Friday, August 7, 2015

First Days & Initial Impressions

I'm two full days into ownership now, and I can't honestly think of any negatives. Well~ there is one big negative; but it's not Tesla-specific: I find it very hard to comfortably leave the car anywhere alone (like parking lots)!

Daily commuting and driving is no longer a chore, but rather, the complete opposite: a joy. I find myself actually wanting to get out of bed and DRIVE to work. And, yes, I am looking for any excuse to drive and run errands.

Just a few select pickings and standout thoughts at the moment...

Sound System
Much better than I thought. I ordered just the standard (no sub, no XM, fewer speakers & watts), because I couldn't tell much difference between them during test drives; however, that thought was always in the back of my mind, about whether I'd miss the low frequencies. So far, though, it is more than adequate. Actually, I can easily enjoy it. A year or two down the road, I may install a sub, though. A HUGE bonus is the 4 years of Slacker Pro that come included.

Smartphone App & Pre-conditioning
Being able to start cooling down the car a half hour before I leave work, after it's been in the baking sun, and have it be nice and chilled inside by the time I step into it... priceless. I assume the same will hold true in the winter time with the heat. Other than that, monitoring the car with my phone at any time (temperature, charge status, location, etc.) is not only cool, but also provides peace of mind.

All-glass Panoramic Roof
I'm enjoying this much more than I had thought I would. I'd never used sunroofs too much before; and honestly, they seemed like a gimmick (especially since they're not really large, typically). But the Model S' pano roof is massive. It's the closest you'll get to a convertible, IMHO. And the sun/heat is so far not even a factor, since it's tinted / coated well. It also adds a lot to the roominess and spacious sense.

Exterior and Interior Lighting
Much better than expected. Very bright and attention-grabbing... sexy, yet utilitarian. The recent/newer year models have the warm-white LED dome lighting, which is nice. The premium lighting adds a nice classy touch, and I'm glad I opted for it. I do kind of wish we had the LED (or even laser) headlights, but the HID / Xenons put out a nice pure bright white light, providing excellent illumination (especially given how low the car sits). I live in a semi-rural area, and have NO problems seeing a great distance. The trunk/frunk illumination really is a bit dim, but that will be remedied with some LED strips I plan to install later. I also wish the side turn markers were LED (to match the rest of the car), but I suppose they may need to be DOT compliant or something... or perhaps some research I don't know about suggests it's more noticeable or something. I may upgrade those, though.

Next Generation Seats
SO glad I got these. They hug you nicely when corning, but are completely unobtrusive. Plenty comfortable for the 2 hour drive back home, too. They are, however, not-vented; so if it gets very warm, you may find a bit of sweat trying to materialize on your back. Probably won't be an issue as long as I can pre-cool the car (and I will).

Charging
I guess I'm lucky enough to have a newer electrical service; and I can actually gain ~31 miles of range per hour of charging, rather than the official 29 miles. I'll note that it provides 246~249 volts at the full 40 amps. After an hour of charging, I did, however, notice the cable and "brick" (on the UMC) was decently warm. Now, that is normal; but with my computer/electronic hardware background, I know it's never a great idea to run electrics at full-tilt because it will at least decrease lifespan and dependability. For example, if you built a PC, you should get a power supply that will supply twice the wattage of what you really need. So, for my needs, I just reduced the current to half (around 20 Amps), and the cable isn't even warm. I *think* this will be easier on the charging equipment in the car and the battery, over the long run. And it still gives me like 15~19 miles per hour of charging.

Driving
Need I even say more? Really?
I find myself trying to learn the one-pedal technique and the regenerative braking; and it's not that hard. Actually, I caught myself subconsciously doing it while drifting off to sleep. You know... how you feel like you're bobbing/drifting after you get off a boat... or how you "see" Tetris in your mind after you stopped playing for a long time? Yeah.. that. Additionally, merging and getting in/around traffic is completely effortless. It's crazy how fun and easy driving can actually be. It's ridiculous!

SO much more.
I cannot quickly write all the positives.
More to come...

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