*Batman*

I test drove a Tesla Model S today. I've driven hybrids before, but this was my first drive in a full electric car.

I came away extremely impressed. The car struck me as the greatest automotive innovation since the Model T. It is special on so many dimensions that it feels very different to everything else in the luxury car market. In fact, it makes me wonder whether Toyota and BMW have been asleep at the wheel, that a startup was first to market with a product like this.

These are the things that impressed me:

1) Drive's really well. The driving sensation is very unique. It has some of the characteristic of a hybrid with the instant throttle response, but it feels completely different because you have that response at any speed, and it is all electric so it is very linear. It is hard to describbe what makes the driving experience - adjectives like good handling, low cog, instant throttle response, sound so mundane. But the combination of these qualities is very unique.

2) I love the motor. I drive an M5 so I'm good at handling large amounts of torque. But I nearly lost control of the car going full throttle while exciting a curved on-ramp. The response is very striking. The M5 is definitely faster, the acceleration in the Model S felt more like my 550i, however the instant electric response is very gratifying and much more exciting than what you would see in a 550i.

3) The integration of tech into the car is the best I have ever seen. The massive touch screen is really bright. I was amazed how intuitive it was to control eveyrthing through a computer. But what is most impressive is how they use this to add features all the time. The Motortrend review called out the lack of memory seats. Now the car has them via software update. It can store 12 driver profiles. The sales guy told me that a customer once said it would be a good idea to have the sunroof open using the options on the steering thumbwheel. he sent it in. Obviously others must have suggested it too, and a month later it was rolled out via software update. That impresses me because it tells me that you are getting a product which embeds continuous improvement.

4) There are some key omissions - HUD, parking sensors, top-view cameras, center console were the first things to come to mind. They are going to add a center console as an option.

5) Some nice touches too - I love the giant sunroof, I love the 7 passenger seating which I thought was quite creative. The giant wheels are really nice. I hate the cheapo Mercedes switchgear.

I put down 2 deposits - one for the Model S and one for the Model X. I probably won't buy both, but I am planning to replace our GS460 with a Model S. And if resale remains as strong as it is now, I may flip the Model S when the Model X arrives and switch.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

That car is nice. I want one, but can't afford one. I hope within 10 years there will be a lot of really good looking electric cars out there to choose from.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Awesome drive! Thanks for sharing

LexFather

Nice review .. I won't share mine here
Drove a red one .. Agree with a lot you said.

It is a beautiful sedan in person. Just lovely. Amazing it s from a new company and not an established one.

LeX2K

To me this is the blueprint for the car of the future. I share your sentiment, I can't understand why the like of Toyota don't offer a similar car, I find this ridiculous and completely unacceptable. It sets off the conspiracy theory part of my brain wondering why a small company can produce a fully electric car like this, and the big automakers can't. Or won't.

*Batman*

It's really odd.

I have a feeling the waiting list for this car is going to explode. When I look at the pipeline of BMW and Toyota (the 2 companies who I think have the engineering talent to pull this off), they won't have anything like this for at least 3 years even if it is already in development, and if it isn't in development it may take 5 years. The BMW i3 and i7 are niche products in comparison to this mainstream luxury sedan. I like this because it means resale will be strong.

Another interesting tid bit - the dealerships here in South Florida are Tesla owned. The experience showed this - the sales guy was representing the company and provided an intelligent professional experience which you don't get elsewhere. He wasn't chasing the sale, he was really helpful and thoughtful, and tailored his dialogue to my topics of interest. In addition, there is this other cool benefit of a corporate owned retail network: I was able to do the test drive and order the car here in Miami Beach, but I can get the car delivered at any Tesla dealership nationwide for no additional charge. Convenient for me because I plan to have this delivered in Atlanta.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

But keep in Mind neither BMW nor Toyota started off with the intention of creating all electric cars. Their resources and engineering (though tinkering with EV projects) are put towards and divided up towards many vehicles in their line-ups

RXSF

Nice that you got your deposit in before 2013 rolls around. THe Model S went up a few thousand for next year but I read that people with deposits wont be affected.

I too want one but am not ready for a new car

Stormwind

The problem with pure electric cars is that they are not very viable yet in terms of usablilty and convience, having an expensive battery that has a limited charge/discharge cycle (doesn't mattery how well it's computer manages the charge a battery will wear out after a certain cycle, years of use no matter what) low range and risk being stuck somewhere charging your battery for 10 hrs is just not very alluring at all.

Then there is the economic side of it.

From my points listed above a electrical car is not profitable at all. Toyota is not going to risk their hard earned cash on something that is not going to make them a profit and risk being ousted by their investors. They have a lot on their plates at the moment. Tsumani and the recent gas paddle recall comes to mind.

Teslar on the other hand is a different story...When you don't have to reach for your own pockets to create something you tend to beheave differently. What are the risks when all your financials come from the government with tax payer dollars? None, you simply hop off when the gravy train stops and go along your merry way. That's why despite never turning a single profit the guy running this company can be found singing along tap dancing about, going into space with rockets. Oh and it's also funded by tax payers.

spwolf

so far electric car sales have been so low that several battery makers went bankrupt. However Tesla is pretty cool product so I hope they can sell enough of them.

All the computer integration is cool, hopefully it is bullet proof.

RXSF

Actually I was watching a documentary on Tesla and Elon, the founder and CEO, had some millions of dollars of his own cash that he got when he sold another startup of his and invested everything he had into Tesla. There were some moments when they had cash to last them only a month or so before bankruptcy which forced him to put every penny of his into Tesla.

I hope they do well. A lot of your reasons for why electric cars arent viable are slowly being removed. The Tesla doesnt cost more than an E class or any midsize luxury vehicle. There is practically no maintenance cost which on a gas luxury car costs a few hundred dollars a year. range is not really a problem as long as you dont take road trips with it, and then the battery is warranted for 8 years or more, at which time most people who buy luxury cars would have already changed their vehicle.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

it's a good question.

elon musk re: sustainable cars and energy...

"if you don't make electric cars that are better [than gasoline cars], it'll never happen"

amen!

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/tesla-unveils-model-x
(start 5 mins in)

i'm VERY interested in the model X.

mmarshall

Thanks for the write-up. Nice summary.

The (probable) reason your car felt jumpy at low speeds is that electric motors typically produce maximum torque at very low RPMs (theoretically at 0 RPM). Pure-electrics (as opposed to gas/electric hybrids) also typically have a single-speed direct-drive transmission that doesn't compensate for changing engine-speed with gearing the way conventional or CVT transmissions do. Of course, the electric motor in this car, unlike the small ones in typical inexpensive hybrids, is beefy enough to, as you noted, have good resrve torque even at higher speeds.

toy4two

WOW the end of markup middle men dealer (more like stealers). I'm all for direct to consumer sales. No more of this garbage "market adjustment" to the sticker and you contact the manufactuer and they say there is nothing they can do. That is why I never ever bought from a car dealership, I just use them for test drives and buy used.

I bet the traditional dealers will fight this move using their powerful lobbying organization to keep their fingers in the pie and add uneeded markups for consumers.

I8ABMR

That's so cool that you got to experience the next BIG THING!! This car has made a splash. Its kind of the perfect car in my opinion. Looks great, performs well, doesnt use gas or make smog.......oh yeah and they have a model that will smoke an M5. Its the first electric car that actually looks appealing as opposed to "interesting"