Drove a Tesla Today

[scannon]

A different Tesla showed up at our local C&C today. This makes 5 different ones I have seen locally this year.

 

The owner was giving rides and I asked him if I could possibly drive it as well. He explained the systems and then took me out for a few miles and turned it over to me.

 

The car is awesome, far better than the four Elises I have driven in the past. Acceleration is massive, the instant torque of the electric motor sets you right back in the seat and never lets up. I was able to make several full throttle (rheostat?) runs up to about 90 mph. A real g-force junkie's kind of car.

 

The handling was also very well sorted. I took it through some high speed 90* bends that were quite bumpy and it handled them very well indeed. The ride is also much better than the Elise yet seemed as tossable and well planted without the choppiness of the Elise.

 

The regen system is also interesting. When you let off the throttle it goes into regen and slows you quite quickly. The brake lights come on so you don't surprise the cars behind you. The owner told me that the system is designed to bring you to one mph without using the brakes in normal driving. If you don't want to slow down too much you just feather the throttle. If you need to stop quicker, use the brakes as well. It was very easy to adapt to.

 

In Colorado up until the end of the year, the state is giving a $43,000 tax credit if you buy one of these and the Feds are offering an $8,000 tax credit. Both can be spread over 5 years. Now, if I could only afford the $110,000 price of entry.

 

That's me in the photos coming in from the drive with a smile on my face and then trying to extricate myself from the driver seat. It's a little easier to get in and out of than the Caterham, but not by much. I think I could learn to live with it.

 

I also got a ride in a new Jaguar XKR Coupe. Acceleration in that car was also awesome as it should be with 510 HP and 461 lb ft of torque. The lady who owns it had no problems flooring it but has no clue about cornering so she slowed to little old lady speeds at the slightest curves. Strange since she has owned Corvettes and other high end sports cars most of her life. She is married to the guy with the Tesla.

Edited October 3, 2009 by scannon

[MoPho]

I've driven a Tesla quite a bit on some of SoCals canyon roads, I too think it was pretty cool, but the handling is not nearly as good as the Elise IMO, the car understeers a lot, but it does ride better.

[BruceBowker]

Not that it means anything , but do Teslas and the like have a horse power rating?

[scannon]

From the Tesla website: 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. Output 248 peak horsepower (185kW) and 276 ft/lbs (375 nm) of torque. Redline 14,000 rpm.