Rented Tesla Model S in SF, $25 an hour
10-27-13, 02:34 PM
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Rented Tesla Model S in SF, $25 an hour
If you happen to live in, or near, San Francisco, I wanted to spread the word that it is possible to rent a Tesla for the day at $25/hour through Getaround.com, a new startup company site that is a type of car sharing service. The business plan is that if you have a vehicle, you can rent it out on an hourly basis online, though I am not sure how much of the proceeds you get.
There are currently two Model S owners that rent their cars out, and a few roadsters. I had the opportunity yesterday to rent out a 2012 black on black Model S. It is a 6 hour minimum to rent the car, and with a promo code of $25 off first rental, it came out to $126 dollars, which includes a 1 dollar reservation fee.
This is a once in a lifetime (for a lot of people) opportunity to try the car out for an extended period of time.
Reservation process: You book the car online. The site is: getaround.com/modelS Promo Code: Get25
You can choose to create you account with Facebook, which I found very easy. Enter in your driver's license number, credit card info, and a brief message to the owner on your trip details. Within 5 minutes, my request to rent the Tesla was accepted. You are emailed instructions on where and how to pick up the car. With this particular Model S, there was a bit of a snafu which I won't get into, but it prevented me from picking up the car 45 minutes later than my reservation time. Getaround customer service of course extended my reservation to match the 6 hours since it was their fault.
On to the car!
Starting Experience: The key fob is pretty interesting and is a real crowd pleaser. Its shaped like the car, and has three buttons: frunk, trunk, and lock. The door handles of the car retract in to sit flush with the vehicle, and are supposed to extend out when you approach the car, though I could never get it to work in the little time I had with the car. I am unsure if you have to touch the handle to get it to extend, but I constantly stood in front of the door trying to figure this out, as there is no unlock button on the key fob. Also the car is supposed to lock automatically when you walk away. Though it never seemed to do it quickly enough and I just used the Fob. Getting in the car, it felt very german to me. I am not sure if it is because the switch gear comes straight off a Mercedes, from the steering wheel, gear selected, turn signal, and the window/mirror controls. Besides the gear selector, it was lifted straight out of my C class so mentally I felt at home. Then, there was the typical german seats; that is, not cushy comfortable but on the firmer side. Everything seemed to be built well from an initial standpoint (though I will address this later), the doors were heavy and felt solid with the proper clunk sound. By the time you open the door to get in, the digital tach screen and the central dash screen are already turned on for you, as well as the climate system. You simply sit down, press on the brake pedal and switch gears. Immediately, you notice how fingerprints plague the main dash screen. You also notice the nicely stitched dash and door panels, which are an extra cost option.
Exterior wise, the car is pretty large and wide. With its hatchback like style, and the extra "frunk", there is a lot of space. Interior has great front and rear legroom. We had 4 passengers including myself and it was really comfortable.
Driving experience: Nothing prepares you for the sheer power of the Tesla. This was the extended range model, rated at ~260 miles, 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. Punching the car results in no hesitation whatsoever, as is often the case with electric cars (as I am told) because of the instant torque and the lack of gears to switch down. Power delivery is smooth and constant, and all my passengers were pushed back into their seats. One commented that it was like being on a plane at take off
It certainly puts a big smile on your face. Regenerative braking is interesting as well. There are two modes, standard and low that you can choose from the main screen. On standard, the car feels like it brakes itself once you let off the accelerator pedal. The way it decelerates is a bit alarming to be honest, and it takes some getting used to. You constantly have to keep your foot on the accelerator pedal, varying the amounts of pressure, to get it to slow down without jerking your passengers. No need to touch the brake pedal at all. Tesla says that this is to capture as much energy as possible. Eventually, I turned this feature to Low to get it to act like a normal car. The ride was a bit firm and bouncy, very german indeed compared to the RX. This car had the standard 19" rims.
** Forgot to add: As a hybrid owner, you are aware of the hybrid nature because of that whine from the electric motors when accelerating and during regenerative braking. Its really weird that the Tesla does not make any sound or indication that electricity is powering the vehicle.
