Today I was mostly driving...a Tesla Model S

[waremark]

Don't think Henrik Fisker (now out of the company) is American. I thought the Fisker concept was better than the Tesla, in that the Fisker has a range extender petrol engine, but the Tesla looks much nicer and looks better made.

How did you get to drive the Tesla? I like the look of the car parked next to it! And I think the real world range using normal equipment is 250 miles for the top model.

[Carbon Based]

How did you get to drive the Tesla?

Pick a location from here: http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/events and sign up.

[TR4ffic]

How did you get to drive the Tesla?

Pick a location from here: http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/events and sign up.

I've put my name down for the event in Kenilworth... I'll let you know how I get on.

[TheInsanity1234]

Henrik Fisker

I feel so sorry for the chap if he ever comes to England.

[waremark]

Henrik Fisker

I feel so sorry for the chap if he ever comes to England.

Lived in England when as Design Director of Aston Martin he was designing the DB9 and V8 Vantage - perhaps the most beautiful cars of their era.

[TheInsanity1234]

Henrik Fisker

I feel so sorry for the chap if he ever comes to England.

Lived in England when as Design Director of Aston Martin he was designing the DB9 and V8 Vantage - perhaps the most beautiful cars of their era.

"Hello, pleased to meet you, Mr...?"

"Fisker"

"Pardon?"

[TR4ffic]

How did you get to drive the Tesla?

Pick a location from here: http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/events and sign up.

I've put my name down for the event in Kenilworth... I'll let you know how I get on.

Had my drive on Tuesday. Very impressed...

A nice looking car and easily fits into the large exec saloon bracket.

The flush fit chrome door handles automatically come out of the doors as you walk up to the car (with the key fob) so that you can open the doors. Lots of adjustment on the seat and electric adjustable tilt and reach on the steering column meant I could get a very good and comfortable driving position. For a large car the seats are surprisingly narrow and a bit flat - not much side/lateral support when cornering. As the driver it was OK because I had the wheel to hang on to - not sure about passengers... Not that I went hurtling round any bends you understand... Having said that the driving position was good, at 6' 4" and with the seat as low as possible, I felt I was sitting quite high in the car - apparently, although the car itself is quite low the floor level is high/thick to accommodate at the battery gubbins. View in the rear-view mirror through the rear window wasn't great but the door mirrors were OK.

As soon as you get in the dash and TV sized centre screen (glorified iPad) comes to life. Didn't get much opportunity to play with that but it seemed fairly intuitive. Once on the move the screen didn't feel as obtrusive as I had expected. Just about everything is controlled through this screen and 4 yrs free 3G data is included - navigation is via Google maps with onboard back-up maps (I think that's right...). Also include is full internet access but no Flash Player.

When you're ready to move off, just put your foot on the brake; it's automatic with single speed drive (no gears) so only D, P and R controlled by a stalk on the R/H side of the steering column - down for D, up for R and push button on the end for P. Swapping between P and D in traffic was very easy - no need to stop in a queue with your foot on the brake pedal

It's very easy to drive - very easy to get used to. It's quiet... Power delivery is very smooth and you don't need much 'gas' to get going. It uses regenerative braking to charge the batteries when slowing/on the over-run. This has two settings - low and standard, and when set to standard (on the big iPad) produces a lot of retardation. This does need some getting used to and you can come almost to a stop without the need for brakes - as long as you get your timing right... I forgot to ask whether the brake lights come on when just the regenerative braking is being used - if they don't, they should. A quick Google says 'Yes'...

For a car that weighs 2100kg you'd never know. There's no hint of the weight being shifted about when accelerating or cornering. I got nowhere near using full throttle but, for the bit I did use, the acceleration was impressive and, if you used all of it, I would think it would be a bit frightening... Not quite Millennium Falcon but... I was expecting the ride to be a bit hard/harsh due to the weight but it soaks up undulations/bumps very well.

Would I buy one? On the whole, yes ...but at £60k for the mid-range model I don't think the purse will stretch that far. May keep my eye on residuals though and look for a second-hand one in 2-3 years.

That'll do for now. Last few tasks before the weekend beckons...

[martine]

I had a go of a Tesla S this morning...



I was also very impressed. Big car but I purposely went on a pretty bumpy country road with twisties to see what it was like. With the suspension on the 'sport' mode it was excellent - silent, compliant yet didn't get the 'wallowy' feeling you do in some.

Inside is a nice place to be...comfy and the enormous 17" LCD screen dominates the centre of the dash. It seems very well thought out and integrated (or joined-up as they say) - e.g. if you adjust the ride height to say get into an awkward driveway, it remembers and next time the satnav indicates you in the same place, it adjusts automatically.

I drove the mid-range one with the larger battery, supercharge option (charges to 50% in 20 mins) and it was nicely quick (0-60 5.4s). The batteries and powerplant have an 8 year unlimited mileage warranty and free charging, for life, from the Tesla supercharge points springing up around the UK.

£65,000 sir...bit out of my price league but a seriously interesting car and would give it's competitors a run for their money.

[Silk]

I have my test drive booked for tomorrow afternoon.

I'll report back, if I can be bothered.

[Silk]

I have my test drive booked for tomorrow afternoon.

I'll report back, if I can be bothered.

Well, I went for the test drive, but it seems no one cares, so I won't waste my time telling everyone how I got on. If you want to know what it's like to drive, find out for yourself.

