However Ohmman knew that the Model X had FWDs and basically how they operated - so how have they been a disappointment - design; execution; reliability; functionality?
If they end up with software revisions so they are 'faultless' and reliable, would Ohmman then be happy with them?
Or are there too many functional/hardware issues to be resolved?
Ohmman, do you think that the FWDs could ever be made satisfactory in the future as far as you are concerned?
Indeed as someone with first hand experience, do you ever see FWDs becoming commonplace on other cars - or is this a dead-end design only with great automotive historical interest in 20 years!?
I don't think you're being provocative, and I think they're good questions. I did indeed know I was getting falcon wings from the get-go. Though, I honestly had a tiny glimmer of a not-so-secret hope that for some reason they wouldn't make it into production and I'd get regular people doors. I tried to set my expectations pretty low for the doors, and I think I was successful. Unfortunately, for me they still failed to meet those lower expectations.
We were led to believe they'd open fully in a "normal sized garage". I still worried about that, and for good reason - they don't open fully. Because they don't open fully, navigating the corners of "umbrella" doors is a bit of a challenge. So I am joining the group of owners who are rebuilding parts of their garage around someone's choice in car doors. If they opened fully in my garage, it would solve a good number of complaints I have about using them at home.
If the doors didn't pop and ping and snap when they opened and closed, I'd be happier with them. If one of them didn't fall closed (even after a service center visit), I'd be happier. If they weren't so slow, I'd like them more as well. If my headliner pieces inside of the doors didn't get pushed open to reveal a big gap, I'd complain a bit less. There are so many things going wrong with my doors that it's hard to see through the noise to figure out whether I'd like them in a perfect world. I'm guessing I would.
Personally, I see no future for the doors in vehicles. They don't solve that many problems, and the ratio of problems solved to problems caused is not in their favor. So no, I don't see other manufacturers adopting them. I get that they work great for some people in their particular scenario, but when I try to generalize to the population at large, they don't seem to have a future. My opinion, and I'm wrong a lot. So take it for what it's worth.
My mother has a little trouble getting out of the third row due to not having anything to hold onto as well. She gets in fine. That being said, she has zero chance to get in or out of her Highlander's third row, and she had trouble with our Odyssey's third row, so I would say that for it's size, the X is doing quite well for her as it's the easiest one for her to use the third row.
I was talking about the second row, not the third. My mom doesn't go into the third row. I'm not a monster.