Finally, I have driven the future, a Tesla.
No, this wasn’t my usual one-week test drive of a manufacturer’s new vehicle. Tesla didn’t provide me the bright Pearl White Model S Long Range. A private owner did.
Tesla, you see, is the Apple of automakers where its own early-adopter cultish clan that, by scarcity, word of mouth, and superiority of intellect, chooses its future customers. Ferrari understands.
But marketing aside, the trendy Tesla was at my disposal for a couple of days in stinking hot Las Vegas, where I estimate a good 10% of cars are now Teslas. Makes sense as Teslas are made just over the border in Freemont, California. Plus, gas prices have forever been crazy high on the West Coast, and pollution is a big concern there too. So going electric holds much appeal.
It really should, from a performance standpoint, at least to many of us.
If muscle cars or exotics with neck-stretching acceleration are your obsession, well, electrics should be your new best friend. All are fast because electrics deliver instant torque via direct drive electric motors and single-speed fixed gear transmissions. No lag, no waiting for a turbo to kick in. Like your electric razor or hair dryer, the electrons flow instantly. Boom, there it is!
I have driven other electrics, so that part wasn’t new. It was the whole Tesla experience that was different. And, let’s get this out of the way now. Whether you like Elon Musk or not, Tesla is the top-selling electric car maker.
So how’s a Tesla drive? What are its advantages? And what are Type S’s drawbacks?
Let’s take a look and be forewarned this is not exactly like most of my test drives as it was such a short duration.
First, the Type S is a sport luxury sedan in all the ways you picture one in your mind’s eye.
It’s sleek, including door handles that fold into the body panels’ sides and pop out when it’s time to open a door. Oh, and it’s really a hatchback as the back window and trunk open as one. That surprised me, but I loved it.
Power and handling are pure sports sedans. How so?
Well, the dual AC electric motors, one powering the front wheels, one the rear, create (and I’m not making this up) 825 horsepower along with 960 pound-feet of torque. Is that a lot? You bet. Consider that a new rear-engine Chevy Corvette makes 495 horsepower with 470 pound-feet of torque, will do 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, and has a top speed of 184 mph, says Car and Driver. That’s a two-seat sports car, but still.
The Type S gets all that power from a 100 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which due to its substantial weight, also gives the Tesla a low center of gravity that makes it handle like, well, a sports luxury sedan. The car feels well planted, handles turns with a precision you’d expect, and its AWD means that even if you were running it in soggy weather or on slippery streets, it’d perform with gusto and confidence.
Ride, due to that weight (the car weighs more than 4,500 pounds), and a long wheelbase is excellent too. Smooth and silky, it’s what I’d call a Buick or Lexus ride, but with a more performance-oriented stiffness to make the car feel connected to the road. I must say, though that Las Vegas roads are generally so smooth that it’s not like testing a car in the frost-heave capital, Wisconsin.
Safety is copiously covered. All the usual blind-spot, lane-keeping and parking sensors are here and ready to beep.
Luxury? Well, the car starts at roughly $96,000, and most are selling for more like $105,000, and there’s a waiting list that can stretch many months.
So you’d expect luxury, and Tesla delivers. The body on the test car was spotless and the seams were straight and equal. So reports of poor build quality didn’t show here.
Inside, the black leather seating was excellent, too and the seats were well-formed. They also were heated up front, but cooled would make sense for 110-degree Vegas.
Of course, everyone talks about its aircraft-style yoke in Tesla’s interior that replaces the age-old steering wheel, oh, and a gargantuan info screen. It’s overwhelming.
First that yoke. It takes some getting used to but is easy to master, especially for highway driving. Where I noticed it feeling particularly odd was during parking maneuvers or turning a tight corner where one would naturally grab the top of a steering wheel to turn it sharply. Not possible here, so spin that power steering yoke with your hand on one side of the yoke or a finger under one of the spokes. That maneuver reminds of early 1960s cars with over-boosted power steering that could be spun with a finger.