Also, Lexus does a great job of creating the creep that you get from releasing the brake pedal in their hybrids. On the Tesla, this is an option you can set using the Main screen to have to not have. However, they haven't quite made it "normal" feeling yet. When slightly releasing the brake pedal ever so slightly, the car doesn't really know if you want to creep forward, so it creates this vibration/slight jerk motion. Easily fooled.
Main Dash Digital Screen: Everyone agreed that this car takes minimalistic to new heights. Some of us liked it, others thought it did not look like a eighty thousand dollar car. Perhaps buttons = luxury? Not sure. Everything is controlled via this touch screen. In fact, there are only two other buttons on the dash: one for emergency flashers, and the other to open the glove box. There was a lot of fingerprints on the screen as you can imagine, and sometimes when the sun was just right, the glare made it impossible to see anything. This wasn't so much an issue with the other digital tach display, as it is a bit hooded. There is a lot of information in here, and nothing is blacked out during driving. I will admit, even as a techie, it was a bit much and really distracting. There was a lot of times that I started to drift out of my lane. Everything was quick in terms of processing speed though the (free?) 3G connection with the car was a bit slow. We did not use the full web browser at all because of this. The slacker internet radio was cool, as has almost every conceivable song on there, with unlimited skipping of tracks so there is no need for a CD slot, as the Tesla doesn't have one. We were driving through some mountainous areas (I-280S) and so the internet radio did cut in and out and stutter at places. Other things that can be controlled is a backup camera that can be turned on at any speed, car settings such as suspension height, regenerative braking, panoramic sunroof, driver profiles.
Charging: I picked up the car with a full charge. The dash read 220 miles rated. The car is rated at 265 EPA, but the getaround description says around 240 to be even optimistic. I drove the car 40 miles before stopping, and the place I went to had a free EV charger. I knew that I could complete my trip without charging, but since it was free, wanted the extra juice just in case (range anxiety?). I hooked it up with an adapter found in the trunk as the Tesla has its own plug. This was probably a level 1 charger, meaning 120V. After 1 hour, I got back 10 miles as read on the dash. All in all, I drove about 110 miles, and when I returned the vehicle, the dash read a little over 100 miles of charge. The Tesla does a great job in energy displays, with the rated miles changing to reflect current driving behavior.
The Not So Great Issues: I think we can all agree that Tesla has done almost the impossible. There are two areas that are an issue that a potential owner cannot ignore: Reliability and quality. I will point out some impressions I had, though I still give tons of credit to Elon and can overlook these issues because the Model S is such an engineering marvel. If you have time, Edmunds has a Model S in their long term fleet, and it has not scored all that well in the reliability category.
1) At freeway speeds, there was wind noise coming through from the driver's side window. The glass is pillar less, and I am sure this adds to the wind noise. When driving such a quiet car, these things seem to seep through.
2) The headliner is really cheap feeling and looking. It is not felt lined. Instead, it is a cheap feeling fabric that looks like it belongs in a sub compact car. Its also always tan in color, and this particular vehicle had stains from people's dirty hands on the sun visors. Sun visors were really small and cheap looking as well, from the small mirrors, to the lack of illumination. I saw on the website that there is a $1500 dollar option to upgrade the headliner and sun visors to alcantara, which is absurdly pricey.
3) The A pillar trim was coming lose at the top, and had a gap in connecting with the headliner.
4) the front fender also popped out, but a quick push popped it back in. Note that I remember reading on this on the Edmunds long term test so it seems to be common,
5) Acoustics were driving me mad in the car. With windows closed, it was okay. With one window slightly open, the buffeting was extremely uncomfortable Not sure what the cause was, and if this is a design flaw or just my personal ears.
6) Car lacked vanity lights, rear drink holders and fold out rear armrest, and also lacked rear seat pockets and lower door bins. General lack of storage is a major down flaw. The car has this huge center armrest with two drink holders. You would think this center armrest would open to reveal a bin, but it does not.
7) Climate control. The AC has an 8 speed fan. At 8, or full speed, you couldn't even hear it and it was barely what one would consider medium speed on a normal car. I am not sure if this is an energy saving tactic.
