POLL: Your Evaluation of the Exterior of the Model S

[Maximilien]

I think the car looks so elegant. I am drinking my coffee and you don't know how many times I check out my car (in free time of course) from my 7th floor office. On cloudy days, the silver metallic looks so gorgeous.

I see Mercedes, BMWs, Maseratis, and many other nice looking cars but Model S definitely stands out. The only car that stands out as much as Model S is BMW i8 in the parking lot.

Even at night, the flashes of the signal and bright LED light definitely grabs everyone's attention.

The design is so good from the beginning (Both pre facelift and new facelift look good) that I think Tesla can keep the current design next 5 years!

So how would you rate it and if you think the design is so so or need to be upgraded, please share your thoughts.

Am I the only person who thinks the car really stands out from the road and parking lot?

 

[sorka]

I give the S a 10/10 with the Aston Martin DB-9 look in the front.

Unfortunately, with the refresh, the squished duck bill look killed it for me. I would not have bought the S had I been interested in EVs after the refresh.

I was contemplating upgrading to a P100D but would need to find out what it would take to retrofit the nosecone back in.

 

[Maximilien]

I give the S a 10/10 with the Aston Martin DB-9 look in the front.

Unfortunately, with the refresh, the squished duck bill look killed it for me. I would not have bought the S had I been interested in EVs after the refresh.

I was contemplating upgrading to a P100D but would need to find out what it would take to retrofit the nosecone back in.

At first, I didn't like the new facelift but more I looked at it, it isn't bad at all.

I had the same reaction when I saw the Model 3. At first, the front didn't appeal to me but after awhile it looks quite futuristic and austere.

 

[Haxster]

I give the S a 10/10 with the Aston Martin DB-9 look in the front.

Unfortunately, with the refresh, the squished duck bill look killed it for me. I would not have bought the S had I been interested in EVs after the refresh.

I was contemplating upgrading to a P100D but would need to find out what it would take to retrofit the nosecone back in.

There are some fundamental rules of design and then there's personal taste. Tesla did an excellent job on the former. Regarding the latter, I prefer the refresh, but never liked the "puckered" lip look. I blackened the chrome on my refresh asphalt grey S to dull it down. I'm considering doing a little more. Maybe something like this:

BTW, even after seeing hundreds of MSs around the bay area...and owning one, I still sometimes confuse them with Ford Fusions:

 

[sillydriver]

I give the S a 10/10 with the Aston Martin DB-9 look in the front.

Unfortunately, with the refresh, the squished duck bill look killed it for me. I would not have bought the S had I been interested in EVs after the refresh.

I was contemplating upgrading to a P100D but would need to find out what it would take to retrofit the nosecone back in.

I see I'm not the only one who likes the old nose (P85DL here) much more than the revised version. The old car is sleek, the new one blunt. Oddly enough I like the blunt end of the Model 3. I don't like it on the S because 1) it has the Model X cut/intake along the top which makes it look like the designer chickened out, not fully committing to a distinctive blunt design, and 2) all the rest of the S body is just meant to look sleek, not blunt.

 

[croman]

I love the look of the S. Its elegant and sexy. I wish they did a perfect job with the minutiae like body panel alignment and brightwork. Then 10/10. Currently 9/10 (and mine is almost perfect).

 

[davinci2017]

I quite like the refresh, did not like the big black oval on the previous gen at all and was one of the major downsides to me since launch, looked awkward IMO. New one looks much sleeker with nicer looking LED lights (rather than dotted ones)

That said, I think the best looking part of the car is the rear 1/4 with the bulge behind the rear doors. Looks very sporty and cool.

I do think the Model 3 looks a bit odd and reminds me of NEO's mouth sealing up in the Matrix. Model S however, has a sleeker profile maybe because of the way the front dips lower.

 

[Pezpunk]

i think it looks gorgeous and tasteful, but it's a little bit understated. the P100D is definitely a sleeper if you don't know what it is - it does nor have the design cues of a car that can blow the doors off a lamborghin from a stoplight

design-wise, it fits right in with other luxury brands. it vaguely looks like someone redesigned a Jaguar F-type or an Aston Martin DB9 into a sedan.

it's elegant, but not super distinct -- i think that was a brilliant design choice from the perspective of getting premium car buyers to consider it. all previous electric cars looked like souped up golf carts or B-movie props. The genius of the Model S's styling is that it doesn't look like an electric car at all.