Ironically the steering wheel was heated, totally unneeded in much of the South and Southwest.
Touchscreen? OK, it’s way too much and controls virtually every function known to mankind short of rocket launching, but since this is Tesla, that’s likely to come.
The navigation system makes you feel like you’re looking at an entire city map, so a driver will always want to pinch it to visually zoom in on where they were driving.
Also, you can open garage doors, call up radio stations ad nauseam, use voice command to find apps, ask it for directions, order lunch, etc. Naturally, there’s a screen for setting up or observing battery charging (done through the driver’s side taillight). Ironically there is no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay here, though.
And get this, you engage the single-speed fixed gear automatic transmission via the screen too. Slide your finger UP along its left edge, and the car moves forward. Slide your finger down the screen’s left edge, and the car moves backward. Weird, but I suppose one would get used to it. One also supposes this will soon be the norm for electrics.
Of course, there’s a 360-degree camera that looks amazing on the screen, and the Tesla stereo is a high-quality number that makes you feel you’re in a concert hall. Heck, it’s so quiet in here that it feels like a symphony hall.
Overhead is a giant tinted panoramic sunroof, which looks super, but really needs a sun shade. Why? Well, even though tinted and supposedly deflecting the sun’s rays, the roof gets incredibly hot at least in Vegas. How hot? You do NOT want to touch it. It’s painful to touch.
Other interior bugaboos include an extremely wide console that feels somewhat intrusive and sounds hollow if you tap it, plus shoulder belts that cannot be adjusted for driver height. That seemed particularly odd as nearly all cars, crossovers, and SUVs now allow the shoulder harness to be moved up or down a few inches. This one was too high for me, so I crossed the left edge of my neck. Not comfy.
In the back, the hatch’s cargo area is generous and easily accessed. It’s rated at 25 cubic feet and don’t forget there’s a 3.1 cu.ft. front trunk. Might wanna keep your charging cable there, though.
Speaking of electricity, a Tesla supercharger will give the vehicle a 200-miles boost in 15 minutes of charging. But most folks will overnight charge at home and that can take most of the night. For efficiency, you’ll want a 240-volt garage charger. That ran $500 in Vegas and installation was another $600 or so, varying by the electrician.
But a nearly full charge (Tesla recommends 90% to preserve battery life) will get a Type S roughly 400 miles of range, plenty for a week’s commute to most downtowns and one of Tesla’s key selling points as it leads the industry in charge range.
Extras are rare. A full self-driving feature (and we’ve all heard the sad tales) costs $10,000 extra, while stylish Arachnid wheels add $4,500. They look cool but cut your driving range by 9%, according to reports.
Folks needing more power can move up to the Model S Plaid for $131,900. It has three electric motors making a mere 1,006 hp.
FAST STATS: 2022 Tesla S Long Range
Hits: Sleek looks, excellent electric power, precise handling, smooth ride, plus full-time AWD. Big sunroof, 360-degree camera, heated wheel and front seats, big touchscreen, quality stereo, a stylish quiet and comfy interior, plus a full bevy of safety equipment. Roomy cargo area inside rear hatch.
Misses: Touchscreen overwhelmingly large, no shade on sunroof that becomes extremely hot to the touch, extremely wide console, shoulder belts height is not adjustable, no cooled seats, odd steering yoke and odd touch and slide transmission engagement on screen.
Made in: Fremont, Calif.
Engine: Dual AC electric motors w/100 kWh lithium ion battery, 825 hp/960 torque
Transmission: Single-speed fixed gear automatic
Weight: 4,561 lbs.
Wheelbase: 116.5 in.
Length: 196.0 in.
Cargo: 25.0/3.1 cu.ft. (trunk/frunk)
MPGe: 124/115
Base Price: $96,190 (includes delivery)
Invoice: N.A.
Major Option: Garage charger, $500
Test vehicle: $96,690
Sources: Tesla, www.kbb.com
Photos: Mark Savage
