The Tesla Model S P85D is the best car Consumer Reports has ever tested
Seriously. It broke the standard measurement scale.
It’s been a good week for electric carmaker Tesla. First, Forbes named Tesla the most innovative company in the world, a nice addition to its previous title as The MIT Technology Review’s “Smartest Company of 2015.’’
Then, Consumer Reports declared the 2015 Tesla P85D, a performance version of the Model S, to be the top-rated car the magazine’s critics have ever tested.
’’With its futuristic gee-whiz innovation and astonishing performance, the fully-electric Tesla Model S seems like a car from another planet,’’ Consumer Reports said.
In fact, the P85D scored so well, it broke the scoring system.
“The Tesla initially scored 103 in the Consumer Reports’ Ratings system, which by definition doesn’t go past 100,’’ Mark Rechtin, head of the cars content team, wrote. “The car set a new benchmark, so we had to make changes to our scoring to account for it.’’
Critics were particularly impressed by the Tesla’s “Insane Mode,’’ which allows it to accelerate from zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds (and which we tested here at Boston.com). Other “Pros’’ were the P85D’s standard safety equipment, its superior range compared to other electic cars, and its excellence in integrating lots of advanced technology into the dashboard interface.
Consumer Reports detailed a few lesser-known perks in this video:
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As far as the P85D’s “Cons’’ go, the biggest one is price, since the performance version can easily run you $125,000 or more. And despite Tesla’s relatively long range and robust network of chargers, it’s still harder to plan a long trip with an electric car than with a gas car, as we learned trying to bring our P85D to the top of Mt. Washington.
Photos of the Tesla P85D on its journey up Mt. Washington:
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