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Tesla Model S 100D: Wherever, No Matter What.
TESLA MODEL S 100D
WHEREVER. NO MATTER WHAT.
Words: Marco Rallo
Photography: S. Lomax
I can hardly believe it. We started with a warm and beautiful sun and with the firm conviction that weather forecasts are always right – after all we are in 2018 – but after leaving the motorway the situation has changed. For the worse or better it only depends on how you define yourself adventurous. I have never refused a last minute challenge, those that convince you to leave the comfort place of your home with difficulty, but what was supposed to be a warm sunny winter day is soon turning into the snowfall of the century. Leaving the toll booth, there is no trace of that gray asphalt that we take for granted, but a layer of snow is covering everything. Stunned I give a look at the photographer sitting next to me and we decide to go on, putting all our hopes in the four-wheel drive and the intelligent management system of the torque delivered by the electric units below us, an incredible number of calculations per second that against each predictions pull us out, one bend after the other, overcoming some vehicles stationary trying to fit chains on the wheels.
I have never crossed this road in my life, I know that in front of us there are only a dozen kilometers, but I have absolutely no idea about the conditions that await us behind the next corner and the one after it. It could be a simple bit, or a stack of hairpin bends piled on top of each other and where I already imagine slipping and cursing my bravado for challenging even the slightest logical rule. I am driving a full electric car that costs over € 100,000, which although it is equipped with winter tires, still weighs two tons and having an immediate torque and especially delivered in its entirety, could turn into an ecological boomerang. The guys at Tesla have assured me that the Model S is ready for anything and that a snow test would be an excellent situation for letting even the most skeptical understand the great usability of this latest generation tech-vehicle. Personally I was looking for some snow, but with this I did not mean ending up in the middle of a storm. There is no trace of snowplow vehicles and some local drivers, certainly more accustomed than me, pass by pretty damn fast, despite the mastery of their car is a fairly casual factor: that VW Golf planted in the wall after a series of short tunnels is the proof and I absolutely do not want to call the office and ask for some help while crashing into a tree.
Lights on, air conditioning at full speed, radio necessarily turned off – almost to allow a better concentration – and eyes fixed in the midst of that storm of snowflakes as big as city cars. The Model S slightly moves when the Pirelli Sottozero goes to step on those stacks of more consistent snow, not yet crushed by the low traffic that points towards the summit. The steering wheel, always precise and light, is easily checked and the body of the car although transmits that millisecond of lightness, remains right where you were addressing it. I lighten the throttle pedal further, committing myself to being as docile as possible with any maneuver, especially when braking, and I keep climbing without major problems. What perhaps makes the whole thing more dramatic is the surreal silence of the snow, which falls around us and on the car without making the slightest sound, just like our electric advance, accompanied only by the rolling of the 19 inches on the soft surface.
I’m not going to repeat to you in detail what we’re talking about – we did it exhaustively on issue #61 during our test drive with the Model X – but I want to clarify that the Model S in question is located in the exact point of the SUV we’ve driven within the Tesla price list. I am in fact driving a 100D and therefore always pushed by a double electric motor with 100 kWh batteries. Each engine has the task of giving energy to the respective axles, hence the four-wheel drive. In favor of the Model S there is a saving in terms of weight, with an overall mass that stops at just over 2 tons and therefore, on balance, the average range calculated with a full charge stops at around 632km, something which will come down depending on your type of driving and how many resources you call in question during the journey. The total connectivity of the driver remains and the technological involvement available too, not only for the control of the car itself, but also for all those accessories that make your daily cohabitation more enjoyable, perfectly possible given the increasing number of superchargers spots, officially distributed by Tesla or at third parties, as in the case of luxury hotels and holiday’s locations (not to be unnecessarily boring and repeat what my colleague said, you can find all the technical specifications on #61).
The Model S, which has been on the market for a longer time than the Model X, maintains a sober look, with its four doors and the large tailgate for the luggage compartment at the back, always remembering that you can store a couple of bags even in front, where you usually find an engine. The 100D will not be the top of the range (there is the P100D) but boasts impressive performance, with a 0-100 kph able to worry your neighbor with the new 911 and a maximum speed limited to 250 per hour. Drive it with a heavy right foot and you will be constantly surprised by the electric thrust that will be fully delivered regardless of any other parameter, all thanks to the direct connection with 0 gears that we could define On/Off. The cockpit is a familiar place, and therefore in addition to the colossal touch screen from which to govern every aspect of the car, there is huge legroom for those in front and those behind, with particular mention for the incredible white leather saddlery. Calm down, it is a special leather easily washable and will not become black even after an intensive use of your Model S.
The road in front of us continues to disappear under a storm that tries everything it can for stopping us, but now it is a personal thing and despite having discovered that after a couple of junctions we are probably the only stupid around, the Tesla proves once again able to respond “I am here” to our every request. Despite the excitement and the euphoria of the moment I never take off my eyes from the indicator of the remaining range, which between the motorway, climbing up here and the multitude of devilries activated for allowing us to see beyond the windshield, is gradually falling down. In my head I start making some calculations, trying in every way to match the difference of the remaining kilometers with the comeback drive to the nearest Tesla charging station and, if math is not an opinion, with a gap of just 20km we should do it. Any alternative? I do not want to think about it.
Almost representing a deal with the One above, once crossed a narrow bridge we realize that keep going would do nothing but make us end our day on the road (in the best scenario possible), maybe waiting for the end of the blizzard in order to get out from an ugly situation. We stop and with a decided push on the throttle, I widen the long tail of the Model S. I do not want to ask too much because fate has been on my side the entire day and so we point the nose towards the valley, still with no sigh of relief given that in some cases the descent is even more difficult than the climb. The Tesla “engine brake” – allow me the term – is great, and lightly pinching the pedals we move very easily and in the half of the time we used to reach that climatic boundary that turns snow into rain. I take a further look at the range left and I’m afraid we won’t make it, seeing all the convictions I had built up to that moment now fading away.
Do you want to know how it ended? Well, we made it and I parked the Model S in front of its supercharger, confirming that it is not only the best alternative for your every day car, but a perfect tool useful for leaving the waving sea in the morning, end almost buried in the snow on the Alps and come back home for a cocktail by the sea. All of this without any stop for energy and having only paid for the motorway. Tell me what else do you need from this brilliant invention?
TESLA MODEL S 100D
Layout – 100 kWh battery unit – all-wheel-drive
Engine – two electric motors – estimated range 632 Km (NEDC)
Transmission – direct drive 0 gears
Power – 422 hp / 660 Nm
Weight – 2.175 kg
Acceleration – 4,4 sec.
Top Speed – 250 kph
Price – from €111.130
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