I have some very recent experience with the Tesla Model Y that made me consider getting one, so I had to explore it more. Let's start with one of my friend texting us that he got one. He brought it over and I didn't think I would like it but surprisingly it is quite roomy inside and the storage space in back is really great, especially that deep cavern below the floor cover. That had me. Next we take it for a drive, the one pedal driving thing got me thinking about maintenance. One could go a long time without needing to replace the brakes (shots fired at the Stinger). The 0-60 mph time is rated at 4.8 seconds and the car just takes off! You're way past 60 before you realize it, it just goes with no noise! At this point I realized I wasn't hearing any tire noise nor much wind noise, he mentions that they have used double paned glass on this version, which I think he said was a first for them. Ok, that also got my attention, I am starting to really like the car. After the drive, I wanted to check out the body for fitment issues. I first spotted the rear doors have a wide gap at the top than the bottom, and some black trim didn't line up quite right. There were minor to me, his looks like they did a good job with it. So this week I scheduled a test drive.
I spent the week perusing YouTube videos on issues of the vehicle and there were videos of fitment issues and no issues. I even say TFL got one and it had a really bad fitment at the rear section, I wouldn't have taken delivery of that car if it had that issue. Now they have a rear door that won't open after 2 fixes and unlike the front doors, it does not have a manual release. I also learned there were no controls for the heated
seat in the back, it is in the screen up front. After some more videos, I start to wonder about this minimalist thing, the amount of parts they don't have like a typical car, and why should we pay the sort of money they want for it. I get that the simplistic design can save lot of extraneous parts we are used to having in a typical car but that seems like a safety issue to not have a manual release in back. Maybe they and I aren't informed about something that is actually in the car for when the actuators don't work. My interest start to wane. However, the test drive is still set so I figured I would take the time to check out one of their cars thoroughly.
Test drive day. First issue, my old eyes can see the screen clearly without my glasses. I get every thing setup then start driving. The rear view is worse than the Stinger, like really bad. Tried to find the camera setting to turn on for rear view, what the hell, I can't see the damn screen, this is not gonna work for me. I turn around and head back. They gave us 30 minutes on the test drive so I wanted to check the car out. Before we got back my wife started to notice issues in the car. Fitment issues abound! The interior had a number of them and so did the exterior. The car was white and the bumper was looking a shade darker. We checked out other car that they had for test drives, same issues with fitment, panel gaps and bumper discoloration. Normally one would think you put out a couple of properly put together cars for test drives, this would represent your brand and get the customer excited to order one. Not so here. We saw a Model S that looks like it just came off the delivery truck that was there when we first arrived. A white car but it looked so horrible with the gaps and bumper discoloration, $70k+ car and they still can't do this one right. That's a shame. Mentioned this to the sales consultant and he said they all come from the factory like that, mentioned the road noise on the one we drove as it wasn't like my friends, his response was that due to not having an engine you would hear more noise from outside. That was true in the early days of the S and many years later, this should have been fixed with the double paned glass as in my friends but this was weird. My wife commented that her Optima hybrid was quieter. "Would you like to order one?" Nope. Maybe in a few years when they solve all the quality issues and have much better range that you can drive like a bat out of hell all the time and still have sufficient mileage to go 500 miles. At that time though, I think the competition will surpass them. Oh, the sound system was pretty kicking and sound real good.
To wrap this up, there are some positives to the Tesla vehicles, there is a lot to like but also some things that will annoy anyone expecting a high level of quality for the price they are paying. When comparing the issues with what some folks that have come on here to complain about the Stinger, the Model Y should cost less based on all the quality issues. If only Ka had an electric system they could have put in the Stinger to give it about 400 miles of range and the same 0-60 time at the current cost of the GT2 AWD. As they ponder about a second generation for the Stinger and work on new EVs for release, they should really think about putting some sort of EV system in the new version. Or go the Ford route with the Mustang Mach E and make it into a CUV type of vehicle, with better range, performance and handling, while increasing interior space for passengers and cargo. They could sell it in the current form as long as they can (like Volvo did with the XC90, 14 years if I recall), with updates to keep it fresh while there is a market for it. This would give them time to work on a EV replacement worthy of the Stinger name.
Live long and prosper, Stinger!
