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Todd Hallenbeck28 Aug 2015
NEWS

'Insane' Tesla breaks Consumer Reports rating system

Out of a possible 100 points, the Tesla Model S P85D scores above perfect with 103

US buyer advocacy magazine Consumer Reports has awarded Tesla's new Model S P85D flagship a Comaneci.

The magazine, which has a reputation of being as trustworthy as your mother, was so impressed by the P85D’s overall performance and efficiency that it initially scored the lithium-ion battery-powered sedan at 103 points out of a possible 100.

Road tester Mark Rechtin said: “It performed better in our tests than any other car ever has, breaking the Consumer Reports ratings system.”

The magazine has since recalibrated its scoring system following its test of the range-topping Model S to again ceil it at 100.

But the P85D is the first vehicle to score a 'perfect 10' – as Romanian gymnast Nadia Comanechi did at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, becoming the first woman to do so, at the age of 14 – from Consumer Reports.

The all-wheel-drive Model S P85D is powered by two electric motors (one for each axle) and two battery packs with a total power rating of 568kW. Zero to 100km/h acceleration takes around 4.5 seconds – in normal mode.

Set the sedan to ‘Insane’ mode and the P85D ticks up a notch, reacting with a 0-100km/h time of just 3.3 seconds.

Keep in mind, Tesla superseded the P85D last month with the more feral and even quicker Model S P90D with Ludicrous Speed mode that delivers 0-100km/h in 2.8 seconds and covers 400 metres in less than 11 seconds. Consumer Reports may be due for another adjustment.

However, the magazine pointed out that not all is perfect with the Tesla Model S P85D.

“The Tesla’s 100 score doesn’t make the P85D a perfect car – even at $[US]127,820. It has imperfections. The interior materials aren’t as opulent as other high-ticket automobiles, and its ride is firmer and louder than the base Model S.”

Consumer Reports handed the base Model S a score of 99. Other notable high achievers are the BMW M235i (98), the Mercedes-Benz S 550 AWD (96) and the Porsche 911 Carrera S (95).

Later this year Tesla is expected to finally launch the Model X – a tall-riding SUV due here in the third quarter of next year with a range of variants to equal the Model S.

It will also include a Model X P90D with Ludicrous Speed mode, according to Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk.

“We will of course offer Ludicrous Speed mode on Model X – 3.2-3.3ish seconds for 0-60mph; that’s my prediction,” he admitted. “That’s very quick for an SUV.”

Musk in July outlined Tesla’s future product plans beginning with the nearing arrival of the Model X followed in 2017-2018 by the Model 3 mid-size sedan, which will be pitched as an affordable EV and targeting a far larger swathe of consumers.

And possibly by decade’s end, Tesla will launch the second-generation Roadster, likely based on a trimmed platform shared with Model 3.

Musk, maybe jokingly, admitted the Roadster will top Ludicrous Speed mode with Maximum Plaid mode. We like his thinking and his sense of humour.

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Written byTodd Hallenbeck
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