Rented a Tesla Y

[berettafan]

Flew to Fla to check out a school with my son. Had a model Y for 24 hrs. I'm thinking this is a temporary thing but we were told we could bring it back with 10% charge and we'd be fine.

Put 180 miles on it so it ended up being cheaper than many gas powered options! Have ridden in a 3 before but that's the extent of my Tesla experience.

My notes-

Steering was twitchy and exhausting. Tried different settings and they didn't really address it.

Regen braking is weird at first but kinda cool once you get used to it. you can drive through a neighborhood or parking lot and never touch the brake pedal. Dangerous on the highway if you bump the pedal and cruise shuts off. Happened to us, lucky to not have been hit. I'm sure i didn't bump the pedal but it's the only explanation i can think of. Also a msg popped up on the screen that said something like 'cruise will not brake'. Not sure what that means.

Interior is ok. Nice space in the rear hatch.

Hated the giant screen and lack of carplay. Lots of small print that is distracting and hard to read.

Acceleration is a hoot. Scary at first really. Can't imagine putting a kid in one of those things. Just keeps pulling like a train.

Key for unlocking sucked. Not sure if this was a rental thing but on my truck if my key is in my pocket i just touch the door to unlock. This card thing had to be pressed against the pillar.

Cupholders are a clear passive aggressive swipe at fat Americans.

Hard to hold a constant speed with the lack of a tach/speedo in front of you and no noise/vibration from a gas engine to be in tune with.

Lousy view out the back. Tiny slit made the rear view mirror all but useless.

Turn signals give you a rear camera view on that side but i'm not sure how anyone in busy traffic could actually look at the screen to see it and not have an accident.

AC worked fine. Strange controls but certainly functional.

Overall it's a livable vehicle but any interest in owning one has pretty much faded for me. The torque is an absolute blast but at the same time it's not really a rewarding car to drive. I think if i want to save $$ on gas i'd check out a hybrid of some sort.

[vash]

key for unlocking...its a rental thing. ours is waiting for us ready to play if we have our phones in our pockets.

cupholders..I guffawed out loud. but I need more explanation. is it because it is so close to us?

steering? I bet yours needed an alignment. ours is on rails.

love the giant screen. I think I set the font to "old people size"

AC is weird as hell. but I dont mess with it much.

great observations Beretta! how did the school check out.?

[berettafan]

Cupholders are tiny! No big gulps (showing my age on that) in those things. So many unusually shaped bottles these days.

A font change would surely have helped. I admit to being an old ****er. Just not wild about having to look to the center dash area for ANY info.

School was overall impressive for academics and dorms. Area (Daytona) was awful. Forget a middle class college student i'm not sure why even the most hardened biker would want to be there.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by berettafan

a msg popped up on the screen that said something like 'cruise will not brake'. Not sure what that means.

I assume that is telling you that it's not going to slow down when you run up behind someone, like most adaptive cruise controls. At least, that's what it sounds like to me.

Hard to hold a constant speed with the lack of a tach/speedo in front of you and no noise/vibration from a gas engine to be in tune with.

Interesting, I'd never thought of that, but it makes sense. I know that I've been driving my boxster with the windows open or top down and music up, so I couldn't really hear the engine noise, and that made it hard to know when to shift without looking at the tach.

Lousy view out the back. Tiny slit made the rear view mirror all but useless.

I imagine there's a way to change the big screen to a rear view camera view, although that might be a pain if the screen was used for other things as well.

Overall it's a livable vehicle but any interest in owning one has pretty much faded for me. The torque is an absolute blast but at the same time it's not really a rewarding car to drive. I think if i want to save $$ on gas i'd check out a hybrid of some sort.

Interesting. I have been curious about the new electric vehicles, but not really to purchase. Renting one sounds like the way to go. Kind of like going to Cali for vacation, but not wanting to live there.

Thanks for the info.

[vash]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Cupholders are tiny! No big gulps (showing my age on that) in those things. So many unusually shaped bottles these days.

