FIDO*98* said:
It's a world of relativity. I'm not looking for reasons to hate it, it's simply not as good as other cars I own or have owned. If you read the EV thread on the Politics board you'd see I was very positive initially. I'd argue it is Tesla owners who work way too hard to prop up the Tesla and pretend the negatives are positives. A lot of Tesla owners think men can get pregnant so I guess it goes with the territory
It is funny that you bring up politics, because it seems like most of the people that hate EVs and Tesla hate them because of their politics. The venn diagram of people that are negative on it and look for things like "the throttle tires my leg" is probably deeply overlapping. But at the same time, Musk worked pretty hard and probably had a pretty big part in delivering the election for Trump.
I have no problem identifying the negatives or positives. I don't really like the outer door handles, but they aren't complicated or hard to use one-handed so it really isn't a big deal to me. The interior door buttons are way easier to use than a traditional handle, so give and take.
I totally get that some people may not like things move from traditional spaces and for some, moving your speedometer 5" may not be your favorite. But it is right next to my right hand and in my peripheral vision when looking at the road. I like it and don't have to refocus to see it like I do in my Landcruiser.
But for me, not having to run an app on my phone like waze, apple/google maps to get navigation with traffic integration is a huge positive.
And I am a Spotify user, so being able to be listening to a podcast through my earbuds, getting in my car and the podcast seamlessly switches to my car's built in Spotify is perfect. Again, don't have to run apps on my phone while driving. Works the same way with phone calls.
Personally, it is a huge negative for me now when I drive other cars and have to deal with my phone for music, podcasts, navigation, etc. It is way easier for all that to be built into the car than have to use my phone or keep my phone plugged in if it doesn't have wireless carplay/android auto.
My kids love having the integrated Netflix/Disney+/Youtube and video games for when they have to wait on the other's rehearsals or appointments.
If you really wanted a gauge cluster speedo, there are a ton of cheap/easy aftermarket ones you could install. I've never felt the need, but my best friend did in his MY.
The car does have a manual long/unlock button and you can also use voice commands. The car automatically locks/unlocks itself so that has never once been an issue in 4 years.
My car has a turn signal stalk (older model) with a wiper button, but I never use the wiper button because it is on auto. I don't know actually how you signal in your car without a signal stalk. One of the things I like about mine is that I flip the stalk to tell it to change lanes when on FSD.
You said it is hard to keep cool in the summer, which is just bull***** I've had it for four summers in Houston. Pre-condition it before getting in and it has no problem keeping the cabin below 70 degrees for my 32mi drive across Houston every afternoon. It is significantly better than any other car I have ever had in this aspect simply because the app integration for temperature controls is there. Hell, I have a Tesla integration on my Garmin watch and can change the temp without even using my phone.
There are things that are different about it such as 1-foot driving, the screen, etc. But it seems like for most people, none of those are difficult to adapt to. If you never adjust to those things, sure they can be negatives. But my experience is that none of these are difficult to adjust to.
I will agree that the interior materials feel lower quality than the other cars I was considering (Audi, BMW mostly) but they have all held up remarkably well and my kids aren't all that easy on stuff. I find the seats very comfortable.
Range is less than advertised for highway but seems right in city driving. And it is really nice to always leave my house fully charged and not deal with gas stations or stops. We live in Houston and regularly take it to SA, DFW, Fredericksburg without any problem. If we were going on a longer road trip than that, then we would probably be taking the minivan or LandCruiser. That's probably how most people are as well. Never had a problem with road trips in it.