Tesla Model S test drive

[JST]

Just got back from test driving a Tesla Model S--a P85 Model S, so the hottest version.

Holy. God.

There are two things that are dramatic and amazing about the Tesla, and they are flatly contradictory. First, it feels exactly like a normal car, in nearly every way. Second, it feels like it was air-dropped from about 75 years in the future. After a few minutes behind the wheel, you can't help but looking around at all of the drones in their clattering, wheezing, belching contraptions and thinking, "those poor fools. When will they join the future?"

Seriously.

There are little things about the Tesla that announce its difference, like the fact that there's no key, but when you first get in and pull away, it really does feel like a regular car. The ergonomics are decent (except for the center console, which doesn't open or provide storage, which is dumb). The steering wheel is nicely set up. The controls are where you expect them to be, and have a nice, high-quality feel. The giant screen takes a little getting used to, but not much more than the iPad did the first time you used that.

But mostly, it just feels like a big luxury sports sedan; like an Audi, sort of. The seats could use a bit more bolstering, and it needs map pockets, but even the inherent silence of the car is masked a bit by the HVAC system on a hot day like today, so it doesn't really feel that special.

And then you get free of traffic, and you stand on it, and you realize that all of the cliches are exactly true. It feels like one of those roller coasters with the linear electric motors launching out of a tube. It is like NOTHING you've ever driven. It is crazily, ungodly fast, with response that makes a mockery of every use of the word "instant" to describe the throttle in an internal combustion car. And it doesn't shift, so the push in the back hits hard and just stays constant as long as you've got the balls to stay in it (which, in the C Street tunnel, was to...well, let's just say I am glad there weren't any mobile speed cameras out today).

And, again unlike any car you've ever driven, you are never in the wrong gear. You never have to wait for it to kick down. You never have to wait for it to come on boost, or on cam, or on anything. It's just ON, right now, so if you want to pass that slowpoke in front of you at 60, WHACK, boom, you are around him.

It is, for me, the measure of a great car that it makes me laugh out loud. The RX-8 did it the first time I drove it. So did the 911, and the Boxster S.

The car made me guffaw--and I am neither making that up or exaggerating. I found myself actually, literally guffawing.

I can't say much about the handling, since my test route consisted mostly of high speed blasts between traffic jams in downtown DC, but the chassis tuning feels incredibly sophisticated, so much so that you'd swear this was a company with a long, storied history of building cars that stormed the autobahn, rather than the sophomore effort from a bunch of coders in Northern California. Tesla's chassis tuning makes every other car company look stupid. You can't build something this good, this quickly without making it seem like everyone else is doing it very, very wrong.

The giant touch screen is probably a huge pain in the butt to use in the winter wearing gloves, or at high speeds, but the level of intuitive control over the car's systems is astonishing. You can turn off the "creep" that is designed to simulate a slushbox, and turn up (or, actually, leave in default) the regenerative braking, and suddenly the car feels like the message from the future that it actually is.

And I haven't mentioned that it's huge, or that it has an enormous amount of passenger space, or that it can seat 7 (sort of), because you don't really notice any of that from the driver's seat.

So, yes. This car is really something else. Believe the hype.

[John V]

Very cool. I am ultra envious.

[Optimus Prime]

I can't wait to drive one myself. I imagine it may be a while.

[Jeff_DML]

so when are you getting one?

[ZBB]

So now you know why I'm getting one ;-)

I agree with everything you said. A couple extra comments:
- I drove a regular 85 first, then a 60 and then a P85. They feel about the same, although the P85 is scary fast (the 85 and 60 are slightly "detuned" so have slower 0-60)
- The low center of gravity due to the battery being in the floor really helps the handling. My first drive included some twisties -- and it felt like a nice competent sport sedan from a certain former employer of mine
- Ergonomics are very good. I immediately felt comfortable in it. In comparison, I felt awkward driving a Panamera each of the times I've had one as a loaner.
- Size wise -- it is very big, but doesn't feel it. Specs show that each dimension is within ~1 inch of a Panamera.

On a side note, mine is now "alive" (it responded to the iPhone app when I logged in today, although I just get an error saying that remote access is disabled)...

[JST]

Originally Posted by ZBB

So now you know why I'm getting one ;-)

I agree with everything you said.

On a side note, mine is now "alive" (it responded to the iPhone app when I logged in today, although I just get an error saying that remote access is disabled)...

Jealous.

I'd be interested to drive a steel-sprung 60 kW car to see how it compares to the high-zoot P85 I drove today.

[ZBB]

Originally Posted by JST

Jealous.

I'd be interested to drive a steel-sprung 60 kW car to see how it compares to the high-zoot P85 I drove today.

I've only driven the air suspension so far -- so I'm also keen on feeling the base suspension. Others have said that there is no noticeable difference other than the option to raise the ride height (to get over a steep driveway) is not there.

Feel free to visit (although I can understand if you wait until this fall...)

[JST]

BTW, they had a "pre-owned" Roadster in the showroom--a 2008 that they were asking 88K for (!). I tried sitting in it, but it was pretty clear that I am not built for ingress and egress in a Lotus Elise-based car.

[ZBB]

They are now offering CPO roadsters. Prices are crazy - but many were optioned up to well over $150k when new...

[dan]

I have a hard time getting past the utterly pedestrian looks of the thing.