I test drove the AGT for a bit over an hour today in Millbrae and was fortunate enough to get both the 19” and 21” wheels to test as they had a pair of GT’s on site. Both cars were on software 1.0.8 and were late-run pre-production. The 21” car was white on Santa Cruz and the 19” was black on Santa Cruz.
- General Impressions
- Interior
- We’ve had a lot of talk around the Santa Cruz vs. Tahoe interior; I‘d say the Santa Cruz looks quite good in person and is my preference over the Tahoe. The contrast stitching, walnut and overall color palette are very tasteful and well integrated. The Tahoe looks good, for sure, but feels much more monochromatic and doesn’t feel as special inside.
- The steering wheel in some pre-production cars does not extend out as far as on full production. The black AGT had the wheel go out further than the white one. I was assured this was due to testing out different parts for the steering column and full production cars will have a longer extension (it does not make much difference ergonomically)
- It took me a bit to get used to the seats again. There’s a lot of adjustment range that you might not use at first - take your time adjusting when you hop in the first time. Lumbar, thigh support, bolsters - it all makes a difference.
- The headrest moves forward/backward electronically and has a nice range to it.
- Massage is fantastic. ’nuff said.
- The black car was outside on a sunny day all morning and had negligible heat gain. I expect darker cars won’t have much issue during the summer (unless you’re in a truly hot climate)
- I specifically timed my test drive to make sure the sun would be coming over the visors and not far enough overhead to be blocked by my eyebrows so I could see how eye-stabby the light is. I am that big of a nerd. I’m ok with the fixed roof and it seems better than the Model S by a fair margin (I haven’t verified the actual tint levels between the two). I intend to tint it if the sun becomes bothersome, but it was not a deal breaker. If you’re light sensitive like I, you’ll probably be ok.
- I didn’t have any issue with the cellphone charger at all (iphone 12 pro). I’d note that the fit is pretty tight so adding a case might make it more of an annoyance.
- I was disappointed that the mirrors don’t move down when you reverse. That strikes me as a big omission, even with the cameras available, but this should be fixable in software.
- Pro tip: if you want your seat coolers to be really cool, have your climate control blowing air into the footwell as well as directly. The means the coolers grab the cool air coming out from under the seats - the difference is quite noticeable on a warm day.
- Exterior
- The white just looks freaking awesome. Black is nicely metallic and also is quite elegant. Both colors are slam dunks.
- I’m absolutely going to wrap the car, at least the front if not the whole thing. The paint is special and really warrants this extra effort imho.
- The trim is a nicely matte texture that sets off the paint well. Both cars had some mileage on them and there weren’t any scuffs or dings that drew my eye. I did note that one piece of the matte trim above the right headlight had come away from the body - apparently this was someone‘s fault during service, not necessarily a defect or bad manufacturing.
- Throttle & Brakes
- Modulation of the pedals has continued to amaze me. In all three driving modes I never felt the car be too snappy or reactive, nor was it sluggish. Frankly, it is the best I’ve used to this day on most any car.
- The throttle never fatigues me in my (admittedly brief) drives. It seems to have the right balance between resistance and give so that you don’t wind up suspending your leg and activating muscles to keep it in place. I spent about 15min in stop-and-go traffic on the 101 and never felt a moment of over-activation in my leg in order to maintain a sedate pace, and the same when cruising at 75mph.
- I also continue to be surprised by just how usable the other drive modes are. The aforementioned traffic was in sprint (edit: originally said swift) mode - I never felt the need to switch out. You could dawdle around town just fine with 800bhp on tap and never once feel it was too much.
- Want to go? Just give it the beans and you rocket off. Acceleration is excellent in any mode and I never felt like it was a big step back from other cars (will compare with the DE below).
- The brakes on the AGT were better than I remembered and just hauled me down from speed, no problem. High and Standard regen were just fine, and the brakes blend very well with it - almost seamlessly. The pedal is definitely more responsive than the Model S by a long shot.
- In traffic I was glad how easy it was to maintain pace without kicking in the regen, even in high. You get so used to maintaining your pace that if you completely let off the pedal the regen kicks in a sudden way. This isn’t a drawback actually - I was happy how relaxing maintaining pace in stopped traffic was, even if the full regen could be sudden.
- Handling
- I continue to be surprised by how well the Air can manage its mass. Most electrics (except the Taycan) have a very hard time hiding the weight they carry, but the Air does an excellent job of managing it. The Taycan is the leader for sure here, but damn the Air is close.
- The distinction here is you definitely know this car is heavy! But it doesn’t really affect you in the way you’d expect, letting you be more confident in your moves.
- One thing was handling some really big pedestrian-crossing-humps. Right by the Meta office in Burlingame (over by the bay shore) there are some very large humps for the pedestrian crossing. It took that without getting unsettled.