.

ahhhh...funny nevertheless. you cracked me up for sure.

congrats on the kid heading into a higher education. exciting times. hope you all find a good fit in schools.

[Evans, Marv]

We bought our Model Y about a year & a half ago. We got it because of the extra room in the rear. I originally thought it would be like the Model 3 with extra space which it is, but later on saw Consumer Reports rated it as less reliable than the Model 3. We have had zero issues with ours so far. Like you, I thought some of the same things originally, but chalked it up to just driving a different car. The steering was "positive" at first, but I got used to it quickly. I thought the braking was pretty cool and the way a car should be. The reminder that the regenerative braking doesn't work with cruise control is just that - a reminder. The acceleration is great, but after a while just something you use when you need it. I like the cruise control's management in traffic. Looking sideways at the display isn't much different than looking down to the display on most other cars. You are spot on about the interior, cup holders, and rear window. You get used to the rear view & it isn't different than lots of other cross over designs. I never had a problem with maintaining a steady speed. My wife is one of those who either is pressing on the accelerator or foot off the accelerator. It drives me crazy to ride with her. The one thing I am least happy with is the ride. It's heavy and rides like a rock with wheels on rough roads. On main thoroughfares, it's OK & the seats are failry comfortable. I like the fact there are no fliuds, hoses, and other things to demand my attention. I just rotate the tires. I just got my yearly "true up" (we have solar panels & are on a net metering program) from the power company. It's the first rull year since buying the car & using our 10% excess generating capacity to charge the car along with powering our all electric house. So our bill came to $289 for the year. That's much better than selling it to the power company at 2 cents/kWh.

[MysticLlama]

The 'cruise will not brake' warning pops up when you have your foot on the accelerator and cruise control active, it won't override what you're asking for it to do. I do it all the time to speed up quicker than cruise will.

[Tishabet]

Valid points, agree on poor visibility out of back window.

The first time I drove one and got to open it up on the highway.... "just keeps pulling like a train" pretty much sums it up. Giggle-inducing acceleration, and always on tap.

[McLovin]

I’ve posted on this before, but I’m fairly ambivalent on Teslas.

Pros:
They are great in the city. No engine idling and effortless acceleration from stoplights is great.
The Full Self Driving does work great. Not a big issue for me, but my older relatives (in their 70s) love it. When used as intended, it is a great driving aid.
The operating costs have been very low. 99% of charging done on just regular home 110.
I think they all still are stylish, inside and out.
People complain about the fit and finish quality, but to me it’s generally ok.
Been reliable.

Cons:
Biggest is price. I think that’s just the cost of being early adopters. Overall I still see them as oversized golf carts with “average” construction materials in a stylish package, which is totally fine, but the price is high for what the car is, imo.
To me as a lifelong car guy, strongly, they are just appliances. Other than the acceleration speed, there is nothing “fun” about them (To others, that might be a pro).
And even the acceleration, it is giggle inducing at first, and even after getting used to is still pretty amazing, but not “fun” like accelerating a 930 Turbo is.
I think the fit and finish is ok, but as a car guy I can definitely see where a lot of cost cutting corners have been made. Thin door hinges, inexpensive foam seats, etc and pretty much everywhere the average owner can’t see uses inexpensive as possible materials.

All in all, I characterize it as a cross breed of if Apple and Ikea made a car.

[Evans, Marv]

I also look at it as an appliance. My wife loves it & thinks it's the best thing ever. I look at it as a vehicle to lower my maintenance duties. The quality of materials, workmanship, etc. is just something you get now days, at least in my opinion. The purchase cost seems in line with buying most cars now days. I tend to keep cars for 15+ years, & so far my wife's cars seem to be changed around twn years. If I keep my van fifteen years, I'll be in my mid ninties, so I probably won't be buying anything else. We might be the in the market for one or two for my wife though.

[berettafan]

McLovin you are right on with that.

I do think it is a very cool looking car. They got the looks right. At least IMO. If it were $35k i'd probably own one. I do see that i can get a hybrid prius with the kinda cool looking black wheels for $30k and enjoy 50mpg and, afaik, much cheaper battery replacement when the time comes.

