I didn't even think about the exterior when I bought it. It's for my family, so all I worried about were features that will make my family comfortable while giving me a good driving experience.
I suspect that's why all those old vans were bought too -- you don't get a van for its styling. :)
That's true, you certainly don't. Honestly, it's true of any car - if something looked like a PT Cruiser (to pick a stereotype) but did what I wanted far better than anything else, I probably would have gotten despite the exterior. Though that is absurdly hard to imagine, so it's hard to be sure what would happen.
In any case, I think exterior certainly comes into play at a subconscious level after looking at a bunch of different models for a month... and if two vehicles are otherwise very similar, I might opt for a slightly nicer exterior over, say, 3-level vs 2-level heated seats, or rain-sensing wipers. (On that note, I've never found a rain-sensing wiper system that I liked...)
For context, though, I'm in Vancouver, and as a city we're rather snobby about car appearances.
Right, and Teslas are the best cars on the market today for auto-steer and adaptive cruise control, which contributes significantly to driving experience. As for family comfort, the Tesla seats are pretty good, and I don't really want any other comfort features than a good seat or two, and a cup-holder. Most everything else I want for family comfort/entertainment is delivered better via tablet or phone.
