A review does not include the words "Turns are accomplished (or so I'm told) with hardly any body lean...". Not a review but a short ride in a $100,000 car - so no surprises that the reporter found some elements nice.<p>Mind even this stage managed puff piece had to end with a reminder that "Tesla faces the mundane challenges of producing the car profitably in relatively high volumes...".
Am I the only one who's not impressed at all by the touchscreen-based interior of the Model S? I can find the button I want to hit/knob I want to twist to adjust the radio or AC by feel in my current car, so I don't have to look at it while driving.<p>Buttons are good! I'd like buttons with little screens on them so that they can always display their function in the current "mode," instead of having to be labeled with multiple things in cases like that, but I'm not seeing the benefit of going full touchscreen. On a phone or tablet it's extra screen space for displaying content—but I don't expect to be browsing the internet or looking at a photo slideshow on the center console of a car.
What always goes through my mind when I imagine buying one of these is, "my laptop battery died after two years". How do I know the same thing won't happen with this car? If not two years, what happens to this car in 5 years, 10 years?<p>Is there any guarantee this car will be drivable in 10 years? Is there even a process for replacing the battery? What would it cost?
An earlier (favorable) review of the Tesla Model S<p><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/07/06/review-tesla-model-s-electric-sedan/" rel="nofollow">http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/07/06/review-tesla-mo...</a><p>also seems to have been based on a rather short test drive.<p>". . . . The car’s flat, floorpan-mounted battery pack (85 kWh) accounts for about 30% of the significant total vehicle weight, 4,642 pounds. And yet, with a C-of-G comparable to that of a Ford GT supercar, the Tesla corners like it’s tethered with magic. What do you call that?<p>. . . .<p>"Out on the street, suspended with the speed-adaptive air suspension, the Model S has an utterly unshakable, gantry-like vibe to it, even with the big meats in the wheel wells. And yet, given the constraints of our test drive, I can’t really describe the car’s handling. I’ll need at least three months to be sure."
Gearhead websites like Jalopnik and TTAC have taken Tesla to task for only providing extremely short press junkets to reviewers - assumably so nobody will ever get the thing down to empty and have something bad to say about it in their review. To me it shows a lack of confidence in their own product.<p>I personally hope the best for them, but to this day it remains to be seen if they can actually deliver the 50k Model S to a customer.