So my question for Vash and any other owners is what is your long term expectation for resale and battery replacement (if needed)? Do you see this as a 5 year max kind of thing?

[Tobra]

Wait, it does not have a speedometer, or is it on the screen out of your view?

Seems like they would have a heads up display or something.

[PorscheGAL]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Wait, it does not have a speedometer, or is it on the screen out of your view?

Seems like they would have a heads up display or something.

In the model 3 and y the speedo is on the left side of the center screen. There is nothing behind the steering wheel.

On the model S and X there is a screen behind the steering wheel just like any other car that displays the speed.

[PorscheGAL]

Originally Posted by berettafan

McLovin you are right on with that.

I do think it is a very cool looking car. They got the looks right. At least IMO. If it were $35k i'd probably own one. I do see that i can get a hybrid prius with the kinda cool looking black wheels for $30k and enjoy 50mpg and, afaik, much cheaper battery replacement when the time comes.

So my question for Vash and any other owners is what is your long term expectation for resale and battery replacement (if needed)? Do you see this as a 5 year max kind of thing?

I have a Model S Plaid. I've said this about other cars and been wrong so take this as you will but I am not sure I will find something better for me. I drive 300 miles a day for work and this is the easiest, fastest car I have ever had. Every day I put the pedal down to the floor. Puts a grin on my face. Since November I have put 17,000 miles on it, just recently driving it on its first road trip from Columbia, SC to Daytona, Fl. If the battery needs replacing, I think I'll just do that. New batteries are somewhere in the $20K range. That said: even with the miles I currently have, I could probably sell the car for what I bought it for or more.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

In the model 3 and y the speedo is on the left side of the center screen. There is nothing behind the steering wheel.

On the model S and X there is a screen behind the steering wheel just like any other car that displays the speed.

So the 3 and the Y are different for the sake of being different?



Seems like form would follow function

[Steve Carlton]

I think on the less expensive models, Tesla doesn't want to give you a separate instrument cluster.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by vash

key for unlocking...its a rental thing. ours is waiting for us ready to play if we have our phones in our pockets.

cupholders..I guffawed out loud. but I need more explanation. is it because it is so close to us?

steering? I bet yours needed an alignment. ours is on rails.

love the giant screen. I think I set the font to "old people size"

AC is weird as hell. but I dont mess with it much.

great observations Beretta! how did the school check out.?

I'm guessing they gave him they keycard? I don't know on rentals. But using my card on the pillar is hit or miss. I have to drag it around a bit to get it work. 99% of the time its using my phone, I only carry the card because mobile service warned me about having a dead phone battery someday.

[MMARSH]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

I have a Model S Plaid. I've said this about other cars and been wrong so take this as you will but I am not sure I will find something better for me. I drive 300 miles a day for work and this is the easiest, fastest car I have ever had. Every day I put the pedal down to the floor. Puts a grin on my face. Since November I have put 17,000 miles on it, just recently driving it on its first road trip from Columbia, SC to Daytona, Fl. If the battery needs replacing, I think I'll just do that. New batteries are somewhere in the $20K range. That said: even with the miles I currently have, I could probably sell the car for what I bought it for or more.

I agree with you 100%. I've put over 50K on my Model S Performance and I still giggle when I floor it. (Mine is Pre Plaid) I lowered mine a bit and I think it's still a great looking car. I have zero desire to daily drive anything else.

Wife daily drives a Model 3, she loves it as well.

[Scott R]

Thought you guys might get a kick out of this, I had mobile service bright and early this morning. You would think they used vans.





We're in a bit of a dispute right now. I had my window switch replaced two months ago, and sometime recently it fell down inside the door. When they took the panel off this morning all of the clips on the door panel that hold the switch are broken.

I'll have to wait and see if Tesla will replace the door panel gratis, or if I have to pay.

[vash]

same car showed up to fix a headlight on a coworkers ModelY. the service S was rough. like work truck rough.