Just before Model S drivers receive software 7.0 over the air, upstart automaker Tesla invited me out to its Palo Alto, California headquarters to take the 7.0-updated Model S for a spin.

Elon Musk and Tesla's representatives made it abundantly clear that its new Autosteer feature would not work without me keeping my hands on the steering wheel at all times. They were wrong.

Cruising at a comfortable 65 mph down Highway 280 outside Palo Alto, the Model S I was driving riding in was in full control, speeding up, slowing down and steering itself.

Autopilot driver is supposed to keep his or her hands on the steering wheel, the system says. Image: Nick Jaynes/Mashable

While some skeptics might point out that several carmakers offer similar systems right now, including Mercedes-Benz and Honda, none, however, work quite as seamlessly or as competently as the Tesla Autopilot.

Where Honda's system ping pongs between freeway lane markings and Mercedes' requires drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times, I sat back and enjoyed the ride in the Tesla, despite warnings against going completely hands-free. Essentially, for the 20 minutes I was behind the wheel of the Autopilot-fitted Model S P90D, I felt I was driving in a not-too-distant all-autonomous future.

'Like a really good chauffeur'

Once I settled in and rested my confidence — and fate — squarely on the shoulders of the Model S, I really enjoyed the experience. I have ridden in autonomous cars before: a prototype Audi A7, for example. In the Tesla, however, I felt much more at ease. That might be mostly due to the fact that, in the Audi, I had an engineer in the passenger and back seats monitoring the vehicle systems. This does not driver confidence build.

In the Tesla, it was just me, a heap of sensors, the car and the road.

A hands-free wheel in the Tesla Model S. Image: Nick Jaynes/Mashable

Steering down the highway with the flow of traffic wasn't the only trick the Model S displayed; it also was capable of changing lanes and overtaking slower cars on its own.

If I grew tired of sitting behind the car in front of me, I could just signal to my left and the Model S would merge into the open lefthand lane and smoothly but immediately accelerate up to the speed I had preset with the Traffic-Aware Cruise Control system.

Again, this distinguishes the Tesla Autopilot system from other mild self-driving systems on the market. No other carmaker offers a system that will change lanes and overtake another vehicle.

It did this with a smoothness that Musk himself likens to "a really good chauffeur." And he is right. Where lane-keeping systems from other carmakers make you constantly aware that a computer is controlling the car, making questionable, last-second moves and nervous adjustments, the Model S handled the road with aplomb. It never left me worrying its sensors or little computer brain were about to send me off into the ditch and to my demise.

Hiccup

The only hiccup I encountered with the new suite of autonomous systems was the Autopark system. When I drove up to a parallel parking spot, the Tesla simply didn't see the parking spot. I took another swing around the parking lot but it never recognized any spot.

The Model S with Autopilot. Image: Nick Jaynes/Mashable

The Tesla rep wondered if the car I was driving was running a beta version of 7.0 that didn't have Autopark turned on. That could very well be true. I tried the self-parking feature in another car two more times and it worked flawlessly.

Overall, however, the Autopilot exceeded my previous expectations. As I've mentioned several times, I've driven autonomous and semi-autonomous cars — both in production and concept form — and none worked as smoothly, as carefully or as competently as the Model S.

Musk told journalists that even with all the tech in place, people have to trust that the car will work as well with their hands on the wheel as it does with their hands in their lap. The Autopark flub aside, I'd say he's nearly there ... and years ahead of the competition.