Our friends over at E For Electric scored some exclusive seat time in one of the 25 Model S Plaid vehicles from the delivery ceremony on June 10th. We posted their Auto-Shift review yesterday, and today we have another video from them, this one dedicated to testing out the new yoke steering "wheel".
Alex Guberman, the host of E For Electric, takes the vehicle out for a drive and checks out the new features as well as how it feels while turning.
In addition to losing the top half of a traditional steering wheel, the new yoke doesn't have any stalks to operate things like wipers, blinkers, headlights, or shift gears. Additionally, the horn isn't located in the center of the steering yoke, as most people would expect.
The blinkers are still located on the left side of the steering yoke, but to activate them you need to press the appropriate button on the yoke. The high beam switch is also on the left side of the yoke and the wiper/washer, voice activation, and horn are located on the right side.
Guberman said the yoke felt awkward and pointed out that in coming out of a turn, you can't let the steering wheel glide back into a straight position while you loosely hold it, as you can with a round steering wheel. He also said that hunting for the horn and blinkers is problematic because you need to look at the yoke to find them.
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Obviously, those will get easier to use over time, but is it an improvement? Is this a case of solving a problem that didn't exist? Guberman wonders if these changes make the car safer and if they improve the driving experience or not.
So check out the video and let us know what you think. Is the new yoke dope or do you say nope? As always leave your thoughts in the comment section below.