First Test: Tesla Model S breaks through boundaries of performance, range and grandeur

The Tesla super model claims to tail in Porsche Panamara, BMW M6 and Mercedes CLS63 AMG. With 2.8 seconds from zero to 100 and complete exemption from fuel costs, is this the beginning of the end for internal combustion engines? We went to Sweden to check

Fancy Italian sedan? Gasoline or diesel? no and no. It is the world's most efficient and exciting electric car, manufactured in America and shattering conventions (Photos: Manufacturer)

Tesla Model S in Road Test (Photo: Manufacturer Website)

The Tesla accelerates faster than cars like the Nissan GTR, Porsche 911 Turbo S or Lamborghini Aventador. And all she wanted to do was save fuel

Launch Control told me Tibor, the Tesla test driver in Malmö. Press firmly on the brake, and let gas. till the end! I pressed, gave, and flew forward with an acceleration that threatened to tear my ears away ... The acceleration shocked me with its brutal intensity, and the ease with which it occurred; Exhausts didn't scream, tires didn't squeak, but the fancy Tesla accelerated beyond the usual clichés of 'I got a kick in the back', 'rocket acceleration' and other slogans of copywriters. I had no choice but to invent a new cliché and describe the Tesla leap, as a truck hit by a huge blow to you. In a split second you find yourself in a new state of aggregation, with over 1.0 G acceleration applied to your body and your senses. The acceleration made me momentarily dizzy, to the point of relaxing the pedal. Next time I did not let go and the Tesla took off madly ... amazing!

The P90DL is the Tesla-S Super Model; The letter P says 'Performance', '90' is the battery power at kW, D is the Dual Motor responsible for driving 4X4. The front engine produces 262 hp and the rear 510 hp extra. The connection does not amount to 772 kW but the cumulative power of the engines is tremendous. And what does the letter L mean, ask curiously? This is an option known as Ludicrous, "ridiculous" ... ridiculous or not, L shortens the acceleration to 100 from 3.1 P90DL is the Tesla flagship, priced at $ 142,000 in California, and more modest customers can spend half that amount and buy the 70-kW D70 model in the 70-hour accumulator; Is not a snail. Its maximum speed is 225 km / h and the travel range up to 330 km.

The initial acceleration of the P90DL is extremely aggressive, even when compared to supercars and sporty motorcycles. This is because Tesla has no pistons that need to pump air, no turbocharger to accelerate, no longitudinal drive waves, no torque converter or gearbox that needs to be lowered ... The electric motors are already at zero torque and the 265/35 R21 tires deliver the Full power to asphalt; This is how super performance is achieved, precisely in a car that wanted to be economical and green.

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If we measured acceleration up to 60 mph, the Tesla's superiority would be even more crushing. At 70 mph, it starts to lose air, in relation to sporty V8 or V12 engines

Tesla Model S in Road Test (Photo: Manufacturer Website)

The future is already here

The two electric motors (in red) are tiny in size, about 25 * 35 centimeters in size. The huge (blue) accumulator serves as part of the chassis, contributing to its solidity. The chassis is made of aluminum and composite materials, with very little iron.

I plead guilty - I was supposed to marvel at the 0% pollution in the range of 560-500 miles, get excited about the recycled materials and hug some tree, happy to not hurt my grandchildren in the future. But what to do, that I still haven't been able to relax from Tesla's incredible acceleration? Beyond the amazing performance, there is a real technological revolution here. The California engineers tried to crack the energy dilemma but got an amazing car, competing with the best in Europe and America.

Tesla S does not excel only in brutal takeoff from traffic lights; The unique behavior of the electric motor also accompanies you in calmer driving. Intermediate accelerations occur with delightful immediacy, hysterical pedal response, lack of engine sound leaves you with the delicacy of delicate transmissions; I was actually glad to hear a baritone coughing, from the clutter that wasn't there. The braking is great, but with calm driving you hardly touch the brake pedal. As soon as you let go of the gas pedal, the motors turn into generators, which convert kinetic energy into electrical energy and give Tesla a serious brake without touching a brake pedal. If you do not need the full range of travel, you can cancel this secondary recharge to get a smooth ride.

The finish is not the highest standard in Europe, but it is very close. The test car is soft and supportive with napa skin, excellent sitting position, 17-inch touchscreen packed with information available

Tesla Model S in Road Test (Photo: Manufacturer Website)

Life on board

The car knows how to change lanes itself, after it detects a safe state. Saving the path is great, better than anything we've seen to date

Beyond the electric propulsion, the car acts as a sporty, fairly classic living vehicle. The feeling of grandeur is full, though not at the finest level in Europe. The dashboard has a huge touch screen, no less than 17 inches. Spectacular and convenient to the touch, it provides all the information and control of the vehicle, navigation, traffic, web apps, location of charging stations, whatever you want. The Tesla allows for partially autonomous driving, which includes fully maintaining a winding lane, automatic lane replacement, cameras, parking, and a huge stack of electronic mufflers.

