Consumer Reports Isn’t A Fan Of The Tesla Yoke Steering Wheel
Consumer Reports isn’t a fan of Tesla’s yoke steering wheel. Ten CR test drivers shared their distaste for the yoke in CR‘s latest blog post.
One of the testers didn’t like the fact that “Tesla chose to turn the humble-but-effective steering wheel into a ‘meme.'” The author noted that Tesla often does things differently from traditional norms and that it is most often for good reasons, but that the yoke is not one of those reasons.
CR actually did admit that there were some benefits to the Tesla yoke. It gives the driver a panoramic view of the gauge cluster on the Model S, giving the driver an excellent view of the important tools in front of them. But that was the only notable benefit. The rest of the article listed the issues that the drivers had with the yoke. These included:
- Trouble making turns.
- Hard to hold onto.
- Missed signals.
- Ease of accidentally pressing the wrong button.
Another concern was concern for safety during an emergency situation.
Another issue is the fact that there’s no turn signal stalk and the test drivers had to use buttons. When the wheel is turned, the signal buttons could end up being in the opposite direction. So, if you go to click the left turn signal, you could be pressing the right turn signal button by mistake.
I can’t really give an opinion about driving with a yoke compared with a steering wheel. However, what I can say is that despite the critical headline from CR, I do think that the article itself can be seen as critical yet constructive criticism.
I think Tesla will consider CR’s feedback on the yoke, especially from a safety standpoint. Tesla’s top goal besides its overall mission is to build the safest car, after all.
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