Tesla Model S Test Drive

If electric vehicles are ever to get out of their novelty phase, three things must happen. First, an EV has to come along that has an operating range for a full day of driving. Second, it must be able to fit a family of five. Third, it can?t be priced exclusively for millionaires.

The Tesla Model S solves two and a half of those problems. It promises between 160 and 300 miles of range on a single charge, depending on the battery configuration you buy. It has seating for five, plus two optional rear-facing jumpseats with five-point harnesses for kids. And it starts at $57,400 (although federal and state tax credits can bring the price down into the high $40,000s). That?s expensive for a family sedan (Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Camry), but not necessarily that expensive for a luxury performance sedan (Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5-Series, Porsche Panamera) that happens to fit a family. So it certainly helps to be a millionaire if you want a Model S, but in it?s base configuration with a 40 kWh battery, it?s just on the cusp of attainable for those in the upper-middle class.

Of course, that?s not the configuration Tesla rolled out to the press in New York this week for some short test drives along the west side of Manhattan. (The Model S is having a trickle-down rollout, base models won?t be available until fall.) We got to drive the $97,900 Signature Performance edition, a rip-snorting, top-of-the-line model with an 85 kWh battery with a high performance drive-inverter and electric motor that deliver 310 kW. That?s a power output that roughly equates to 416 hp and 443 lb. ft. of torque driving the rear wheels. Tesla says this configuration of the Model S say it can do 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, and based on a few traffic-free takeoffs on the West Side Highway, we believe it.

As with most electric vehicles, every bit of the Model S?s torque is available the moment you mash the pedal. Well, almost all of it? the vehicle?s traction control has to dial back the power to keep the wheels from spinning uncontrollably. The result is awesome seat-pinning acceleration. That acceleration is eerily quiet and smooth, since the single-speed fixed gear requires no shifting and the minimal road noise from the wheels is actually louder than the electric whine from the engine.

The straight-line performance of the Model S is even more impressive when you consider that this is a 4600-pound car. A good portion of that weight is battery, but one of the convenient things about building an EV is that engineers have considerable freedom about where to but it. The Model S uses a flat lithium-ion battery that is placed low and between the axles, giving the vehicle a flat floor and a low, stable center of gravity that improves its handling. There aren?t many hairpin curves and sweeping corners in the Big Apple, but we were able to execute a few high-speed lane changes that showed off the Model S?s tight, linear steering, while simultaneously irritating cab drivers.

True to its Silicon Valley roots, Tesla stuffs a heck of a lot of technology into the Model S. There are bells and whistles and bells with whistles on them. The exterior door handles electrically retract into the body of the car (which is both gee-whiz cool and, according to the company, aerodynamically beneficial), and eject when a hand approaches them. The Model S?s keyfob is a tiny sculpture of the car itself?press on the trunk and the trunk opens automatically.

The feature that has garnered perhaps the most press is the enormous 17-inch touchscreen that comprises the entire center console of the vehicle. It is the size of two iPads put together, and the driver commands nearly all of the vehicle controls through it. It?s a fascinating experiment in interface design, and one that the company says will update over time, like Android and iOS devices. Tesla did all the programming in-house, which mean it?s unlike any other manufacturer?s system. That?s both a good thing and a bad thing, since I imagine there is a significant learning curve involved.

From my 20 minutes of playing while parked at the curb, I discovered that the screen is large enough to support two user-selectable control panels at a time, which stack on top of one another. At the bottom of the screen is a permanent HVAC control bar. At the top of the screen is a menu bar with options such as audio, navigation, and vehicle controls. When you select a menu option, it drops into the top panel, and then you can swap the top and bottom panels. It?s cool and intuitive, but could be seriously confusing to use while driving. Imagine this scenario: You?re cruising along at 65 mph with the music controls and navigation maps open on the screen. You decide to open the sunroof (yup, the roof is controlled through the touchscreen). If you have the maps in the top panel and you don?t want to lose them, you need to swap them to the bottom panel, then drop the sunroof control into the top panel to replace the audio controls, then adjust the roof and swap everything back again. This might be easier with voice commands, but so far, the Model S doesn?t offer them.

So the Model S has the performance aspect of a luxury performance car nailed, and it certainly integrates more high-tech features than manufactures such as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar have ever dreamed up. But how does it rate on the finer points of a luxury car? We?re conflicted about this part. The interior is intelligently laid out and spacious?at least horizontally; the beautiful windswept exterior sacrifices headroom, especially in the rear seats, for aerodynamic efficiency. The Tesla certainly looks modern and luxurious. But we?ve got some reservations: When you run your hands over the surfaces in the car, everything feels soft, leathery and opulent, but when you knock on them, there?s a lack of solidity that feels like a weight-saving illusion. Small things, such as the aluminum interior door pulls that wiggle when you jiggle them, would never pass quality control in a Mercedes or Porsche factory.

Still, there?s too much promise here to dismiss the Model S over a few rookie fit and finish issues. The car is a joy to drive, it?s not crazy expensive, and it has all the aspects of a practical family car. Did I mention that with a twin 240V charging station, it can recharge up to 64 miles of range in an hour? We?ll have to drive it for at least a week to say anything definitive about its value as a daily driver, but presuming these things don?t start catching fire in people?s garages (see Fisker Karma) and the EPA?s battery range estimates actually hold up in the real world, there?s a real chance this could completely legitimize the electric vehicle.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/drives/tesla-model-s-test-drive-10852003?src=rss

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