8) Car has GPS from google maps, but for some reason, doesn't give turn my turn directions? Doesn't really make sense
All in all, it was my first time driving an electric vehicle and I came out really impressed. As a hybrid owner and (what I would consider) a pretty environmentally friendly person, I can really see myself owning one in the near future (please don't begin a discussion on the environmentally friendly nature of battery packs and electricity generation). There are some issues with the car, but they can easily be overlooked due to the fun factor and from an EV engineering standpoint. This is the one to get, because you really do need 200+ miles of range, especially in California where you drive everywhere. I simply cannot wait for Tesla to make their rumored Model E, a smaller version for around $50K.
For a pretty nominal amount of money, this is a great experience and I would encourage you all to book it.
I would be happy to answer any questions while the experience is still fresh in my head. Sorry I did not think to take many pictures. Also, I think this is the longest review I have every written.
There are currently two Model S owners that rent their cars out, and a few roadsters. I had the opportunity yesterday to rent out a 2012 black on black Model S. It is a 6 hour minimum to rent the car, and with a promo code of $25 off first rental, it came out to $126 dollars, which includes a 1 dollar reservation fee.
This is a once in a lifetime (for a lot of people) opportunity to try the car out for an extended period of time.
Reservation process: You book the car online. The site is: getaround.com/modelS Promo Code: Get25
You can choose to create you account with Facebook, which I found very easy. Enter in your driver's license number, credit card info, and a brief message to the owner on your trip details. Within 5 minutes, my request to rent the Tesla was accepted. You are emailed instructions on where and how to pick up the car. With this particular Model S, there was a bit of a snafu which I won't get into, but it prevented me from picking up the car 45 minutes later than my reservation time. Getaround customer service of course extended my reservation to match the 6 hours since it was their fault.
On to the car!
Starting Experience: The key fob is pretty interesting and is a real crowd pleaser. Its shaped like the car, and has three buttons: frunk, trunk, and lock. The door handles of the car retract in to sit flush with the vehicle, and are supposed to extend out when you approach the car, though I could never get it to work in the little time I had with the car. I am unsure if you have to touch the handle to get it to extend, but I constantly stood in front of the door trying to figure this out, as there is no unlock button on the key fob. Also the car is supposed to lock automatically when you walk away. Though it never seemed to do it quickly enough and I just used the Fob. Getting in the car, it felt very german to me. I am not sure if it is because the switch gear comes straight off a Mercedes, from the steering wheel, gear selected, turn signal, and the window/mirror controls. Besides the gear selector, it was lifted straight out of my C class so mentally I felt at home. Then, there was the typical german seats; that is, not cushy comfortable but on the firmer side. Everything seemed to be built well from an initial standpoint (though I will address this later), the doors were heavy and felt solid with the proper clunk sound. By the time you open the door to get in, the digital tach screen and the central dash screen are already turned on for you, as well as the climate system. You simply sit down, press on the brake pedal and switch gears. Immediately, you notice how fingerprints plague the main dash screen. You also notice the nicely stitched dash and door panels, which are an extra cost option.
Exterior wise, the car is pretty large and wide. With its hatchback like style, and the extra "frunk", there is a lot of space. Interior has great front and rear legroom. We had 4 passengers including myself and it was really comfortable.
Driving experience: Nothing prepares you for the sheer power of the Tesla. This was the extended range model, rated at ~260 miles, 0-60 in 5.3 seconds. Punching the car results in no hesitation whatsoever, as is often the case with electric cars (as I am told) because of the instant torque and the lack of gears to switch down. Power delivery is smooth and constant, and all my passengers were pushed back into their seats. One commented that it was like being on a plane at take off
It certainly puts a big smile on your face. Regenerative braking is interesting as well. There are two modes, standard and low that you can choose from the main screen. On standard, the car feels like it brakes itself once you let off the accelerator pedal. The way it decelerates is a bit alarming to be honest, and it takes some getting used to. You constantly have to keep your foot on the accelerator pedal, varying the amounts of pressure, to get it to slow down without jerking your passengers. No need to touch the brake pedal at all. Tesla says that this is to capture as much energy as possible. Eventually, I turned this feature to Low to get it to act like a normal car. The ride was a bit firm and bouncy, very german indeed compared to the RX. This car had the standard 19" rims. ** Forgot to add: As a hybrid owner, you are aware of the hybrid nature because of that whine from the electric motors when accelerating and during regenerative braking. Its really weird that the Tesla does not make any sound or indication that electricity is powering the vehicle.
