Nine years ago, I was beginning my career as a professional writer just as a little Silicon Valley startup was emerging from stealth mode to introduce its first product. Taking its name from one of the greatest engineers and inventors of all time, Nicola Tesla, that company reignited the pursuit of battery electric vehicles with a heavily modified Lotus Elise chassis packed with 1,000-pounds of lithium ion cells. It would take another two years before paying customers would finally take delivery of the first Roadsters and another four after that before Tesla would finally deliver its first completely in-house developed product, the Model S. During a recent trip to California I finally got my chance to drive the insanely fast Tesla Model S P85D.
Following its introduction in 2012, the Model S won numerous awards including Motor Trend Car of the Year and an unprecedented 99 out of 100 points from Consumer Reports. As renowned as it was, Tesla wasn’t too proud to think there wasn’t room for improvement. In the three years since Tesla started producing the Model S, it has released a steady stream of upgrades, some of which were available to existing customers through Tesla’s industry-first over-the-air software update system while others required new hardware.
Last fall, CEO Elon Musk took to the stage to announce the availability of a Model S with a second motor at the front axle, bringing the combined output of the already speedy machine to 762-horsepower with all-wheel-drive. Amazingly, despite adding nearly 300-pounds of additional mass, the range actually went up through a combination of more optimal balance of power delivery and more importantly, the ability to do more aggressive regenerative braking thanks to the motor recapturing kinetic energy from the front wheels. Because of the forward weight transfer that occurs under braking, most of the speed reduction effort has to be done at the front wheels in order to maintain stability, inherently limiting the amount of regen possible from the rear wheels.
Range and charging
This monster output P85D with the optional 21-inch alloy wheels is what Tesla loaned me during my recent trip to southern California. The EPA officially rates the range of the high-performance, dual motor Model S with an 85 kWh battery at 253 miles which is plenty for most people’s daily needs and even enough to cover most road trips with adequate route planning to take advantage of Tesla’s network of high-powered Superchargers. There is one important factor to be aware of with the range. In order to get the absolute maximum range you need to go into the settings and select the max range mode. The default mode only charges the battery up to 90% full which will provide a nominal range with reasonable driving behavior of about 230 miles. This limit helps to ensure that the battery doesn’t get overcharged which can lead to premature degradation.
When I picked up the car it had about 180 miles of range on the gauge so we stopped by a nearby Supercharger station at the Westfield mall in Culver City for about 15 minutes to top it off. If you’re planning to use a Supercharger on a trip, it might be worth doing a bit of digging ahead of time to learn precisely where the chargers are located, especially if you are going to be approaching the limits of your range between stops.
The navigation system in the Model S has a tab to show where nearby chargers including Superchargers are located. While tapping on a location will get you to the general vicinity of a station, that’s not always as helpful as you might like. Unlike gas stations which are standalone and usually have big signs highlighting their location, EV chargers including Superchargers are usually co-located with something else like highway rest stops, mall parking lots or parking garages and more often than not, there is little in the way of signage indicating exactly where the chargers are. In our case the mall had a multi-level parking garage and an open parking lot. After checking the garage and finding nothing, we eventually found the 12 SuperCharger stations in a corner of the lot. It might be helpful if Tesla were to add a little feature to nav system to pop up a note with more precise directions to the chargers when you arrive at the general location.
The Supercharger station in Culver City
The SuperCharger is pumping electrons into the battery at 47 kW, a typical level 2 home or public charger maxes out at 6.6 kW
Using the SuperCharger was effortless, Just plug in the proprietary Tesla connector and wait. The display in the car quickly indicated that electrons were being pumped in at 120-amps and 400-volts, far more than most household electrical systems can support. 15 minutes later, it automatically switched off and we were on our way to Long Beach with an indicated 230 miles of range. Since we weren’t at home with known access to a charger, I took advantage of opportunistic charging whenever it was available. The Hyatt Regency in Long Beach only has one charger which was available about half the times I went into the garage. When we drove back north the following day to visit the Getty Center, the attendant at the entrance to the parking garage provided directions to the on-site chargers which we likely would have missed otherwise. My loaner car had both a 120-volt charging cable and an adapter for plugging in a standard SAE J1772 charge connector to the Tesla plug.
