I'm having an affair with an MB E350 and I miss my Model S

Yes, I'm playin' dirty and having a fling with a MB E350. I had to do it. I rented it while my Model S is at the body shop (nothing serious). Boy, do I miss my Model S!
Like perhaps many affairs, it has been an eye-opening experience to see how good I had it.
Truthfully, I am not a car nut-- I don't really care much about them. I got my P85 because I want to be part of the movement to kick our oil addiction (my house is 100% solar power-- including charging my Model S and my roadster).
I have been reading all of the accolades on the Model S, thinking, "yeah, I guess".
Well, now that I am driving an old-fashioned ICE car, I totally get how different and how great the Model S truly is.
The ICE? What a piece of crap.
The interior is cluttered with 30-something buttons and dials, including some buttons that don't do anything and are apparently there purely to add symmetry to balance all the other ones the do this and that. And what is with that big dial between the seats? Four days in the car and I still can't figure it out.
Driving it: I step on the accelerator and there is a crazy lag. The engine roars, the rubber bands wind up, and then, finally, finally, it takes off (albeit sluggishly). And what is with that engine rumble? It is soooo annoying.
Two more days until I get my baby back. Now that I've seen the other side, I will never not appreciate her again.

Right on!

Do you still have the Roadster? I would have hopped in that well before the benz

I drove my wife's Lexus last week, first ICE car I've driven in months.

As I handed the keys back to her, I said, "Your car is broken and dangerous. It makes strange noises when stopped at a light, and wants to go on its own. Worse, I had to stop at this carcinogen-laden store called a 'gas station' and put some smelly crap in a hole on the side of your car, and had to pay a lot to do it!"

I hope you used protection!

I have a bit of a different view.

I like the Model S, but I also like the contrast of going back and forth between the S and an ICE car. They both have their charms. The Tesla is quiet and effortless, but on the other hand driving a car with a manual transmission and a nice exhaust note is more involving and less sterile than driving the Tesla. (And it's also nice to drive something smaller and more maneuverable, and that has better seats.)

I should point out, the ICE car I'm talking about is an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, not an econobox.

Wife and I try not to drive the old ICE at all. A couple of weeks ago she had to drive it. Afterwords, she said "you should check the car, it is having trouble getting up hills." I checked it and nothing was amiss at all. She had just become accustomed to the effortlessness of the MS!

Model S is a well designed car and performs well. However, it does not have the solid feel of Mercedes Benz or even a Lexus. When I shut the door of the MS, it does not feel the same vault like feeling. May be it is because of the Al use, but I do not think so. The seats are comfortable, but do not have a the soft plus feeling of the Lexus and the interior is not as refined. Yes, I know the MS has a minimalist interior, but there is room for improvement. Reminds me of the earlier Porsche 911 a little.

Of course, the controls, electronics are the best in MS. With Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota have to read the thick manual. By the time I get to the end, I forgot most of the stuff. Model S controls are intuitive. As for the drive train, my Porsche feels sluggish after I drove the MS. I even took my Porsche to the shop to check it to make sure nothing was wrong. Got to get the RPM up before the power kicks in.


While there may be "room for improvement" as you suggest, I suspect TMC does not aspire to reproduce the soft, plush feeling of MB and Lexus. While nice inside, I think the *former* luxury car makers have been improving upon improvements for too long. The result is such a cushy interior that I think they've lost site of the engineering and given it over to interior designers.

I hope your MS doesn't find out about your 'affair' and dump you ! ;)

Yep. I hope she can forgive you.

But then, if she doesn't, you deserve it. Just because she's ill is no reason to be unfaithful. You should have taken a bus or cab, or walked, or bicycled.

I like to se a drag race of a Tesla Roadster vs a Model S...why hasent it been done yet?

+1 Ohms.Law

I don't care for the over-stuffed plush fluff. I find it to be a bit constraining and smothering and it would be unnecessary in the Model S.

With the inflatable lumbar adustments and other features I think that the Model S is just right. No too soft, not too hard. Support is where you need it and the seat's shape keeps you in your place during a spirited drive.

The lack of body roll due to the low center of gravity sets you free and it makes driving less fatiguing.


A 'cushy' interior option may be a good idea for Tesla to offer on both S and X, as a Mercedes driver I can understand the sentiment, and some would not mind paying a bit more to retain it in their driving experience (though I would not).

I drove our Q7 and almost walked away with the keys in it and the engine running (so used to not thinking about keys, or turning the car on or off). Honest mistake or Freudian slip? Don't know.

Interior: I kind of feel like they load it up with a bunch of crap to justify the price. Busy; cluttered. Clearly they spend a lot of designer time trying to make all the buttons and dial look pretty. But seriously, there where like 10 buttons that did nothing but add to the symmetry. The main instrument clutter, ops, cluster: speedometer (good one, need that), tachometer (hey, it's and automatic, why the hell do I need that?), analog clock (yeah, I guess), water temp (do cars actually overhead these days? Wouldn't a warning light suffice?) and gas gauge (indispensable, although I'd rather have a little battery showing the remaining charge!)
Speaking of gas.... I have to fill it up when I return it. Ugh... I'm dreading going to a dirty, stinking gas station.

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