I’ve been driving a TESLA Model S.

The other day I went a test drive on the TESLA Model S. I don’t have much time, only one lap of the test drive course, I have not taken any pictures but only the text, but I will record the impression of the test drive. We hope that it will be helpful to those who are interested in TESLA and are considering a test drive.

Apply for a test drive from the Web

You can apply for a TESLA test drive online. Go to the TESLA Japan homepage, click on Book a test drive. I filled in my name and contact and submitted the request, and in my case I received a confirmation phone call that day. The test drive reservation is completed after adjusting the desired model and the desired date and time.
  I asked for Model S in Minamiaoyama, Tokyo. Business hours were from 11:00 on weekdays and from 10:00 on Saturdays and Sundays I requested, so I booked at 10:00 on Sunday.

They will attach a child seat with parental consent

I was planning to take a test ride with my family, but when confirming the reservation above, I was told that children under the age of 5 could not ride, so I will try it alone. . . I headed for Tesla Motors Japan Minami Aoyama. However, at the reception, I was asked, “What can I do with the child seat, what should I do?”, “I heard that I can’t get on at the reception …” Does not work … I will install it with the consent of my parents. ” I was grateful for this, and agreed to install it. The child seat was RECARO seat. My child has become a little jealous.

Model S that I tried was normal 100D.

The Model S I tested is the normal version 100D. The body color was blue.

Open feeling of the glass roof.

The first of the test rides doubles as a cockpit drill and is driven until the dealer has a wider road. Put the child in the child seat, wife in the rear seat, I in the passenger seat. The ceiling is amazing from my wife behind me. It was a glass roof when I looked up because I was told that it was spacious. He said that the front seats have a frame on the front windshield and the sun visor, and there is not much benefit from the glass roof, but the rear seats seem to be quite beneficial and there is no cramped feeling at all.

All switches of a normal car are on the touch panel.

I will go around Aoyama Cemetery while teaching the cockpit drill from the dealer. Look around the car while thinking of operating the levers. All operations such as air conditioner, audio, and operation mode are performed on the touch panel. For that reason, a large touch panel is installed in the center, but the interior is very refreshed because the switches that are often seen in ordinary cars are omitted. It’s simple and very likable.

Autopilot (Level 2 as of 08/2019) Wow surprising.

An autopilot was also tried during the cockpit drill. Model S runs through the relatively winding road on the west side of Aoyama Cemetery without steering or accelerator operation. It was my first experience, but I was surprised. Since I like driving cars, I didn’t want to drive automatically, but isn’t it good that you can do this during normal driving and get the car to do it? I started to think.

Start test drive.

While taking the cockpit drill, I can start driving on the east side of Aoyama Cemetery in front of National Route 246.

Test drive course around Akasaka Imperial Palace.

The test drive course was a course that circled around the Akasaka Imperial Palace. If you live in Tokyo and use a car, you will understand well, but this course has a wide road, and if it is free, you can step on it as much as the No. 246 and a mini winding that climbs and descends repeatedly on moderate curves. I thought it was a very good course to experience the power performance and operation feeling of a car.

Information around your vehicle is displayed on the instrument panel.

The vehicle speed is conspicuously displayed on the instrument panel, and the surroundings of the vehicle are displayed below it. Although I was stopped at the intersection, the situation of a car next to me, a person crossing a pedestrian crossing, a car invading here from the previous intersection is projected like an animation. At night, when it was hard to see the surroundings, I thought this was very helpful information.

Acceleration performance is too much.

I will go out to route 246 and accelerate to around the speed limit. When you step on the accelerator, it is an electric vehicle, so there is no sound, no shock when changing gears, and it accelerates quickly to the target speed. This is very comfortable.

The brake works very well.

The brake works well. Just like a so-called sports car, the braking force rises just by putting it on the brake pedal. The regenerative brake should also be working, but you can decelerate and stop as you wish without feeling any such discomfort.

Good handling.

Although it is a test drive level in the city, handling is also very good. Due to the low center of gravity and suspension geometry freedom of an electric vehicle, the operation feel is very straightforward.

Mini winding driving is as you want

Thanks to the above power performance and operability, the mini winding around the Akasaka Imperial Palace was able to accelerate, decelerate, and corner as expected. It’s very comfortable, and I thought it would be fun to drive at high speeds and winding. I just wanted to ride on the Shuto Expressway.

Trying Autopilot.

A bus appeared in front of the State Guest House and I couldn’t run as expected. Since it is a big deal, I will try Auto Pilot. Turn on the autopilot, take your foot off the accelerator, and remove the power of the hand holding the handle. It’s a very slow speed to match the bus, but it keeps a proper distance between cars and runs on a gentle curve.
  It was my first experience as an autopilot, so I wonder if something will happen. I feel uneasy with my chest, but the Model S runs without any problems. As I mentioned earlier, it was a group that didn’t need autopilot, but there were some situations where I would want to rely on it if I could do all this, and it became a feature I wanted at once.

I think it’s the style of a new generation’s car

After finishing the test drive, I thought that the TESLA Model S was the shape of a new car. The touch panel is used for operating accessories and the normal lever is used for turn signals, but the shift operation is a lever, but it is actually a switch operation. It has the shape of a car and actually runs, but it is more like an electric appliance than a car.
  People who are used to conventional car operations, such as lever levers, may feel strange at first. However, I think that the operation system is very acceptable to those who are not, for example, those who have been uncomfortable driving.
  The car is a car with an engine! It may not be acceptable to anyone who thinks it, but I think that someone like me who is interested in moving and operating the car as expected will accept it without problems.

Summary

Since I took a test drive of TESLA Model S, I wrote down my impressions and thoughts while my memory was new. I hope you find it helpful to those who are interested in TESLA.