This will always be one of my favorite reviews the early Model S! A good honest low key review that he didn't try to up promote or down play hate on it, good job Man! And what a long way Tesla has come since then but the Model S still is one of the most beautiful cars on the road!
Just test drove the Model S yesterday. I was blown away at how this car handles and how fast it accelerates. Some of the reviews Csaba mentioned above have changed and the 2014 model has all the bells and whistles you would want in a luxury vehicle. Fits three kids comfortably in the back and the infrastructure for charging outside of your home is cross country.
" won't work on an interstate." that may sound like an ignorant statement but remember this video was published and produced in 2012. back in 2012 there were super chargers but they did not criss cross the country in as many ways as they do today.
I drove an S not too long ago, the regular 85, not the 85P. The acceleration when you step on the "gas" is just staggering. It will give you whiplash if you don't brace! I'm sold. Great review!
250 - 300 miles range is quite impressive, im sure within a decade tesla is going to invent battery packs that will last 400 / 500 miles, or even better. I'm looking forward to the future already, we should stop buying Oil from the middle east,"i know alot of money is involved for the Oil business and all, but still the idea of not being independant from Oil from the middle east is an awesome thought" and move forward. The wars aint getting us nowhere. I realy love the design of the model S, it looks realy REALY good. Sorry for my bad English grammar i'm Dutch myself. I hope we're getting these cars in the Netherlands soon.
I have no problem with the middle east, I have a problem with the using out of date technology, such as gas engines, when we can have clean energy engines like electric.
***** It's the "green image". It's not actually good for the environment, but uneducated people don't realize what goes in to building/powering this thing. In the end, it's just about as polluting (some say worse) as a gas powered car. Not only, but the car (although it accelerates quickly) has a pitiful top speed for the price you're paying. $70,000 (base model) - $100,000 (performance model) for a top speed of up to 130mph. Even if you're not buying it for performance, there are many cheaper gas/diesel cars that can do the job better for way less. Those batteries are expensive, you know (and heavy). And if you're VERY careful when driving, you MIGHT get 265 miles out of it before it turns into a brick. Also, many people can't get over the fact it doesn't produce any sound, which I can relate to (but that's only an opinion, not a reason why it's overrated). If you want me to explain further, I can, but I just don't want to bore anyone. ;P
BunkerBlog interesting. you seem to be educated about this. would you be able to educate me on a few issues: how is it worse for the environment to have a tesla versus having a gas powered car (like you mentioned)? perhaps you can tell me yearly carbon emissions for both vehicles if they were to drive say 15k miles a year. you can include the carbon emissions of production of each vehicle as well. Thanks much.
***** OK, thank you for showing interest (like I said I didn't want to go on for too long, but I guess you're interested)! First, 90% of the electricity that powers this car comes from power plants, which burn fossil fuels to produce electricity. The other 10% comes from greener sources, such as dams, wind farms, ocean waves, etc, but these only produce a small portion of the power supply. This being said, just because a Tesla doesn't have any emissions coming from the car itself, doesn't mean it does not produce any emissions somewhere else. It has been calculated that a Tesla produces as much carbon dioxide at the power plant as a Honda Accord does on the streets (about 170-200 g/km). Also, to build an electric car, you need to transport the materials to build the car all over the world (just like the production of some other cars). Most of these materials are transported by gas-burning/diesel burning vehicles such as boats, trains, planes, and trucks. Finally, the lithium in the batteries have to be mined from the Earth, and mining as you may know causes a lot of environmental damage. And after a few years, the batteries need to be replaced, which requires even more lithium. So there is your answer! Once again, I thank you for showing interest. ;D
Yeah, that's the magic of software updates for you. You have to remember that this video is almost two years old, they have done a lot with the car since then.
You find it hard to believe that they beat bmw and mercedes on drag coefficient? These guys send rockets into space. They're a pretty smart group of people.
