π
2015-11-27 01:01
in Cars, Ncars
My BMW M5 was still a great car, but it was almost 15 years old, and missing the new technology that's been around for several years. I was personally interested in self driving features as well as safety features (auto braking, lane departure warning, not hitting the car in your blind spot if you missed it, etc...).
But more recently I had been waiting for a car that could drive itself in a freeway lane (if you think about it, it's not that hard a problem compared to driving on city streets). Mercedes kind of that had, but it failed when I tried it during a test drive. Tesla had been promising this for almost a year, but I was a bit dubious that they could deliver with the limited sensors on the current model S. They however proved me wrong, and that was great because I did prefer the idea of having an electric car to another gasoline car anyway.
Those who know me are probably wondering why I didn't get the P90D, the faster one with beefier rear motors, or even the ludicrous speed version (a mere $15,000 extra to shave off 0.3 seconds on 0-60), and there are a few answers:
I already have a Mclaren which is really faster than even the ludicrous P90D, especially when accelerating from higher speeds
I optimized the 90D for more range and usability over raw performance. It can go to tahoe and take chains if needed, although its all season tires are ok for snow, and the 19" wheels offer more range, as well as the 90D being more efficient and going farther on the same batteries than a P90D.
The 90D is not slow, people report about 4 seconds 0-60. However, my impression so far is that it does feel slower than both the Mclaren and the M5 from 60 to 90. That said, maybe I don't really need faster acceleration towards speeds that aren't legal anyway :) (for a car that will never go on the track)
So, here is what I got:
We went to the Fremont Numi plant on black friday (the roads were empty), to pick up the car and get a factory tour:
The Fremont Numi Factory is huge
before driving it off
happily home
Nice 2 tone interior
I had it drive itself using autopilot back from 680 to 1mn from my house on hwy 85 and only had to take the wheel twice to switch freeways. That's a huge plus in my book :) |
