Video review: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/10/video-review-tesla-model-s/ The full 6 page review: http://arstechnica.com/features/2013/10/review-tesla-model-s/
thanks for posting this. reviewer is driving a p85+ in texas. didn't appreciate the gratuitous scenes of ice skating, and overly long supermarket promo. why? instead, couldn't he have spent 10 seconds talking about the driving dynamics? one cool thing: reviewer turned off the sound cancelling on his mic so we could hear highway noise from tire roar. sounds like they're planning to do another more "in depth" video later. in any case, he LOVED the car.
Excellent Review and vid from Ars Technica Video review: Zooming across Texas in the Tesla Model S | Ars Technica Review: Tesla Motors all-electric Model S is fast—but is it a good car? | Ars Technica
One of the most enjoyable reviews of the S I have seen. Loved the Blues Brothers reference and the Barry White song
It's a fun review, but the poor guy inadvertently gives a better demonstration of the pitfalls of range anxiety than he does a demonstration of the capabilities of the car. He had more than enough buffer to reach the supercharger without a 1-1.5 hour detour to the mall. He drove there, spent an hour charging to add 50 miles to the battery... and then arrives at the supercharger with 80 or 90 miles remaining, showing that the entire detour was just as unnecessary as the range specs suggested before he started. Likewise, he spent an extra 20 or 30 minutes at the supercharger topping up range charge miles at much poorer efficiency, rather than leaving at, say, 215 or 225 miles of rated range for his 160 mile round trip leg. All told his 'supposed to be 3 hour trip' ended up taking him 5 hours, but would have been maybe 3 hours 10 minutes if he didn't let range anxiety get the better of him. Gotta love buc-ees though! Andof course, this isn't a 'bad review' because of it... it just really highlights the behavioral challenges to more widespread EV adoption, as fear of unknown technology (even for a guy who is clearly young and tech savvy) hinders adoption even when the technology is more than sufficient to overcome the perceived challenges.
Balanced and very tech oriented with some cool diagrams of components locations in the S. "But oh, that intoxicating, addictive acceleration. I'll overlook a lot of flaws in order to feel that much instant power under my right foot." "Tesla Motors has succeeded in making an excellent automobile that also happens to be the best electric car money can buy."
Well-written at lavish with the love but everything in that article I've already read here in the forums. I'm guessing that Ars Technica has a bigger readership though.
ARS Technica Model S Video Review I couldn't get the video to be a separate link. Maybe someone smarter than me can figure it out! Video link is on this written review page -- about half way down page on right. http://arstechnica.com/features/2013/10/review-tesla-model-s/
Might be an ok review, but I stopped reading after the first part about the "soul" of a roaring V8 and other meaningless nonsense he was going on about. Pretty sick of people talking about that in relation to electric cars as though it's some sort of truth rather than what it is - outmoded opinion. Might as well be talking about the sweet clappity clap of horse shoes.
The video review was pretty positive, except that three times it showed him burning time away waiting for the car to charge. At the end of the video he mentions that it would have been much better if he had a charging plug at home. BUT that's not the message that comes through loud and clear in the video: expect to spend a lot of time waiting. It's a gross exaggeration. In reality, he should have left home with 100% charge, spent some time at the Supercharger, and arrived home again with plenty of range. Bottom line - lending out cars for multiple day tests should really not be done without proper charging infrastructure at the guy's home. Even if that means paying an electrician to put a NEMA 14-50 in the guy's garage. Money well spent.
He stared the video with a 62% charge. He addresses why in the full review and in the comments section but the video makes it seem like he was forced to stop at the Houston Galleria. He only had a 110V outlet in his garage and after using up 100+ miles of range giving test rides the night before the review, he was only able to add 40miles over night. I guess he did talk about this but said it was edited out due to time constraints. Of course I kind of feel the section of him sitting in the food court looking bored or next to the pool could have been edited out to explain why he started without a full charge but that was their editorial decision I guess. - - - Updated - - - I agree. For major news organizations with broad readership it is especially worth it.
Agreed. That "review" contained almost no useful information, and was primarily an exercise in cluelessness.