Don't believe that you have to pay 150,000 .... 70,000 to 75,000 is the base and there are used teslas that can be bought through Tesla also . The savings from the $7,500 rebate plus only paying 7 bucks for every 250 miles you drive is just the beginning .The motor has just one moving part and the transmission has no moving parts because THERE IS NO TRANSMISSION , two major head aches gone. No more radiators, stater motors , alternators , fuel pumps , water pumps , fuel injectors , no more air filters , oil filters , fuel filters , no more FUEL ....all those things that go bump in the night and cost you parts and labor GONE FOR GOOD !!! THEY DON'T EXIST IN TESLA'S WORLD . THAT SAVINGS IS HUGE.
I believe the model tested can go for 300 miles on a single charge. So it should be good for interstate travel. Plus, in the US, you can now go cross country with free charging.
Remember, this test was done way before the Supercharger network had begun its buildup. The situation today is completely different - and by this time in 2015, it will be a whole different ballgame yet again.
This is this is the new innovation of cars in the future. In another 10 years or less it will be more affordable and Standard cars that run on gas will be obsolete.
Agreed, but I'm curious to see how electric cars are going to work on long distances in the future. They inherently take a long time to recharge making a road trip impractical.
ScrewTheLiving You can already recharge it in Tesla stations in about 1 minute by swapping your battery. If the interstates will have enough of these stations (which they will), the limited range won't be a source of inconvenience anymore
When starting up the car you have the option to choose between driver profiles. When a profile is selected, the car adjust the seat, all mirrors and more to match that profiles saved settings.
0-60 @ 4.6 sec ¼ Mile @ 13.3 - 104 MPH Top speed 134 MPH Braking 70-0 - 160 ft. Its faster than most stock Muscle cars on the road right now... with an electric motor...
My biggest gripe about the Tesla is how everything is controlled by the main display. Some of the important functions take at least a couple of menus and touches to activate; that takes away driver focus from the road. I'd much prefer manual buttons that my hands can recognize without diverting my attention from driving.
Most of the controls can redundantly be done from the steering wheel and or steering stalks, with control readouts on the screen behind the steering wheel. I’ve got over 82k miles on my Model S and it’s super easy to drive and control vehicle functions. The screen actually makes driving easier imo, especially when it comes to the back up camera and navigation. I would never want to go back to any other way of operating HVAC or vehicle controls.
That's some beautiful handling and that touchscreen means I can finally drive. No more stupid knobs and dials like an airplane cockpit from the 50s. I see a better future.
Lol the touchscreen means you have to take your eyes off the road and hit the exact point you're looking for on the massive display. Knobs allow you to watch the road and control volume by feel dumbass.
05subiegt The car has voice control, but perhaps not for every options. There is still room for progress, certainly, but I believe it's going in the right direction.
Blueprint for the future. When the battery technology gets really good, which most predictions say will happen within 5 years, then cars like this will be $25,000 and a total no brainer.
There's a high demand for engineers in all fields, software, electrical, mechanical, etc. ***** I think he was referring to the Tesla Model E rather $80k (model s) depreciating $55k in the next 5 years.. ( ecomento.com/2014/03/04/electric-tesla-model-e-half-price-20-percent-smaller-70000-model-s/) They really have to work on the range the vehicles can drive though. 200 Miles kind of stinks.
He's was with Car and Driver 30 years ago when I had a subscription and now I finally know how to pronounce his name - and it's nothing like I would have ever guessed. Go figure!
@soudi trufan, the McLaren P1 is a hybrid, you chose different modes. Yes, it has a shorter electric range (Porsche=17 miles, McLaren=7 miles). They both are fitted with nitrous. The McLaren P1 is BASICALLY the British version of the Porsche.