Also, Lexus does a great job of creating the creep that you get from releasing the brake pedal in their hybrids. On the Tesla, this is an option you can set using the Main screen to have to not have. However, they haven't quite made it "normal" feeling yet. When slightly releasing the brake pedal ever so slightly, the car doesn't really know if you want to creep forward, so it creates this vibration/slight jerk motion. Easily fooled.
Main Dash Digital Screen: Everyone agreed that this car takes minimalistic to new heights. Some of us liked it, others thought it did not look like a eighty thousand dollar car. Perhaps buttons = luxury? Not sure. Everything is controlled via this touch screen. In fact, there are only two other buttons on the dash: one for emergency flashers, and the other to open the glove box. There was a lot of fingerprints on the screen as you can imagine, and sometimes when the sun was just right, the glare made it impossible to see anything. This wasn't so much an issue with the other digital tach display, as it is a bit hooded. There is a lot of information in here, and nothing is blacked out during driving. I will admit, even as a techie, it was a bit much and really distracting. There was a lot of times that I started to drift out of my lane. Everything was quick in terms of processing speed though the (free?) 3G connection with the car was a bit slow. We did not use the full web browser at all because of this. The slacker internet radio was cool, as has almost every conceivable song on there, with unlimited skipping of tracks so there is no need for a CD slot, as the Tesla doesn't have one. We were driving through some mountainous areas (I-280S) and so the internet radio did cut in and out and stutter at places. Other things that can be controlled is a backup camera that can be turned on at any speed, car settings such as suspension height, regenerative braking, panoramic sunroof, driver profiles.
Charging: I picked up the car with a full charge. The dash read 220 miles rated. The car is rated at 265 EPA, but the getaround description says around 240 to be even optimistic. I drove the car 40 miles before stopping, and the place I went to had a free EV charger. I knew that I could complete my trip without charging, but since it was free, wanted the extra juice just in case (range anxiety?). I hooked it up with an adapter found in the trunk as the Tesla has its own plug. This was probably a level 1 charger, meaning 120V. After 1 hour, I got back 10 miles as read on the dash. All in all, I drove about 110 miles, and when I returned the vehicle, the dash read a little over 100 miles of charge. The Tesla does a great job in energy displays, with the rated miles changing to reflect current driving behavior.
The Not So Great Issues: I think we can all agree that Tesla has done almost the impossible. There are two areas that are an issue that a potential owner cannot ignore: Reliability and quality. I will point out some impressions I had, though I still give tons of credit to Elon and can overlook these issues because the Model S is such an engineering marvel. If you have time, Edmunds has a Model S in their long term fleet, and it has not scored all that well in the reliability category.
1) At freeway speeds, there was wind noise coming through from the driver's side window. The glass is pillar less, and I am sure this adds to the wind noise. When driving such a quiet car, these things seem to seep through.
2) The headliner is really cheap feeling and looking. It is not felt lined. Instead, it is a cheap feeling fabric that looks like it belongs in a sub compact car. Its also always tan in color, and this particular vehicle had stains from people's dirty hands on the sun visors. Sun visors were really small and cheap looking as well, from the small mirrors, to the lack of illumination. I saw on the website that there is a $1500 dollar option to upgrade the headliner and sun visors to alcantara, which is absurdly pricey.
3) The A pillar trim was coming lose at the top, and had a gap in connecting with the headliner.
4) the front fender also popped out, but a quick push popped it back in. Note that I remember reading on this on the Edmunds long term test so it seems to be common,
5) Acoustics were driving me mad in the car. With windows closed, it was okay. With one window slightly open, the buffeting was extremely uncomfortable Not sure what the cause was, and if this is a design flaw or just my personal ears.
