My Visit To A Tesla Showroom: A Big Review! Some Good & Bad Observations On The Product & Experience

Hey Steemit!

We've all seen them around and we've all been impressed with the videos. But how many of you have actually sat in one and had a good look over the Tesla product range as a whole? Well having seen a few now on the road; a notable increase on only a few months ago, my wife and I decided to pop into the local Tesla showroom for a look see. Here are some of my initial observations.

It's not a dealership!

First thing's first. I was told that it's not referred to as a dealership. That's not their model. They don't franchise. It's referred to as a showroom. Expect to be respectfully corrected if you use the d word! I start with this little fact-oid as it's the first of quite a few little ingrained preconceptions that you must learn to let go of when entering the world of high performance electric only vehicles. I think that was one of the biggest take-aways for me... the fact that you need to mentally challenge yourself to move on from the internal combustion engine invariables that we're just so accustomed to. More to follow on that...

Great first impressions

We parked underneath the showroom and saw a surprising collection of new vehicles parked down there, as you would with a normal dealership. Down there too were two super chargers, both being used by existing customers; a Model S and a Model X. I noticed that the dashboard displayed "supercharging" and had a battery charge indicator. The superchargers really are the way to go, you can get a good amount of range in the time it takes to enjoy a coffee and a croissant. Other charging options are less impressive.

Some decent stock under the dealership.... eeerrrr I mean showroom.

We went upstairs and entered the front of the show room. It was fairly busy, lots of kids were crawling over the display stock. Straight away we were greeted by an enthusiastic young bloke who welcomed us to the store. Straight away that's a better experience than traditional prestige dealers. I've been into both a Land Rover and a BMW dealership, having already made phone appointments, and had to wait to be greeted or was seated and had to wait for the particular sales guy to be assigned to me.

Pretty neat huh? Two fat zeros on the fuel consumption categories!

Towing

I had heard that the Tesla range had no towing capability. Electric motors have excellent torque characteristics from zero revolutions but it's more an issue of range. I was quite staggered to learn however that the Model X actually has a decent tow rating. Around the 2.4 tonne mark I was told. That's not shabby and is quite usable! It'd do our float which we had made with hydraulic override disc brakes. Obviously the range would be seriously compromised when towing however and that's a concern.

The Model X interior. We really like the lighter colours.

Our current vehicle will do over 1000km on a tank without towing and impressively close to that when towing. To give you an example, we recently did a trip to our vet which was a 3 hour return trip. We'd not been to his property before and found that it was quite hilly when we got there. If we'd budgeted for an electric trip, unexpected hills would be a nightmare if it meant running out of juice. Being stranded, especially with horses, is just not acceptable so it's not worth the risk. Some jet-skis may be a different proposition. Still, neat that it's an option.

The tow kit is priced at about AUD 1,500 which is about half the price of the BMW kit we had installed so that was impressive too. The employee didn't know anything about how electric brake controllers work with the Tesla, although I'd imagine it's possible.

The Tech

One of the many questions I asked the Tesla employees was for them to sell me on the tech. I wanted to know what the Tesla offered that I may not know about or that was so different that it would impress me. Interestingly, many of the things that he mentioned, my current vehicle already does, or does better. He mentioned the cruise control's ability to stop in traffic and detect when the vehicle ahead moves off so that it starts up again. The X5 does that. He mentioned that the steering wheel fully retracts automatically into the dash when the ignition (that isn't an ignition) is turned off. The X5 does that too.

The wheels are nice, but the top of the range 22" wheels are hellishly expensive and in my opinion, not worth it.

The top of the range wheels are 22" in diameter. They're big, but not that wide. From memory they're wrapped in 285 wide rubber. The X5 with the M Sport package comes with 315's at the back. Sure they're a thousand bux a tire, but they look massive from behind and certainly make a statement.

I noticed that some of their demo models had gutter rash on the rims which led me to ask how the park assist and 360 degree cameras work. Turns out park assist is very primitive. There's only a reverse camera and ultrasonic sensors. No 360, no multi-parking view. That's feeble. The X5 has front, rear and 360 degree cameras that are displayed at the same time as the ultrasonic sensor graphics on a split screen. I was quite surprised at that. So one take away is that the tech isn't ground shattering in all categories.

