14 Drawbacks to Those Doors - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test
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14 Drawbacks to Those Doors - 2016 Tesla Model X Long-Term Road Test
Edmunds conducts a long-term test of the 2016 Tesla Model X and discusses pros and cons of its unusual doors.
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Alas, my two decade long campaign in that regard has gained little traction.
I have a P85D. Great car. We were thinking about the Model X but one thing turned us off. Those doors. I guess if you're that rare minority of people who have kids in child seats and you live in a place with nice weather, the doors are a benefit. But most people do NOT have kids in that narrow age range. So Tesla built a baby carrier SUV and sacrificed utility for all other owners. That's a pretty stupid marketing plan.
Had this vehicle been designed with the option of having regular doors, we'd have traded in our P85D without a second thought. As it is, we're keeping the P85D and right now we're thinking about getting a Mercedes GLE as a crossover type replacement for the P85D. The idiot doors (I won't call them by the name Musk uses) cost Tesla a sale.
Great point about the main-stream buyer losing out on the tax credits -- yet another giveaway to the rich eh?
Maybe we can convince Elon to bring back the Brubaker Box after the 3 gets into production. But with dual sliders this time.
Until the driver has to duck under these idiotic doors to get out.
If you remember back when the Model X concept was first unveiled, the falcon wing doors (someone explain why this branding is somehow worse than anything by any other automaker?) were the main attraction, as it were. They looked cool, they had the wow factor, but pundits questioned whether they would ever see production, because cool concept-car features rarely do.
So, let's imagine for a second what would have happened if they had put regular doors on this thing. I think there would have been a very loud chorus of "Tesla can't follow through", "Tesla can't innovate anymore", "The bloom is off the rose", etc. You know it's true. I think this influenced Musk as much as anything, and so he made the (IMO poor) decision to keep those doors, come engineering hell or high water.
Personally, I'm starting to come around to Stever's way of thinking -- I think everything should have sliding doors, or at least a sliding-door variant. :P
I understand avoiding sliding doors for the same reason that every other CUV avoids them (even though Tesla might have the brand power to make sliding doors cool again). They just should have let the powertrain, styling and tech differentiate this vehicle and otherwise mimic the typical 3 row CUV packaging. What makes the Model S a success is that from a size, layout and utility standpoint, it's very similar to other luxury sedans.
ROOF RACKS DON'T MAKE MUCH SENSE FOR EVs, DUE TO AERODYNAMIC DRAG PENALTIES. THE PLACE TO CARRY SKIS, BIKES, ETC. WITH AN EV SUV IS BEHIND THE VEHICLE WHERE THEY PRODUCE VERY LITTLE DRAG.
2. No door pockets or cupholders allowed. Unless you want those things dumped on the ground
MIDDLE ROW OF SEATS HAVE CUP HOLDERS NEAR THE CENTER... NO NEED FOR CUP HOLDERS ON THE SIDES.
3. They're slower to operate than any manual door
TRUE. THIS VEHICLE IS A BAD CHOICE FOR BANK ROBBERS.
4. You have to stand away from the door after pressing the release button on the door, else the sensors detect your presence and only open partially
SUCH EFFORT INVOLVED!
5. The doors are incompatible with garages with low roofs. This includes operating the doors inside many/most home garages when the garage door is open
THESE DOORS WILL RISE HALFWAY TO ACCOMMODATE LOW CEILINGS.
6. Close parking quarters can result in a partial door opening. Perhaps not any worse than a swinging door in this regard. Plus, our Model X has the "summon" function, which helps. A minivan's sliding door, however, will open fully in virtually any gap into which even a slim person can physically squeeze
TIGHT PARKING SPACES ARE A HASSLE WITH THESE DOORS AS WELL WITH CONVENTIONAL HINGED DOORS AS WELL.
7. With their electric motors, sensors, additional hinge points, et al,, they're almost certainly much heavier than other doors
WHO CARES? THE MODEL X CAN BLOW AWAY ANY OTHER SUV IN A DRAG RACE.
8. Speaking of weight: because part of the roof is now the door, the chassis is structurally inefficient and thus heavier than it would otherwise be
SEE PREVIOUS ANSWER.
9. The operating mechanism is located at the highest point of the car, raising its center of gravity
MODEL X STILL HAS THE LOWEST CG OF ANY CUV OR SUV ON THE MARKET.
10. When it rains, it had better be falling straight down, otherwise it's going to blow in through the huge opening and soak the leather and/or your butt
USE THE DOWNWIND DOOR FOR ENTRY/EXIT WHEN PRACTICAL IF YOU WANT TO AVOID BLOWING RAIN, ETC.
11. Snow on the roof will be snow on your seat
WITH AN EV, YOU WANT TO REMOVE THE SNOW BEFORE DRIVING ANYWAY, DUE TO THE WEIGHT AND DRAG.
12. Presence of doors in roof leaves no space for a proper sliding sunshade between the "receding hairline" windshield and the door openings. Instead we get a cheesy K-mart-grade fixed sunshade
THE WINDSHIELD IS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING. A LESS THAN IDEAL SUNSHADE IS THE PRICE TO BE PAID FOR THE BEST VISIBILITY EVER OFFERED TO THE DRIVER OF A CUV OR SUV.
13. The corner of the articulating door sometimes rests right at forehead height of exiting front passengers
ONLY IF THE DOOR STOPS AT THE HALWAY POINT. I KNOW BECAUSE I VISITED THE TESLA STORE TODAY.
14. The articulating doors are over the rear passengers, not the driver. The rich dude that buys one of these wants to own his Lambo flashbacks for himself, not his whiny kids. They need a sliding door
AGREED. TODAY'S KIDS GET TOO MUCH OF THE GOOD STUFF AND PAPA IS LEFT PAYING THE BILL.
My point in making these comments is to try putting the criticisms in perspective. I frequent the Model X forums and owners are almost universally thrilled with their new vehicles. The author has a valid point that the Model X is not for everyone. A traditional SUV is better suited for the needs of many. Tesla only needs to capture 10% of the luxury CUV/SUV market to make this vehicle a roaring success, however. I think they'll succeed.