[TR4ffic]

Well, I went for the test drive, but it seems no one cares, so I won't waste my time telling everyone how I got on. If you want to know what it's like to drive, find out for yourself.

Sorry, Silk, I didn't realise I needed to reply with an expression of interest...

After my test drive back in August, I'm interested to hear your thoughts/impressions of the Model S. Feedback tends to be generally positive... They're still out of reach financially, but...

[Silk]

Well, I went for the test drive, but it seems no one cares, so I won't waste my time telling everyone how I got on. If you want to know what it's like to drive, find out for yourself.

Sorry, Silk, I didn't realise I needed to reply with an expression of interest...

After my test drive back in August, I'm interested to hear your thoughts/impressions of the Model S. Feedback tends to be generally positive... They're still out of reach financially, but...

Ok, here goes, my first outing as a motoring journalist.

I believe it was the same car that Martin drove, and I agree with most of the other comments. We left Cribbs Causeway at 5pm, in the dark, in the wet and in heavy traffic - not good, but my wife's grandson wanted to come along, and he's still at school, so it was the only practical time.

The first thing to comment on was the interior. Very spacious, but I felt it lacked a certain "luxuriousness" that you would expect from a similarly sized and priced German car, and build, although good, didn't shout quality in the same way that, say, an Audi does. I also felt that the large centre screen wasn't really to my taste and was very distracting - I would prefer to have turned it off, or at least muted it down to the point where only the basic controls were visible.

As I wanted to get on with it, I left everything in normal mode, carried out a full "cockpit drill" (in case Geoff is reading this ) and set off.

I was the last one of the day, so they let me have an hour. After driving out of the car park and through the local traffic, I joined the M5 (Managed 60 limit in force due to time of day and traffic) and then headed for the M48 via the M4. After that, I took a route back through a mix of country lanes.

The driving experience itself was very good. Pulling away from a standstill was smooth and effortless, pulling into traffic and roundabouts in particular was simply amazing - it was very easy to drive smooth and to keep the car moving. Joining the motorway was the first chance I had to see what it could do and it didn't disappoint. Even though this was only a "normal" model, the acceleration was simply awesome - this is easily the quickest car I've every driven (although I have to admit, the fastest one I've driven up to now is probably my current A3 diesel, so I don't really have much to compare it with). I liked the slightly hard regenerative braking effect on lift off (this can be disabled) as it was a bit like driving in a low gear, which made keeping control in the "twisty stuff" a joy (It was dark and wet, so making progress was hampered somewhat, but I did the best I could). If I was going to criticise it, I would say there were occasions where I felt it didn't feel very sure footed and I found myself holding back a bit as a result (this is probably partly down to lack of ability and partly being used to a smaller car - perhaps "sport" mode would have helped if I could have worked out how to engage it whilst moving in the dark and the rain).

In summary: -

Good points: Performance; space and practicality; equipment; running costs; the only automatic I've ever driven that works properly (even if strictly speaking it doesn't really have a gearbox); good looks (but conservative enough to go largely unnoticed - which I like); price (although this isn't a cheap car, it actually represents good value when compared to its obvious competitors, especially when you consider the running costs).

Bad points: Too much sensory overload from all the flashing lights and gizmos (although I'm sure this could be muted after some playing around; interior was more techy than plush (some people may prefer this, I didn't); real world range is still a bit of an uncertainty and it wouldn't suit me as I regularly cover more miles in a day than even the most optimistic quoted range (I doubt this would be an issue for the target market though).

To be honest, anyone who's just gone out and spent their retirement lump-sum on a big Audi, Merc or Jag (especially if it's an auto) has probably made the biggest mistake of their lives not getting a Tesla instead. It's that simple.

Not really practical for me, for the reasons given, but I'm going to be watching closely as more affordable mid-sized models are on the horizon. While this won't be my next car, I'm not ruling out a Tesla of some description for the one after that, assuming the sums add up.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the future and it's looking a lot better than when we all thought it was going to be a Toyota Prius.

[akirk]

fantastic review - thank you - it is great to hear that you can enjoy driving it - there was def. a feeling with the Prius that it was all about saving the planet and we shouldn't enjoy it...

will also watch developments with interest

Alasdair

[fungus]

fantastic review - thank you - it is great to hear that you can enjoy driving it - there was def. a feeling with the Prius that it was all about saving the planet and we shouldn't enjoy it...

will also watch developments with interest

Alasdair

I can only echo your sentiments there.

[Silk]

will also watch developments with interest

I'm also very pleased that they've decided to keep the looks conservative, rather than making it look like some weird concept car, even though there was no practical reason why they couldn't. Goodness only knows what kind of abomination the Nissan or Honda design teams would have come up with - no doubt the journalists would have raved over it, using adjectives such as "radical", "stylish", "funky" etc. (even if none of them would be seen dead with one on their own driveway) only to see the company go bust inside a year due to lack of sales.

The one small problem for me is, I've always preferred manual cars, partly because I find automatics are pretty rubbish and partly because I like the art of a good gear change, but this is a true game-changer. With this car, you're always in the right gear regardless of the conditions. It only goes to show how limited the internal combustion engine is and how much faffing about is required in order to get it to work at all.

Considering this is their first proper car, they haven't done too badly and I'm sure most of the criticisms have been down to not having enough time with the car. It would have taken me several days to work out how all the gadgets worked, let alone getting it all set up how I'd like it.

I'm just off to throw another pound in the tin marked "new car"...