My review of the Tesla Model S test drive
Tesla Miami
July 28th, 2012
by Gavin Stark
DISCLAIMER: I am not a car guy. I don't know what a limited slip differential is (ok, I sorta know) and I don't drive a manual transmission car. I didn't grow up in a car culture family and have only owned TWO vehicles in my entire life, a Nissan Altima and an Infinity G35. I've driven other cars but mostly rental fleet vehicles of various uninteresting badges. So take this review with several grains of salt.
DISCLAIMER: I am a small quantity share holder in Tesla Motor Corporation. I purchased shares following the style of Warren Buffet to invest in companies who's products I use, like or admire.
I've been a reservation holder of a Tesla Model S for just over three years (three years and two weeks to be more precise) and have been to every local Tesla event I've been able to. I've seen the hand built prototype car that had a version of the touch screen that only had several mockup pages and a simplistic music player. I was giddy when then "alpha" car came to Florida. SIDE NOTE: If you aren't aware, Tesla has adopted a software-like naming scheme to their development process. While the alpha car was an improvement over the prototype there were still elements that were either hand built, or made on a 3-D printer, and it showed. When the "beta" car came to the Ft. Lauderdale store and I could finally see the shape and style the vehicle would take when it ships. Clearly, each stage was improving and doing so nicely. I also took to watching any video Tesla posted like I was a conspiracy theorist viewing a new view from the grassy knoll.
However, none of the prototype, alpha or beta cars ever moved from their fixed position inside the showroom. I was thrilled when, nearly one year ago, Tesla invited all reservation holders to their manufacturing plant in Freemont, CA for a special event that would include a test ride in a beta car. I was all set to buy airline tickets until I realized it was precisely the weekend of my return from a long vacation and the logistics just didn't work. Once again I turned my zaprudian eyes to the intertubes and watched as many test ride videos I could find. I could tell the riders wished they were in the left side seat instead of the right. The cars looked great with nice acceleration and seemed to handle the slalom and curves nicely.
I have a friend who forwareded reviews from two people he knows who received test drives in California. One of the test drivers is a current BMW driver (as is my friend) so that told me the Model S compares well to "The Ultimate Driving Machine." The other driver decided to upgrade to the Signature Series, another good indicator.
These reviews, however, left me wanting more. I wanted the test drive. I previously had a great experience test driving the Roadster. For that test drive I showed up at a hotel in Tampa and, after signing waivers, was handed the keys and told to "bring it back within half an hour." That test drive took some back roads and a trip across the Howard Franklin bridge and, um, some velocities that were REDACTED. The Roadster was a fun ride but clearly not the vehicle for me. The experience of just me and some "alone time" behind the wheel was precicely what I was looking forward to with the Model S.
A month or so ago I received an email from Tesla marketing about their "Get Amped" tour which kicked off in CA. It would be a test drive but with a Tesla employee riding shotgun. This is the event I've been waiting for! I took a look at the reservation info for the CA event and while deciding if I was going to be bold and fly out to sneak in an early test drive, the event completely filled. Watching the next few weekends I noticed the RSVP page was posted only a few days before the event itself. I knew I had to be johnny-on-the-spot to ensure I'd get in. When the Florida RSVP went live I had my reservation in within the first few hours. Now only the wait sat between me and my test drive.
I signed up for Saturday 1:00PM slot which gave me enough time to wake early and make the drive over to Ft. Lauderdale with time to spare, perhaps a lunch or chit-chat with the other test drivers and Tesla reps. Also, my mother and sister were returning from a cruise and would be docking at the Ft. Lauderdale port that morning. This spot would give us a chance to meet up and perhaps have them join me at the test drive.
I arrived at the Tesla showroom around 10:30. Their location is at the end of a non-descrip set of businesses directly along I-95 just off 595. This gives them visibility from the highly traveled I95 but makes getting there a little tricky and doesn't make for good access over railroad tracks via streets full of potholes. (more on this later)
The parking lot was blocked off at the end for the Tesla event with about eight Tesla "Get Amped" T-Shirt clad employees coordinating the arrival and departure of test drivers. The parking lot was filled from both Tesla visitors and those attempting to shop at the stores.
