Once the enemy of Elon Musk and Tesla, Top Gear is now trying to make up with the quickly-growing electric vehicle company. And they even praise Tesla’s (almost) entry-level Model S, the 60D, as being the best electric car yet made by them.
Of course, while all the attention is focused on the P100D and its 2.5-second sprint to 60 mph, real people choose real solutions to their daily needs. And while not everyone can afford or is willing to splurge $130k on a P100D, the Model S 60D comes off handy and, as Top Gear says, “is an obscenely fast car, purely because of the instantaneous nature of the performance…”
Well, instantaneous, yes, but maximum, not. The Model S 60D is actually, as you may already know, holding a 75 kWh battery inside, and is only software limited to the 60 kWh capacity. If you pay Tesla the right amount, they’ll unlock it for you – a marketing strategy that may benefit the battery in the end. Because it doesn’t get charged as much, the battery in the 60D will live an easier life and will last longer.
Another point Top Gear touches is the bio-weapon defense mode of the air conditioning system – the advanced HEPA filter used in the Model X is now also present in the Model S. Not strikingly different from other cars’ at a first glance, but still able to keep out the smoke when you’re tailgating a tired diesel engine.
This is what may buy back all the cancellations caused by the Roadster scandal: “honestly, the way this supposedly base-spec Tesla rockets from 0-30mph would destroy a red-blooded super-saloon like an M5.”
Beating an M5 with an electric car that also looks cool is something the old Top Gear wasn’t paid to say. Jeremy Clarkson, the show’s former and infamous presenter, who attacked Tesla’s Roadster in 2008, made a big deal about it. He got sued, but nevertheless made a wave that surely hurt Tesla for a while.
The article also says: “there’s all the performance we could realistically need, sensible and accurate range, an overall deeper sense of quality and what many EV [electric vehicle] curious folk have been crying out for: a more competitive, accessible finance option… it’s the best all-round Model S yet.” Which means you don’t have to own the fastest thing out there to outrun almost anything on the street.
Now I can only pull one conclusion: don’t fully believe what you hear, especially negatives, and go do a test drive in a Tesla – it’s free and available wherever there’s a showroom available. I haven’t been paid to say this but I have driven both a P85D and a P90D and the experience was unequaled by anything before or after that.
One thing is also sure: they all look the same. So either you’re a in an entry-level Model S 60, or in a P100D you’re to attract the same number of people turning heads when you zip past them, so if image matters to you much, nobody will tell the difference.
