New Model S & X in LHD only in UK

New Model S & X in LHD only in UK

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Discussion

skwdenyer

16,596 posts

241 months

Sunday 4th June 2023
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caseys said:
Oh don’t worry GZ, it was to see what it was like in the hope there would be a RHD. Being told there won’t be RHD when I got there it would have to be exceptional to even think about it. And alas it’s not. It’s a little more refined but evolutionary not revolutionary. Even in RHD I’d say a nice Taycan beats it for driving feel, handling and cabin quality. Tesla beats it massively on efficiency and the SC network.

I wasn’t at all disappointed to get back in my 3LR and have a nice sunny drive home through the Test Valley. I was worried I’d test an S and my 3 would then feel lacklustre - just like Porsches strategy of lovely courtesy card.

A lot of caterhams and Porsches seen on the way home just made me think of more weekend cars.

The X would definitely be a great all round vehicle. The SC network again and the general UX in the car being massive benefits.

My shortlist now would be bmw and Porsche. Audi looking at the Audi Q lines they just seem big and bland. May go look at the Lexus RX when it comes out as there was an ad for it during the race today. And there’s a lotus dealer down here in Bournemouth.

Or I may just get the extended warranty on my 3 and run it for 5-6 years until the market moves on again.
It is fascinating how comparisons are made. A Model S seems to start at a price 25% below a Taycan’s and has a bigger battery. Is it a surprise that a Taycan would have a better cabin?

The question is whether the Taycan’s cabin and other characteristics are worth a 34% premium over an S (were it available).

dimots

3,099 posts

91 months

Sunday 4th June 2023
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For me, simply, no. I looked at Taycans but they’re huge and impractical with less than optimal range, poor interior space and showboat styling. The S is the car I wanted, it ticked almost every box just a shame there’s no estate version.

I drive my T6 camper more than anything else these days. Waiting for an electric alternative.

Heres Johnny

7,243 posts

125 months

Sunday 4th June 2023
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skwdenyer said:
It is fascinating how comparisons are made. A Model S seems to start at a price 25% below a Taycan’s and has a bigger battery. Is it a surprise that a Taycan would have a better cabin?

The question is whether the Taycan’s cabin and other characteristics are worth a 34% premium over an S (were it available).
Taycan starts at about £80k, Model S at £97k. I’d accept you need to spend on the options list but the Mosel S isn’t 25% below. A Taycan Cross Turismo for the same sort of money as a Model S would be a pretty nice place to be. Not sure why you think it’s 34% more

David87

6,667 posts

213 months

Sunday 4th June 2023
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Well, my S Plaid test drive that was supposed to be happening this morning was cancelled, 36 minutes before I was due to arrive. As the place it was being held at was quite far away I was well on my way… I drove 80 miles in total for no purpose at all.

The reason? An ‘incident’ with the vehicle (turns out it was pranged!). I was the first drive of the day, so as this happened yesterday why did they leave it so late to tell me?! Classic Tesla shenanigans. It’s been rescheduled for next weekend at some other place, so will have to try again.

What’s the betting the damage done was a result of the nightmare combo of LHD and yoke? biggrin

skwdenyer

16,596 posts

241 months

Sunday 4th June 2023
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Heres Johnny said:
skwdenyer said:
It is fascinating how comparisons are made. A Model S seems to start at a price 25% below a Taycan’s and has a bigger battery. Is it a surprise that a Taycan would have a better cabin?

The question is whether the Taycan’s cabin and other characteristics are worth a 34% premium over an S (were it available).
Taycan starts at about £80k, Model S at £97k. I’d accept you need to spend on the options list but the Mosel S isn’t 25% below. A Taycan Cross Turismo for the same sort of money as a Model S would be a pretty nice place to be. Not sure why you think it’s 34% more
Apologies I was looking at old pricing data. Completely missed how much the price differential had vanished. Model S LR increased by over 30% whilst I wasn’t paying attention.

30%+ was the price differential at Taycan launch. I had not, to my discredit, checked on where we were now.

Interesting. That would fit with the PC-like pricing strategy - lower the relative price over time as the tech ages, then bump the price up when you refresh. Which is I guess in contrast to the traditional approach of discounting older models at the dealer whilst hiding behind high RRPs.

