3 ms·

I do tend to agree that a lot of peculiarities of Teslas are unnecessary and/or bad, but for what it's worth most of the ones you listed are less of an issue fo

I do tend to agree that a lot of peculiarities of Teslas are unnecessary and/or bad, but for what it's worth most of the ones you listed are less of an issue for a vehicle that you own. Unlocking with the phone is convenient, you tie seat memory to the user, and you learn the button functions. (Some aspects are still definitely stupid, like the intermittent wiper function, the auto high beams, and autopilot on anything but clearly marked highways. And of course the lack of stalks on the new ones.) Anyway, they're a terrible choice for a rental fleet. You want rental vehicles to behave as much as possible like the average vehicle, so there's a minimal learning curve. Next to manual transmission vehicles in North America, Teslas have to be about the worst choice for that.

mulmen 3y ago
Yeah but the Tesla implementations of these features still suck. "You get used to it" is a shitty sales pitch. Basically any other car with these features has a better implementation. Tesla does it different but not better. It isn't a matter of familiarity, these designs are just bad. My 15 year old BMW: Has seat memory tied to the key. I don't have to fiddle with a menu to save the setting. It just... remembers. Has steering wheel buttons with labels. Using steering wheel buttons and three fingertip-reachable and physically distinct stalks I can run my (intermittent rain sensing!) wipers, cruise control, blinkers, headlights, radio, and phone (which can stay in my pocket!). Has an iDrive knob that controls all non-driving-critical features but can still be safely operated when driving. This includes the navigation system but also things like car settings. Keyless entry where I just grab the handle and pull (this is one operation, not two) and the car unlocks. This works on the front doors and the trunk. It also works to start the car. No phone interaction required. The key fob stays in my pocket. In 8 years of ownership I have changed the fob battery once. There's a physical lock cylinder in the door if my key fob or the car battery die. I can lock the car with a touch as well. Has physical buttons for almost everything (except car settings and nav). Seats (including heaters), mirrors, windows, blinkers (including hazards), head lights, cruise control, radio (volume, tuner, track, presets), dual zone climate control, hill descent, etc. The Tesla isn't just unfamiliar, it is worse.
- tempestn 3y ago
  Oy, I wouldn't hold up a 2008 BMW as a paragon of usability. That early iDrive system was awful. Three different ways to differently manage climate temperature? Navigation straight out of the Macbook Wheel[1]? I could go on. The auto wipers were definitely better than the Tesla though. I do largely agree with you re the Tesla, although the steering wheel controls I could argue both sides. They're multi-function, which allows you to customize their operation and do a lot more than you can with dedicated controls. Edit: though I guess it's 2024 now. IIRC the 2009s had slightly less bad idrive. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA
  - sroussey 3y ago
    I’d hold up my 2004 as a paradigm of usability though. No screen.
  - mulmen 3y ago
    I have had nothing but good experiences with iDrive in my car. Certainly better than a touch screen. It is a 2010 LCI E90, maybe the iDrive was improved?
    - tempestn 3y ago
      Yeah, I believe there was an update for 2009 models that improved the UI. We had a 2008 and it was comically bad.
- light_hue_1 3y ago
  They really don't suck. The Tesla UI is the best I've ever used in why car. They're unfamiliar to you. The seat memory does remember. Not just for the physical key, but for your phone. You do nothing. If my wife gets in the car, it sets up the car for her. If I do, it sets it up for me. Neither of us touch anything, it's automatic depending on where our phones are. The steering buttons aren't labeled for a reason! Because you can remap them. Which is awesome, because I can set them up exactly how I like them. I can put all the functionality you mentioned on the steering buttons. It doesn't need an idrive button. It has voice. I don't look at the car to navigate. I tell it what I want. Same with other non critical functions. It needs zero phone interactions. I walk to the car and open the door. That's it. I don't look at the phone. Don't wait. It just works. For every door and the trunk. You just never think about it. The Tesla does all the things you listed vastly better. You just haven't learned to set them up and use them.

mulmen 3y ago

Yeah but the Tesla implementations of these features still suck. "You get used to it" is a shitty sales pitch. Basically any other car with these features has a better implementation. Tesla does it different but not better. It isn't a matter of familiarity, these designs are just bad. My 15 year old BMW: Has seat memory tied to the key. I don't have to fiddle with a menu to save the setting. It just... remembers. Has steering wheel buttons with labels. Using steering wheel buttons and three fingertip-reachable and physically distinct stalks I can run my (intermittent rain sensing!) wipers, cruise control, blinkers, headlights, radio, and phone (which can stay in my pocket!). Has an iDrive knob that controls all non-driving-critical features but can still be safely operated when driving. This includes the navigation system but also things like car settings. Keyless entry where I just grab the handle and pull (this is one operation, not two) and the car unlocks. This works on the front doors and the trunk. It also works to start the car. No phone interaction required. The key fob stays in my pocket. In 8 years of ownership I have changed the fob battery once. There's a physical lock cylinder in the door if my key fob or the car battery die. I can lock the car with a touch as well. Has physical buttons for almost everything (except car settings and nav). Seats (including heaters), mirrors, windows, blinkers (including hazards), head lights, cruise control, radio (volume, tuner, track, presets), dual zone climate control, hill descent, etc. The Tesla isn't just unfamiliar, it is worse.

tempestn 3y ago
Oy, I wouldn't hold up a 2008 BMW as a paragon of usability. That early iDrive system was awful. Three different ways to differently manage climate temperature? Navigation straight out of the Macbook Wheel[1]? I could go on. The auto wipers were definitely better than the Tesla though. I do largely agree with you re the Tesla, although the steering wheel controls I could argue both sides. They're multi-function, which allows you to customize their operation and do a lot more than you can with dedicated controls. Edit: though I guess it's 2024 now. IIRC the 2009s had slightly less bad idrive. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA
- sroussey 3y ago
  I’d hold up my 2004 as a paradigm of usability though. No screen.
- mulmen 3y ago
  I have had nothing but good experiences with iDrive in my car. Certainly better than a touch screen. It is a 2010 LCI E90, maybe the iDrive was improved?
  - tempestn 3y ago
    Yeah, I believe there was an update for 2009 models that improved the UI. We had a 2008 and it was comically bad.
light_hue_1 3y ago
They really don't suck. The Tesla UI is the best I've ever used in why car. They're unfamiliar to you. The seat memory does remember. Not just for the physical key, but for your phone. You do nothing. If my wife gets in the car, it sets up the car for her. If I do, it sets it up for me. Neither of us touch anything, it's automatic depending on where our phones are. The steering buttons aren't labeled for a reason! Because you can remap them. Which is awesome, because I can set them up exactly how I like them. I can put all the functionality you mentioned on the steering buttons. It doesn't need an idrive button. It has voice. I don't look at the car to navigate. I tell it what I want. Same with other non critical functions. It needs zero phone interactions. I walk to the car and open the door. That's it. I don't look at the phone. Don't wait. It just works. For every door and the trunk. You just never think about it. The Tesla does all the things you listed vastly better. You just haven't learned to set them up and use them.