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My car dealer friend brought over an used Model S Plaid to take me to see his used cars for sale. I was so excited to finally get a ride in it. After a few minutes I wasn’t impressed, it wasn’t much different than regular S. The interior is essentially the same, having just sat in the new FL5 Type R and new BMW XM. Those cars felt special inside and out. But I get no feeling this was a $100k car. Sure the launch is amazingly quick. But the ride quality is not great for the price. At this price level you figure it should have some type of soft dampening mode as the road quality isn’t good around here. For example M5 Competition which is very close in price felt much more comfortable and compliant on the roads and so quiet when it isn’t going. The interior quality is also very poor for the price level. It’s sad to say that Genesis today has better interior quality than Tesla. I always take issues with Tesla interiors being somewhat Hyundai levels. Now both Honda and Mazda has exceeded Tesla with interior quality. The Model S Plaid is a huge disappointment for a 6 figure car.
I told my dealer I’m very disappointed, he agrees. He said the car feels very unstable at high speeds vs BMW and Mercedes. That’s why this car depreciates quicker than other Teslas. I told him without the speed, this is just a bigger Model 3 and bigger screens. Both of us agreed that BMW has nothing to worry about except for their awful new exterior designs.
Tesla is not pretending they're a luxury car but the Plaid is the most impressive car in its price range by far when it comes to acceleration, energy efficiency, and technology.
We have a BMW X5 which is much better as a luxury car compared to the Tesla but I still appreciate the awesome benefits the Tesla provides despite not being a luxury brand.
Tesla is not pretending they're a luxury car but the Plaid is the most impressive car in its price range by far when it comes to acceleration, energy efficiency, and technology.
We have a BMW X5 which is much better as a luxury car compared to the Tesla but I still appreciate the awesome benefits the Tesla provides despite not being a luxury brand.
It's impressive having the performance but it's becoming less impressive as more people start to own and realize that it's a one trick pony. The M5 was the fastest production sedan but it does everything else well too. One of the reason Tesla haven't won any car of the year awards is that for the price it should have better interior. And not such a compromise.
I think the Lucid would be a better buy with the same levels of performance but backs it up with the interior and quality controls.
Tesla need to do better with QC, a car at the 6 figures range cannot have panel gap or minor defects.
It's impressive having the performance but it's becoming less impressive as more people start to own and realize that it's a one trick pony. The M5 was the fastest production sedan but it does everything else well too. One of the reason Tesla haven't won any car of the year awards is that for the price it should have better interior. And not such a compromise.
I think the Lucid would be a better buy with the same levels of performance but backs it up with the interior and quality controls.
Tesla need to do better with QC, a car at the 6 figures range cannot have panel gap or minor defects.
What makes the M5 such a well rounded car that does "everything else well too"? It has less passenger and cargo space than a Model S, and has atrocious gas mileage. The BMW interior might be perceived as nicer by some people.
Lucid will probably go bankrupt anyway since they have negative margins on each vehicle they sell. And they don't sell many either. And speaking of car of the year awards, the Lucid Air was crowned just that by Motor Trend, but what good is that if the company struggles to produce them and customers don't really want them?
Watch some youtube videos of McLaren's build quality issues...quite eye opening and entertaining actually.
I wouldn't worry about it because more and more people now have driven Teslas and not enjoying the experience but doesn't mean they won't have a Tesla. I frequently hop in and out of Tesla from short commutes to BMW X3M and nothing more fun than powerful ICE BMW. And each time I go in/out of the Tesla I felt the car has removed all of the controls and sensation of driving. Granted all newer BMWs are also following the same trend of electronic controls but I doubt EVs will be able to win everybody especially people who have the financial means to own EVs and ICE.
When gas prices are high I drive EV more but weekends I will still go out on ICE and rumble. If you go to BMW dealerships and Tesla's. The dealerships are always crowded at both.
By the way, I like BMWs too. They have certain strengths that can't be found in Teslas. To me, the comparisons are nuanced by model rather than the overall brand...for example, I prefer the X5 interior (and its amazing seats) over a Model Y interior. But I prefer a model S interior over a 5 series interior.
You're comparing cars that are 1/2 the price and doesn't have dynamic dampers equipped. Almost all BMWs upper models can be outfitted with dynamic dampers and in Comfort settings is amazingly soft. They used to be only available on 5/7 and M cars but now it's available on 3 series as well.