 

[Pezpunk]

i prefer the refresh. the original design always looks like it's yawning to me, haha.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I give the S a 10/10 with the Aston Martin DB-9 look in the front.

Unfortunately, with the refresh, the squished duck bill look killed it for me. I would not have bought the S had I been interested in EVs after the refresh.

I was contemplating upgrading to a P100D but would need to find out what it would take to retrofit the nosecone back in.

Hmm. I dislike the old fake grill gaping fish mouth nose cone that I have and greatly prefer the refresh front. I wonder what the vote among owners here would be?

 

[Chopr147]

The front refresh is so different than the old style and opinion really swings both ways on it. Personally, I never liked the fake oval,fish mouth,yawning front grill. Actually I HATE it! The re-fresh was one of the reasons I started to seriously look into buying. That and the 60kwh battery convinced me and I took the plunge. I love the 535i BMW styling and considered it but man, those BMW's are everywhere.

 

[HX_Guy]

Put me down for another that loves the refresh front end - was not a fan of the original front end at all and thought it ruined how the rest of the car looks.

As for overall design, I'd love if the fenders were a bit more pronounced to give it a more muscular look and better road presence.

 

[Footer]

I loved the original design, although I also got fooled by the Ford Fusion occasionally. Took me a while to warm up to the refresh. Last week I got my old car as a loaner. Looked good back in my garage. Still prefer it. Forgot how huge the Frunk was compared to the refresh. But what do I know. Still listen to 60s and 70s on Slacker.

 

[Elric2176]

I like the look (prefer the nosecone version, at least for now!) although I agree that it does have too many similarities with Aston Martin and Ford Fusion.

 

[David29]

I very much like the look and voted "9." I have the original nosecone but also liked the refreshed nose.

A different question that could be asked is how you like the look, or really the architecture, when viewed from inside the car. In that case I would vote much lower because of the impaired outward visibility and the difficulty of getting in and out of the car if you are older or arthritic or disabled, etc. The Model X, by contrast, is less attractive from the outside but offers better outward visibility and easier entrance/exit (at least, that's how it seems to me).

Not trying to change the subject of the post, just offering the idea that outside appearance is only one aspect of the design.

 

[AB4EJ]

I give the outside a 9. Why not a 10? Because some of the plastic trim pieces (such as the Tesla logo on the side) look cheap; the thin, transparent plastic is not consistent with such a high-priced car. Overall vehicle design is as nice as any car, including very high-end ones.

 

[sorka]

Hmm. I dislike the old fake grill gaping fish mouth nose cone that I have and greatly prefer the refresh front. I wonder what the vote among owners here would be?

The opinions are very polar with not a lot in-between. Too bad they can't offer both but I understand the logistics and practicality of why they don't.

 

[JRMW]

10/10 for looks
I'm another that disliked the old nose cone and like the refresh better.

7/10 for function, but it's a 10/10 if you consider it a sports car!

Tesla prioritized style and performance over function. I don't blame them. No car can do everything, and Tesla has made the most functional high performance sports car ever!

I look forward to their future offerings!

A true SUV
A truck
A CUV
A sports car
A sport sedan
A luxury sedan
A hatchback etc!

 

[P85DBeast]

I love the non-refresh and the refresh Model S's. Originally I hated the MS refresh but eventually it started to grow on me and my wife and now we really like it! The Model X to me and my wife just looks like a rolling egg! The Model S also reminds me of a Jaguar XF! But at night from a distance any Audi A7 looks like a Model S.......

I just loovvvvvvvveeeeeeeeee this refresh now!!!

 

[P100DHG.]

First off freakin awesome thread.

I love the Model S pre and post face lift. I think they are a work of art. A limited production work of art. I love it more than looking at that money in my bank account .

Though I bought mine in silver with black interior the best color combo I've seen is the new blue with grey wheels and tan interior. I saw it at the Santa Monica store. It's ridiculously nice. It's 11/10. I didn't buy it because I was concerned I'd get tired of a blue car. The worst color is the brown/champagne. It just looks awful. Beyond awful. I know someone with one and he deserves that awful color.

There are clear Aston Martin references. The A7 is a knock off wanna be model S IMO. The Fusion which my father in law owns is such a great looking car. But the closets resemblance is the Aston Martin Rapide S

http://www.astonmartin.com/en-us/cars/rapide-s

I considered buying one they come with big discounts from what I understand, but the Tesla Model S is an American piece of art and engineering, built in California. I'm a Los Angeles native and I'm proud of the Models S's pedigree.