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2013 Tesla Model S Track Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited September 2014 in Tesla

image2013 Tesla Model S Track Test

To celebrate Earth Day, we track test our 2013 Tesla Model S electric car and it's as impressive as ever.

Read the full story here


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    throwbackthrowback Member Posts: 445
    No question this car is a brilliant performer. If I were in the market for 100K daily driver this would be at the top of my list. Even though I can't warm up to the huge touch screen. I hope when they redo the interior they shrink it down some. yeah, wishful thinking.
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    duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    It's fast... but only until the battery is depleted. OH YEAH, I WENT THERE. Remember folks, plug it in "every night", lest the Tesla forums crucify you.
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    fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    63.6 on the slalom is maybe kinda low - ? They may have under-tired this car in the interest of range...a 245-section tire on a 4,700-lb. car is rather thin. 12.6 @ 108.4 in the quarter - compare this to for example a Mustang GT Edmunds tested...13 flat at 110.6. A much higher trap speed even if the ET was slower. You can really tell that the acceleration curve starts to flatten out on EVs once they get over 100. Really fast car, though, nonetheless.
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    mfennellmfennell Member Posts: 91
    It's pretty wide. That hurts slalom too.

    There's a youtube video of someone turning a 12.3 in one at a strip. Really impressed with the subjective (feel, balance) comments. That's what counts to me.
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    duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    @fordson1: The car does seem slightly under-tired (should be at least be a 255 in the front, maybe 275 minimum in the rear but it's hard to say considering the car's weight distribution), perhaps one of the few reasons it did as well as it did in the hand
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    flapsmcgeeflapsmcgee Member Posts: 0
    Great, now on to the dyno test!
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    ren6ren6 Member Posts: 2
    How does a little company do this their first time around. The Roadster doesn't count...Amazing, just amazing. They have successfully made it so I couldn't care less about pretty much everything else in the car world.
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    ckeith1ckeith1 Member Posts: 3
    How did you calculate the displacement of the motor?
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    11forin11forin Member Posts: 1
    The best car out there.

    3 points to add to commenters:

    1. Battery - it is an electric car - it needs charging, just as gasoline car needs filling, so please get over it. It's not a novelty anymore; when an iPad was announced so many jokes came up even on national tv, but after a while the joke's old and anyone making it is a bit out of the times.
    If you can leave it plugged in every time it's at home - for all your errands and some thrill driving it will always be ready. Remember Tesla's range is unparalleled among electrics. Also not many realised, but if you have solar panels and can use super charger network - you are driving for free, and not some golf cart but a super car equivalent with five adults and two children inboard and full luggage...

    2. Compare the results against other sedans not against Mustangs, though it holds against those well too. Beats in economy:)

    3. Realize it's a luxury sedan. If you wouldn't buy a Maserati Quatraporte, Mercedes S Class, BMW 750il, Porsche Panamera - than Model S is not a car for you - though it will definitely widen the market - you may pay the price, but then enjoy it nearly for free.

    Gas price point: I'm seeing journalist starting to say: gasoline prices starting to fall... so interet in electrics is fallling too. Come on, you think oil companies will let gas prices fall? Is that a long term possibility? Only if at least 50% of consumption gone to other types of fuel and falling then surely but until...
    And I hope you care about the environment not only yourself:)
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    tubybntztubybntz Member Posts: 11
    Why don't they film these tests anymore?
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    diondidiondi Member Posts: 71
    Uh guys... why does the Tesla have a displacement?

    "Displacement (cc/cu-in): 5,980/365"
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    diondidiondi Member Posts: 71
    Uh guys, since when do electric cars have displacement?
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    noburgersnoburgers Member Posts: 500
    I have to wonder what it really feels like without the typical auditory feedback you would have in a gas-only vehicle? Is there just a giant rush of wind and tire noise?
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    carmageddoncarmageddon Member Posts: 11
    It's just mindblowing that Tesla was able to come up with a car this good on its first built from scratch model. Even if the Model S had an internal combustion engine, a brand new company building a brand new car with a "setup, feel and abilities [that] rival those of the Porsche Panamera" at a comparable price point is simply incredible. Certainly none of Porsche's long established rivals have been able to pull that off. Add in a completely new and unconventional drive system and you have a genuine engineering and design triumph. No wonder these things are popping up all over the place here in Silicon Valley.
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    tbone85tbone85 Member Posts: 27
    Hmmm. Imagine that: a vehicle runs out of fuel and then it's no longer as fast as it was before. Certainly unique.
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    thebbthebb Member Posts: 1
    "How does a little company do this their first time around?..."

    The answer: a fellow named Elon Musk. It is difficult to determine which achievement is more awe-inspiring, Tesla or SpaceX. Either enterprise would constitute a phenomenal challenge, and to succeed at both, as Musk is doing, is simply a breathtaking accomplishment. In time, the transformative impact Musk will have on the world's economy and environment will make Steve Jobs look like Ron Popeil, an entertaining pitchman. Jobs transformed computing and consuming by making them mobile, but Musk's thrust is to overthrow the fossil fuel empire, usher in the era of sustainable and renewable transportation, and lift the deepening shadow of climate change from this planet. And if that doesn't work, he is setting the stage to enable us to escape this ravaged world for new, unspoiled ones.
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    cenciocencio Member Posts: 1
    My wife and I just finished a 2,200 km (1367 mi) road trip from Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies and back in our Tesla Model S Performance. We crossed seven mountain passes, drove in temperatures as low as -12C (10F), and never babied the car or drove slower than the speed limit. It was BY FAR the smoothest, most effortless and cheapest road trip we have ever taken. The car is a dream. We only paid for "fuel" once, at an RV Park-- $10. Ten dollars for over a THOUSAND MILES of blissful driving. This is it, people.
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    mmartelmmartel Member Posts: 3
    Wow. If you like ridiculous acceleration, things look pretty bright for the future of electric cars. I love the DB @ Full Throttle: 62.5.
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    mayhemmmayhemm Member Posts: 6
    Let's not forget that cars like a Mustang GT also have a 1000-pound weight advantage. Not insignificant when talking about performance, wouldn't you agree?
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