Talking to an old friend about the 'X' the other day. He was thinking of getting one when they're eventually available in RHD, but decided against it mainly because of the falcon doors. His view was they're not for a wet or cold country. All's not lost for Tesla though. He's tempted for an 'S' instead. I guess it will be interesting to see where the 'X' sells. Norway are very very pro-EV and the 'S' is a popular car. I wonder how the 'X' will sell there? (it gets quite cold in winter I've heard)
Cold is not an issue, the Tesla's actually make great winter cars as long as the lower range isn't an issue. As for the wet, I had a chance to test the Falcon Wing doors in a very heavy rain yesterday. Overall, the falcon doors let in less water than the standard door. However, the rain that did get in, splattered over a larger area. This resulted in a fine mist of water hitting most of the second row seat adjacent to the open falcon wing door. The water came in as a result of water splattering hard on the roof of the Model X, thus splashing into the car. Standing outside, under the door I stayed almost completely dry, it was pretty cool. Diving back into the front door I got soaked When the rain let up a bit, very little rain got in, much less than through a normal door.
is it possible tesla might reconfigure the chassis for regular rear doors some day? probably knock 5k off the price.
I guess Minesota would be a good testing ground as you get it cold in winter. I'd be curious how the doors perform with ice and snow on the roof. In many ways it would be an ideal school run car, but you run the risk of getting cold and wet everytime you open those rear doors.
Hmmm, good question. I suppose we will see come winter. Do people with automatic sliding doors have any issues with ice? I haven't heard of any, but I suppose it is possible. Of course, the top of the roof is a bit of extra "seam" for ice to jamb. Snow shouldn't be an issue as people should brush that off the top of the car before going anywhere. If they don't, it is a road hazard, against the law where I live, and they deserve a car full of snow if they don't.
It is here too. I meant when they have been driving in snow in heavy traffic. They stop, open the doors and the snow falls off and inside the car. Stll a nice car but the doors are a bit of a gimmick. Peugeot tried a car with bizarre doors over here some years back. Great idea on paper - park in tight spaces and still get in and out ok. That was the theory.
I would have to make them my best friend. I had to drive out to the boonies yesterday & getting back - exiting off the OC toll road in Irvine an X was following behind me. I must admit having to wipe the drool off the side of my face. Evan, one of the PC mods (in Missouri iirc) now has an S, AND his wife has an X. Priuschat did one of the podcasts with the two of them where they talked about the X. They get a good amount of snow & rain in Missouri. The notion of rain pouring in didn't make the podcast, & I pretty much took that as a sign. .
