James May, the former Top Gear host, is a notable fan of Tesla. Last year he gave a flattering review of Tesla’s P100D flagship sedan was quoted as saying it’s “America’s next-generation muscle car”. While pointing out some of its quirky features he then said there is “no other car like the Model S on the road today, and from an automaker that is unlike anyone else in the industry”.
Now, just over a year later, the auto journalist is back with an amusing review of the six things he doesn’t like about his Model S 100D Long Range. He quickly added that he does like his Tesla but there a few shortcomings he needs to point out.
#1 – It’s Filthy
Quite clearly, he doesn’t give it a good wash as often as he should but he lists this as being number 1 on his. The car is not in the same condition as when he bought it.
#2 – Dodgy Door Handles
He set the car up so when he approaches the car with the key, he expects the door handles to pop out themselves. But they don’t. He has to press the handle to activate it to open the door. Typically, they should auto-present when the key fob is detected nearby. Perhaps James May could activate the vehicle’s passive entry feature to avoid this.
#3 – Auto-Off Button
The British petrolhead then went on to remark how the Model S has an automatic shutoff system that activates after 30 seconds. He demonstrated how he has to exit the vehicle to open his gate and on returning to the car, it has switched off. This feature seemed to annoy him somewhat but we could point out that he can use his smart summon. Once the gate is open, he can simply walk up the driveway with his car following him or simply change the settings from the ‘energy-saving’ to ‘always connected’.
#4 – Blaring Boot
Moving to the back of the car, James explained how he leaves his weekend hideaway on a Monday morning to return to London in the early hours. Being a considerate neighbor, he was appreciative of the car’s usual quietness, but after packing his baggage, an alarm sounds when closing the boot. And he felt this could wake up five households. In this case, James May could perhaps call up Elon and give his feedback. Maybe then Tesla could incorporate something like an “Early Morning Departure from Wiltshire Mode”.
#5 – Graphic Design
Staying at the back of the car, James wanted to highlight the ‘small matter of graphic design’. He loves the Tesla logo, calling it contemporary but the font used for the “Model S” and “100D” reminded him of old Western movies, like watching the “Gunfight at the O.K Corral”. Each to their own.
#6 – Rear Suspension
Sometimes, but not always, the former presenter has noticed a slight clonk that seems to come from the rear suspension. And it’s something he has noticed in 6 of the Tesla cars he has driven. An unexplainable clonking sound. Perhaps he can include that in his call to Musk and find out the source of the mysterious clonk.
That’s the 6 little things May does not like about his Tesla car. He finished off noting that he does however have 2,837 things that he loves about his electric car. We will need to wait for a more lengthy video to find out what they are.
You can watch James May’s take on his Tesla Model S 100D video review here.
