What’s hot?
- The exterior is clean and stylish, while the interior is an incredibly clever design. The huge central touchscreen controls everything from sunroof to sat nav and its responses are so quick and natural that using it is a breeze.
- The car is ready to go as soon as you sit in the seat – there’s nothing else to it. You pull away quietly and serenely and this excellent refinement extends all the way up to motorway speeds.
- We tested a model on optional air suspension and it rides really nicely – not quite like an S-Class but seriously not far off. After all, the huge battery packs are quite a hefty weight for the springs to carry around.
All this, and in absolute silence. The Big Screen runs everything by the way, and forget those fussy little things you’re used to, this one really works - Our range-topping Model S P85 model is absolutely bonkers fast. The 0-60mph time of 4.2 seconds is impressive in itself but the electric motor’s instant responses make the Model S feel quicker off the line than almost anything else we’ve tested.
- The tax benefits are plain to see, with no company car tax to pay on the Model S until 2015/16. That’s when the percentage charge increases from 0% to 5% for electric vehicles.
- You won’t be too limited by range, either, as Tesla says the Model S can travel 312 miles on a single charge. In the real world you’ll see more like 200-250 miles but it’s still staggeringly impressive.
- Tesla is working on building a network of Superchargers across the UK and Europe. Just to add to the surreal nature of the car, these will be free to use, at least to start, with a 170-mile charge taking around 30 minutes.
What’s not?
- If you can’t easily charge the Model S at home then it still doesn’t make much sense. And even if you can get a quick charger installed at your house, the Model S will take around 10 hours to fully charge up. That could catch you out occasionally.
- It’s blisteringly fast but the Model S isn’t the sharpest handling car. You can feel the weight of the batteries in the bends and the steering is completely lacking in feel.
- While the 300-mile range sounds impressive, it’s worth remembering that the entry-level car only has a 242-mile range. It’s also not as fast, doing the 0-60mph sprint in 5.9 seconds.