Inside the dealership I was checked in by a Tesla rep and they looked up my reservation on an iPad (nice touch) before I was handed a "Get Amped" tag on a lanyard and a number within my time-slot. Based on the facial expression of the rep, arriving at 10:30 for a 1:00 reservation was a bit unusual. I masked my "ZOMG, ZOMG, TEST DRIVE DAY" excitement with a cool and casual "Yeah, I left early in case there was, um, traffic, or something."
They had a setup of fruit, soda, water and other snacks. There was also an open silver "Beta" car inside the showroom. I took some time to chat with several of the sales reps to get a sense of "whats next?" with regard to the process between today and my potential delivery date. I received some insight into how many configurations have been placed and what the production rate plan is. Given what I've heard I believe it will not be long before I'll receive my "What options (including battery) are you choosing?" and there is a good chance that, if I select the highest capacity battery, I'll see my car before the end of the year.
Then my sister and mother drive up after disembarking their cruise. They get signed in and receive a badge as well. They are a bit anxious to get home and I've bothered all the sales reps enough for one morning. I ask if I can get in tail end of the 11:00 block but it was already full. The 12:00 block, however, has some spots so I swap my 1:00 block for 12:00.
When the time comes we are ushered to the rear of the showroom to receive a briefing explaining the course they've designed. This covers where we should evaluate the active-air-suspension, where we can mash the accelerator and where the "twisties" are. We also get the option to take the car on I95 but we are highly recommended not to due to the ridiculousness of I95 traffic. The course looks good, but far too short (maximum of about 10 minutes) We are also warned that the vehicle is fast and dynamic and might lead to more spirited driving than we are used to and thus we are required to keep it under 80. I guess the early drivers were going a bit faster than the Tesla lawyers wanted since I already knew this "restriction" was in place via an email.
We received a bit of marketing spiel, but nothing too overt and certainly nothing a reservation holder hasn't heard. We also get a peak at the Tesla key which is the shape of the vehicle itself and about the size of a hotwheel car. The rep is clearly proud of the vehicle they've produced and I honestly believe him when he said "I can't wait to get you into the car and have you experience it."
Tesla had five cars total for the event. All but one was configured with the 21" wheels. All but two were configured with the "performance" upgrade. Every car had the air-ride-suspension but there was not a single Signature series vehicle available to drive. I'm thinking of the 19" wheels and wanted to experience the baseline performance to see if that was "enough" before deciding on the upgrade. This configuration puts me in the green car. The other colors on hand were the 2013-model-year 'Sunset Red' along with a brown, white, and silver.
By choosing a specific vehicle, I had to wait for it to return from its drive. We waited just inside the showroom in the comfort of the air conditioning. Once outside they had a small tent to stand in the shade. Watching the vehicle come in, the car pulls up on the right side of the lot and the driver and passengers emerge, clearly having enjoyed the experience they just shared. Similar to how Apple applauds and greets the adoring fans when entering the store to purchase the latest hot electronics, Tesla greeted each returning driver. They'd have some chit-chat with the team outside as the car was driven around the corner to the next driver in line. The door was left open and I gladly hopped into the drivers seat while my mother and sister climbed into the back.
The instant my co-pilot greeted me and started running through adjusting the steering column, seat and windows I realized I recognized his voice. I asked him if he had been a co-pilot on the first test drives in California. He said "Uh, yeah, I was" -- to which I, probably sounding like a total fan-boi retorted "I recognize your voice from several YouTube videos of that event!" He came right back with "I'm famous on the Internet!" and after a short laugh we were right back to the business at hand. After adjusting all the safety equipment we were off. Putting the car in drive there was no perceptible reaction from the vehicle outside of the P darkening and the D lighting up. I cautiously moved my foot from the brake to the accelerator and we were silently, and smoothly, off for our drive.
I should take a moment to explain that neither my sister nor my mother are fans of "spirited" driving so I warned them that we'd be doing some strong accelerating and sharp turns.
Driving out of the parking lot and onto the pothole laden street we had a chance to experience the suspension. I was encouraged to accelerate over the train tracks which were atop a small 'hill' in the street. I've been over this element each time driving into the facility and had made a note to remember how the Infiniti handled over it. My G35 has a sport tuned suspension so it is not the smoothest ride possible and definitely jostled me around over those tracks. I thought the car did quite well keeping itself planted and the occupants comfortable. When reviewing this element later with my mother and sister they thought it was bumpy and that my sister's Mazda 6 felt better. I didn't ride in my sister's car so I can't comment.
