Panoramic Windshield - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Panoramic Windshield - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test

Our Tesla Model X has one of the biggest windshields this side of a Kenworth. Some aspects of it are better than others.

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lmbvette

Thank you for posting this. I made a comment in the other Model X thread about this ridiculous design, the over sized windshield and the silly sun visor.

The sun visor is a "normal" car is effective because the roof limits the sun's glare. Thus the visor acts as an extension of the roof. With the Tesla's design, the sun shines above the visor, albeit diluted by some sort of tinting, but still not blocked.

This is the sort of design that you would see on a concept car but most manufacturers would seen the limitations in this design and go to what is tried and true.

Tesla is doing things just to be different. To prove that they can engineer anything, without thinking should we spend our time and money engineering THAT. We are Tesla, we can engineer anything. Yes, but should you?

I realize that you guys are in California, but the next time it rains I would like to see a video of somebody getting into the back seats with these ridiculous doors. Here in South Florida, we have almost daily thunder storms from May through September.

throwback

I have read of a couple of early Model X owners who have added aftermarket tint to the overhead portion of the windshield. I am curious what a replacement would cost. My guess is you will need to go back to Tesla for a replacement and is that covered under warranty? I doubt it, please find out a full replacement cost. My guess is $3,000, hope you all have full glass coverage!

opfreak

any double vision yet?

That ipad device in the center. IMHO stupid and ugly looking, and frankly a cop out... We dont know how to design a center console so lets just stick a gaint screen there.

bankerdanny

Not that this was ever likely anyway, but reason #2, after the rear door design, why I have no interest in owning one of these.

djd352

I can't help but thing of the Citroen C3, it also has a panoramic windscreen, but it also offers a sliding headliner in case you don't want a head tan and it's a $20k car... why couldn't Tesla have offered that too? Check out the video at 1 minute for a demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w40t1MxFqvc

handbrake

I hope the Edmunds crew is reading the reports of door failures/errors on the Tesla forum. It sounds like the Model X's falcon wing doors are causing all sorts of problems, from opening up while the car is moving to not sensing obstacles and smacking into things like concrete pillars. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/crunch-falcon-wing-doors-fail-to-sense-obstacle.68268/page-12#post-1487492

Not only are those doors an utter gimmick, they seem to be so a looming reliability disaster for Tesla.

schen72

I see at least 1-2 Model X's a day here in the south SF bay area. Even though these cars seem ridiculously over-engineered, it's targeting exactly what the demographic gets excited about. I would say their strategy is spot on.

lmbvette

There are dozens of posts on the Tesla forums regarding the Falcon Wing Doors (FWD). Yikes.

They should have just put in power sliding doors like a minivan.

legacygt

Somehow Tesla lost sight of one of the key elements of the Model S success. That car is revolutionary but it is also incredibly normal. You can step out of an A8 or 7 Series or Panamera or whatever and you will feel right at home in the Model S. This car is not that way. It just has too many weird things going on. Gimmicks are one thing. But losing sight of what made your last car so successful is another. I'm hoping that Tesla is working on conventional windshields and rear doors for the Model X right now.

kirkhilles1

Well, definitely the key for the Model 3 will be to not let Musk be creative with it and focus on reliability and durability. Don't turn it into a German-over-engineered vehicle, but instead find ways to fix things without drastically changing things. Keep it simple. That is what the Middle Class wants and needs.

mercedesfan

@schen72,

It's interesting that we live/work so close to one another yet see such different things. Just like how I never see Escalades, I never see Model Xs. I have seen maybe 3 total and I go to Fremont often for meetings. I know so far the Model X has not lived up to sales expectations so I assumed the dearth of them was proof of that. Perhaps people are just late in adopting them.

schen72

mercedesfan said:

@schen72,

It's interesting that we live/work so close to one another yet see such different things. Just like how I never see Escalades, I never see Model Xs. I have seen maybe 3 total and I go to Fremont often for meetings. I know so far the Model X has not lived up to sales expectations so I assumed the dearth of them was proof of that. Perhaps people are just late in adopting them.

I think the Model X just looks ungainly to me. It seems top heavy and not svelte like the Model S and upcoming Model 3.

texases

What a goofy vehicle.

A large fraction of cars have their windshields replace during their life - how many thousand $$ for one of these?

stever

Dunno, I really like those panoramic sunroofs that seem to begin where the windshield stops and continue over the back seat. Likely not too practical with our 294 sunny days per year and another reason why this rig won't take a roof rack (never mind the gullwing rear doors).

texases

I was about to ask - why not one of those panoramic sunroofs? It'd have a cover to protect the occupants from sun, it wouldn't have to be replaced when the windshield gets a chip, and it would open up to let the outside in. win/win/win.

5vzfe

As someone whom the sun has it out for, this would bother me. I love my sunroof, but I also like the sliding shade that can cover the glass when it's a little too intense. Cars with mesh shades are a no go for me as well.
Cars like the Model X are interesting, but this vehicle seems like an experiment in excess, with the crazy windshield and admittedly cool but overall pointlessly over-engineered rear doors. And the price, yikes. They should've just made a Model S wagon and called it good.

tom_in_mn

opfreak said:

any double vision yet?

That ipad device in the center. IMHO stupid and ugly looking, and frankly a cop out... We dont know how to design a center console so lets just stick a gaint screen there.

Put in a physical control and it's there for the life of the car. Tesla has consistently pushed upgrades out to existing cars and this way can update any control or interface they want.

I wonder how large an effect pushing the roof-windshield join back has on the drag.

niomarvin83

Thanks for sharing! Yeah, the Tesla Model X has a super big windshield and those sun visors don't work like they should. Normally, the roof helps block the sun, but with Tesla, the sun still gets in. It's cool but not really practical. Tesla likes to be different, but sometimes it seems they don't think if they should make something just because they can. And, I'm curious how getting in the back seats works when it's raining, especially since it rains a lot here too.