If you have the keys to a Tesla Cybertruck for a weekend, you should drive the Tesla Cybertruck. No matter your thoughts on its styling or its general “vibe,” it is an awesome machine to experience. Why, then, did I decide on Saturday to drive the Cybertruck back to work, where my 2014 BMW i3 stood, so I could drive the little Bavarian all weekend? It comes down to a term I’m coining today — “Subconscious Comfort.” It’s an idea that could be obvious to many of you (and perhaps we have a word for it already), but even if so, just know that it’s what led me to give up the Cybertruck keys. Here, allow me to explain.
Back when I lived in Michigan, I accrued a lot of cars (14 at one point). I had half an acre at my disposal, rent was cheap, cars were cheap, and every car I bought became content that helped further my career. More importantly, my love for unique automobiles was strong and everlasting, and I enjoyed working on vehicles.
One question I frequently got from people during those days was: “How do you decide which car to drive?” The answer to that was complicated. Sometimes, the car I chose to drive was a conscious choice. “Man, I want to row that three-speed-on-the-column,” I’d think, and then I’d hop into my 1965 Plymouth Valiant. “That ZJ’s five-speed shifts like a dream, and that four-liter is torquey and smooth,” I’d think. “Plus, the ZJ is just such a historically significant car to me, with it having been my first car.” So I hop into the ZJ. If I’m feeling like having a bunch of fun, I’d fold down my 1948 Willys’ windshield and cruise. Maybe I felt like driving a classic truck? Then I’d jump into my 1985 Jeep J10.
View this post on Instagram
But oftentimes, the choice of vehicle was subconscious. I know this because I once owned a Lexus LX470 — basically a fancy 100-series Toyota Land Cruiser. I did not like that machine; it was thirsty, oversized, only so-so off-road, slow, and I could go on and on. On paper, it was not great. And yet, when it came time to do a basic errand, my hand would naturally reach for the Lexus keys over every other key. There was no thought that went into it: It was almost like a physiological choice that my body made for me.
Why was it that, any time I headed to the dentist or grocery store or fast food spot, I was always behind the wheel of that Lexus? It’s because it was supremely comfortable. It was so much quieter than any other car I owned, the seats were more comfortable, the ride was better, and at the same time, it had 260,000 miles on the clock and I wasn’t worried about it getting rusty or dinged up. To me, it was the easiest, cushiest car to drive.
It’s that same concept that led me to drive my i3 this weekend over the Cybertruck (which I’d already driven for a few days at that point — I’m grateful for the experience). The i3 just offered more of this “subconscious comfort.” And I should reiterate, I’m not saying that the i3 is more “comfortable” in a traditional sense; no, most reviewers would call the Cybertruck much more comfortable than an i3. Subconscious comfort isn’t about just ride quality, interior materials, or NVH mitigation — there are loads of factors that go into it. Here’s a list off the top of my head:
- Visibility
- Size (for ease of parking, especially in cities)
- Interior tech/apps
- Value (i.e. how worried you are about it being damaged)
- Reliability
- Ride comfort and handling
- Interior quietness (NVH)
- Fuel efficiency
- All-weather performance
- Refueling/recharging infrastructure
The reasons why I hung up the keys to the Cybertruck involved the truck’s size, its visibility, and its value. The thing is just too big to easily slither through tight city streets, and its visibility — despite its nice cameras — makes parking tricky. I actually hit a car, though it was slight (I’ll write about that a bit later). What’s more, the truck is just too valuable right now, and with its polarizing styling, it’s hard to feel anxious leaving it sitting anywhere for long.
I didn’t want to deal with all that, so I took the Cybertruck back to work, and grabbed my i3.
As soon as I was in the i3, I felt so much more at ease. Obviously, some of that has to do with the fact that I was used to it, but its size, visibility, and lack of flashiness/value were key to making it the right car for my weekend.
I’ll soon have a newer BMW i3 in my fleet, and that thing will have Apple Carplay, making it likely the most “subconsciously comfortable” car in my fleet. And that includes my girlfriend’s Lexus RX350, a vehicle that rides much better than my i3, and whose interior is, while perhaps not as pretty, certainly more cushy.
And yet, when my girlfriend or I reach for a key to do a basic errand, we always choose the i3. It’s smaller, easier to maneuver, and it’s electric. Firing up a gas engine, and knowing you’re burning fuel that you’ll have to replenish at a gas station instead of just plugging in, just makes hopping into the Lexus for a basic errand feel more mentally straining. Perhaps less “easy.” Maybe the term should be “subconscious ease”? I’m not sure, but I can tell you that what I’m describing isn’t just about ride and NVH — it’s a complex thing involving lots of factors.