Using the adapter to plug a standard J1772 charger into the Model S proprietary connector
Minimal design
Back when I first came into contact with Tesla in early 2007, co-founder Martin Eberhard was still CEO and planning for what was then called White Star was just getting started. Tesla had contracted with Henrik Fisker, then best known for his work on the BMW Z9, and Aston Martin DB9 and Vantage. Things didn’t work out between Tesla and Fisker and they went there acrimonious separate ways. Fisker’s White Star sketches are believed to have formed the basis for the Karma which is a story for another day. Meanwhile, after a couple of CEO changes and much general upheaval, Musk ultimately brought in Franz von Holzhausen from Mazda to lead Tesla’s design efforts.
Under von Holzhausen and Musk, Tesla has adopted a fairly minimalist design language, devoid of the flourishes found on many modern designs. Compared to the science fiction space ship design of the BMW i8, the Model S is almost plain looking but don’t take that as a negative. It’s handsomely proportioned with attractive detailing in a similar fashion to the Audi S7. While it is a five-door hatchback like the Porsche Panamera, it doesn’t have the pronounced humpback profile of the German car which was predicated on accommodating six-foot-four-inch former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking. While the Tesla is 1.3-inches shorter than the Audi, at 86.2-inches across it is two-inches wider and it really seems to fill the lane which means you’ll want to pay particular attention in the sort of dense traffic you typically encounter in the greater Los Angeles area. Those broad shoulders also make maneuvering in tight parking garages tricky to ensure you don’t scrape a concrete column. It’s no wonder Tesla is working on remote auto parking as part of Auto Pilot as well as those silly “falcon-wing” doors for the upcoming Model X.Â
The minimalist approach extends beyond the overall sculpting to the interior and all controls. At first glance the car appears to have no door handles, just flush mounted silver strips in each portal. When you approach the car with the key fob in your pocket or purse, the door handles magically emerge from the surrounding aluminum. At least they do most of the time. From time to time, if the fob ended up between my phone and my leg in pocket, it didn’t seem to register to the car and I would have pull the fob out before I could get into the car. The fob itself looks like a tiny stylized version of the Model S and unlike those from other companies is completely devoid of buttons. There is a small cover on the bottom for the battery compartment and that’s it. There is no backup physical key embedded inside, nor does there appear to be anywhere to put such a key in any case.
When I first sat down in the Model S, I perused the dashboard in search of a start button. Previously every electric car I’d driven had push button somewhere to start up all the vehicle systems. Yet as soon as I sat down, the instrument cluster and giant center touchscreen were already on. It turns out the Model S is at least partially always on, waiting for you to do something. Once you adjust the seat, mirrors and buckle up, just press the brake pedal, tap the stalk on the right hand side of the steering column down for drive or up for reverse, much like a turn signal.
Finding your way there
Once you release the brake the car is ready to go. The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was reported to have hated buttons and switches and it has been said that if he could have gotten away with building buttonless devices he most certainly would have. Von Holzhausen clearly took his inspiration here as the dashboard of the Model S has only two buttons flanking the central screen, one for the hazard lamps and the other to open the glovebox. Aside from that there are rockers and buttons on the steering wheel to manage audio volume and page through screens on the instrument cluster.
Everything else is controlled through that 17-inch tablet. Even without any kind of hood, the screen is clearly visible even in bright sunlight. The digitizer is also reasonably responsive to taps, swipes and pinches, exhibiting no lag. Despite all of that, driving a Model S for four days only reinforced my opinion that as long as we human drivers are still ultimately responsible for controlling cars, touch controls are a bad idea. There is no possible way to control climate control, audio, navigation or anything else in this car without looking away from the road to the screen. Climate controls should have simple rotary knobs that I can reach for and twist without looking as should audio. There is voice recognition available in the Model S, but whenever I tried to use it, it popped up a message in the cluster saying “recording failed, try again.” I never successfully commanded anything.
