The new Tesla Model S P85D is pretty much the best car ever.
Well, at least according to Consumer Reports’ standards.
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“The Tesla initially scored 103 in the Consumer Reports’ Ratings system, which by definition doesn’t go past 100,’ Consumer Reports said on Thursday. ‘The car set a new benchmark, so we had to make changes to our scoring to account for it. Those changes didn’t affect the scores of other cars.”
Once the product testing group modified its scoring system to make the P85D fit into a 100-point scale, it scored a 100 — making it the first car to ever receive a 100 out of 100 and ‘the best performing car’ Consumer Reports has ever tested. Just two years ago, the base model version got a 99 out of 100, the best vehicle rating ever at the time.
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Why the high-performance Model S is ‘the best’
So how did Tesla make a great car even better? The P85D has a second motor, making it extremely fast and extremely efficient.
The Model S P85D is an all-wheel-drive, all-electric sedan that can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds using the car’s ‘insane mode.’ That makes it the fastest car Consumer Reports has ever tested. Another reason behind the high score is the car’s impressive energy efficiency, getting the equivalent of 87 miles per gallon. Plus, Consumer Reports says this model has better braking and handling than the standard Model S.
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But while it is ‘the best performing car Consumer Reports has ever tested,’ it isn’t perfect.
The 200-plus mile range isn’t ideal if you’re headed on a road trip and there’s no charging station along the way. Plus, it can take up to 30 minutes for the vehicle to fully recharge. And according to the review, the “interior materials aren’t as opulent as other high-ticket automobiles, and its ride is firmer and louder than our base Model S.’
One other thing: The car costs nearly $130,000. So that’s not ideal either.
