![]() That’s fine in a Palo Alto parking lot but potentially less so at your local Tesco Express. Tesla claims the doors need less space than the sliding variant often seen on big MPVs, although in our experience the sensors seemed keen to have plenty of room to work with. This is particularly noticeable when exiting the third row, a process that is normally ripe with trip hazards. The advantage of the doors is that they lever a significant portion of the roof off, meaning that occupants simply slide out without having to scrunch themselves into the right shape first. They are also extravagantly exhibitionist any child emerging from their shadow can expect (for a good while, at least) to be stared at.Įgress from them, though, is impressively unimpeded. Other features of note include the ‘canopy’ windscreen, which Tesla claims is the biggest of any production car in the world, fully motorised front doors and a pair of motorised and uniquely folding ‘falcon wing’ rear doors, hinged in two places, that are said to offer peerless convenience and easy access.īut it’s the rear doors – which bring to mind a DeLorean and about a dozen other sci-fi movie props – that are the real coup de grâce.Īdmittedly, they take some getting used to they are neither speedy nor particularly elegant in their mechanism, and nor are they as solidly put together as a conventional alternative. ![]() Rarely for an EV, the car is rated for towing of more than two tonnes on a braked trailer. Steel coil springs are standard but can be upgraded to height-adjustable air suspension, the latter producing up to 211mm of ground clearance on request – a respectable amount for the very occasional off-roading the car is likely to do. The Model X uses the same suspension configuration as the Model S, with double wishbones at the front and multi-links at the rear. ![]() Its rear motor is swapped out for a bigger one with a peak of 503bhp. There is a 100D at upper-middle level and, for those for whom only ‘ludicrous speed’ will do, there’s the 611bhp, 713lb ft P100D range-topper. The 75D has a total power output of 329bhp, while the 90D we’re testing produces 416bhp, along with 487lb ft, available instantly and from a standstill. In the cases of the lower-end 75D and 90D models, those motors are rated for up to 259bhp each, although the peak power they make is governed by how much power can be drawn from the drive battery. All versions of the car are four-wheel drive, powered by three-phase electric motors cradled between each axle. The Model X is built on the same platform as the Model S, so it is predominantly made from extruded aluminium reinforced with boron steel. In theory, that ought to translate into tidier handling than the class’s norm and also make it resistant to rollover. It’s no surprise that the car is heavy, but Tesla’s claim is that the Model X has a lower centre of gravity than any car in the large SUV class. Its roof is lower than you might expect – the car is less than 1.7 metres tall, when plenty of rivals approach 1.8m – and it has most of its mass concentrated under the cabin floor, where that battery is carried. The Model X, however, takes a fresh angle on SUV design and uses that extra weight to its advantage. That will make Tesla ownership about twice as affordable as it currently is. Tesla, being at once a long way from done and ever-keen to talk of its plans, already began talking up the Tesla Model 3 compact saloon before its first seven-seater had rolled out of the factory. ![]() But the Model S has emphatically succeeded, and it is now a bigger-selling car than almost any other full-sized limousine in the world. Growth of that kind doesn’t tend to come easy, and there have, of course, been safety controversies, recalls and a few corporate scandals to keep the gossip mill spinning. So while only a brave few were willing to risk their motoring happiness on an electrified sports car at the turn of the current decade, some 50,000 buyers a year are now switching their preference from fossil fuels to battery power and buying a Tesla Model S executive saloon. The Roadster, now long discontinued, reached fewer than 3000 homes over its four-year life cycle by way of contrast, Tesla delivered more than 76,000 other new cars last year alone.
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