We arrived at the San Juan Capistrano SuperCharger station at 10am on a Sunday and 7 of 8 plugs were already occupied.
The navigation system in the Model S relies on Google Maps data, however, Tesla has developed the routing algorithms in-house. The routing generally worked well although it did occasionally give some dubious directions such as when it sent us through the heart of the Port of Los Angeles on our first trip to Long Beach. Unlike many other navigation systems which give an option to search for other waypoints along your current route, or choose to avoid freeways or toll roads. When we wanted to go from San Juan Capistrano to Crystal Cove beach, the nav kept insisting that I should drive inland to the route 73 toll road. I ignored the directions to see what it would do and it finally gave up when I turned onto the Pacific Coast Highway.
Okay, rant about the touchscreen and navigation over.
Prior to driving the Model S, I’d heard others complain that it isn’t really a luxury car. While I would certainly agree that the cabin isn’t as apparently full featured or ostentatious as some of its German rivals at the same price point, I really don’t think it needs to be. The fit and finish and materials were all top notch. The leather covering the seats was perhaps not as supple as a Bentley or other top-end Europeans, but it was still high quality with perfect stitching and no visible blemishes. I’m personally not fond of high-gloss finishes on wood trim, preferring the matte look but that’s a matter of individual taste. The shiny wood was as good as any I’ve seen.
From a functional standpoint, the front seats were both comfortable and very supportive holding occupants securely in place during spirited cornering. The rear seat is contoured to hold three passengers and the broad shouldered stance of the Tesla should make it reasonably comfortable for three grownups. There was plenty of legroom and headroom in back even with the panoramic moonroof. When the Model S was launched, CEO Musk touted the seating for seven thanks to available rear facing jump seats that can be installed in the back. Given the sloping hatch, these would be strictly for small kids and if you really need the extra seating, you might be better off getting a big crossover. Thanks to the absence of an engine up front, there is a secondary trunk available there in addition to the rear cargo area. One downside of the sloping rear hatch and the three rear seat headrests is that visibility straight back is somewhat limited. Fortunately the backup camera helps when reversing and when going forward, not much can keep up.
A really fast lineman
At just shy of two-and-a-half-tons, the Model S P85D is certainly no lightweight. However, having the 1,200-pound-plus, 85-kWh battery pack mounted entirely below the floor along with small motors inline with the wheels keeps the center of gravity admirably low. My car was equipped with the optional 21-inch alloy wheels with Michelin summer tires. Compared to the roads in Michigan, California freeways are generally free of most major craters and frost heaves. However, they aren’t as entirely smooth as they look. Driving along the 405 and other LA-area roads, the Model S felt a bit on the bouncy side and could probably use a bit more tweaking of the damping rates. It wasn’t spine-crushingly stiff, just in need of a bit more refinement.
The steering feel was just what is called for in a performance car, with excellent feedback, probably thanks in no small part to those summer tires. While changing the trajectory of all that mass is never going to be as responsive as a Roadster, it felt at least as nimble as any of the big German super sedans of similar size and mass.
As an engineer with a good grasp of physics, I inherently feel that no car that weighs this much and runs so silently should move the way this thing does. My test car didn’t have the new ludicrous mode update, just insane mode. The effect when you stomp on the go pedal is still simply astonishing. Even in a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, the big supercharged V8 needs to rev up before it starts generating torque. The electric motors generate maximum torque instantly and with all four sticky tires going to work, the thrust is instantaneous and persistent. When you want to pull out to pass, you only need a gap big enough for the car, you’ll never be wondering if you can stay ahead of whoever is coming up in the left lane.
