Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

On the outside, the Model S looks like a cross between a Jaguar and a Maserati. It may be the latest in high-tech automobiles, but it doesn't scream "electric car!" And that's a good thing.

Troy Wolverton - MERCURYNEWS - July 14, 2012

I am now a member of a select club: I'm one of the very few who has driven Tesla's new all-electric Model S luxury sedan.

On Friday, the company allowed a few members of the local press to test drive the car for about 15 minutes each. That's not enough time for a thorough evaluation, but it is enough for some strong initial impressions.

The first words that come to mind about the Model S are fast and fun. The car I drove, which is a higher-end, $77,400 version, has some serious pickup. Tesla says it will reach 60 miles per hour in 5.9 seconds and is governor-limited to 130 miles per hour.

Those aren't world-beating numbers -- Tesla is selling a "performance" version of the Model S that will get to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds -- but they're plenty fast for most drivers.

When you punch the accelerator, you don't get the throaty roar of a V-8 engine, but there's something strange and thrilling about feeling a car rapidly reach highway speeds and beyond with no sounds other than a little road and wind noise. It almost feels like being on the Starship Enterprise as it goes into warp drive.

And the nice thing about that power is that it's instantaneous. You don't have to downshift or wait for the transmission to do so for you, because there basically is no gear box. Also, the power is available even at highway speeds -- instantly -- when you want to pass someone.

The Model S feels solid and takes curves tightly. The car's battery pack is beneath the cockpit rather than in the trunk or in the front, giving it a low center of gravity and better stability. And its onboard computers automatically lower its suspension as you get up to highway speeds... [Read More]

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

I don't understand why anyone would buy this car. It's supposed to compete against something like the BMW 5 series sedans but those cars are best for traveling long distances at high speeds--something the S can't do. The S has room for 5 adults and their luggage, but where are they going to go?--100 miles down the road? And yes, I know Tesla claims 300 miles range with their biggest, most expensive battery, but that's at 55mph. Who's going to spend 50 large to go 55mph? At 75mph and loaded with passengers and luggage the big-battery S will be lucky to go 100 miles and then it will take hours, not minutes, to refuel.

:eyebrow:

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

Lots of folks in LA area will love this car and buy it as well. If I lived in LA and had a fair job I would own one in a heart beat. H

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

Actually, Jay... I believe that range will be a bit further at 75mph than you think.

Making the reasonable assumption that the Tesla will exhibit somewhere in the same neighborhood of range reduction with speed that the LEAF does, I can leverage the empirically determined chart found here:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293

(62/89) * 100 = 69.7%

300mi * 0.697 = 209 mi of range on a full charge at 75mph. I don't know what you consider "long distance" but that's quite a bit further than I'd need to get up to my in-laws' lake home... and my wife thinks that's quite a distance.

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

Took a picture of this roadster sitting outside my office on friday.

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

Way cool, Dan! I've yet to see one around here, though I have seen an Elise.

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

Sean, maybe. But the chart you reference is for a level road--no heating or air conditioning. That is not practical range for most people. If you live in LA and its summer and you want to hop in the car and head to Vegas for the weekend with a few friends, that's the perfect application for a series 5 Beemer. Good luck with the Tesla S.

Electric cars have practical applications for fairly short range urban use. If you're designing an electric car, why not build it for that purpose? Long range luxury road burner is not a practical application for an electric car--yet this is what Tesla is aiming for with the S.

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

These cars are not for most people, give it a decade or two.

A 40kW Model S would be neat, $50k and nearly 200 miles of range.. but not at 75mph. Your wife deserves one :)

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

How would going to Vegas be such a problem? Even assuming you load the car up, blast the A/C and drive 80 you would make Barstow without a problem. Stop off at a Tesla Supercharger for 40 minutes to an hour (depending on how empty the battery is) then blow into Vegas.

Are we supposed to believe that an extra hour to recharge on an occasional road trip is supposed to be a problem when the other 99% of the time spent using the car never requires you to waste another second at a gas station?

Besides, I drive L.A. to Vegas maybe 6 times a year, and almost without exception I already stop in Barstow to take a break. At this point I don't see how owning a Model S will affect my lifestyle in the least, outside of saving thousands of dollars a year in gas costs.

Re: Tesla's Model S is fast and fun
 

Jay,

My brother-in-law uses his 5-series as a daily driver, about 15 miles total round trip to the office and back again. Add in daycare pickup, grocery run, etc I doubt he ever does more than 40 miles per day. I think this car would suit him just fine.

For weekends and road trips they always takes the wife's Odyssey because of the kids and the gear, etc. Many 5-series owners are just like us . . . only richer. :-)

Cheers,
Chris