You should add those solar thingies to recharge the batteries with the Sun at the roof of the car. And while you're driving, those wind turbines can come pretty handy at the hood. Meaning that as you accelerate, it adds winds through the grill to power up the battery. And making cure the the ECU will only add energy up to 100% so as not to overcharge the batteries, thus preventing overheating on the batteries. And maybe the wind turbines can "propel" a place for water you can add to the car to add hydro electricity as well!! And to make sure the water is clean and fresh, you make a partnership with Brita. Their filters can be changed from time to time with the mechanics hahaha
No more than $1k-$2k, you can power a cabin on solar power alone for $1.7k (Source:www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/systems-folder/OffGridPackages.html) and the tesla roof is smaller than that cabin. I just thought if you're already paying $69k-$90k for a vehicle what's an additional $1k
Jeric Tamayo the world's highest watt/pound solar cells are somewhere around 30 watts per pound. 10 pounds is 300 watts. But these are for nasa panels :) Modern top of the line solar cells (never used in solar panels due to being unmarketable in that application) can get about 300 watts per square meter of maximum power. I'm guessing that it wouldn't be too hard to have 2 square meters facing the sun at any given time. Peak power might be achieved for 4.5 hours per day, translating into 2.7 KwH/day, which is about 20 miles in a tesla at freeway speed. Keep in mind that these solar cells alone might cost 100 bucks per watt. If we're covering the car with 10 square meters of cells, that's 300,000 bucks. Otherwise, count on an efficiency of about 15% and 150 watts per square meter. So you're looking at adding perhaps 10 miles per day, depending on how fast you drive. Fortunately, as of 2 months ago, researchers are berkeley have announced a probable increase in efficiency of inexpensive solar cells at about 25% efficiency, which might further revolutionize solar. Cheap solar cells would be an excellent replacement for the sunroof, as sunroofs are another ongoing maintenance cost issue as well as a weight burden. The original poster on this thread is NOT aware that wind turbines cause wind resistance far greater than the energy they'd generate and would be as counterproductive as placing small parachutes at the rear of the vehicle.
Poohbi e a solar car, including the car, with a 6 square meter surface area of solar panels, weighs in at 150KG or about 330 lbs. I doubt that the panels weigh more than 100 lbs.
Amidst all of the current controversy surrounding Tesla and vehicle fires, I still view electric vehicles (including those from Tesla) as a huge step forward in the automotive industry and a great sign of things to come from the future of the everyday vehicle.
I don't understand why people go for hybrid, petrol or diesel. Electric cars ARE the future. More and more electric cars are produced there more safer the environment. Electric cars are going to be more efficient, quicker to fuel more range and at the moment there are only 8,000 charging stations, but sooner or later the increase in charging stations will rise. So to sum up electric cars, are going to be more efficient (be patient and wait for the future), better for the environment, and just like the guy driving the car said more comfortable and loads of storage, but that's not it. Just wait for the model X...
The real future of cars is the plug-in hybrid. Electric can't have a good autonomy. With plugin hybrid, you can roll with electric mode, as an electric car, and roll with the other motor (yet petrol engine, and tomorrow, maybe, with hydrogen engines) wich recharging batteries. If you get an EV, with 200 miles autonomy, you'll make your 200 miles, and after you'll wait 30 minutes. If you get plugin hybrid with 150 miles electric autonomy, you'll do 150 miles in electric, 50 with petrol, and you'll can start again your 150 miles of electric autonomy. The perfect future car is the plug-in EV-hydrogen (same power than an actual plugin hybrid (as the Porsche 918 for exemple!), the same pollution than an EV car, and water production with the hydrogen combustion).
Gragx Depends on where you live. In Norway 95% of the power they produce is renewable and clean energy, also where the Tesla cars are more popular. If things go down the right direction in the future, Thorium reactors will become a big thing, and there will be alot less pollution.
He's referring to future models. Tesla's goal is to make the car cheaper. Considering this is a 2012 video, maybe the idea of a $50k Model S wasn't squashed just yet. The Model E (no longer the official name), is a smaller version of the Model S which is targeted to start around the $40k. It's still in development so we don't know the difference in range. I'd say it'll just be less powerful and obviously smaller range.
I suggested them to my grandparents. They drive less then 35 miles a day. and less than 5,000 a year so this would save them some money. Though the car itself is a little out of their price range. They have a 1994 Volvo 870.
I'd like to see this gentleman offer an updated review, since almost all his criticisms were addressed by Tesla. Of course, the backseat didn't gain any headroom, but the recharge time, the heading-up Nav, and more have been addressed.
I would buy it with no hesitation, If I had 150000 dolars, wich I don't consider expensive for a car like this! I hope that Tesla puts on the market a more accessible model soon.....