If I lived in, say, a snowy place, then certainly the all-wheel drive Lexus on Michelin Crossclimate 2’s would be the car whose keys I’d naturally grab. If I had to go on a long road-trip, I’d probably snag the Lexus’ keys, since the BMW i3’s range extender is a bit loud and just makes me feel uncomfortable due to its lack of reliability.
Yes, reliability plays into Subconscious Comfort. Legendary Autopian writer The Bishop knows what I’m talking about. Here are a few paragraphs from him about his similar experience with a Lexus (shown below):
Let’s say you have just two cars. One is primarily driven by a person that will call you screaming and crying when it breaks down because it’s YOUR FAULT, and your two kids are sitting in the thing as semis whiz by within inches. If faced with that situation, you choose a vehicle with your head and not your heart. I despise almost everything about our 2009 Lexus LX570, but I’ve never gotten a call from the side of the road.
What I hate even more about it is that on weekends, when I need to take a quick trip to the store or the bank, I’m halfway down the street when I realized that I’m not in my German daily driver but instead the hated SUV. I subconsciously took the keys and drove away? Why is that? My guess is that somehow sitting high up in silence with air conditioning that cools the car in seconds overrules road manners all day long in suburbia. Hell, the Lexus doesn’t have any “road manners” at all, nor does it feature “fuel economy”. Muscle memory likely comes into play, just like how you grab those ugly shoes in the closet instead of the slick looking ones that kill your heels. Your body chooses the path of least resistance- at least at my age.
That’s really well put! Choosing which car to drive often is a subconscious choice that your body makes to follow “the path of least resistance,” factoring in so many different things. I’m not sure there’s a term yet for this “thing” that certain cars have over others so I’m just going to call it “subconscious comfort.” My BMW i3, an electric luxury subcompact hatchback with loads of visibility and reliability along with a rather low flashiness/value on the marketplace, has this in spades. At least, in fair-weathered California, where my girlfriend and I reach for its keys every time we have to do a basic errand.
Anyway, I realize that choosing a smaller, nimbler, less valuable, less flashy subcompact over a big truck in a city sounds fairly obvious, but this article was just a way for me to discuss this concept of “subconscious comfort,” because it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Because it’s not the same as just “ride comfort” or “interior” comfort. It’s a combination of factors, many obvious, some not so much.
My little fleet has 3 cars, a Subaru Impreza hatch, a Ford F-150, and a Lexus RX350. I always reach for the keys to the Subie; maybe it’s because the Lexus is my wife’s baby, and I’d hate to be the one that put a ding in it. The truck is just too much to drive daily, unless I had to. The Impreza is a beater, and I don’t care what happens to it. Plus, it’s just more fun to drive.
I have a Lincoln MKX, Hyundai Tucson, and Pontiac G6 available to me. The Linc is very comfy, quiet and powerful. The Tucson is decent but not as nice as the Lincoln. But subconsciously I am pulled towards the Pontiac. Driving it just feels right. I know exactly where the corners of the car are, I can see all around me, I can use all the radio and hvac controls without looking, and so on.
David, I know you don’t want to burn bridges with Tesla because you’re auto-journos and all, but I can say the quiet part out loud: you probably didn’t want to be seen driving the latest flagship for jerk-off douchebags.
Also: your i3 is way cooler. I’ve been crushing on them too for the last decade but instead keep buying dumb fun cars like Abarths and 300zx’s. Secretly I know if I had an i3 I’d stop driving like a madman and become Mr. Boring – but really content and Zen about it.
To be honest, that’s most of us. I’m curious about this dumb pile or computerized razors, sure, and I would not say no to driving one in a closed-off area. Would I allow myself to be seen on public roads behind the wheel of the Douchebagger Apocalypsemobile? I’d rather have to daily drive a Dartz for the rest of my life.
So often I just walk or take transit instead of messing with driving and parking.
If you appreciate the elegance of an i3, then you should cringe at the use of “oftentimes”. Yeah I know it’s technically word these days, but I still hate it. “Often” alone already conveys the frequency or regularity of an occurrence. Adding “times” to “often” does not enhance the meaning. I’ll see myself out.
It’s been “technically [a] word these days” for 600 years.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/oftentimes
TIL. Thanks! I still think “often” is better…but potato tomato.
Brilliant concept, I rather enjoy the thought process…this is why it’s hard to ride a motorcycle daily when you have another car. I dailied a bike for several years in AZ but soon as I got a car again my bike miles plummeted.
