[TEST DRIVE] Tesla Model X pushes limits, but will Koreans approve?

No engine start button. No stalk. Not even a shift lever.

Tesla Model X's falcon wing doors [SARAH CHEA]

PAJU, Gyeonggi — No engine start button. No stalk. Not even a shift lever.

It may sound terrifying to some people, but this is what the Model X — the most expensive Tesla model available in Korea — offers. The electric vehicle (EV) maker said Korean deliveries of its latest Model S and X are scheduled to start in the third quarter.

The Korea JoongAng Daily recently got behind the wheel of the latest Model X for a 130-kilometer (81-mile) drive across Seoul and Gyeonggi.

The Model X's improved panoramic roof lets in more light, allowing for a clearer view [SARAH CHEA]

Exterior-wise, nothing has dramatically changed from the previous version. The falcon wing doors still stood out, which are especially useful when putting luggage in the back seat.

No physical key is needed, but a key card. Tapping the key card against the B-pillar automatically unlocked the car.

Taking the wheel, this reporter discovered that the vehicle is totally different from almost all other cars on Korean roads. Please be aware that things won’t be where they usually are.

For starters, there’s no engine start button. Just place the key card below the center display and press the brake pedal to start your Tesla.

Instead of a shift lever, swipe up for drive, and swipe down for reverse or touch the P for park. [SARAH CHEA]

Don’t be surprised when you can’t find the shift lever. Instead, you can shift with a slide bar on the left side of the 17-inch touchscreen in the center. Swipe up for drive, swipe down for reverse or touch the P for park.

Creative as such an approach may be, it was also quite unnerving, or even slightly dangerous, as this reporter always had to reach out to the touchscreen to put it into reverse when encountering other cars on crowded roads.

You will also notice it’s also missing stalks. Tesla replaced all the stalks with touch buttons on the wheel, even for things like turn signals, horns and wipers.

As for the lack of stalks, tap the buttons on the steering wheel to make turn signals. [SARAH CHEA]

The new design is somewhat complimented by a sleeker look. But again, whether Korean drivers will be pleased to tap the wheel every time when they needed to make a turn remains to be seen.

The 17-inch touchscreen, however, has evolved. It rotates 30 degrees left or right to help make the screen face more toward the driver or toward the front passenger.

The latest Model X has a horizontal touchscreen rather than the vertical one, making for a better movie-viewing experience. Various video streaming services including Netflix and YouTube and over 20 video games are available in the Tesla X.

A smaller screen is also placed in the back seat, allowing passengers in the second and third rows to watch content. Finally, this reporter came to understand why Tesla CEO Elon Musk calls the car “a very sophisticated computer on wheels.”

The 17-inch touchscreen rotates 30 degrees left or right to help make the screen face more toward the driver or front passenger. [SARAH CHEA]

Driving was pleasant with the Autopilot system, an autonomous driver assistance system for which Tesla cars are famous. With eight cameras around the car, the large instrument panel display indicated cars, lanes and humans in real-time.

Pressing the button to change lanes automatically does just that — change lanes. If the other lane has fewer cars, the vehicle itself alerts drivers to “make a faster lane change.”

But that doesn’t mean that drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel. If you don’t hold the wheel, audible and visual alarms remind you to place your hands at the nine and three. And if you don't comply, the vehicle itself turns off the system and won’t activate it for the rest of the drive.

With eight cameras around the car, Tesla's Autopilot system shows a live graphic of cars, lanes and humans [SARAH CHEA]

After using the Autopilot system for about an hour, one doubt remained: Is this function really helpful to Korean drivers?

The Autopilot system seems useful on uncrowded roads when the car can maintain a certain speed for a long time. Korea is a very crowded country, with half the population owning a car making the streets very congested during peak times.

The navigation made the test drive a bit unpleasant, always the biggest disadvantage for imported cars. The navigation system sometimes failed to detect narrow roads or indicated incorrect speed limits.

When this reporter drove on a narrow street in Imjingak, a village near the DMZ, the system suddenly shut off and ordered her to “drive manually.”

Though a Tesla Korea spokesperson explained, “It sometimes makes errors,” the vehicle seemingly couldn’t fully recognize the road conditions.

A smaller screen is also placed in the back seat, allowing passengers in the second and third rows to watch content. [SARAH CHEA]

The Model X, however, is second to none when it comes to driving performance.

It boasts a maximum of 670 horsepower and only takes 3.9 seconds to reach 0 to 100 kilometers per hour. The Model X can travel up to 478 kilometers per single charge, according to Korea’s Environment Ministry.

Its sticker price starts from 139.5 million won ($105,000).

At a glance, the futuristic EV may be the most innovative car out there. But it remains to be seen if its “unfriendly” functions are attractive enough to convince Korean customers to pay the heft price tag.

Tesla’s sales in Korea have been falling in recent months. The company sold a total of 114 cars in Korea in April, down 91 percent on year.

Its total sales in Korea were 1,417 units in 2022, compared to 2019’s 2,430.

Tesla Model X [TESLA KOREA]

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]