6) Car lacked vanity lights, rear drink holders and fold out rear armrest, and also lacked rear seat pockets and lower door bins. General lack of storage is a major down flaw. The car has this huge center armrest with two drink holders. You would think this center armrest would open to reveal a bin, but it does not.
7) Climate control. The AC has an 8 speed fan. At 8, or full speed, you couldn't even hear it and it was barely what one would consider medium speed on a normal car. I am not sure if this is an energy saving tactic.
8) Car has GPS from google maps, but for some reason, doesn't give turn my turn directions? Doesn't really make sense
All in all, it was my first time driving an electric vehicle and I came out really impressed. As a hybrid owner and (what I would consider) a pretty environmentally friendly person, I can really see myself owning one in the near future (please don't begin a discussion on the environmentally friendly nature of battery packs and electricity generation). There are some issues with the car, but they can easily be overlooked due to the fun factor and from an EV engineering standpoint. This is the one to get, because you really do need 200+ miles of range, especially in California where you drive everywhere. I simply cannot wait for Tesla to make their rumored Model E, a smaller version for around $50K.
For a pretty nominal amount of money, this is a great experience and I would encourage you all to book it.
I would be happy to answer any questions while the experience is still fresh in my head. Sorry I did not think to take many pictures. Also, I think this is the longest review I have every written.
Last edited by RXSF; 10-27-13 at 03:28 PM.
10-27-13, 03:59 PM
#3
No, I don't play soccer!
RXSF, thanks for the review. Unfortunately I missed out on a Tesla driving event a few weeks ago. Got the invite while on vacation 
At least now I have insight from a fellow RXh owner. I'm actually more interested in the Model X. It was on tour last year and supposed to stop in the area. But Hurricane Sandy derailed it. Whether I'll get one, I really don't know. I want to see and drive it first before plunking down a $5K deposit.
At least now I have insight from a fellow RXh owner. I'm actually more interested in the Model X. It was on tour last year and supposed to stop in the area. But Hurricane Sandy derailed it. Whether I'll get one, I really don't know. I want to see and drive it first before plunking down a $5K deposit.
10-27-13, 05:35 PM
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RXSF, thanks for the review. Unfortunately I missed out on a Tesla driving event a few weeks ago. Got the invite while on vacation At least now I have insight from a fellow RXh owner. I'm actually more interested in the Model X. It was on tour last year and supposed to stop in the area. But Hurricane Sandy derailed it. Whether I'll get one, I really don't know. I want to see and drive it first before plunking down a $5K deposit.
At least now I have insight from a fellow RXh owner. I'm actually more interested in the Model X. It was on tour last year and supposed to stop in the area. But Hurricane Sandy derailed it. Whether I'll get one, I really don't know. I want to see and drive it first before plunking down a $5K deposit.Trending Topics
10-27-13, 07:14 PM
#11
Pretty cool, I may have to consider this some day. I feel for you on that "range anxiety" comment - that is my biggest issue with the plug-ins. I know charging stations are becoming more abundant and I was recently at the Tesla store at Santana Row and the guy there was showing the expected increase in the charging infrastructure, but it still makes me nervous! haha
10-27-13, 07:35 PM
#13
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Pretty cool, I may have to consider this some day. I feel for you on that "range anxiety" comment - that is my biggest issue with the plug-ins. I know charging stations are becoming more abundant and I was recently at the Tesla store at Santana Row and the guy there was showing the expected increase in the charging infrastructure, but it still makes me nervous! haha
I did not go into the Tesla store though. and its a shame they don't have any superchargers there.
10-28-13, 03:11 AM
#14
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thanks for the review! definitely interesting.
10-28-13, 04:41 AM
#15
Lead Lap
Thanks for the review. I really don't understand why reviews haven't been more critical of the Model S's interior. I don't think the design itself is attractive and the model I sat in didn't feel to be of the same quality. But I guess the rest of the car is so good it gets a pass.