That said, the basic Taycan seems to offer more than 30% less range, and a lot less performance (if that matters), which still needs to be factored into the equation. I fully accept that a range-agnostic buyer might well compare the two at similar price points.

And I’ll freely admit the Taycan’s is a well-resolved (if small) interior.

David87

6,667 posts

213 months

Sunday 11th June 2023
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Okay, drove a Model S Plaid in the UK this morning following last weekend’s last minute cancellation. They had two cars there - a black Model X and a black Model S Plaid… both had done approx. 500 miles and both were fked by test drivers within a couple of days of being unleashed on the roads of GB. biggrin

Test drives in both were cancelled last weekend because of this - the X had two tyres taken out on a kerb and the S had been launched over a traffic island. Turns out letting the general public loose in really fast, large, LHD cars with idiotic yoke steering wheels is a bad idea. hehe

Anyway, I managed to get through the 30 minute drive without writing it off so that was a bonus. First off, I think it looks great. To my eyes the S is the best looking Tesla by miles and in its present form this is more true than ever. This car had the 21” wheels and looked fantastic. The interior was also impressive - zero quality issues in terms of materials or build and the whole thing was just a nice place to sit. Similar in feel to the 3 and Y (making the older S feel its age), but appreciably more premium.

The drive. Now, I wasn’t about to rinse this thing around corners for a couple of reasons, first being there was a helpless Tesla staff member in the passenger seat (now a requirement after last weekend’s destruction derby) and the second I’ll come to in a bit. That said, it what I could ascertain about the handling is that it’s fine. No sports car, but does a reasonable job of hiding its not inconsiderable weight and rides pretty nicely. Certainly much more cosseting than a 3 or Y.

The lack of stalks was kind of half an issue - the drive selector being screen swipes for forward or reverse is a complete non-issue and worked for me just as well as flicking stalks does so no problem there. The indicators being touch buttons for left and right, however, was much less of a success and they were a bit annoying in all honesty. Yes, in time familiarity will help, but they feel like something that’s a good idea in the US where there are fewer roundabouts and here a stalk does the job much better.

Now, the other reason I didn’t fancy spanking this thing through the corners was the thing I was having to steer it with: the fking yoke. To put it mildly I think it’s dangerous and should never have been fitted to a production vehicle. I can’t believe Tesla ever thought it was a good idea as it’s just so, so bad. I hate it. Luckily you can get a normal wheel now and hopefully yokes in cars will soon be a distant (bad) memory, but bugger me, fitting all test drive fleet with them was an insane move. It’s terrible at all stages of the drive, but parking is the worst for obvious reasons. Do not buy a car with one of these fitted. Ever.

The bit, perhaps unsurprisingly, I was most excited about was the performance, but now I’ve tried it, I’m actually slightly torn. First thing to say is that it’s absolutely incredible, addictive and it would never get boring. BUT… I think it’s too much. You end up going so fast, so quickly that it’s kind of frustrating. The regular non-Plaid car would be more than enough for basically anyone, but I would find it hard to resist the feeling this Plaid gives you. I think it’s one of the great modern motoring experiences and to me is well worth the extra outlay, even if the moments you can enjoy it are very much fleeting. The best way to describe it is like a life-sized electric R/C car with an enormous surplus of power - all four wheels were scrabbling for traction at 80mph on a hot sunny day.

The downsides are considerable, but have all already been covered - epic depreciation, lack of finance, insurance costs, the absolute pain in the arse that is using a LHD car etc. For these reasons I could basically never buy one, but if I lived somewhere that drove on the right or they U-turn and make RHD again I’d be there in a flash. Yeah, if I won the lottery I’d have one because why not, it’s a great car, but otherwise it’s a hard pass.

What I hope now is that the incoming Model 3 ‘Highland’ update brings some of the goodies from this into a car that’s a) got the driver on the correct side and b) is a fair whack cheaper. The way the acceleration doesn’t tail off like in other Teslas is a real notable change, so hoping for a mega new Model 3 Performance with a hint of this magic.

Well done if you’ve made it this far - if you’ve any other questions about the car I shall do my best to answer them.

Puzzles

1,857 posts

112 months

Sunday 11th June 2023
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I doubt they will make the m3p quicker, they don’t seem to move the game on in that way.

