I had my test drive today in Austin, and I really enjoyed it! I had so much video footage that I had to break it up into 2 separate YouTube videos (I'll post the links after this). I apologize in advance for the camera angle while in the car. I used a suction cup mount and stuck it to the center console in the back seat which was a tad lower than I'd have liked. At least it's not shaky-cam 
Here are some of my thoughts on the car:
• As everyone has said, the Karma looks even better in person than in the photos. It was really stunning to see up close, and the build quality was actually better than I had expected. It is a very solid feeling car. The interior quality too was beyond what I had expected. It has always been hard to tell from photos what it's really like, but I can say that it was really exquisite. My only beef was the use of transparent plastics in various places. Those should have been glass because lucite scratches really easily, and I know that's not going to fare well over the years.
• The styrofoam block behind the grille was definitely noticeable, and I'm still confused why they didn't coat it with something to hide the obvious fact that it's a black block of styrofoam, but I don't think anyone will pay attention unless you point it out. Henrik must have been out of town the day that part got ordered.
• I was first to drive, so the battery was about 2/3rds full. Therefore, the generator noise wasn't too bad. Actually, it only got loud when I floored it, and even then, the RPM's more or less matched what I was doing with the throttle, so it didn't seem too bizarre. There were three basic sounds with the generator: 1) the turbo spooling which was actually a really cool sound!, 2) the engine rumble, and 3) the sound of air being blown out the exhaust at my feet. The only annoying part was #3. The hairdryer sound didn't seem right, but the rest didn't bother me. Hard to say if I'd feel that way at the end of the day when the generator was running harder and longer, and the Fisker reps kept saying that the production cars would have the new mufflers. So, I guess that goes against earlier reports that these cars already had the new mufflers, or there's a newer new muffler going on the production cars. Very confusing… not sure who or what to believe on this.
• The ride was very nice, but honestly, there was nothing "sporty" feeling about the car (this is coming from a guy who's always owned sports cars). It feels like a heavy sedan, but that's okay, because that's exactly what it is despite its looks. The Karma's sexy looks can often mislead you to expect a sports car, but it just isn't. The car does feel big and heavy, but not in a bad way - it's very controlled and solid - it felt like a tank… in a good way. Comparing this car to the Panamera or Rapide like so many do really isn't fair because those cars are true sports sedans. I'd have a hard time calling the Karma a sports anything. It may look the part, but it doesn't feel the part. Once again, however, that's not a bad thing. It's still a great ride, but it would be better to compare it to a Cadillac.
• One thing about the ride that really surprised me was just how smooth it was. I expected a bumpy stiff (sporty) ride, but it wasn't. It was so smooth that it was hard to feel the road at all. That combined with the quiet acceleration made it a very unique experience. I'd almost prefer a little more bump in the ride just so that I could feel the road more. There's like zero room between the tires and the wheel well, so I have no idea how the ride was so smooth. The gigantic wheels perhaps? On the same topic, the steering was surprisingly easy. I expected it to have a little sporty stiffness to it, but it was so easy to turn that car that you couldn't even feel it. I do kinda wish it had stiffer steering or at least steering that transmitted some of the road to the driver.
• The only major problem I had was with the Infotainment system. I was wearing polarized sunglasses, and that made it very hard to see anything on that LCD screen. Also, that screen is so big that the glare was quite a bit of a problem. It was *very* hard to use that thing because of those visibility issues - I had to take my sunglasses off every time that I wanted to play with it or tilt my head to the left to make the polarity line up, but even then I was hit with the glare reflection.
• Aside from not being able to see the Infotainment system, it was actually pretty cool. I really liked the haptic feedback. The actual UI was pretty confusing and laggy, but I'm sure that's just a matter of getting used to it. The GPS in the demo cars was apparently not the real GPS system. The production cars will have something different, so I didn't bother looking at the one that was in there.
• I'm 5' 7" and the back seat was very comfortable for me. Not exactly roomy like an SUV or anything, but very adequate for a car like this. The trunk space was larger than I was expecting after all the talk about it… much bigger than the boot on my Vantage or old SC430. Besides, there's lots of room in the back seats for more stuff if it won't fit it the trunk.
• The stereo sounded great! It's hard to tell much in the video, but he had it cranked and it sounded better than anything in any of my other cars.
• Speaking of sound, I never really heard the "Tron" sound. I kept asking about it, and everyone seemed confused by the question. Most of the time they thought I was referring to the turbo whine or something. I didn't hear the Tron sound while driving it, nor could I hear it when others drove off. Not sure what the story there is.
• Contrary to earlier reports, the mirrors *do* fold.
• Yes the dash does switch to black for night mode. I had the Fisker guy cover the sensor so I could see it, and I got the switchover on the video in Part 2.
• The charging station is $795, so the rest of that $2300 price (or whatever it was) was sort of a quasi-estimate on installation. Seems a bit steep for installation, but whatever. After tax credits the charger costs almost nothing anyways.
• At the end of the day, is this a car that's worth $110,000? Yes! The looks alone are that of a $200k car, and if it had the performance of a $200k car that's what I'd pay for it. So, when you combine $200k looks with $60k performance, I think $110k is a perfectly reasonable price. I can't wait for mine to arrive!