We turned onto the city streets and then onto a long straight stretch of side road. The co-pilot indicated we arrived at our first opportunity to experience the acceleration. I mashed the accelerator to the floor and we SHOT down the street with acceleration that threw you back in the seat. There were audible gasps from the back seat occupants. With road rapidly running out I decided to see how much the regenerative braking would do.
The Tesla regen braking kicks in the instant you remove pressure from the accelerator and immediately begins to slow the car. Pressing the brake pedal engages the traditional braking system and provides a much more rapid deceleration. I believe that there is an accelerometer that will engage the brake lights under regen if the car slows enough to warrant warning the drivers behind you. The deceleration under regen is not as strong as pressing the brake pedal but it is certainly noticeable and stronger than the natural slowdown of an automatic transmission combustion engine vehicle. In city driving, as I experienced with the Roadster, I think I'd be using the brake pedal only to enforce a complete stop or when more sudden stopping is required.
Remarkably the regen did quite well. However, it wasn't enough to bring us safely to a complete stop before I was legally obligated to. After coming to a stop the co-pilot asked "How was that?" and before I could come up with some smart-ass comment about requiring a tobacco related product and a few moments to myself my backseat passengers asked "HOW FAST WAS THAT?" to which I answered "I have NO IDEA" The co-pilot laughed and said "That is a great answer." To be honest I was simply enjoying the acceleration and getting a sense of when the car would stop "pulling" to concern myself with something as mundane as to the maximum MPH we reached.
I can say for sure that the Model S's acceleration is awesome when compared to the Infiniti G35's. From the moment I pressed the accelerator we launched without a hint of hesitation and the acceleration felt constant. I was convinced that only either the end of the road or the vehicle's 125 MPH limiter would have stopped the progression. A friend who had driven the Roadster with me thought his tuned BMW has just as good acceleration though possibly not with the same style of response. He'd have to move it through gear shifts and might have to abuse the clutch to achieve the same result. I should add that, even though I have two friends who own great examples of the "ultimate" machine (with manual transmissions they care for), I have never driven a BMW. I have also driven the C and E series Mercs while shopping for the Infiniti and never tried the same accelerator-mashing experiment with those. The vehicle I was in is rated at 5.6s for 0-60 time. Did I achieve that? Maybe. I forgot to turn on the telemetry app for driving I was planning on using on my route so I will never know. All I do know and all I can convey was that acceleration was the most fun I've had getting a car up to speed.
After the acceleration experiment we did some less-spirited street driving where I was encouraged to test the responsiveness of the steering. I'd have to say that the vehicle response felt near instantaneous. Again, I can't say how this compares to the vaulted BMW who I'm sure some say have perfected the driver-to-pavement bond.
We then turned onto another side road that presented a chance to try the car through some curves. The co-pilot encouraged me to power it through the curves to feel how little body-roll the car had. There are a few curves on my various daily drives that I've chucked the Infiniti through. While I've never experienced a rally-style power slide through a curve I have a sense for how the G35 handles through those curves and was looking forward to comparing to the Model S. Through the first curve I was a bit tentative but clearly noticed that the Model S was behaving quite well and stuck to the line I was requesting even with the speed I was commanding. Through the next curve I stepped a bit harder on the accelerator and glancing down at the speed indicator hit around 65 on the apex of the curve. I'm sure the Saturday afternoon drivers coming the other direction on the two lane road were a bit surprised to see the S flying around the corners. More surprised, however, were my backseat companions who were both a little boisterous about the experiment we were in. My sister said "ITS GOING TO FLIP!" and the co-pilot nearly immediately quipped "No way, the center of gravity from the battery pack is so low thats not going to happen." Of course this is all while we are going through an S curve at speed.
We experienced some lateral G forces that I could feel as I was pushed into the edges of the seat and my backseat companions where pushed into doors and center consoles. I had also hoped to have some iPhone telemetry from this but didn't have that loaded either. Damn. The Model S definitely had very little body-roll through any of the curves I drove through. Again, I have no real reference point for where the Model S places on the all-time best for body roll and sticking to a line, but I was very impressed. The car, to me, exuded a "Yeah, buddy, I can do that, lets go!!!!" spirit.
