2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Our 2013 Tesla Model S is a pleasure to drive and look at, but the details are some the best parts.

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kirkhilles_

I'll personally be interested in the long term reliability of the Model S. Small gaps and other details might seem very important when its new, but when you get that $5k repair bill in those luxury sedans, you realize that maybe it wasn't built quite as well as it looks. I'm hoping that Tesla shows what an all-electric vehicle can do and how much simpler things can be.

quadricycle

"blue-white LEDs". Ugh, why does everybody like blue(ish) lights so much? I would prefer a high CRI LED that gives a more pleasing, natural light. Trust me, it would make the interior look MUCH nicer. If anyone has them at home, they'll agree too.

duck87

I think you might be reaching a bit here. Engraved wheel logos? I actually really like the Tesla's minimalist interior, but I like Audi and Porsche's interiors better (not that I've owned something in that price range). I finally saw my second Model S a few weeks back when visiting the greater Toronto area. It's a pretty huge car but the driver was hauling [non-permissible content removed], it was pretty impressive.

noburgers

fit and finish aside, these cars really just stand out on the road. Looks good coming and going; I stare every time I see one (I see more model S cars on the road than the Toyobaru twins--which surprises me).

schen72

In the SF bay area, Model S's are not that rare. I see at least a dozen on my commute to work. My neighbor across the street has one in his garage.

greenpony

Perception is reality. If people believe it is a quality vehicle, regardless of its actual measurable quality level, it is a quality vehicle.

zhangrenhou

I'm sure we'll see a lot of the Tesla's cool details being copied by other automakers in years to come!

mercedesfan

To be honest, the Model S is no more special in this regard than anything else it competes against. In fact, it is actually noticeably worse than an S-Class or A8. Those cars make even ordinary details feel special. I don't mean to knock Tesla. They did a fantastic job with the design of this car, but they didn't do anything particularly unique for the segment they are competing in.

greenpony

Unless, mercedesfan, you look at their powertrain. Every vehicle has compromises; the point of the Model S is to show that an electric vehicle need not have all the compromises people have come to expect.

quadricycle

@greenpony: To be fair, an electric powertrain has compromises of its own.

shepski

Smiling fish?

greenpony

quadricycle, certainly! Every vehicle has compromises. My comment was addressing mercedesfan's comment that Tesla "didn't do anything particularly unique"... overlooking the fact that a purely electric powertrain is pretty unique in any segment.

quadricycle

@greenpony: Gotcha! I thought that mercedesfan was addressing the uniqueness and quality of the interior, but even in that case Tesla has done some pretty unique things too. I really think that Tesla as a company is pretty unique too. They've re-written w

mercedesfan

@greenpony, I mean that Tesla hasn't done anything particularly unique with the design details of the Model S for this segment. As a luxury car its execution of design details is actually a few pegs below the cars it competes against. The actual build qua

evjuice

The first prototype of the MS has a very curvy interior all in black with light stitching. The 17 screen looked WAY out of place. I'm guessing that''s why they went with a sort of softened angled interior.