+FPS50 the model three will be available to purchase is late 2017 that is a hard date set by Tesla like they did when the announced the model S and Tesla hasn't missed a deadline yet
***** i am just worried the more he fucks with huge corperations, with his satellite wireless internet, Tesla cars, hyperloop, they are going to start fighting back dirty, blicking factory to client sales in some states is just the opening salvo
It is safe, in fact it is safer than a gas car in every aspect of it. And it will not pop in flames in a colision, and if it does get fire, it willl slowly burn
The power that is produced is sent back to the engine/battery when you put your foot of the pedal or put on the brake? Does this mean that you can be stationary without wasting energy and be stationary for infinite?
"Won't work on an inter state". No mention of the free Supercharger stations, no mention of the savings on gas ($28-40,000 over the duration of the 8 year battery warranty as a full charge for the Tesla costs roughly $4.50 whereas the same 250 mile range in a 650i would cost $41-60 depending on your driving style); and, No mention of the whole point of the fucking car, to cut emissions and become greener. Calling people who want to slow/stop global warming "hollywood environmentalists" only serves to show how moronic and single-minded the US media is...
You failed to notice that this video is two years old. Back then, I'm not even sure Superchargers were a thing. And I thought the driver really liked the car.
Just had to bash the US while you were at it huh? Even with the Superchargers, they aren't available in enough places to make this car appeal to the masses just yet. They still need quite a bit of time before you can leisurely travel across the US. When that happens, THEN Tesla will really start to take off like we want them to.
***** SC are placed conventionally and Gas stations are a separate trip? So you're saying that SC stations are more convenient than gas stations...??? You must be smoking something INSANELY strong man. Charge while you shop, eat, or rest... You know what I want to do when I'm driving somewhere? GET THERE. I've had to rest once when I drove from Myrtle Beach to Lansing, a 16 hour drive. There's 1, count it... ONE SC station in my home state of South Carolina, and you're saying that SCs are convenient and gas stations, that are literally everywhere and all over the interstate, are a separate trip? You're high...
I don't think he was trying to be biased, perhaps it was just poor reporting, considering his omissions. This report is also over 2 years old by now. At that time we didn't have supercharger stations. And Some stores like Walmart and Kohls have removed their electric car charging stations because no one uses them and they cost money to maintain.
I am too. Eventually their technology will be mainstream and more affordable. The more people that buy them, the better. Mizz44 is just a bitter queen, don't listen to her or whatever IT is that obviously works for big oil or is tied to it in some way.
***** Old technology has a place in our hearts, but it is time to move on. Burning the fossilised remains of dead lifeforms is a very old and limited technology. We are now moving on to the technologically advanced use of Solar Panels and advanced Fuel Cell / Battery storage.
I am Electronic Engineer. Lets look at real things. Ok so battery Li-ion. Or Li-FeS. life cycle 2-3 years. Price for battery for replace ? Ok Next. Battery capacity 85 KWH need approximately 100 KWH for charge it (Energy conversion efficiency 85-90%). Now lets calculate. If electricity price 10C per KWH so 100 * 0.10= $10 It is 1same like 10 Liters regular gasoline. Tesla s can drive around 435 KM range. It is 2.3 Liter per 100 Km (10 liters gasoline). Toyota Prius. Can drive 700 Km use 40 Liters Gasoline. it is around 5.5 liter per 100 Km. Now price : Tesla s - $95 000 Toyota Prius Full package $45 000 Now the general conclusion: If you want to save on fuel - need purchase Prius. If you want to be modern and cool - need to buy Tesla. Although those who have money they do not care about the cost of gasoline and they drive a BMW or Mercedes. Need more time. Need wait for better durable and more capacity battery and cheaper price. For me Prius v Or Prius Plug In better choice for the present time.
He's a car reviewer and he's naïve enough to say he doesn't believe Tesla can reduce the drag more than BMW or Mercedes. BM/Merc are not the be all and end all of car design. And why does he keep referring to it as a 4-door saloon when it's an ordinary 5-door hatch.
