5,000 Miles Without Fumes

Quality
Consumer Reports gave the Tesla Model S the highest rating of any car, EVER. While I might agree it’s the best car ever, I can’t say that their evaluation is unbiased. Sadly, I’ve found Consumer Reports evaluation similar to other reviews that I’ve read by them when I’ve known a lot about the product being reviewed. These reviews seem to have a predetermined conclusion and not an accurate portrayal of the complete picture of the product.

While I love our Tesla Model S, there are aspects of the car that are less than perfect. Some complain about not having a center console, but I love not having one. It’s the perfect place for me to put my computer bag. However, the cup holders are in a weird spot. I am 6’2 and have a long reach, sit with the seat fairly far back, but have difficulty reaching back to the cup holder. My wife has an even bigger stretch to reach it. Furthermore, while my wife’s phone seems to connect and sound reasonable when talking over Bluetooth, my Samsung Galaxy Nexus drops the blue tooth connection and sounds weaker than a portable Bluetooth I used in my previous car.

The radio, while adequate doesn’t knock your socks off, even with the $1,000 upgrade. While the Internet based services are great with both Slacker and Tune In radio natively supported. While the voice integration is phenomenal, the ATT 3G radio is a little weak in our area. This leads to pauses from time to time. This wouldn’t be a big issue, but the terrestrial radio is very weak. It’s the worst I’ve ever experienced. We live ~20 miles outside of Philadelphia and it’s unbearable to listen to.

While not really a quality problem per say, I was disappointed in not having an option for adaptive cruise control, lane warnings, or parking sensors.

In terms of craftsmanship we only had two issues. The Tire Pressure Sensor had to be replaced. We called Tesla, they scheduled an appointment and they came to our house to make the repair. It was all very convenient. They even called to say they arrived as they pulled into the driveway. The other issue is a slight distortion in the rear window.  I am not sure if this is in the design or a craftsmanship issue and will have Tesla look at it the next time they look at the car.

The story continues ...