how heavy it is but I wouldn't bet on it.

I'm sure the standard suspension will be nice but I'm going to get the air suspension.

Edit: This was a non-perf Model S.

[JakeP]

I did the same on the Chicago course, driving it with my 328xi (non-sport) several times before and after the event. The non-Perf outperformed the BMW in all aspects of the course, and that was a vehicle I was completely unfamiliar with. I cannot wait to get a more substantial test drive, not to mention to truly take it through the paces as an owner.