I remember them saying the m3p was quicker than a bmw m3 when it came out. Well bmw have moved the game on but sadly Tesla haven’t.

dimots

3,099 posts

91 months

Sunday 11th June 2023
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Thanks for the review David. There’s no way I’m test driving one if I can’t have one in rhd. The negative yoke experience is at least quelling my fomo a little.

DJP31

232 posts

105 months

Sunday 11th June 2023
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+1 in thanking you for the excellent review. What frustrates me more than anything is the lack of anything else to buy that comes remotely close in ticking all the boxes the S does.

Tesla have a habit of changing their mind much like the English weather does, but to reintroduce the RHD wouldn’t necessarily bring back all those that have had no choice but to go elsewhere - and especially after 2 year “coming soon” BS.

Heres Johnny

7,243 posts

125 months

Sunday 11th June 2023
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While there’s certainly an attraction, globally it’s not selling well and people seem to be thinking twice before pulling the trigger. A case of ‘I would if I could’ until you can when you get cold feet. For a relatively no volume car that’s only been delivered in Europe for 6-7 months, there’s masses of inventory kicking around.

skwdenyer

16,596 posts

241 months

Sunday 11th June 2023
quotequote all
Heres Johnny said:
While there’s certainly an attraction, globally it’s not selling well and people seem to be thinking twice before pulling the trigger. A case of ‘I would if I could’ until you can when you get cold feet. For a relatively no volume car that’s only been delivered in Europe for 6-7 months, there’s masses of inventory kicking around.
I suspect the issue is that, at this level, it isn’t a Porsche. Musk may not have grasped how irrational the market really is.

It is a shame. Had they production-engineered the X (especially) to keep selling profitably at the launch price-points, I think they’d be doing a lot of volume. There’s nothing else like it. But, at the same time, who’s making minivans any more?smile

During lockdown I was driving to London from the Dales every week. Were I still doing that, an S/X would be easy to justify.

What’s happened to S/X residuals?

Heres Johnny

7,243 posts

125 months

Monday 12th June 2023
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skwdenyer said:
What’s happened to S/X residuals?
There was a slight pausing of depreciation on the news, but it appears to have resumed again, and simply horrendous over the last year, about 25k - this is for the last of the MX LR but not massively different for the others



dimots

3,099 posts

91 months

Monday 12th June 2023
quotequote all
Where's the chart from? How does it compare to other EVs?

skwdenyer

16,596 posts

241 months

Monday 12th June 2023
quotequote all
Heres Johnny said:
skwdenyer said:
What’s happened to S/X residuals?
There was a slight pausing of depreciation on the news, but it appears to have resumed again, and simply horrendous over the last year, about 25k - this is for the last of the MX LR but not massively different for the others


Interesting chart. My perception of X prices is that the early ones were quite cheap when new (relatively), and actually appreciated for a while as new prices surged.

What does the residual curve look like?

gangzoom

6,318 posts

216 months

Monday 12th June 2023
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David87 said:
To my eyes the S is the best looking Tesla by miles and in its present form this is more true than ever. This car had the 21” wheels and looked fantastic.
100% agree, I quite like the Audi E-tron GT but for some reason it seems to be a reverse Tardis. Not an issue if you have no family, but the S is just so much more practical.

Real shame there are no RHD S coming now, I still would love to swap our Lexus for one. No many EVs can fit in next to some of the real classics around, the S for me does it so well.


gangzoom

6,318 posts

216 months

Monday 12th June 2023
quotequote all
skwdenyer said:
It is a shame. Had they production-engineered the X (especially) to keep selling profitably at the launch price-points, I think they’d be doing a lot of volume. There’s nothing else like it. But, at the same time, who’s making minivans any more?smile
The Y offers pretty much everything the X does interms of practically, but for far less production cost/issues for Tesla, and far cheaper/efficient for owners. Very people really need usable 3rd row seats that often. If your really the space a Galaxy makes much more sense (or 7 seater GLE if you want flash some cash). I'm really surprised Tesla haven't just stopped X production completely, Elon mush have some human emotions likes sentimentality smile.



