Tesla is really not fast at all...(really fast)

I think of Teslas as sleepers. They're luxury cars that can occasionally kickass when called upon to do it, and dont cost a fortune. I dont think of them as supercars nor were they designed to be.
In that light, I think they are wildly successful and just about peerless. I group them with Audi and BMW, not Bugatti.

 

0-60 has to me (and many others) always been a rather pointless statistic and I'll never understand the obsession about it. This is pre-Tesla btw.

I never do stoplight races. Very, very occasionally when I'm side by side next to a friend, but this is at best once a year.

 

City driving acceleration is completely irrelevant to me...whats the max speed in a city...40?

Obviously I don't want a dead slow car but anything over 200bhp is more than enough as won't use any over it. A good sound system and comfortable seats is much more relevant for me in city driving

 

I stand by my point:

I think Electric cars are a decent alternative for a daily driver. Reality is on the normal daily drive with city or highway driving during rush hour there's no fun to be had anyhow, so charging the car at home meaning you don't have to fill up every so often, great (especially now that I live in Europe again, and a cold part at that, having to fill the car up myself is annoying but also I loathe it in the winter, cold hands and such...)I'll leave interior quality and such out of this as that varies in all cars in the end. So for that purpose, I think they're good alternative especially for people that aren't really car enthusiasts.

But as a sports/supercar alternative? I don't see it. Straight line sprints bore me, I don't do drag racing. They're too heavy for corners and a warm battery reduces performance, on top of that driving it on a windy road/track whatever reduces the range immensely. Col de turini loop with a Tesla? Forget about it. Yes I know that I don't drive the Col de Turini very often, but with a sports car I make a point of it to go there and have fun...with a Tesla/electro car I'd avoid it not only because it won't be much fun but also I'd almost certainly be stranded somewhere very far away from a charging point...

Many Tesla arguments are started by the constant quoting of how they're better than hypercars because of a better acceleration, leaving everything else out of it. It's false advertising almost. If that wasn't done I'd quite happily ignore all Tesla chat (except the financial side), but their fan boys keep preaching it as a great alternative for ''the idiots with Ferraris''.

 

To 60. Maybe.



A 1000bhp R35 GTR. Tesla P100D is also 1000hp, no?

 

Some interesting points in this thread enjoying the input and read. Just my 2cent:

- all the 0-60, 1/4 mile is simply hyperbole used as advertising, and it works. It’s attracting car guys and wannabe car guys to the brand. That’s it.

- next time you are in traffic or at a stop light roll down the windows and listen to all the fossil fuel ICE engines churning away and doing nothing. Ev’s are silent.

- let me put on my flame suit, in the real world, for most ev’ers and hybriders i know it’s about “hypermileing.” We are more impressed with getting 25-50% more range on our vehicles than the epa rating for battery range, less concerned about speeding. With ev range increasing this will become less important.

-Ain’t it cool for the tesla to “out-Prius” a Prius, and “out-drag” a drag car, and “out-luxury” (or come close) a luxury car. Hopefully soon have lower cost mass appeal.


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A long time ago I bought a BMW M5 as an everyday car; because I "needed" my practical car to be a supercar. I really like the build, handling and especially the engine. I grew accustomed to the acceleration quickly, it didn't thrill me anymore. I had an Italian sports-car too and it stopped feeling fast. The M5 reduced the specialness of my sports -car and the everyday car.

I then had a 7 Series, with a 3 litre petrol engine, and the same sports-car. The sports-car started to feel fast and thrilling again, and I enjoyed the waft-ability and the nice easy handling of the 7 Series, which still had a really nice engine.

So I agree with Bas Jaski. Any ordinary car that can do 60 in 7 or 8 secs, or 100 in 16 or 17 secs, and overtake a truck and a few cars easily is fast enough to be useable and fun, and you can still enjoy its other qualities such as ride quality - remember that one from the 1980's.

Even pre Tesla, when I see a car like a twin turbo V12 S Class, beyond the short term fun of the wolf in sheeps clothing, I think the car would have better throttle response and wouldn't sound like it was under water, if it wasn't turbocharged and then it would need those 3 feet tall wheels and it might ride nicely and quietly.

So even if the Tesla can do 60 in 2.2 secs , I think thats impressive as a kind of party trick and not much more. This is why I think the BMW i3 is a much more valid design, than the Tesla, because its intended to be a city car, and its short range is not a handicap, whereas it very much is in the Tesla.

 

Its brilliant isn't it?

The purr of a V12, the rumble of a V8, the off beat grumble of a flat 4, the whirr of a flat six. Magic.

 

An appealing side effect of having all cars be electric in the future, along with advanced tire and pavement technology, is that real estate right up against the highway won't be all that bad.

On a related note, I can't wait for KTM to fully develop their electric off-road bike. It would be nice to hear the rustle of leaves and crunching of twigs under the tires while out on the trails.

 

personally I really, really do not like Tesla as a manufacturer for what they are going to do to the car market, as a car though they are very impressive...

 

I have an S63 that I almost never drive. Nice and quiet and serene until you stomp on it. It easy is easy to forget that it has all that horsepower sometimes.

 

So, my takeaway for this thread is that ICE's will never match electrics off the line/zero to sixty because of the torque electrics have, but in a race longer than a quarter mile, ICE's will catch up and then pull away.

 

I'm not sure an electric dragster could out-accelerate a top fuel dragster. The amount of weight that electric dragster would need to carry for that amount of energy would weigh it down too much compared to nitro.

Electric may have a wide performance range and applications than ICE, but would lose out to a specialty made vehicle designed for a single purpose. Jack of all trades master of none.

 

Whats your point rob? We already established that having super performance is pretty pointless in the cities, and electric for a performance car outside of it is pretty damn pointless unless you want to do a few drag races.

You claim ICE cars will never be as fast 0-60 as electric. Quite simply not true as that single video already proved. Yes it's a modified car but still 1000bhp (same as Tesla). And over 60mph ICE cars are quicker than electric vehicles....

 

I wouldn't call 135K cheap. Don't pretend a model S 75 has the same performance as a 100d.

 

I think that's a European perspective. Here in North America, 0-60 is perhaps the most important performance aspect of a car.
We do not have an autobahn. I don't know if we have ANY highways with a speed limit greater than 65mph, and based on a recent drive through FRance, I would say that North American highway speeds are much more strictly enforced than those in Europe. So quite honestly, while I want a car to be smooth and comfortable at 120-130kph and not redlining, I do not need much by way of performance above that level.

 

I remember back in 93 BMW changed the 4 speed auto in the 7 Series to a great 5 speed with lower gearing and substituted the wonderful straight six with an admittedly very nice V8, for the US market ands its desire for "quick of the line" even though the old car could easily run to 140mph since its launch. Cultural differences ......

France is the worst country in Europe for taxing the motorist. They make you follow them to the station and pay them immediately, and they will confiscate your car. And they are specifically looking for British cars. Switzerland is even worse.