Well that was fun.
Over the weekend I had a chance to go over to Vancouver and test drive the model S. I will start of with a few negatives of the experience, albeit nitpicky ones and then move towards the positive.
The first negative was the timing. They only gave a week notice and my wife was working on Saturday...but fortunately my friends girlfriend agreed to babysit my 2-year-old who I brought with me over from Victoria for a couple hours. The second negative was the location. Downtown Vancouver is very stop and go, I think having something outside of downtown would of been a better driving experience. Although to counter that point, being downtown, gets Tesla more exposure, as we probably passed/saw a few hundred-thousand dollar plus cars in our short test drive. Lastly, timing. The drive was scheduled for half hour, but as they were running late it was only 20 minutes or so. I brought a friend, so ten minutes each just is not enough!
Onward to the positives.
The staff was super nice, extremely knowledgeable and very enthusiastic in a non-overbearing way. The process of passing my drivers liscence, giving a phone number and clicking yes to an agreement statement was fast and painless. It was low-key with no signs, or banners or anything, I like that. I loved the fact that at the end of the ride, the tesla representative said, 'hope you enjoyed it', and hopped back into the hotel. No hard-sell. No pushyness. They let the car speak for itself, and give customers the credit, that if they are interested they will pursue things. That was refreshing.
I drove a P85+, red with grey 21"wheels. It was beautiful. It was awesomely fast. The first (and only time) I punched it, my friend in the backseat thought something had gone wrong in the car and we were going to crash! It took him by complete surprise. His head just got pinned right to the seat. The handling is superb and agree with the multiple comments of how it does not feel like you are driving a big car. The screen is amazing in person, and very easy to navigate around. The kids jumper seats are very well designed from a fold up and down perspective. For those who care, the VIN number was near 12 000. I cannot comment much more due to the shortness of the drive, which was mostly in heavy traffic.
Here is what I find interesting. My friend is a pretty "with it', tech-savy, cool dude type of guy, and although he has heard of Tesla, he really had NO idea that something like this was available. It blew away his really non-existent expectations. He noted when I started talking to him about Tesla, his thoughts were 'well if that's what interests you' kind of thoughts. Then after driving the vehicle, notes he is buying shares today, and understood immediately how this is a 'game-changer'. I overheard him talking to his girlfriend about elon musk, as i was reading my kid bedtimes stories, and chukled to myself (my wife I think is on the verge of her tesla threshhold). Point being I think after reading this forum for hours on end, and following the stock closely, I automatically assume everyone knows about Tesla. However, this really could be the tip of the iceberg.
While I still am going to wait for the 'x' as it suits my growing families needs a bit more, I am more a fan today, than ever. Thanks Tesla!
Over the weekend I had a chance to go over to Vancouver and test drive the model S. I will start of with a few negatives of the experience, albeit nitpicky ones and then move towards the positive.
The first negative was the timing. They only gave a week notice and my wife was working on Saturday...but fortunately my friends girlfriend agreed to babysit my 2-year-old who I brought with me over from Victoria for a couple hours. The second negative was the location. Downtown Vancouver is very stop and go, I think having something outside of downtown would of been a better driving experience. Although to counter that point, being downtown, gets Tesla more exposure, as we probably passed/saw a few hundred-thousand dollar plus cars in our short test drive. Lastly, timing. The drive was scheduled for half hour, but as they were running late it was only 20 minutes or so. I brought a friend, so ten minutes each just is not enough!
Onward to the positives.
The staff was super nice, extremely knowledgeable and very enthusiastic in a non-overbearing way. The process of passing my drivers liscence, giving a phone number and clicking yes to an agreement statement was fast and painless. It was low-key with no signs, or banners or anything, I like that. I loved the fact that at the end of the ride, the tesla representative said, 'hope you enjoyed it', and hopped back into the hotel. No hard-sell. No pushyness. They let the car speak for itself, and give customers the credit, that if they are interested they will pursue things. That was refreshing.
I drove a P85+, red with grey 21"wheels. It was beautiful. It was awesomely fast. The first (and only time) I punched it, my friend in the backseat thought something had gone wrong in the car and we were going to crash! It took him by complete surprise. His head just got pinned right to the seat. The handling is superb and agree with the multiple comments of how it does not feel like you are driving a big car. The screen is amazing in person, and very easy to navigate around. The kids jumper seats are very well designed from a fold up and down perspective. For those who care, the VIN number was near 12 000. I cannot comment much more due to the shortness of the drive, which was mostly in heavy traffic.
Here is what I find interesting. My friend is a pretty "with it', tech-savy, cool dude type of guy, and although he has heard of Tesla, he really had NO idea that something like this was available. It blew away his really non-existent expectations. He noted when I started talking to him about Tesla, his thoughts were 'well if that's what interests you' kind of thoughts. Then after driving the vehicle, notes he is buying shares today, and understood immediately how this is a 'game-changer'. I overheard him talking to his girlfriend about elon musk, as i was reading my kid bedtimes stories, and chukled to myself (my wife I think is on the verge of her tesla threshhold). Point being I think after reading this forum for hours on end, and following the stock closely, I automatically assume everyone knows about Tesla. However, this really could be the tip of the iceberg.
While I still am going to wait for the 'x' as it suits my growing families needs a bit more, I am more a fan today, than ever. Thanks Tesla!