skwdenyer

16,596 posts

241 months

Monday 12th June 2023
quotequote all
gangzoom said:
skwdenyer said:
It is a shame. Had they production-engineered the X (especially) to keep selling profitably at the launch price-points, I think they’d be doing a lot of volume. There’s nothing else like it. But, at the same time, who’s making minivans any more?smile
The Y offers pretty much everything the X does interms of practically, but for far less production cost/issues for Tesla, and far cheaper/efficient for owners. Very people really need usable 3rd row seats that often. If your really the space a Galaxy makes much more sense (or 7 seater GLE if you want flash some cash). I'm really surprised Tesla haven't just stopped X production completely, Elon mush have some human emotions likes sentimentality smile.

Interesting that you say that. At a time when, say, Lotus is launching the Eletre, I don't think this segment is dead.

Very few cars genuinely provide space for a proper family to go on a proper trip without being cramped, for instance.

Tesla's issue seems to be the car's content - if it were cheaper (covered by Model Y style production efficiency), it would be great. Or if it were more premium then of course it could justify the price.

Would you swap yours for a Y?

DJP31

232 posts

105 months

Monday 12th June 2023
quotequote all
skwdenyer said:
gangzoom said:
skwdenyer said:
It is a shame. Had they production-engineered the X (especially) to keep selling profitably at the launch price-points, I think they’d be doing a lot of volume. There’s nothing else like it. But, at the same time, who’s making minivans any more?smile
The Y offers pretty much everything the X does interms of practically, but for far less production cost/issues for Tesla, and far cheaper/efficient for owners. Very people really need usable 3rd row seats that often. If your really the space a Galaxy makes much more sense (or 7 seater GLE if you want flash some cash). I'm really surprised Tesla haven't just stopped X production completely, Elon mush have some human emotions likes sentimentality smile.

Interesting that you say that. At a time when, say, Lotus is launching the Eletre, I don't think this segment is dead.

Very few cars genuinely provide space for a proper family to go on a proper trip without being cramped, for instance.

Tesla's issue seems to be the car's content - if it were cheaper (covered by Model Y style production efficiency), it would be great. Or if it were more premium then of course it could justify the price.

Would you swap yours for a Y?
A neighbour of mine reluctantly sold his 4 yr old X and got a Y. A significant downgrade in his opinion.

gangzoom

6,318 posts

216 months

Monday 12th June 2023
quotequote all
skwdenyer said:
Would you swap yours for a Y?
In word - NOsmile

Tesla actually tried about 18 months ago, got an e-mail saying they would offer me some stupid PX figure for the X (roughly 5 years old at the time) which meant I could swap into a brand new LR Y with EAP for essentially £0 if I was able to take delivery before the end of that quarter.

So glad I didn't bother, yes the Y is more efficient with more range, and newer computers. But reality is I don't need the range (Our 75D has enough range for me to tour Europe in summer - If we did Ski trips runs up into the Alps every winter might be a different matter), and even now the FSD computer in our X isn't been used for anything but display stuff.

The amount of stuff + people the X can swallow is mad, 6+all this luggage, without needing a roofbox/trailer.



The only time we fly+rented a car in Europe for a extended family holiday we had to hire this......



Yes a van is as practical, but a £500 Halfords cheapo eBike will do the same job as my substantially more expensive Specialized Creo eBike. However I personally prefer to pay the extra ££££ for something a bit more special versus utilitarian.



Edited by gangzoom on Monday 12th June 14:11

Zcd1

451 posts

56 months

Monday 12th June 2023
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David87 said:
Okay, drove a Model S Plaid in the UK this morning following last weekend’s last minute cancellation. They had two cars there - a black Model X and a black Model S Plaid… both had done approx. 500 miles and both were fked by test drivers within a couple of days of being unleashed on the roads of GB. biggrin

Test drives in both were cancelled last weekend because of this - the X had two tyres taken out on a kerb and the S had been launched over a traffic island. Turns out letting the general public loose in really fast, large, LHD cars with idiotic yoke steering wheels is a bad idea. hehe

Anyway, I managed to get through the 30 minute drive without writing it off so that was a bonus. First off, I think it looks great. To my eyes the S is the best looking Tesla by miles and in its present form this is more true than ever. This car had the 21” wheels and looked fantastic. The interior was also impressive - zero quality issues in terms of materials or build and the whole thing was just a nice place to sit. Similar in feel to the 3 and Y (making the older S feel its age), but appreciably more premium.