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are the real future. The upcoming Hyundai Tucson fuel cell achieves nearly twice the range than even the mighty Tesla. Hydrogen still has super high instant torque. Refuels in minutes compared to hours. Can be scaled up anywhere from a motorcycle to a long haul 18 wheeler. Quiet and efficient. Zero pollution(only emission is water). And existing gas stations can easily be converted to provide hydrogen. Plus, it's actually clean...where do you think that electricity that charges your tesla comes from? Most likely a coal powerplant. On the other hand commercial grade hydrogen fuel is produced using at special plants using renewable methods such as wind and solar and soon even hydrogen itself can power the production of hydrogen.
bighands69 It depends how you look at it.. It is real in a sense .. Tesla built super power stations across US where Model S owners don't pay a cent for charging.. so energy free for clients ... and it seems that stations are solar powered, but car itself runs in energy... so they can't be energy free,,, the video is outdated so at that point they were not aware that it takes only 20min to charge now these cars to 80%... and another 20min to 100%
when im at a decent level of networth and recognition in this world .. i'd invest a million or 2 in Tesla with open arms.. i want to be a main shareholder in such an amazing company i just came from the >>> " Can this 136,00 electric BMW topple Tesla? NOOO of course not.. Tesla is the future.. they need to now incorporate Solar charges for the cars WORLDWIDE and also installed out the cars outer hub for the Ultimate Driving experience and further distance travel.. ULTIMATE im so in love.. im definitely getting a Tesla very soon :) #Tesla #Jman #future >> stay connected @chanujman @elonmusk @TeslaMotors
You may as we'll keep using gas, we've gone beyond the point of no return. Even if everybody on the planet changed to EVs in the morning it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.
I had the opportunity to test drive a Model S (P85) in Zurich, Switzerland. Here's a summary of my thoughts: - Generally, I was overwhelmed by the experience, I would not have expected such a smooth ride. - I had thought that the noise of the engine could bother me (acoustics play a great role in my driving experience) but that was not the case: The engine was absolutely silent, the only noise came from the tires. Maybe Tesla can work on this because the quieter the engine the louder - relatively speaking - are the other noises. - The acceleration was terrific, at least until the 120 km/h allowed on Swiss highways. - Unexpected was the strong brake moment of the engine, it feels like a race engine: you take the foot from the accelerator, and the car immediately decelerates. I liked this, of course, as I liked the feeling to have no gears, just one smooth, immediate and strong acceleration and deceleration. - The car on the front seats feels like a luxury car (what it is). On the back seats, however, the head room for tall people is a bit limited. You can compensate for this by lumping into the seat because the knee room is big. - As an iPhone power user I liked all the amenities the big touch screen provides and the always on connectivity. The latter has a big future the possibilities of which are only scratched now. A good example is the recent firmware upgrade provided over the air to lift the car on highways for security reasons. - Would I think of buying a Tesla Model S? Definitely yes when I am looking for a new car. Right now my current car is not old enough (and I am also happy with it) so I am not in purchasing mode. - But I already started to promote the car in my circles, for all the good reasons.
TheMightyKinkle It IS on the steering stalk, just like pretty much every other car on the road. The reviewer showed that you can ALSO control them from the screen.. while you’re parked for example. He also said that normally you would just leave it AUTO and it works all by itself. Ask any Tesla owner.. they’ll tell you the same thing. Flash to pass, high beams/low beams are all normally actuated just like you would in pretty much any other car, or in AP2 you can allow the car to automatically adjust high/low beams for you.
I like this guy. All the other Tesla reviews I've seen so far, sounded more like advertisements than honest reviews. The barely had anything negative to say about the car. When I watch a review, I want to hear as many pros and cons as the reviewer has noticed, in order to help me make informed decisions.
Excellent video review. I liked it for the following reasons. 1. Csaba speaks as though he is a friend or neighbor, not in a fake voice. 2. It seems to cover all the points one expects in an auto review. Also, one can tell that Csaba was really putting his foot into the accelerator (no gas, no gas pedal) on this car.
There is a steel plating in the underside of the car that can withstand enormous impact and it covers most of the car, gravel won't even make a dent in it. A gas car has exhaust and/or pipes/polymer tubing exposed in the underside and gravel is a lot more likely to cause damage.