-Brian
[hr]
Part 1 of the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haqlE45Ln9c
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsCXBUz6uzs
-Brian
Here are some of my thoughts on the car:
• As everyone has said, the Karma looks even better in person than in the photos. It was really stunning to see up close, and the build quality was actually better than I had expected. It is a very solid feeling car. The interior quality too was beyond what I had expected. It has always been hard to tell from photos what it's really like, but I can say that it was really exquisite. My only beef was the use of transparent plastics in various places. Those should have been glass because lucite scratches really easily, and I know that's not going to fare well over the years.
• The styrofoam block behind the grille was definitely noticeable, and I'm still confused why they didn't coat it with something to hide the obvious fact that it's a black block of styrofoam, but I don't think anyone will pay attention unless you point it out. Henrik must have been out of town the day that part got ordered.
• I was first to drive, so the battery was about 2/3rds full. Therefore, the generator noise wasn't too bad. Actually, it only got loud when I floored it, and even then, the RPM's more or less matched what I was doing with the throttle, so it didn't seem too bizarre. There were three basic sounds with the generator: 1) the turbo spooling which was actually a really cool sound!, 2) the engine rumble, and 3) the sound of air being blown out the exhaust at my feet. The only annoying part was #3. The hairdryer sound didn't seem right, but the rest didn't bother me. Hard to say if I'd feel that way at the end of the day when the generator was running harder and longer, and the Fisker reps kept saying that the production cars would have the new mufflers. So, I guess that goes against earlier reports that these cars already had the new mufflers, or there's a newer new muffler going on the production cars. Very confusing… not sure who or what to believe on this.
• The ride was very nice, but honestly, there was nothing "sporty" feeling about the car (this is coming from a guy who's always owned sports cars). It feels like a heavy sedan, but that's okay, because that's exactly what it is despite its looks. The Karma's sexy looks can often mislead you to expect a sports car, but it just isn't. The car does feel big and heavy, but not in a bad way - it's very controlled and solid - it felt like a tank… in a good way. Comparing this car to the Panamera or Rapide like so many do really isn't fair because those cars are true sports sedans. I'd have a hard time calling the Karma a sports anything. It may look the part, but it doesn't feel the part. Once again, however, that's not a bad thing. It's still a great ride, but it would be better to compare it to a Cadillac.
• One thing about the ride that really surprised me was just how smooth it was. I expected a bumpy stiff (sporty) ride, but it wasn't. It was so smooth that it was hard to feel the road at all. That combined with the quiet acceleration made it a very unique experience. I'd almost prefer a little more bump in the ride just so that I could feel the road more. There's like zero room between the tires and the wheel well, so I have no idea how the ride was so smooth. The gigantic wheels perhaps? On the same topic, the steering was surprisingly easy. I expected it to have a little sporty stiffness to it, but it was so easy to turn that car that you couldn't even feel it. I do kinda wish it had stiffer steering or at least steering that transmitted some of the road to the driver.
• The only major problem I had was with the Infotainment system. I was wearing polarized sunglasses, and that made it very hard to see anything on that LCD screen. Also, that screen is so big that the glare was quite a bit of a problem. It was *very* hard to use that thing because of those visibility issues - I had to take my sunglasses off every time that I wanted to play with it or tilt my head to the left to make the polarity line up, but even then I was hit with the glare reflection.
• Aside from not being able to see the Infotainment system, it was actually pretty cool. I really liked the haptic feedback. The actual UI was pretty confusing and laggy, but I'm sure that's just a matter of getting used to it. The GPS in the demo cars was apparently not the real GPS system. The production cars will have something different, so I didn't bother looking at the one that was in there.
• I'm 5' 7" and the back seat was very comfortable for me. Not exactly roomy like an SUV or anything, but very adequate for a car like this. The trunk space was larger than I was expecting after all the talk about it… much bigger than the boot on my Vantage or old SC430. Besides, there's lots of room in the back seats for more stuff if it won't fit it the trunk.
• The stereo sounded great! It's hard to tell much in the video, but he had it cranked and it sounded better than anything in any of my other cars.
• Speaking of sound, I never really heard the "Tron" sound. I kept asking about it, and everyone seemed confused by the question. Most of the time they thought I was referring to the turbo whine or something. I didn't hear the Tron sound while driving it, nor could I hear it when others drove off. Not sure what the story there is.
• Contrary to earlier reports, the mirrors *do* fold.
• Yes the dash does switch to black for night mode. I had the Fisker guy cover the sensor so I could see it, and I got the switchover on the video in Part 2.
• The charging station is $795, so the rest of that $2300 price (or whatever it was) was sort of a quasi-estimate on installation. Seems a bit steep for installation, but whatever. After tax credits the charger costs almost nothing anyways.
• At the end of the day, is this a car that's worth $110,000? Yes! The looks alone are that of a $200k car, and if it had the performance of a $200k car that's what I'd pay for it. So, when you combine $200k looks with $60k performance, I think $110k is a perfectly reasonable price. I can't wait for mine to arrive!
-Brian
[hr]
Part 1 of the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haqlE45Ln9c
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsCXBUz6uzs
-Brian
