The White Star Tesla 2014 Model S 60
Tesla’s network of 125 Superchargers now spans across the United States and up and down the coasts.The Model S dispels conventional thinking about EVs, with a luxurious interior and excellent driving dynamics—it’s a glimpse of the future, which earns it a 10Best award. Tesla offers versions from the 302-hp 60-kWh base model to the 85-kWh Performance version with 416 hp and 265 miles of range. Fun, eco-friendly driving comes at a price, however: The Model S starts at about $70,000 before any federal or local EV tax incentives.
The White Star Tesla 2014 Model S 60
It’s still a stylish way to go green, regardless of the price. Although it has yet to achieve the sort of density by which spontaneous travel can be undertaken, at least not without relying on the public charging marketplace, the company is also not finished. (Additionally, Tesla has been assisting in the installation of 240-volt AC “High Power Wall Connectors” in well-traveled locales around the country, but these charge at a much slower rate. No signs on the main road direct drivers this way, no structure identifies this solitary bank of six DC chargers as anything at all. Unlike filling a gas tank, charging the battery of an electric car is not a linear process and slows as the battery gets closer to full. So Tesla quotes a 20-minute charge time to replenish the Model S battery to half its capacity using one of the 120-kW Superchargers. This is about 16 times as fast as most public charging stations, according to the company Small, red placards like those that decorate parking garages proclaim, “Tesla Electric Vehicle Parking,” but that’s the extent of any notice that this spot is, in fact, part of something much larger. The future does not seem so amazing here, parked behind a grocery store in suburban Toledo, Ohio. It is raining, and without a canopy of protective solar panels over this particular Tesla Supercharger station, the one closest to our Ann Arbor, Michigan, office, we are resigned to sitting in the car while it replenishes its battery. Were it not for the Model S’s navigation system, part of the $3750 Tech package, we would never have found the location. Sitting in the Model S watching the miles pile up in the range indicator just as steadily as the precipitation comes down outside, the claim is believable. A 35-minute respite added 100 miles of range before we motored back to the office. Vehicles with the 85-kWh battery have access included in their $81,070 base price, however 60-kWh cars do not. This is one way Tesla can cut the base price of the 60-kWh car to $71,070. Supercharging is offered as an additional $2000 option, a fee that goes up to $2500 if it’s added after delivery.The Model S takes a proprietary connector, for which the company provides a variety of adapters including one for a standard SAE J1772 plug like on the Chevy Volt and other EVs, a 120-volt wall plug, and even the receptacle for a 240-volt electric clothes dryer. This means Model S owners can charge pretty much anywhere, but others are not so lucky. The special Tesla connector locks out other EVs from using the Tesla network, so even cars like the Nissan Leaf, which supports DC charging, cannot use Superchargers. While local electricity rates vary, we’ll make the observation that $2000 buys a lot of juice.
But what you’re paying for is not really the electrons as much as the convenience. There is currently no way to purchase temporary access or any pay-as-you-go plan. Every Model S includes the necessary wiring for DC charging, which bypasses the onboard 10-kW charger, although not every Model S can actually use a Supercharger. Vehicles with the 85-kWh battery have access included in their $81,070 base price, however 60-kWh cars do not. This is one way Tesla can cut the base price of the 60-kWh car to $71,070. Supercharging is offered as an additional $2000 option, a fee that goes up to $2500 if it’s added after delivery. But what you’re paying for is not really the electrons as much as the convenience. There is currently no way to purchase temporary access or any pay-as-you-go plan. Every Model S includes the necessary wiring for DC charging, which bypasses the onboard 10-kW charger, although not every Model S can actually use a Supercharger. Vehicles with the 85-kWh battery have access included in their $81,070 base price, however 60-kWh cars do not. This is one way Tesla can cut the base price of the 60-kWh car to $71,070. Supercharging is offered as an additional $2000 option, a fee that goes up to $2500 if it’s added after delivery.
Even the base Model S without the air suspension rides comfortably and delivers supple and predictable handling. The steering is more distant and isolated than we might like, but that’s not uncommon in this class. Driving the Model S is proof that there are different ways to have fun behind the wheel. The one-pedal approach, using the car’s high level of regenerative braking instead of the mechanical brakes, requires a different driving style but rewards a useful skill like situational awareness. While we don’t like to issue caveats about test-track results, we will say that Tesla has issued software upgrades in the two years since we tested the P85, some of which have addressed throttle response and suspension tuning. Comparisons among versions of the Model S are rather beside the point: The real issue is whether the Model S is an acceptable alternative to conventional luxury cars. The answer is an unqualified “yes.” Aesthetically, the Model S is a class leader, its exterior shape appearing as fresh today as it did when the prototype was first shown in 2009. The interior is both attractive and well executed, with quality finishes and tight tolerances. Our 60-kWh example also came close to matching the P85’s track performance. We clocked it at 5.5 seconds to 60 mph on the way to a 14.2-second quarter-mile pass.
The P85 was 0.9-second quicker in both measures. With the stock 19-inch, all-season rubber and standard suspension, the 60 pulled 0.89 g on the skidpad, whereas the P85’s upgraded air suspension and 21-inch wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sports was good for 0.91. Stopping distance from 70 mph, however, increased from 160 feet in the P85 to 174 in the 60. The P85 has 416 horses, but on our scales it weighed an additional 462 pounds. As you’d expect, this lighter, less powerful model proves more efficient: Using the EPA’s standard, the 60 rates 94 MPGe city and 97 highway while the P85 comes in at 88/90. In our hands, this car got 87 MPGe versus the 74 we observed in the top model.There are other differences between the models, the most important being range. When we tested the top-of-the-line Signature Performance (P85) Model S in 2012, we managed to drive 211 miles on a completely charged battery. This 60-kWh car did 164 miles. While that’s below the official EPA range estimate of 208 miles, it’s only 22-percent less than the P85’s figure. Certainly the lower output of the 302-hp (225-kW) motor in our 2014 test car helped its range, as did a curb weight of 4323 pounds.
Retail deliveries began in Europe in early August 2013, in Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Model S ended 2013 as the third-best selling all-electric car in Europe after the Nissan Leaf and the Renault Zoe, at about 3,900 units. During the first quarter of 2014, with about 3,000 sold, the Model S ranked as the second top selling electric car after the Leaf. A total of 5,347 Model S cars were sold during the first half of 2014, representing a market share of 19.9% of the all-electric segment sales, and allowing the Model S to rank the third best selling plug-in electric vehicle in Europe after the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV and the Nissan Leaf. Accounting for sales during the first nine months of 2014, the Model S outsold the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series and Jaguar XJ, ranking second in the European full-size luxury vehicle segment after the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The two biggest markets for the Model S in Europe are Norway and the Netherlands.
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