I dailied a sportster for years. I loved the bike. But yes, it’s summer. You need to run to the hardware store. For a rubber washer. Pull on long pants, real shoes. Put a long sleeve shirt and a helmet up there. And you could have been there and back on a bicycle. Of course you take the long way home and sightsee but still…
For a bit, I decided to get a Vespa. 1975, 200 cc oversized engine, my thought was that it was a scooter. No need for all the gear. But it went 55 mph by my gps, had itty bitty tires, and I rode it in flip flops with no helmet. Objectively worse decisions. But I had a rack on it that held my surfboard, which was cool.
Already posted this in a comment on another article a while back but it bears repeating, ha:
https://external-preview.redd.it/you-will-feel-nothing-and-be-happy-v0-6Eh2cXVv86J3aDptMz-p0lrVhcLOfhYv-9JROniCMME.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=68733ef67e8d906a44db92f3a6a8b4e05cae5979
In case the link doesn’t work, it’s a meme from a few months ago showing an atmospheric b/w photograph of someone sitting forlornly in a CT at a red light on a rainy evening with a comment from a Twitter account, BirdRespecter, summing up what the driver might be feeling:
“Days after launch, you sit at a red light. The novelty is gone, you aren’t any happier. Maybe it’s your imagination but the gaps in the door look off. You think you saw a car full of teens laughing at you earlier. You’re now 100k in debt for a meme, and you feel nothing”
Look what this dumbass cybertruck owner did in my town. This roundabout is about a mile from my house (and also less than a mile from DirtFish rally school).
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/man-arrested-dui-after-light-monstertrucking-damages-snoqualmie-roundabout/UQXUMCCFMFFIHFEG7F5EOPUGHA/
Guy turned the Tokul roundabout into a straightabout, amirite…?
I’ll see myself out…
I can dig it. Have my 2017 Chevy Bolt with keyless entry heated seats and carplay and 0-6 in less than 7 seconds. But if I’m not going too far I’d much rather take my 2000 Ford Ranger EV. Granted the Bolts seats leave something to be desired but the Ranger’s just a single cab with 60/40 bench so not the lap of luxury either.
It’s just more easy for putzing around town, sitting in traffic, crank up the stereo, open the back window. If I need to bump a curb to get into the turn lane whatever, I’m in my truck with 225/70s on it, not gonna get curb rash there, and a LOT less people cut off a 25 year old truck with a real bumper on it than an aluminium hamster looking plasticmobile.
My Bolt eats up commuter miles with nary any maintenance but for just mental comfort the Ranger’s got it beat.
Does every article you write have to include the i3? Please give us a break David.
Elon, is that you?
I rise in support of i3-related content. David, if you want to find i3 v1.0 a good home, hmu.
“Back when I lived in Michigan, I accrued a lot of cars (14 at one point).”
We have 6 between the two of us. My goal this week is to drive a different one to work each day for 5 days.
But I disagree on the comfort angle. One of the 6 is a loaded GMC Envoy with cushy leather seats that is very comfortable to drive. What do I usually take to work everyday? My manual transmission pickup with hand-crank windows that I have to manually lock and unlock with the key. Why? It’s more engaging and fun to drive, even though it’s only a 4-cyl.
Haha, 4 cars at my house and last week I drove a different one each day. Good times.
I have the same GMC Envoy, the engine run so smooth. My AC stopped working recently but thats ok, I only drive it on the winter. My power steering has a small leak on the steering rack and its around $1200 to fix it, I dont think its worth it for the price and condition of the vehicle. Other than that, its a tank!
If the factors were obvious, the comfort wouldn’t be “subconscious”. I know exactly what you’re talking about. Not with cars, because I only ever have one at a time, but with other things. Good article!
I’m not a fancy-schmancy automotive journalist with frequent access to vehicles I don’t own, nor do I have a fleet of vehicles to choose from, so my perspective may be a little different. But on the rare occasions that I do have access to something out of my ordinary, you can bet your ass I am driving it as much as possible until I have to give it back. I can’t stand the Cybertruck and would be embarrassed to be seen in it, but I would run down the battery with trips to the grocery store and embarrassing my kids by breaking down in front of the school they attend. I once borrowed an 82 Cougar wagon to move stuff home from college for the weekend; guess what we cruised in rather than my friends’ Monte Carlo SS or Gran Torino Elite? Another time I had access to an early 60s Ford pickup in various shades of green and primer, known as “The Moving Bruise.” I picked up a date in that instead of in my parents’ 78 LTD, even though the seat was ripped and the girl could not sit close to me. Oh and it did not have seat belts – her dad was shittin kittens when I brought her home. I hauled wood in a 93 Riviera (Sorry, Mom!) rather than my Toyota pickup, because it was something different that I did not get to drive often.