- The one drawback is if you punch it too early in a turn the traction control will cut in to keep you from eating the wall, which can be off putting if you’re not really pushing it. It’ll take getting used to the mass low-down and how to manage blending in the throttle as you turn - don’t trail brake, and definitely modulate your throttle until you have a clear exit.
- Another note is how much detail comes through the chassis and steering wheel on the Air, regardless of wheels. You get an immediate sense of where the wheels are without much effort and can easily place the nose of the car in a turn. Potholes and other toughness doesn’t intrude on you however and fatigue isn’t that much of an issue. If you’ve ever driven a Porsche GT3 RS you’ll know what I mean.
- Comparison with the DE-P
- Power
- My main concern was the AGT would feel underwhelming in comparison to the DE. I’m happy to say this is not the case!
- In all three modes the AGT will leap forward without hesitation. That hammer blow on the DE is stunning for sure, but I doubt anyone with the GT will miss it.
- At one point I had to squeeze into a gap between a car and a truck loaded with gravel - I punched it once I merged away to keep from taking a rock to the windscreen and easily rocketed past in smooth mode to…speeds.
- The mid-range punch is definitely less than the DE but not to a meaningful degree. If you need to pass someone in a hurry you’re golden.
- Handling
- I didn’t expect much difference here but it is there. The DE has so much power that if anything it is just a bit harder to calibrate your throttle/brake when you’re pushing hard. The car is so reponsive, so fast, that you’re more on the edge than the GT at almost every moment.
- The end result is the DE can take more getting used to before you can take full advantage of it. The AGT is much easier to get in and feel like a hero.
- Wheels - 19” vs. 21”
- This has been a big question for a lot of us. I’m happy to say - 19” all the way and you won’t regret it, unless you really really really want the looks.
- Imagine an AGT on 21” wheels having the volume for driver feedback dialed up to 10. You’re getting the maximum input and not missing any available details.
- On most cars like this, stepping down 1-2” in wheel size would result in the volume going down to 3 or 4. It would feel muted and distant; you’d struggle to capture the details and read the road in the same way.
- The AGT on 19” wheels and tires was a delight as despite the amount of sidewall, you don’t lose much detail. Image volume at 7 or 8. It is down a few notches, but not so far that you’re straining to hear. Everything still comes through.
- If anything, I found the 19” wheels to be less fatiguing and more enjoyable simply because it let me process what was going on more readily instead of being overloaded. It also was a vastly better general driving experience.
- That aside, the 21” wheels look So. Damn. Good. Oh well, maybe one day.
Edit: Added this later
What I didn’t get to test & caveats
- Today I did not get much time to mess with the sat nav. Some owners have had issues, and both cars were on out-of-date software (1.0.8 when cars are now on 1.1.6+). The automated driver assist wasn’t active, so I can’t tell what the car is like when trying to knock down the miles with cruise control.
Apple CarPlay isn’t active yet in the satnav. Also, the stereo was not the production version (no subwoofer) so I didn’t test it out.
- I haven’t done a drive longer than an hour or in bad weather. Wet roads are still an unknown to me, but from reviews of the car elsewhere it seems to handle it well. This is one reason I’m sticking with the 19” wheels on all-season tires.
- Luggage space looks fantastic, but I haven’t tried to stuff it full of bags yet. Once I get mine home I’ll post my impressions.
- My drives of the competition have been about the same length, but I’ve never lived with an electric car. Other people in DC may have a better idea of some benefits and drawbacks of competitors that I don’t.
Final thoughts vs. the competition
- I’ve now driven the Taycan, EQS, Plaid, S Long Range and the Air Dream and GT. My original impression that the Air is the right balance continues.
I was most disappointed in the EQS after a few drives over it being just ungainly in handling and overdone on the inside. The Air manages to feel much more elegant even if the material quality is a bit lower, but not by much.
- The Taycan is absolutely the better driver’s car, but not by enough to matter in my opinion when you take into account the range, storage space and interior room. If you go from a Taycan to an Air you’ll be surprised but just how much nicer it is to live with, and you give up very little in terms of performance for a comparable trim (GT vs. Turbo for example) and will save money with Lucid as well.
- I despise the Plaid’s brakes (I have not tried the carbon ceramic yet) and both the Plaid and LR to me are far less nice to live with. Tesla makes up for a lot with the Supercharger network and the software, but I can’t get over the quality issues I’ve seen lots of people have for a $140k car. The Air suspension is also vastly more composed and still manages to communicate the road surface extremely well, even on the 19” wheels.
This is all my first read after the drive today. After I sleep on it I’ll have some more, I’m sure. Some things I didn’t get to do were (a) mess around with the Nav a lot, (b) test the stereo since this one didn’t have the full production version, and (c) take it up some backroads. All that aside, I’m certain now that I’ll take delivery and I’m more excited than ever for the car.
Fire away with questions and I’ll do my best to answer. Here’s some photos as well for you all:
View attachment 840
View attachment 841
View attachment 842
Special thanks to Jessop and Bryce at the Millbrae studio today - they made it a very good experience.
