I got to test drive a model Y yesterday and for the most part it was a pretty great experience. I live in WV is is not very EV friendly. Our closest service center is up in Pittsburgh PA. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Tesla had a demo Model Y stationed at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, WV. I signed up online to do a test drive and got a confirmation e-mail. From that point I had no more e-mail contact which seemed a little odd.
When I got to Oglebay to drive the Tesla is was fairly easy to find and was plugged into one of the two destination chargers. There was a QR code in the window to check in and do the test drive. However, my Pixel phone couldn't read the QR code for the test drive. Interestingly enough the other QR codes, for trade-in and demo videos, worked fine. Luckily they had a contact number for the Tesla Service Center up in Pittsburgh. I called in, talked to one of the sales staff and they unlocked the car for me and asked if I had any questions for my first test drive. I think I asked a couple questions and the lady on the phone was kind enough to answer them. From that point I was good to go for a 30 minute test drive.
My current daily driver is a 2020 Outback Touring and I used that as my comparison for the Long Range Model Y.
The thing that surprised me the most was just how much I didn't like the driver's seat. I plan to do another test drive where maybe I'm a little less excited and can spend some more time trying to dial that seat in right. If I can't be comfortable in the car it doesn't make sense to dump my current Outback. I think I can get it dialed in and then also adjust to how different the seats are it will just take time.
For someone who lives in WV and wants to be able to travel long distances Tesla is the only feasible vendor for me. I'm certainly leaning towards making a switch at some point. TBH it depends on whether the EV Tax Credits return. If so I think i'm in to start the EV experiment in WV for me. Thanks to anyone that read my overly detailed post. I think I'm using this post as a way to work through all of my plans for potentially getting a Model Y.
When I got to Oglebay to drive the Tesla is was fairly easy to find and was plugged into one of the two destination chargers. There was a QR code in the window to check in and do the test drive. However, my Pixel phone couldn't read the QR code for the test drive. Interestingly enough the other QR codes, for trade-in and demo videos, worked fine. Luckily they had a contact number for the Tesla Service Center up in Pittsburgh. I called in, talked to one of the sales staff and they unlocked the car for me and asked if I had any questions for my first test drive. I think I asked a couple questions and the lady on the phone was kind enough to answer them. From that point I was good to go for a 30 minute test drive.
My current daily driver is a 2020 Outback Touring and I used that as my comparison for the Long Range Model Y.
- Likes/Pros
- The process of doing the test drive is super simple. If i could have used the QR code to checkin I would never have needed to talk to a person which is kind of refreshing.
- Acceleration is just tons of fun on these cars. Tap the pedal and it just goes. That's a ton of fun.
- Steering settings - I liked being able to change to different modes. That being said I felt like I was fighting the car some in sport mode. In normal mode it was much more comfortable.'
- Ride Height - I drive a Subaru which has pretty great ride height. Model Y isn't as high up but I didn't feel like I sat much lower than in my Outback.
- One Pedal Driving - The Model Y had been charged to 100% so I'm sure my regenerative breaking wasn't working. That being said I got an impression of how the one pedal driving works. After about 10 minutes I felt comfortable with it and was able to stop taking my foot off the 'Gas' pedal and putting it on the brakes. This is something I thought would have more of a learning curve for me. That being said on the interstate I wager I'll feel different about it.
- Fit and finish - the car was in good shape and had a clean look/feel to it. My demo unit had 400ish miles on it with CA plates. Side note, no lumbar support for the passenger seat. I can understand why people enjoy the interior so much. There's not much to it but its still nice.
- Rear storage - Plenty of storage in the back. Comparable to what I have in my Outback so that would be an easy adjustment.
- Turn signal stalk - this one seems dumb but I loved that it just moves and snaps back and will keep the blinker going. I'm describing it poorly, but my Outback holds the stalk in place until you complete a turn. I liked that the stalk always stays in the same place.
- Dislikes/Cons
- Drivers seat comfort - Full disclosure I'm 6"4' 260+ pounds so I'm not small. I just couldn't adjust the seat to a comfortable position. To me it felt like the seat was a bit more narrow than those in my Outback. I also didn't realize that the headrest wasn't adjustable so it felt like the headrest was constantly pushing my head forward. I like to sit more upright than reclined so maybe I just need to adjust to reclining a bit more and then the headrest would be less of an issue. But I'm not sure how to 'fix' the feeling that the seat is more narrow. I wager its something I'd adjust to with time but it was kind of jarring at first. On a sidenote I'm bummed Model Y doesn't have ventilated seats. I love them on my Outback even with their weaker implementation of seat ventilation.
- Rear view look - I'd seen people post about how visibility out the back window was not great. They weren't wrong, as I felt like I couldn't see very well out the back. That being said I've been driving Outbacks for the last 7-8 years and rear visibility is pretty solid. I think it's something I could get used to but there would be adjustment period. It looks like its feasible to use the rear view camera while driving but I don't think that's a great solution for interstate driving.
- Blind Spot Monitoring - This is again something I can probably adjust to. I love on my current Outback that there's a light on the side view mirrors that illuminates if a vehicle is in your blindspot. I wish the Model Y had that. I know it will alert you on the center console too but that's a lot of eye movement being done to go back and forth between mirror and center display.
- Neutral
- The grey/silver colored Model Y looks better in person than it does in pictures. I'm still leaning towards either Blue or White but I could live with the grey too.
The thing that surprised me the most was just how much I didn't like the driver's seat. I plan to do another test drive where maybe I'm a little less excited and can spend some more time trying to dial that seat in right. If I can't be comfortable in the car it doesn't make sense to dump my current Outback. I think I can get it dialed in and then also adjust to how different the seats are it will just take time.
For someone who lives in WV and wants to be able to travel long distances Tesla is the only feasible vendor for me. I'm certainly leaning towards making a switch at some point. TBH it depends on whether the EV Tax Credits return. If so I think i'm in to start the EV experiment in WV for me. Thanks to anyone that read my overly detailed post. I think I'm using this post as a way to work through all of my plans for potentially getting a Model Y.