Back onto the city streets we came to a red light at an intersection where we'd be taking a right onto an small overpass that crossed I95. Waiting for the clear-to-go the co-pilot said that I should accelerate over the hill to see how well the car pulls. That was all I needed to hear! Once I had the right of way, I stepped on the accelerator, yanked the steering wheel and powered through the turn. The wheels did squeak a bit through the turn but we stayed in our lane and kept cleanly accelerating after the turn. On the way up the hill we were already at 70mph (this time I made a note to look at the speed so I could answer the backseat inquisitors) and we were still accelerating past 75+ when I saw there was a red light at the bottom of the hill. The regen did slow the car down but not enough to avoid using the brake to stop the car. I did miss the opportunity here to test the rapid-deceleration of the vehicle under heavy braking. I had wanted to see how quickly the car would stop and how strongly it would pitch forward under these conditions. Maybe I'll have to add that to my next test drive queue.
We were then on a short side road that took us to a u-turn opportunity which marked the beginning of our return to the Tesla lot. The return trip would have us speeding back over the I95 overpass with a similar vigor.
The path back provided another chance at 0-75 acceleration before traffic regulations required the application of braking. During some of the less spirited driving time on the way back I experimented with changing the A/C settings via the 17" touch panel. Much like the iPad it will require building a muscle memory based on placement in 3-D space rather than relying on any tactile feedback of finding a dial in 3-D space. How much of an issue will this be? I'm not sure as I only had a few chances to try. I also did not get a chance to see if any voice-controls have been added to the vehicle or how they worked if they existed. Since the entire dash, vehicle configuration and infotainment system are software controlled I'd expect any rough edges to be fixed via firmware updates (which will be delivered via built-in 3G)
All too soon we were heading back over the railroad tracks and back into the Tesla lot. The cheering red-shirt clad Tesla reps were a welcome sight but sadly indicated the end of my time behind the wheel (for now) of a vehicle I wished I had more time with. I pulled up to the indicated spot and "powered down" the car. Exiting the vehicle I wished I had a camera to record the faces of my mother and sister who exhibited the typical "I just stepped off a coaster" expression. Asked how I liked the ride I was reduced to "Awesome!" and "Great!" utterances. When my sister was asked the same question her response was "I had no idea it was going to be like a roller coaster ride." Achievement Unlocked!
My mother's comment was that she was glad she had the chance to experience the ride since any explanation might not have matched being there. (something I am trying to convey to those of you reading along here) She expressed that the acceleration both in its rapid pace and silence-except-for-the-wind made her think we were "taking off" as in an airplane. (even though the airplane would be much louder) Back inside, one of the sales reps I have had the most contact with asked me how it was and by now I had gathered my senses to discuss more fine points beyond "Uhhhh it was awesome." I asked my mother to repeat her assessment and he just smiled like he'd heard the same things countless times before from other test drivers or passengers.
I spent some time looking at paint and interior combinations. This decision might be more complicated than what battery pack, wheels and upgrades to select. I like the green, brown and blue from Tesla but find they are so dark that from a distance the green and blue can look nearly black unless you get up close or it hits the light from an angle. Driving back home I noticed a few BMW with similarly dark colors that behaved similarly but still feel the dark Tesla paint colors might take time to get used to.
After a few "ZOMG" tweets it was back into the Infiniti for the drive back home. By the time I hit 595 the sky opened and a near-blinding rain slowed traffic to a halt. Looking at the clock I realized this was my original time slot for my test drive and was thankful I moved up an hour.
I've been saying for several months that this test drive was crucial to moving the decision to purchase the car forward. My mantra has been "It has to be at least as fun to drive as the Infiniti." I can confidently say that this hurdle has been easily cleared. The call to claim a spot in the production run of the maximum size battery may arrive soon. I need to consider what configuration I really want and if it warrants the total sticker price.
Like many of the Model S reviews on the web I'd definitely like more time driving the car. It is unclear if that is possible before its time to make the commitment. All I know for sure is that it has easily cleared the "fun" hurdle.
P.S.
If any Tesla employee, especially the vehicle designers, engineers, assemblers or even Elon himself, reads this entry let me take this chance to say: Kudos! You have achieved something many said you couldn't. I wish you wild success and fortune.
P.P.S.
On the drive back home I passed a car carrier with one vehicle loaded, a white Fisker Karma heading north out of Naples. It appeared that it might be out for delivery, or back to the dealer for repair. Either way, I thought it a curious coincidence to see a Karma on the way back from the Tesla test drive. Even though it would be better to see it on the road.