![]() ![]() It keeps the dash clean and gorgeous, and is the best system on the market with the clearest backup camera projection. While the windshield encourages star gazing, the centerpiece of any Tesla is the peerless, touch screen command center. There are slim sun visors to cut the windshield in half if the sun is near the horizon, and there is a screen that can entirely cover the tinted upper part. The windshield extends overhead to make for excellent visibility. Up front, the cabin is domed in panoramic windshield like a helicopter. The optional rear spoiler can create a split rear windshield effect not unlike the Prius V. The coupelike roofline of the X means rear visibility is poor, and the small rearview mirror doesn't help. The seats can be adjusted by the driver via the peerless 17-by-11-inch touch screen. It might be the only thing on the car without a button. You do need to raise the third row from inside the vehicle the old-fashioned way: with human power. The third row folds flat, though we needed the rep to find the inconspicuous button no bigger than a dime on the seat top that flips down the headrest and folds the seat flat. Headroom is limited in the third row for taller adults, but the middle row has plenty of space. With the falcon-wing doors raised to full flight, it's really easy to get in and out of the third row. More demanding passengers requested armrests. Mid-row seats are on their own post so they can move independently of each other. The tester came equipped with six out of an available seven seats. If there's no clearance, the X in our garage held its wings hunched, affording enough of a gap for the kids to slide out. Rear falcon-wing doors can open with less than a foot on either side. ![]() They rise up from the roof to offer easy access and ample headroom in all three rows, while still using an aerodynamic design that can optimize efficiency and performance. Unlike the single hinge on gull-wing doors (think DeLorean or Mercedes SLS-AMG), falcon-wing doors are double hinged, once in the center of the roof like gull-wing doors, and again where the door would traditionally meet the roof. ![]() Yes, they're cool, but they caused production delays and owner complaints. One of the things other automakers shouldn't adopt are the falcon-wing doors that make the X so distinctive, make all the kids and adults at the elementary school stop and stare at this thing that looks like a bridge between our land-based transport and the "Star Wars" X-wing fighter. Other automakers require a trip to the service center. What happens in two or three years? With a Tesla, you just plug it in and the software updates. Our concern for the infotainment systems in new cars is how obsolete some of them feel from day one. That's the other competitive advantage of this technology energy company that happens to make gorgeous cars that happen to be fully electric: fixes and updates to the car are made through over-the-air updates, simple as updating a smartphone (except it takes longer and should be plugged into a 240V Level 2 charger). It could happen as soon as this year, depending on Tesla readiness. The software to be used with HW2 is a big leap toward fully self-driving cars, where Tesla expects drivers to be able to set a destination and the car will go from point A to point B without really needing the driver. Like the seat belt, semiautonomous driving is a good thing when used properly. ![]() These are the same systems that offer advanced safety sensing like forward collision braking, blind spot alert and other features meant to minimize the impact of crashes. To be clear, it is a semiautonomous driving feature, and many models by several makes offer similar - though inferior - systems. If you like adaptive cruise in other cars, you'll love Autopilot. As long as there is a car in front of it, the vehicle can come to a complete stop and start without the driver doing anything. If the lanes are obscured or the system is uncertain, the dash will flash white, then red, followed by an alert to put your hands on the wheel, ready to be a driver. To maintain your lane, click the stalk towards you. To adjust the distance to the car in front of you so you don't have to brake, turn the end of the same stalk. With a double click of the stalk on the left side of the steering column, you set the desired speed. Two gray icons will appear on either side of the speedometer to indicate the system can be used, specifically if it can read the lanes in the road. Like many new cars with a suite of sensors, adaptive cruise control is the basis for Autopilot. 2017 Tesla Model X P100D starts at $138,800, and the test model pictured is $162,000. ![]()
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