When Tesla first hit the streets, their cars were few and far between, and fast forward a few years, they still are. BUT when you jump in one yourself, your eyes instantly are drawn to others out there. Not only do you notice the classy T logo, you admire the classy curves and sleek design of these fantastic vehicles and perhaps more importantly, all Tesla drivers exchange a little nod or wave. It’s similar to the nod that caravan owners give each other, but WAY cooler, because let’s face it a Tesla is a pretty cool piece of gear.
I’ll be the first to admit that I can be a bit of a technophobe. It’s not that I don’t understand it or that I completely avoid it, it’s more the different quirks you get between Mac or PC, iPhone or Samsung, Netflix or Stan (ok the last one isn’t so realistic but you get my point, I need a coffee and the creative areas of my brain aren’t working quite as well as they should be). When you first slide into the Tesla, you could be forgiven for feeling a little daunted. The central console which controls pretty much everything (more on that later) is huge, and I mean huge. It’s about the size of my first mobile phone, and you remember how big they were? Once you start playing around with the settings and controls however, it actually makes perfect sense and if you follow logic, you can operate the car.
So, let’s start with car operation, which is incredibly easy, but a little hard to get used to. When look at the car, there’s no handles for you to open the door, but go closer with the key in your pocket and like magic, these sleek handles appear from the doors themselves.
The next decision is where to put your luggage… remember there’s no engine, so is it the traditional boot or the Frunk (front trunk)? I like the Frunk as a name, it could be Froot or Boont but Frunk works for me. It also surprise people when you get to a carpark and grab your backpack from where everyone else has an engine.
By having the key in your pocket the car is ready to go by the time you put your foot on the break. Use the lever you’d usually use for your indicator to put it into drive and away you go. No fuss, no noise and just really cool. The correlation between your foot on the accelerator and the movement of the car is incredible. A direct link between you and the car. In a normal combustion engine car, there’s a delay before you get the movement. Not in the Tesla… it’s instantaneous, and it’s quite an amazing feeling to get used to. The lack of engine noise can be hard to get used to as well, and I can vouch for this first hand, as I looked straight into the eyes of the lady who stepped in front of me thinking I wasn’t moving when I left the car park. Fear? You bet! FYI – the brakes are great and no one was harmed in the writing of this article. One thing that will take a little getting used to is the fact that the drive selector is on an indicator lever, and the indicator, is on another one. Don’t get the two mixed up and leave yourself stranded in neutral in fast moving traffic… again, I speak from experience!
Navigation, music, climate control is all so easy to control when you’re in the Tesla. You have access to what seems like every song on the planet thanks to your constant internet connection and access to digital radio stations, as well as traditional local platforms. You can also search particular songs. If you are wondering, from the moment I stepped into this car and even now when I write about it, I CANNOT stop singing Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant. Great song. She’s Electric by Oasis is another one, but my default is always Eddie G!
One of the coolest things about the Navigation is its memory and let me explain in a way that we can all sympathise with…
You know that pot hole on your drive home from work, the one that you always remember about 5 minutes before you get to it, then somehow forget, only to get a big surprise when your front wheel clatters into it? You know what I mean right? Well, let me tell you something wonderful… the Tesla navigation remembers stuff like this, it will add this sort of stuff to your navigation, it will help you remember, it will stop that front wheel clattering into that bloody pot hole. How good is that?
As for the Climate Control – my favourite part of this is being able to control the HUGE sun roof with just the sliding of a finger over the control console. It’s really cool and looks great when you operate it.
Does this work as a family car? The answer is a resounding YES. The space is incredible thanks in part to the lack of mechanics you require in an everyday car. As I’ve already mentioned there are TWO boots. A child’s seat fits easily in the back and you’d have no problem fitting two. More importantly if you are environmentally minded, you aren’t using petrol. There’s no emissions direct from the car and the charging options are varied (including at home if you install the charging point or use the normal adapter). Software updates happen to your car which give you the latest features which on a normal vehicle you’d have to buy the new model for and if you are looking for a way to make money, perhaps Tesla is an option too. Models have been known to increase in value, given their longevity, technological advantages and uniqueness in the market place.
Big thanks to the team at Tesla Australia for letting me have a couple of days in this incredible machine. I was lucky enough to drive the Tesla Model S and would highly recommend it. Read more about Tesla here.