dezymond

So I've been driving around a Model S for the past 4 or 5 days in a "trial" sort of thing. I got a friend who doesn't like the Model S and offered to let me drive it until February when the lease agreement is up. I took the offer on this trial period for 2 reasons.

1. I have always been curious about Tesla since they've been out. They look good, and I admit I've been a bit more conscious of our environment lately.
2. I wanted a small preview of what life would be like with an electric car.

Initial impressions (both good and bad):
1. This car is freaking huge. My personal preference is midsize sedans so I think the biggest I'd want my car to be is the TLX, possibly an Accord with more interior space. The Model S is massive in comparison to the TLX.
2. Holy #@%$ this thing is quick. The instant torque blows my mind, whether it's starting from a stop or from 65mph. It's so satisfying. The car is deceptively quick, 80mph feels like nothing in this car.
3. No engine sounds is still very weird to me still. Just going and a bit of a winding/whining sound is an experience that's hard to grasp and explain.
4. It handles far better than I thought it would. It feels light and agile for a car this size.
5. Regenerative braking changes your driving completely. It teaches you how to drive smoothly and it's awesome knows it's preserving the brakes.
6. The minimal interior is both good and bad. Good in the way it's clean. Bad in the way that the usability is limited, there's no door pockets, and it might just be me not figuring it out (as I have no business/need to), but the arm rest doesn't have a compartment?
7. The ride quality is worth the price tag. It's quiet, the seats are comfy and hold you in, and it feels luxurious.
8. Build quality, I can see why there are concerns. The model I'm testing is a 2017, second generation, and there are still gaps here in there. It also rattles like crazy...a quality not expected of a $100k+ car.
9. I don't have a charger at home for it, but I have access to all the superchargers as I work in Fremont, CA. So my rating for convenience isn't fair, but without a home charger I feel I can't rate this right. All I can say is it's inconvenient as hell to not have one at home lol. For now I just leave it charging while at work for an hour and get back to it.

Comparison to TLX:
1. I feel my TLX has less rattles than this Tesla. Again, I know build quality is and has always been a concern, but this far into the game I'm a bit disappointed in Tesla. It's just not put together like a 6-figure car.
2. Overall I feel the seats in the TLX are comfier. I have a 2015 and the seats have only gotten better in later generations of the TLX. The headrest on the Tesla is hard as rocks, there is no way I'd ever rest my head on that. I can't imagine how much pain that would cause if I got into an accident.
3. Technology: no comparison obviously. My only gripe, and again maybe I haven't figured it out, but I use LKAS in my TLX all the time and the only way I can get it to work int he Tesla is if I turn on AutoPilot (which is both amazing and a bit scary lol).
4. Filling up gas is far quicker (duh), so overall more convenient in my testing situation.

After driving around for a few days, and will be driving it for another week, I totally understand why these cars are so popular. The Model S is a good car, plain and simple. There are some workarounds coming from a conventional vehicle, but the trade-offs seem worth it. I mean realistically the only thing I'm missing in my experience is a plug-in charger for my home. Otherwise I'd never need to visit a supercharger and at that point it would be more of a convenience as I can recharge the battery any time in a short amount of time. The other part I'm not factoring in is the price for charging and the owner of the car has free supercharging, but it would be sure as hell cheaper than the $3.99 for premium around here (at least at Costco).

Has anyone made the jump or gotten the chance to compare? Even in just these few short days I find myself looking at Tesla's website a bit more and wanting to try a Model 3. I think I could live with a Model S as I've already gotten used to driving it, but I think I would like the smaller 3 or even the Y.

dezymond

Oh yeah one thing I wanted to add, since past my edit window.

The leather of the Tesla feels alot like vinyl. The car has almost 37k miles on it and other than some scuffs, and bit of dents due to a baby seat, doesn't seem beat up at all, and the owners don't take care of their car either. I cleaned it up with some diluted APC and then leather finish, but the seats just don't feel very soft like leather. They looks pretty much brand new and no wear at all from the past 2yrs of use. So I'm kinda disappointed that again, a car this expensive has leather that almost feels like it's fake.

A common complaint among TLX owners is how quickly the seat bottom is to have creases and "give" very early on. The Tesla seat bottoms are as smooth as can be after so many miles, so that's surprising.

Comfy

Thank you for the real life perspective of living with the a plug-in car. Of course you needed a home charger without which you are missing the whole point of having an electric car. You basically will rarely have to visit a supercharger.
If you’re not sure, please count the number of times you had to refuel your car on the same day when you started from home with a full tank.
Unless you you are on a day trip or a weekend trip to somewhere very few people will drive more than 250 miles every day.
Just in case you are one of those people who drives more than 300 miles every day, imagine the savings in gas prices you would make just by using one hour of supercharging.

With regards to the interior, I sort of agree with you. I have driven my friends brand new model 3 and I was kind of excited as well as disappointed with it.
Driving it feels awesome except that if you’re a passenger, especially in rear seat (which is really cramped by the way) you feel like you’re sitting in a used Kia sedan. The interior appears smaller than a civic. My friend stated it had vegan leather which I thought was another name for Vinyl. In the model three the bumps are not soaked up as well as in another similar sized Honda or Acura. The ride was too firm for me. For the OP who seem to be used to midsize cars I’m really not sure you’re gonna like driving and riding the model 3 / Y (assuming Y and 3 are similar).

