Another Tesla Model X owner test drives a Gravity

[Ironhorse]

For 400 miles total, a destination charge would have been fine for Model X. Would not even have to exceed the 80% normal limit.

With the Gravity we had ~ 150 miles range left at the destination.

 

[Smorgasbord]

On my test drive today, I took the Gravity up some twisty mountain roads, specifically the road to my home.

It did great - actually better than our AWD Model X LR. There's a sharp right turn that's uphill during the turn, and our X's (we've had two) always hiccuped a bit as traction control engaged. Nothing bad, but noticeable. However, the Gravity in Smooth/Standard didn't miss a beat, and it was a total non-event. And this is with wet ground and summer tires on the middle sized wheels.

On an straight line acceleration from 5mph to over 60mph, I did feel traction control engaging and also what seemed like some torque steer. Anyone else find a situation where they feel torque steer with Gravity?

 

[davidepope]

On my test drive today, I took the Gravity up some twisty mountain roads, specifically the road to my home.

It did great - actually better than our AWD Model X LR. There's a sharp right turn that's uphill during the turn, and our X's (we've had two) always hiccuped a bit as traction control engaged. Nothing bad, but noticeable. However, the Gravity in Smooth/Standard didn't miss a beat, and it was a total non-event. And this is with wet ground and summer tires on the middle sized wheels.

On an straight line acceleration from 5mph to over 60mph, I did feel traction control engaging and also what seemed like some torque steer. Anyone else find a situation where they feel torque steer with Gravity?

I live up Mount Hamilton Road and on my Gravity test drive it felt more responsive (acceleration-wise) and better behaved (suspension-wise) than my P85D.

Curious, which twisty mountain road were you testing on?

 

[Smorgasbord]

I did a loop along Black Rd, Gist Rd, and Skyline Blvd - and additionally drove south on Skyline to Las Cumbres and back as well.

At Las Cumbres, there's a little turn out, and the Gravity with rear wheel steering turned tight enough to make that U-turn in one shot:

 

[dcm]

Like I said, it's "standard across manufacturers." Doesn't stop it from feeling backwards.

Mercedes did, probably still does, this, and Tesla had it in Model S when it used the Mercedes part for its first run(s) of Model S back in the day.

The comparison to the old column-mounted shifters doesn't seem right - those were specific positions for the shifter, and since NHTSA via FMVSS regulates that the display be "PRND" in that order, to get the mechanical pointer to point to the correct label meant a clockwise rotation. That R was "up" from D was just a by-product and you knew which way to go since you wanted the pointer to move. With the new non-mechanical shifters, you have only the tiny print on the shifter, which I can't read while driving, to know which way to click (not move).

Imagine a manual transmission car where "R" was forward and "1" was towards the rear. That's what this feels like. It may be muscle memory for many now, but that just shows human adaptability.

On the subject of Teslas, with your seat belt fastened, it'll automatically choose R or D for you based on what the cameras see, when you press the brake pedal. So, get in the car, press brake to close the door, fasten seat belt while the door is closing, then press brake again to auto-choose direction, then press the accelerator to go. Pretty intuitive.

A three-speed on the floor generally has reverse to the left and forward, first gear is straight back. A 4-speed could have reverse to the left, front or back and to the right as well.

Press and go? What happens if you're parallel parked with vehicles in front and behind?

 

[Smorgasbord]

Press and go? What happens if you're parallel parked with vehicles in front and behind?

I haven't done enough "testing" to know. My guess is that it probably always chooses forward. But, it's OK since that's very clear on the screen.
I suppose if they wanted to be advanced:
a) If there's enough space in front to turn and get out, choose Forward.
b) Otherwise, choose Rear so you can create enough space in front.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

I haven't done enough "testing" to know. My guess is that it probably always chooses forward. But, it's OK since that's very clear on the screen.
I suppose if they wanted to be advanced:
a) If there's enough space in front to turn and get out, choose Forward.
b) Otherwise, choose Rear so you can create enough space in front.

It’s got some way of “smart guessing” which way you need to go using its sensors. For example, if our X is parked front in and facing a wall, it “knows”, so when we get back in, and put our foot on brake, it defaults to reverse. It is, of course, not always correct in situations where there’s not a clear direction…

It’s a totally unnecessary feature but it’s there (I think) to make it easier for folks to transition from having a stalk to not having one.

 

[allenmhc]

It’s got some way of “smart guessing” which way you need to go using its sensors. For example, if our X is parked front in and facing a wall, it “knows”, so when we get back in, and put our foot on brake, it defaults to reverse. It is, of course, not always correct in situations where there’s not a clear direction…

It’s a totally unnecessary feature but it’s there (I think) to make it easier for folks to transition from having a stalk to not having one.

Right, I remember that was a part of the marketing when they initially unveiled the redesigned Tesla S/Xs without the driving stalks: since using the touchscreen was/is less tactile, they needed some sort of automation to make it a bit easier to drive the transition. I'd say it worked 80–90% of the time, good enough that you can trust it to the right thing, but obviously don't slam on the accelerator till you confirm the direction.

 

[prgarg]

Right, I remember that was a part of the marketing when they initially unveiled the redesigned Tesla S/Xs without the driving stalks: since using the touchscreen was/is less tactile, they needed some sort of automation to make it a bit easier to drive the transition. I'd say it worked 80–90% of the time, good enough that you can trust it to the right thing, but obviously don't slam on the accelerator till you confirm the direction.

It's a very good feature once you get used to it

 

[Smorgasbord]

Press and go? What happens if you're parallel parked with vehicles in front and behind?

Here's a recent OOS video using FSD v14 where the car simply pulls out of its parking space:

(queued to start at 6:40)