My point is, no matter how consciously or subconsciously comfortable or practical my own vehicle may be, I will always choose novelty.
Except maybe Jason’s Changli – I have standards, you know. Sorry, that was mean. I said it for the clicks, and I would even drive that and discuss the horrors of giant Olds Alero taillights.
I guess when your fleet gets this big it is too big to make sure that every car gets driven frequently. The times when I have had more than one car at my disposal I would purposely alternate vehicles because there is nothing worse for cars than to not be driven regularly. Then the next decision point was usually – does the car that is not blocked-in have enough gas to do the planned trip, if so then decision made.
Currently I only have one car that I drive and my significant other has one she drives, and we usually take mine if we are going somewhere together because hers is over miles on the lease, that is the decision unless she really needs a more sumptuous ride because her back is out or she is otherwise not 100%.
With one car now I spend my brainwidth daydreaming about the next car instead of figuring out which car to drive today – which may be a better use of my brain cycles, or not. She wants me to get something bigger so she can get something smaller and then we would use my car for road/weekend trips (and she would take my car when she goes hiking with her friends.) I have gotten very accustomed to driving the very analog sports sedan that I inherited from my mother, and most of the newer cars I have driven recently are just not all that engaging, but I will probably upgrade in the next 12 months due to the pressure I am getting on the home front.
I agree, the I3 is the right choice. Not sure what the Tesla Truck is. Styling? What a joke! Looks like it’s still in the packing crate. Visibility is terrible, owners get cuts on legs from the doors, a guy with only 45 miles on his had it spring a coolant leak after he plugged it in for the first charge. Tesla at first said it wasn’t covered. After some harsh language from said new owner Tesla had it towed and repaired it. He said oh and they detailed it! You mean it wasn’t all spiff when you picked it up “new”. Color me not impressed.
It’s too farking big.
Loved my i3 for 7+ years. I had choice of the i3, 2013 SLK 5 speed, or BMW 1 series (also a manual).
It was almost always the i3….an absolute hoot to drive.
I replaced it with another EV with more range and tech (Genesis GV 60 Performance), but find myself wanting the go kart experience that the Genesis doesn’t provide.
Totally get it. Zipping around in a small car for a quick errand seems effortless. Taking a bigger car often feels like a chore and hassle.
There’s more rubber on the Cybertruck’s windshield wiper than there is on one of your wheels. I would much rather drive the i3.
A good friend of mine absolutely adored his Tundra (he actually used it for truck stuff), but his office was located in downtown Minneapolis, and he needed to park in a ramp.
After the third time scraping the side of the Tundra on a concrete column in the ramp, he decided to trade it in for a Q7.
It’s why I own 6 toyotas and lexuses now that all have boring cvts and drive like appliances.
Someday maybe I’ll have something with some personality again that didn’t come from Japan.
But I won’t be driving enough to worry about it breaking
I mostly choose which car to drive based on how many cars I need to move out of the way. That’s why the cars in the garage barely get driven.
“Honey, I swear it works and isn’t permanently garaged as a project! I can start it up and move it whenever I want, it just isn’t worth it to move three other cars first!”
This is completely relatable – I get it.
My main two vehicles are a ’98 Jeep XJ and a ’07 Escalade.
Any time I have a longer highway trip, I instinctively grab the keys to the Escalade without even thinking. I find both vehicles very comfortable, but sometimes the more modern vehicle is simply less mentally taxing.
On the other hand, the moment I’m driving somewhere with rough roads, and chance of going off road, narrow streets or tight parking, I don’t stop to think before picking up keys to the Jeep. Basically any difficult driving situation, I subconsciously choose the Jeep, even though that means giving up working AC, a smoother ride, cooled seats and a decent stereo.
I know I’ll be in the normal car unless some combination of the following list works out in favor of the fun car:
I… Think I’m the exact opposite. I don’t look for comfort in a car, I look for engagement. The resistance the car gives keeps me thinking and noticing, rather than shutting my brain off and going on autopilot. When I’m driving I focus on being as smooth as possible, and that kind of concentration gets a lot harder when you enter no thoughts head empty
mode.
Then again I’m a person who does trigonometry math by hand, so maybe I just like the challenge of being miserable.
Well, there’s MY car and then there’s HER car. If it’s a local trip then my car is the family mover. Her car is for road trips and her commute.