We review the Tesla Model S from price to economy and all its features
IT’S sci-fi meets saloon car... and it’s available to buy right now.
This is the all-electric Tesla Model S and we had a first drive in Scotland yesterday.
And it’s like nothing else on the road.
Walk towards the Model S with the key fob in your pocket and the door handles pop out as it recognises you. Once inside, there’s no handbrake and no start button.
Just by sitting in the driving seat the sensors know you’re ready to go, simply move the Mercedes-borrowed gear selector into drive and it eerily accelerates in almost total silence.
This is as good as electric motoring gets, even rivalling the incredible Audi R8 e-tron from Iron Man 3 I drove last year. This Model S will match a Porsche for pace yet has the size and luxury of a BMW 7 Series and eco credentials of a Nissan Leaf.
The design doesn’t knock your socks off, it’s like a futuristic lovechild of a Jaguar XF and the next Ford Mondeo.
But it’s the Hollywood movie gadgets and interior that will blow you away.
Hollywood gadgets ... Tesla's interior will blow you away
Swing open the wide, heavy driver’s door and the first thing you’ll notice is the huge 17in touchscreen, with a smaller screen in the instrument cluster.
The entire car is dominated by the main screen like a giant iPad and uses the same touch and use technique. The sat-nav uses Google Maps and opening the sunroof by touch is a real novelty.
But it has flaws. Using 3G to power the nav system is all well and good until you lose wifi — good luck if you’re lost in the middle of nowhere in the Highlands.
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Obviously Tesla and Paypal founder Elon Musk hasn’t been to Loch Ness — you’re more likely to see the monster than get a signal. The screen is also a huge distraction when driving.
Rear legroom is tight and the optional jump seats in the boot are suitable for children only.
With the batteries occupying the flat floor, there are two boots front and rear. Total luggage space without the jump seats is 895 litres, which is more ample than most rivals.
Once on the move, like other electric cars, it feels rapid.
There’s something intoxicating about silent but lightning acceleration — it feels even quicker than the official time of 60mph in 4.2 seconds.
Again, like most electric offerings, there’s a numbing of driving experience. Steering and cornering feels vague. You quickly learn to use regenerative braking by just coming off the acceleration pedal but, even when on the brake pedal, it’s very responsive.
Rapid ... silent by lightening fast acceleration
All this performance comes with the eco-friendlieness a supermini can’t achieve. Buyers can pick a 60kWh battery with a 208-mile range or the larger 80kWh battery with the full 311 miles.
That means, by rough estimates, charging it up will only cost around £300 a year.
For really speedy charging you will have to take the option of Dual Chargers but the P85+ spec I drove is set to use Tesla’s UK Supercharger network which is free of charge.
However, I’ve saved the worst to last. First, prices start at £49,500, which includes the £5,000 Government green grant.
Add some of the mod cons and the cost spirals out of control. Prices start at £49,900 for the 60kWh version rising to £69,080 for the 85kWh Performance, with options such as 21in wheels (£3,800), uprated suspension (£5,500), air suspension (£1,900), rear jump seats (£2,100) and more which sees this test car leap to around £98,000.
And, second, we still don’t have even the realistic beginnings of a charging structure to make living with a plug-in on a par with a petrol or diesel.
That makes driving the Model S frustrating because if this is the future, I want it now.