The rear of the mid range 100D Model X. This one is what they call a "price adjusted" used model available for immediate sale.

Get this. There's no head-up display! What the? I find it very useful in the X5. I get audio information, I can scroll through all the menus while watching the traffic. Telephone information is available on the windshield along with all the nav instructions including a countdown to turns and graphics that tell you which lane to get into when approaching turns. The Tesla offeres none of that. The Tesla employee said that "Elon sees cars eventually driving themselves so who wants head up displays". Now I don't like being told that I don't want something, especially something useful! Sure, when all I do in a self driving car is sip short blacks while looking out the back window, then I can see that it'd be obsolete. But we're not there yet. It's a useful feature. Nav is available in the dash but you have to divert your gaze inside the cabin, something heads-up solves.

Where the engine should be. Strange to see no sound deadening. Just a first aid kit!

There's no center console storage. Yeah, you read that right. That said there are storage bins at the front but again the employee said that Elon's research told them that all center consoles do are get in people's way. So they didn't make one that opens. That's just dumb. Again, the Germans have a solution. In the X5, the center console is split into left and right sections with hinges at both sides. The driver can have their arm resting on the console and the passenger can still open their side and visa versa. It's a great solution and it's simple. It's the Apple approach to simply remove commonly expected features and simply say that "people don't want that". I found it shocking... in a Sean Connery voice ssshhhhocking!

You can see the rather gumby and simple center console here. Seats are comfy but nothing special. If anything, the X5 is more comfortable.

USB chargers in the back of the very simple console.

On the other hand, there's some cool stuff on offer. The doors are powered. They'll open themselves and stop before they hit an obstruction. Getting in the driver side and putting your foot on the brake will see the driver's door close by itself. The falcon wing doors are even more cool. See the next section on falcon wing doors.

Another impressive feature I've not come upon is the location aware suspension. Like other cars such as the Land Rover Discovery, the suspension is height adjustable by the driver. The Tesla however will remember when (or rather where) you've raised or lowered the car and will repeat that when you're next in that location. For example, I'd probably raise the car to negotiate our unsealed driveway. The next time I approach the driveway, the car will know from the GPS that it needs to raise the car without me needing to do it a second time. Simple, but very cool!

I mentioned earlier that I found the mental challenge of letting go of some of the invariables associated with fossil fuel powered vehicles interesting. Here are a few more.

They're not gull wing doors!

So we've covered how it's not a dealership, it's a showroom. It's not long before you're corrected when you refer to the Model X as having gull wing doors. One of the employees said to me that everyone who's seen Back To The Future calls them gull wing doors. I guess to be different, they've gone with Falcon Wing. It ain't nothin'!

Servicing

Servicing is ... wait for it ... optional! Although you can pre-purchase servicing at a discount, it turns out that the warranty is not voided by opting not to service. There are so few moving parts that the vehicle is significantly less burdened by servicing obligations than an internal combustion engine equivalent. For those who don't know, these are direct drive. That means there's no gearbox. The mechanical complexity is hence significantly reduced and all that's really needed is some bearing lubrication and repacking as you'd do for wheel bearings when they get a bit noisy on a normal car. Wow.

Consumables

So what's the catch, right? Surely they make up for lost servicing revenue by charging a grand per brake pad or something... Glad you asked! The regenerative braking in the Teslas consume so much kinetic energy in recharging the battery that brake pad usage is considerably reduced compared to a normal vehicle. Now regenerative is found on even non-hybrid vehicles. Take my diesel X5. It has that tech but in my case, the vehicle disconnects the alternator and uses vehicle momentum to charge the battery (just the battery used to start the car and run accessories). That reduces engine load as it doesn't need to run the alternator and hence improves fuel efficiency. In the case of the Tesla, the massive battery bank can consume a bigger charge and can make use of more kinetic energy, reducing wasted energy dissipated in the brakes.

