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ZBB · 03-17-2013, 05:51 PM

Just got back from a nice drive in a Tesla. Let me just say WOW.

The owner was generous enough pick me up at my house and we then drove out to Bartlet Lake and back, which is almost 40 miles round trip. He drove for a couple miles and showed me a few things about the car. We then swapped and I drove the rest, spending about an hour with the car.

The instant torque is amazing. When he was driving, he floored it a couple times and I've never experienced being pushed back in my seat instantly like that. When I was driving, I mostly took it easy from a stop. But a couple times he insisted on having me punch it. Going from 60 to 85 is nearly instant.

He had it set so that the regen braking was on max. That mostly felt like engine breaking, but in a lower gear. I rarely had to use the brake pedal except when coming to a complete stop -- and you can very easily modulate speed with just the gas pedal (there is no transmission -- just a single fixed gear, and the motor can rev to 16,000 RPM).

The car is overall very quiet. The lack of engine noise was strange -- and there is just a subtle whine on strong acceleration, and a faint hint of tire/road noise.

When I first started driving, I didn't know how he had the car set. Steering felt great -- nice and firm (and the wheel is very nicely made -- thick with thumb rests, not unlike the E46 M3 wheel). Turns out he had the car in Sport, and while I was driving, he made a change -- and put the car in comfort mode, and the steering immediately became over boosted. I then switched it to Normal for the rest of the drive. Normal was very good also (very neutral, without a boosted feeling, but not overly firm). Ride was excellent -- it feels like a large sport sedan.

I didn't play too much with the screen while driving. But it looks usable probably wouldn't take too long to get used to. All the major functions are accessible via the steering wheel scroll wheels/buttons and a menu system on the instrument cluster.

I've been back home now for over 30 min and still am jittery from the adrenaline. All of you need to go test one of these.

For now perserveration continues. Need to sleep on this drive before making a decision...

03-17-2013, 05:51 PM	#46
ZBB Relic Join Date: Oct 2003 Carmudgeonly Ride: A very fast golf cart Location: The Valley of the Sun Posts: 12,821	Just got back from a nice drive in a Tesla. Let me just say WOW. The owner was generous enough pick me up at my house and we then drove out to Bartlet Lake and back, which is almost 40 miles round trip. He drove for a couple miles and showed me a few things about the car. We then swapped and I drove the rest, spending about an hour with the car. The instant torque is amazing. When he was driving, he floored it a couple times and I've never experienced being pushed back in my seat instantly like that. When I was driving, I mostly took it easy from a stop. But a couple times he insisted on having me punch it. Going from 60 to 85 is nearly instant. He had it set so that the regen braking was on max. That mostly felt like engine breaking, but in a lower gear. I rarely had to use the brake pedal except when coming to a complete stop -- and you can very easily modulate speed with just the gas pedal (there is no transmission -- just a single fixed gear, and the motor can rev to 16,000 RPM). The car is overall very quiet. The lack of engine noise was strange -- and there is just a subtle whine on strong acceleration, and a faint hint of tire/road noise. When I first started driving, I didn't know how he had the car set. Steering felt great -- nice and firm (and the wheel is very nicely made -- thick with thumb rests, not unlike the E46 M3 wheel). Turns out he had the car in Sport, and while I was driving, he made a change -- and put the car in comfort mode, and the steering immediately became over boosted. I then switched it to Normal for the rest of the drive. Normal was very good also (very neutral, without a boosted feeling, but not overly firm). Ride was excellent -- it feels like a large sport sedan. I didn't play too much with the screen while driving. But it looks usable probably wouldn't take too long to get used to. All the major functions are accessible via the steering wheel scroll wheels/buttons and a menu system on the instrument cluster. I've been back home now for over 30 min and still am jittery from the adrenaline. All of you need to go test one of these. For now perserveration continues. Need to sleep on this drive before making a decision... __________________ ZBB