“Car Of The Century” Is Tesla Model S, Car & Driver Writes In 70D Review

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Originally published on EV Obsession.

In a recent article, the highly regarded and long-respected industry magazine Car & Driver gave pretty high praise to the recently upgraded Tesla Model S 70D — even going so far as to referring to it as “a driving experience to rival the best.” In fact, it named the Model S in this article about the 70D the “car of the century.”

Certainly not new praise — as the various iterations of the Model S have received broad acclaim — but still good to hear from a widely read gearhead journal like Car & Driver.

Tesla Model S Blue

That said, the recent article does make some strange-seeming exaggerations (to my eyes) concerning charging, something that was noticed by several commentators on the Tesla Motors Club forum as well.

With regard to what I’m talking about, here are some examples:

The price—starting at about $60,000 before the $7500 federal kickback—was far beyond the average household’s reach, and range anxiety will always be a concern for any pure electric, but the S was a refreshing interpretation of just how super a modern supersedan could be.

Then the reality sets in. To fully embrace any electric car, some lifestyle rearranging is necessary. Spur-of-the-moment trips are unwise. The next plug-in opportunity is always at the forefront of your consciousness. Speeding up when you’re running late may force an unplanned stop for a jolt of juice.

Hmm. This doesn’t sound exactly right to me. Something shared by the forum commenters I mentioned above. Below are some comments from them on the topic.

As noted by ecarfan:

It is simply wrong to say that a spontaneous trip is “unwise”. Charge the car every night and it’s ready to go. To say that one is always worrying about where to plug in is a gross exaggeration. The only time I think about where I am going to charge is when I am considering a trip that takes me far away from a Supercharger. So that is a few times a year, and I have always found charging solutions. And to say that speeding up during a trip may result in a unplanned charging stop is also an exaggeration. It might possibly happen but with the current navigation software it is easy to avoid that situation.

And by zwede:

After a year and a half I’m still waiting for this “range anxiety” I’m supposed to experience.

That is more along the lines of what I’ve been hearing from owners myself. Not “spur of the moment trips are unwise.”

Image Credit: Tesla Motors


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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