Getting out of parking tickets

Here's a funny anecdote. One of the Tesla employees who spent the most time with us told me a story recently regaled by one of their customers. Apparently he'd parked in a 15 minute parking zone somewhere in the city. When he returned to the vehicle only 5 minutes later he found a parking officer writing him a ticket! The Tesla owner protested, saying he'd been parked there for well under the permitted 15 minutes. The inspector refused to accept this, touching his hand to the cold bonnet (hood) and claiming that it'd been parked there for long enough to cool. Now I can imagine the moment! The Tesla owner popped the bonnet to show the complete lack of engine. The (albeit ignorant) inspector was confused as to how the car was able to move, but accepted that he'd made a decision based on a false assumption and accepted the situation as being his error. How neat!

Everything uses power... everything

When you're cruising in your legacy vehicle, you don't think twice about cranking up the stereo or winding down the windows or putting on the windscreen wipers or turning on the A/C. In a pure electric vehicle however, every one of those things comes out of your power budget and so it needs to be taken into account. It's another example of how your mindset needs to shift.

All in house. No joy riders

One thing that you think about when you have a bit of cash in a vehicle is how it's handled by other people. Take the example of getting a new set of tires. If you book in a six figure car at the local tire store, you're almost guaranteed that one of the guys there will not be able to resist the temptation to take it for a spin up to the snack bar at lunch. Chances are you'd catch them. The X5 reports its position on a mobile phone app, so you can watch it in real time. I'd say the Tesla may have something similar. By then however the damage is done. Tesla offer everything in house. From smash repairs to servicing to tires, it can all be done in shop where all they see every day is Teslas and the temptation to be silly just doesn't exist. Besides, the need to uphold the brand reputation almost eliminates the joy-ride factor as a risk. That was good to learn.

Fixed pricing

This is a really good thing in my mind. All new vehicles are simply a fixed price. No haggling. What a relief. We've likely all experienced the song and dance you need to engage in with the sales person when shopping around. Fixed pricing takes all of that out of the equation and means you don't need to shop around and play dealers against each other. There's what they call a "price adjustment" on demo or used vehicles obviously but that's to be expected.

Charging

I mentioned there were a few charging options... supercharging being the most effective. They charge for that however. If you're referred by an existing owner you get a credit but otherwise you need to register a credit card to use them. There are slower free chargers that you can access around Westfield shopping centers and the like and then there's the "portable charger" that you get with the vehicle. It's slow. You get 10km of driving per hour.

To get the proper kit installed in your house you require an electrician that Tesla refers to you. That's good, you'd hear crickets on the phone otherwise just calling a sparky and asking for a quote for a Tesla charger installation. Stunningly however, the home install can cost up to 5 grand, so factor that in! Recharging at work may be a pain however.

Note that if you run out of charge, you're on your own. It's a tow job. Tesla doesn't support you there and you can understand why. They can't be rescuing everyone just because they didn't plan ahead.

An older Model S and a Model X were supercharging underneath the showroom when we arrived.

Jump starting

Hard to imagine, but it's a thing of the past. As such, there's no need to have access to 12v terminals... except... It turns out that you do have access to a terminal as there is a similar concept in the electric world. It's apparently possible to charge a flat car from another, but the high current jumping is no longer a concept moving forward.

The Model X. I think it looks great. This one has the smaller, "poverty" wheels.

Conclusion

Boy, I've spent hours on this post! A lot of work but the time flew. That probably means I find the car and the topic engaging. So would I buy one? Well it depends. They're really expensive so I'd want to have made a killing in cryptocurrencies to warrant it. I also think I wouldn't go with the Model X with the intention to tow. I'd keep a diesel tow vehicle and I'd get the Model S. I'd use it as a ridiculously fast sports car that needs a bit of trip planning. I do suspect that I'll own one or one like it at one point in my life but I'm not sure that now is the time. There are still lots of compromises and for the cost, it's quite a consolation.

I've yet to take one for a test drive, something they were quite willing to organize. Being so close to the end of the year, it'll have to be next year. Saturdays are very busy for them obviously. I'll post another review if/when that happens. I suspect however it'll be dangerous as I'm almost certain there will be infatuation and love!

Thanks for reading guys!

Brand new.... and sold!