The Tesla P90D is a modern feat of automotive engineering and loves to redefine expectations, writes Craig Donaldson
Tesla has been making waves in the automotive industry, and its impressive sales are making more than a few traditional manufacturers uncomfortable.
Off the back of its success in the US and other parts of the world, with more than 50,000 vehicles on the road worldwide (and plans to sell 500,000 cars annually by 2020), Tesla is having a serious crack at the Australian market and is doing well.
It is stealing customers away from a number of well-established brands, and its latest model, the P90D, has met with much praise from automotive experts – so much so that it has been recognised as the car of the year by many outlets both internationally and locally. And for good reason. This car is a superbly designed, well-thought-out, solidly built and impeccably finished product that impresses in pretty much every department. As an all-electric car, it really does provide for a very different experience and sense of what the cars of the future might actually be like.
On-road performance
The most impressive thing about the P90D is – hands down – its performance. Acceleration is instantaneous, surreally silent and smooth. It’s one of very few cars that actually responds pretty much instantaneously to what you do with the accelerator. The car has two acceleration modes: sport (default) and ludicrous (optional), and the latter provides for more fun. Plant your foot, for example, and it will rocket from 0–100km/h in three seconds – making it the fastest four-door car on the planet. Only a handful of the world’s fastest two-door supercars (think Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari LaFerrari or the McLaren P1) boast faster acceleration times.
The P90D’s ludicrous acceleration is made possible thanks to its electric motors which have only one moving piece: the rotor (compared to internal combustion engines with hundreds of moving parts). With two motors – one in the front and one in the rear – torque to both the front and rear wheels is electronically and independently controlled, which also provides for unparalleled traction control. While its regenerative charging can take a little getting used to (where its batteries are recharged through deceleration), the Tesla remains a pleasure to drive under all conditions.
On the inside
The second-most impressive thing about Tesla’s P90D is its interior. Despite its eyeball-straining supercar performance when pressed, it remains an impeccably practical, comfortable and pleasurable car to drive. Everything is simple yet stylish in a minimalistic way.
Take the 17-inch touchscreen in the centre dash, for example. The touchscreen controls most of the car’s functions, thereby doing away with all the knobs, buttons and other controls in most other cars. Opening the all-glass panoramic roof, customising the automatic climate control and changing the radio station all happen with a swipe or a touch. The touchscreen, digital instrument cluster and steering wheel controls seamlessly integrate media, navigation, communications, cabin controls and vehicle data in a way that no other car has managed to achieve. It even comes with autopilot, which will see the Tesla steer within a lane, change lanes with the tap of a turn signal, and manage speed by using active, traffic-aware cruise control. So it has pretty much everything a driver could want (maybe apart from coffee cup holders) – all wrapped up in an ANCAP 5-star safety rating.
An eye for design
The external design of Tesla’s Model S P90D could best be described as conservatively stylish. While its somewhat mild-mannered looks certainly belie its extraordinary potential for performance, a great deal of time and research has gone into crafting this car’s exterior.
Tesla says it is inspired by an endurance athlete, and its design and engineering teams have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that air flows smoothly above, around and below to reduce drag, which in turn maximises battery range (around 530 kilometres). Tesla has left no stone unturned in its bid to create one of the “slipperiest” cars on the road. Even its door handles are “zero profile” in that they pop out when the key is in close proximity, otherwise they retract into the body of the car, creating a seamless surface for air to pass over. Overall, the design is stylish and clean yet not concept-car radical – which might be expected given its impressive electrical powertrain.
Image: supplied