Buttonless key fob
When the time comes to dissipate all that kinetic energy, the presence of motors at each axle lets the car recover most of the available energy without ever clamping on the brakes. Tesla has tuned the default lift-off regen fairly aggressively so you can do most of your braking without ever touching the left pedal. It’s not quite as aggressive as the max regen from the BMW i3, but it will bring the car to a full stop. When maximum braking is needed, an electrohydraulic brake system will automatically pump brake fluid into the four big calipers. The system has no master cylinder and Tesla calls this an electromechanical system but that is really a misnomer. A true electromechanical system would have electric actuators directly on the calipers with no hydraulics at all. Since this system has remotely actuated hydraulics, it is more properly labeled as electrohydraulic, but I digress.
Like other electric cars, the Model S is generally serenely quiet which means that you will occasionally hear noises that are masked in cars with internal combustion engines. In this car at low speeds you can sometimes the hear the brake actuation or steering. It’s not obnoxious, just a bit surprising.
The road to Auto Pilot
Back in 2012 when I was working for Ford communications, we put together a comparison chart of driver assist features on the then-new Fusion and its primary competitors as well as some much more expensive cars like the Model S. At the time the Model S and Fisker Karma were both notable for lacking any of these features but that’s no longer the case. Since last fall, Tesla has been building a variety of sensors including radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors into every Model S. Ultimately, these will be used to power the semi-autonomous Auto Pilot system. However, since the ver 6.2 software update last spring, the Model S has had adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and blindspot monitoring.
The camera based lane departure warning works like other such systems, providing alerts when you drift over the lane marker without a turn signal on. The electric power steering assist generates a low rumble somewhere down in the front of the car as an alert. While the alert is audible, unlike Ford systems that provide similar alerts, I could hear the rumble but couldn’t actually feel it through the steering wheel. Because of the girth of the Model S, you have to take some care to stay away from the lines and trigger the warning repeatedly. The rumble doesn’t seem to get cancelled if you just tap the turn signal to indicate a lane change rather than fully engaging it.
The new adaptive cruise control system is among the smoothest such systems I’ve ever used. In general ACC uses one or two (long-range plus a short-range sensor for those that do full stop and go control) radar sensors to detect the distance and closing speed to the vehicle ahead. When the distance is less than what the driver selects, the system automatically reduces powertrain torque and applies brakes to slow the vehicle and maintain a consistent, safe following distance. With internal combustion engines, the torque control and blending with the brakes can sometimes be hit and miss although in recent years they have gotten much better. Since Tesla is doing everything through its electric motors including most of the braking through regen, the system is able to provide much more precise control of speed.
Tesla’s ACC is capable of smoothly bringing the car to a complete stop and automatically restarting. If the vehicle is stationary for more than a few seconds, the cruise message in the cluster will switch to hold. When that happens you just have to tap the accelerator to resume. Tesla’s ACC was a godsend on the 405 which somehow always seems to be congested regardless of the time of day or even on weekends. However, if you manually tap the brake pedal when cruise is engaged, there doesn’t seem to be anyway to simply press a button to resume cruise control because as already discussed, there is a distinct absence of buttons so you have to go back and completely reset the system.
Sometime in the coming months, Tesla will push out software v7.0 to the Model S. At that time, customers that have ponied up $2,500 for Auto Pilot will magically get new functionality added that begins to fuse these sensor signals to provide semi-autonomous control of the car. Auto Pilot will combine the ACC, electric steering and lane tracking to enable the car to autonomously track the car ahead and stay in the lane. I’ll be looking forward to trying out full Auto Pilot at some future date.
Having now spent several days in southern California with the Model S, I’ve come away very impressed overall. Considering that this is only the first completely in-house developed product from a 12-year-old company, it mostly worked really well and without much wonkiness. It wasn’t completely wonk-free, and would much rather have a smaller screen with some physical controls for the audio and climate controls. I also miss the visceral appeal of a great sounding engine, but that’s something I’ll have to learn to live without in the future. Were it not for the dubious control strategy, if I had $130,000+ to spend on a car, I’d seriously consider the Model S. Given that these cars seem to be even more prevalent than non-taxi Priuses in greater Los Angeles, a lot of the wealthy there seem to agree. Â