Despite a 2.1-ton self-weight, the steering wheel is very light, and the rolling angle is minimal. The Tesla driver can choose between four ventral heights, 12.2-16.2 inches. The lowest gives maximum cooling to the battery installed at the bottom of the vehicle. Another bonus is lowering the center of gravity to Ferrari's 358. At Tesla's crushing tests, it received the fullest possible stars, but not everything is perfect; I would love to have a more comfortable position in the adjustable air suspensions. With tires in section 35, the Tesla S is firmer and tighter than I'd like to find in a car, which it doesn't buy for its sporting capabilities.

The car knows how to study its surroundings, when in the day you will call with nearby vehicles

Tesla Model S in Road Test (Photo: Manufacturer Website)

Conservatively conservative

Up front there is another trunk. 2 child seats can be installed in the rear trunk

Tesla's exterior design is impressive, aerodynamic and smooth. Designers have been explicitly instructed to maintain a degree of conservatism to make it easier for customers to buy the high-tech car. The passenger compartment is spacious and comfortable, enough for five real passengers. The air conditioner includes a HEPA filter that filters 99.5% of the pollutants in the air. Because of its incredibly compact propulsion system, the Tesla has a huge rear trunk, plus another front compartment (in the style of a beetle), with a total volume of 1,795 liters.

One of the revolutionary benefits of the Tesla is the range of travel, up to 560 miles in motorway driving. Full charging from a home outlet lasts 6-8 hours and costs less than $ 9 ... A supercharger stand can be installed that completes half the charge in just 20 minutes; Full charging will take 70 minutes. Public charging stations are scattered throughout the state and the annual cost of refueling should be $ 1700 a year. Tesla gives eight years warranty on the car and huge Lithium Ion batteries. Tesla engineers claim they did not invent the wheel, to get the impressive ride range; It is just a matter of proper integration and efficient energy conversion in batteries. I suppose a revolutionary drag coefficient of 0.24 doesn't hurt the range either. Tesla has few mechanical parts working, about 7% of the number of assemblies moving in a regular vehicle. There is also minimal amount of fluid, no engine oil, chalk oil and so on.

The future is still ahead of us

Model 3 will make Tesla's technology accessible to hundreds of thousands of customers, at a relatively reasonable price

Tesla to the area? Definately not. It will also surprise me to see the gull doors opening above the X model

Just recently, tongue-in-cheek tongues savored hearing that Tesla lost $ 292 million in the first quarter of 2016, twice its losses in Q1 / 2015. It's really a lot of money, but Tesla's future seems assured; About 150,000 Tesla are already traveling the world wide (some have already traveled 120,000 miles without incident), and this is with a luxury car costing between $ 70 and $ 140,000 in the US.

But Tesla realizes that it cannot be built solely on luxury markets. About two months ago, Tesla declared the Model 3 to be a standard family size, very sporty and refined (0-100 in less than 6.0 seconds), but would exceed half the daunting price of the S. The combination of Tesla capabilities and a $ 35,000 price tag sparked the imagination of millions, creating a list of delusional orders of 400,000 customers. It’s completely insane, knowing that the 3 will only arrive at the end of 2017, at best.

Another expansion will come with the help of a fancy crossover model, Model X. The X is supposed to break new barriers, and is characterized by 'gull doors' that have never appeared in relatively popular cars. I allow myself to be skeptical of the doors; Certainly when the press photos show two regular front doors, and the Seagull doors are installed in the back. To me it seems strange but who knows, Tesla has already made us bigger surprises.

The luxury atmosphere in S is very respectable and impressive

Tesla Model S in Road Test (Photo: Manufacturer Website)

Coming Soon?

Tesla Model S Road Test (Manufacturer Website)

Tesla Model S Road Test (Manufacturer Website)

After a short drive in Tesla, every car will look old-fashioned and slightly faded; European luxury cars may be faster, more luxurious and refined, certainly more dynamic. But after feeling the instant and effortless acceleration of the electric car, after getting used to the silence in the passenger compartment, something will change in your look at combustion engines. Electrical technology is still expensive and to bring it to commercial stripes requires strong government involvement, easing the taxation of electric cars. Such a policy in Norway, for example, raised 14,000 Tesla on the road, an unprecedented rate of penetration. In the Netherlands, the Tesla has been adopted by taxi drivers, who enjoy huge fuel savings.

The State of Israel regards its drivers as milking cows who are supposed to pay taxes, buy the vehicle and keep it current. Therefore, the chances of us seeing significant tax benefits are small enough to make Tesla-3 a widely used vehicle. In addition, the huge commercial failure of Better Place has left us with a basic distrust of electric cars. It will be quite a few years before the crisis of confidence is overcome, but it will come to an end. One day, most of us will drive electric cars. Driving the Tesla S P90DL test has shown me that this future does not have to be boring and technocratic, and it is good to know that energy saving and pollution does not have to give up on sports driving pleasure.

Note:
The test was first published in May 2016. Tesla is set to start marketing in Israel in the first stage, will sell the model here in the first stage. The price range is estimated at NIS 310,000 to NIS 320,000. Model S and X will already cross the NIS 500,000 threshold.