The drive. Now, I wasn’t about to rinse this thing around corners for a couple of reasons, first being there was a helpless Tesla staff member in the passenger seat (now a requirement after last weekend’s destruction derby) and the second I’ll come to in a bit. That said, it what I could ascertain about the handling is that it’s fine. No sports car, but does a reasonable job of hiding its not inconsiderable weight and rides pretty nicely. Certainly much more cosseting than a 3 or Y.

The lack of stalks was kind of half an issue - the drive selector being screen swipes for forward or reverse is a complete non-issue and worked for me just as well as flicking stalks does so no problem there. The indicators being touch buttons for left and right, however, was much less of a success and they were a bit annoying in all honesty. Yes, in time familiarity will help, but they feel like something that’s a good idea in the US where there are fewer roundabouts and here a stalk does the job much better.

Now, the other reason I didn’t fancy spanking this thing through the corners was the thing I was having to steer it with: the fking yoke. To put it mildly I think it’s dangerous and should never have been fitted to a production vehicle. I can’t believe Tesla ever thought it was a good idea as it’s just so, so bad. I hate it. Luckily you can get a normal wheel now and hopefully yokes in cars will soon be a distant (bad) memory, but bugger me, fitting all test drive fleet with them was an insane move. It’s terrible at all stages of the drive, but parking is the worst for obvious reasons. Do not buy a car with one of these fitted. Ever.

The bit, perhaps unsurprisingly, I was most excited about was the performance, but now I’ve tried it, I’m actually slightly torn. First thing to say is that it’s absolutely incredible, addictive and it would never get boring. BUT… I think it’s too much. You end up going so fast, so quickly that it’s kind of frustrating. The regular non-Plaid car would be more than enough for basically anyone, but I would find it hard to resist the feeling this Plaid gives you. I think it’s one of the great modern motoring experiences and to me is well worth the extra outlay, even if the moments you can enjoy it are very much fleeting. The best way to describe it is like a life-sized electric R/C car with an enormous surplus of power - all four wheels were scrabbling for traction at 80mph on a hot sunny day.

The downsides are considerable, but have all already been covered - epic depreciation, lack of finance, insurance costs, the absolute pain in the arse that is using a LHD car etc. For these reasons I could basically never buy one, but if I lived somewhere that drove on the right or they U-turn and make RHD again I’d be there in a flash. Yeah, if I won the lottery I’d have one because why not, it’s a great car, but otherwise it’s a hard pass.

What I hope now is that the incoming Model 3 ‘Highland’ update brings some of the goodies from this into a car that’s a) got the driver on the correct side and b) is a fair whack cheaper. The way the acceleration doesn’t tail off like in other Teslas is a real notable change, so hoping for a mega new Model 3 Performance with a hint of this magic.

Well done if you’ve made it this far - if you’ve any other questions about the car I shall do my best to answer them.
I also had a recent test-drive of a refreshed Model S, though this was the LR version.

I'm in complete agreement with you regarding the looks - especially on the 21" wheels, the much wider flared fenders and the stance look about perfect, and FAR better than any previous Model S.

The car I drove had an actual steering wheel (what a concept!), and I found it to be both larger in diameter and thinner in profile than I'd prefer, though it was certainly better than any yoke.

The "mere" 670-ish HP in the LR is more than most anyone could ever need, and the way the car pulls from about 10 mph to veryfastindeed is simply nuts. I can honestly say that after 2 full throttle runs, I didn't want to do that anymore. All 4 tires scrabbling for traction at 40 mph is scarcely believable, but that's what happens. The car's power is significantly nerfed from a stop, but once rolling, it's a monster. Witness its ~130 mph 1/4 mile trap speed - similar to or faster than a Taycan Turbo S, despite its 0-60 time being 0.5-0.7 seconds slower.

The rest of the car is quite nice for the price, though the back seat is indeed quite low and the car drives "big".

I'm with you in hoping that the next Model 3 Performance imitates the Model S LR and Plaid - I'll be first in line if so.


Edited by Zcd1 on Monday 12th June 19:36