My main complaint about the ride quality of the Model S is that it's a $100k car and there are cars less than that with the dynamic dampers can easily go sport or comfort. While I was sitting in the car, it just didn't feel like a $100k car. The spring rates still tad too firm
And let's not go into the interior quality, I mentioned Genesis I believe the Tesla interior is losing to Genesis which is not exactly a high bar. All 3 German companies exceed Tesla with interior quality. I recently sat in a a Volvo EV and wasn't blown away but it's interior is very similar to Tesla.
The theory from many Model S owners with adaptive dampening believe that Tesla sent many out for delivery with essentially inert suspension systems that fail to adapt based on observation of the ride quality and the lack of electric signal to the dampening solenoid. Others are convinced that Tesla threw off the shelf parts at the car and did not properly program the dampening system with a shock dyne and road test the way that conventional luxury brands do for their production models with adaptive suspensions. Both scenarios are completely believable to me.
''The local Cars and Coffee was visited by a several Teslas from the Southern California Tesla Club. Of course, some were Plaids and some owners bore T-Shirts with a logo & message that they were "Hellcat Killers" or "Demon Killers."
You can see Plaids on YouTube at the drag strip. They upset a lot of people. I still wouldnt want one.
What makes the M5 such a well rounded car that does "everything else well too"? It has less passenger and cargo space than a Model S, and has atrocious gas mileage. The BMW interior might be perceived as nicer by some people.
Lucid will probably go bankrupt anyway since they have negative margins on each vehicle they sell. And they don't sell many either. And speaking of car of the year awards, the Lucid Air was crowned just that by Motor Trend, but what good is that if the company struggles to produce them and customers don't really want them?
Watch some youtube videos of McLaren's build quality issues...quite eye opening and entertaining actually.
Yea, I don't see how this one trick pony situation works if there are other features to it that compare favorably. The Model S Plaid does have a trick where it greatly outstrips others that would be deemed comparable, but then it also has some attributes where it at least compares favorably like the passenger and cargo space as you mentioned, its efficiency as a daily driver, the convenience of being able to charge at home which plug-ins in general have but which a lot of full-sized performance sedans are not, and some neat other bits like driver assistance and sound system. Its suspension is too rough for some but that can be a matter of preference as well as the interior design. The thing I think is crazy about the Plaid is that they offer that much power but with the ceramic brake kit as a pricey additional upgrade which seems absurd to me--I think that should be mandatory as it's nuts to offer that much power without the ability to adequately rein it in.
Yea, I don't see how this one trick pony situation works if there are other features to it that compare favorably. The Model S Plaid does have a trick where it greatly outstrips others that would be deemed comparable, but then it also has some attributes where it at least compares favorably like the passenger and cargo space as you mentioned, its efficiency as a daily driver, the convenience of being able to charge at home which plug-ins in general have but which a lot of full-sized performance sedans are not, and some neat other bits like driver assistance and sound system. Its suspension is too rough for some but that can be a matter of preference as well as the interior design. The thing I think is crazy about the Plaid is that they offer that much power but with the ceramic brake kit as a pricey additional upgrade which seems absurd to me--I think that should be mandatory as it's nuts to offer that much power without the ability to adequately rein it in.
I have an X Plaid and bigger, better brakes should certainly have been standard on a 5000lbs vehicle. That would be my biggest complaint.
Used to have an AMG and don't feel like they're in the same category of car. There's tradeoffs: better interior, fit and finish, steering, brakes vs better fuel economy, faster acceleration, electric, etc.
If one company had it all, every other company might as well fold.
It's impressive having the performance but it's becoming less impressive as more people start to own and realize that it's a one trick pony. The M5 was the fastest production sedan but it does everything else well too. One of the reason Tesla haven't won any car of the year awards is that for the price it should have better interior. And not such a compromise.
I think the Lucid would be a better buy with the same levels of performance but backs it up with the interior and quality controls.
Tesla need to do better with QC, a car at the 6 figures range cannot have panel gap or minor defects.
I sat in a Lucid, it's very impressive and I hope they make it.
I sat in a Lucid, it's very impressive and I hope they make it.
With their current business model, they are not viable. Not surprising since we also see that others like Ford and GM are also losing money on every EV they make. A strategic merger would make sense. Imagine someone like Mercedes or BMW buying them and the synergies that could be created.
The problem faced by most manufacturers is that they are losing money and competition will drive prices down even further. Look at how Tesla continues to evolve the manufacturing process and lower supply costs. Same with the Chinese companies. Other companies are still just trying to catch up and get their costs in line just to break even, yet the bar continues to move.
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