BEAR-AvHistory

Just a few comments. On the leather the softer it feels the more likely it is to crease. Most long term look new leather seats are not glove soft. Its a trade off. I believe Tesla will have to up its interior game as more German EV's hit the market. They are going with conventional looking interiors which I believe is a smart move.

dezymond

@Comfy
Knew going into this that I would not have the full experience of an electric car, just a small trial. No doubt it would be super convenient just being able to charge at home, but since that wasn't an option for the week I will be using it, I do not factor that in. I will say for now it is an inconvenience, that's a fact, but with a charger at home then superchargers or charging stations in general would be convenient to top off the battery or just recharge a bit.

As for myself, I drive maybe 60-80 miles a day, depends on what I'm doing that day. So yes I can rack up miles pretty quick, but it's nothing too outrageous compared to some of the numbers I've seen on here even. The TLX is an excellent commuter car and friendly on gas overall. I wouldn't have purchased it if I knew I couldn't afford. Over the past year I'd say I've become more conscious about the environment and the effect it's had on well everything. Which is why I am considering an electric car or a hybrid at this point. With gas prices being one of the highest in the country, thanks Bay Area, and with no relief in the near future, perhaps going a more eco friendly route would make the most sense. I'm not struggling financially, maybe I'm just growing up, but I want to play the long term game now. Usually I haven't thought more than a year ahead, but now I am.

Financial talk aside, the Model S doesn't stir up any emotions for me. The TLX isn't a "thrill" either, but it still feels better than this Model S. The Tesla feels like an appliance, it's fast as hell and will get you from A to B in a completely eco friendly way, but it just doesn't have any "soul". Hearing the engine work, and feeling the gear changes is part of the reason I love driving, hell I miss my s2000 every now and then because I enjoy driving so much. The Tesla feels like a videogame, a damn good one but just so artificial.

So far this has been a fun and eye opening experience. I'll look to post my final thoughts in the next couple days as I'll be returning it.

dezymond

Returned the Tesla yesterday and here are my final thoughts;

1. It is a great car. All around this is a great car, albeit with some shortcomings, but overall it is a nice car with many benefits. The savings in gas can't be ignored, no matter how much you're paying for gas right now, so I will for sure consider an electric vehicle in the future.

2. The car is a bit boring. Yes it has acceleration that'll move your brain backwards, but that's about it. You hear the whine of an electric vehicle/motors going and that's as dramatic as it gets, I miss the sound of an engine. It's effortless, but in general my overall feel with the car wasn't too impressive. The best way I can describe it is it feels like a videogame, a very responsive one, but it feels artificial.

3. I've driven all types of cars and I feel with this one I never got a real feel for it. Many gripe about the TLX UI, but I liked the Tesla UI even less, everything on the screen is just plain annoying. The screen is massive and honestly a bit overwhelming as you can have 3 things going on at once (e.g., radio, rear camera, and navi on all at once). It really is information overload when it comes to just driving. I feel the technology in this car is amazing, but people in general are so easily distracted I feel this makes everyone even less attentive on the road than they already are. Which leads me to AutoPilot....

Autonomous driving seems like the future, who knows how far down, but where it is at now is scary. Computers can be programmed to no end, but human behavior is still unpredictable on the road. I messed with AutoPilot multiple times throughout my commute and yes the ACC and LKAS is far better than what's in my TLX which provided a smoother ride, but just like my TLX I cannot fully trust the ACC. The amount of people around here who drive inconsiderately is far too unpredictable for technology right now to pick up on. It's pretty cool, but I get a very similar experience in my TLX which comes in at 40% of the price of this Model S.

4. Instant torque is much appreciated, even in the most powerful of combustion engine cars, the lag is very noticeable after driving the Model S. I'm currently driving around an E63, but the lag between accelerator input and the response is very noticeable. No traditional car is going to be as responsive in acceleration as an electric car, I get that, but it's one thing I miss most about the Tesla, besides the savings in gas.

5. Maintenance must be so much easier in an electric car (please correct me if I'm wrong), but no oil changes and things like that every few thousand miles sounds nice and would further add to the cost savings. Can definitely see where the cost savings could be outside of just fuel.

6. I am overall a bit disappointed by build quality of this car. There were some slight external panel gaps and the interior there were a few issues that were noticeable, especially when I was cleaning it up for them. The wood grain was installed unevenly and clearly had gaps between the wood trim and the trim around it. The leather itself still felt like vinyl to me and it wasn't very soft, not exactly what I expect of a car with +$100k sticker price. Storage for the car is minimal. Considering how big this car is, would think door pockets would be a huge advantage and something their customers would want. Overall there were alot of squeaks and rattles in this car, reminded me of my 3G TL which is notorious for squeaks and rattles, but that interior felt more premium than this.

Overall this experience has gotten me to heavily consider an electric vehicle in the future. It may not be the Model S, but it makes total sense. I would want a "weekend car" to please the inner car guy in me, but just as a commuter car it makes total sense in all aspects. Right now I cannot afford two cars, and I love my TLX. Eventually I think I will go that route, but for now I'm happy with my TLX and will continue to be for awhile.

niray9

I moved from a TLX after owning it for 3 years to an Audi A4 Quattro. We bought a Tesla model 3 long range at the beginning of the year to replace my wife’s car. Although the Audi is no slouch, the Tesla model 3 is sportier more fun to drive and faster by a little bit than my Audi a4. The Audi is more luxurious and quieter . Extremely happy with both cars and hope to keep them till they fall apart.