Overview

Although its svelte looks hint at luxury rather than revolution, the Tesla Model S has shaken up the electric car market in ways even its CEO Elon Musk might have been surprised with. As well as giving the establishment a nasty shock, it’s helped ‘normalise’ electric vehicles by making them usable, exciting and downright attractive.

The Model S’s main selling point is that it’s purely electric, and an electic car that’s less compromised by its range and charging infrastructure than many of its rivals. It’s seen by its enthusiastic owners as being part of the solution, not part of the problem – and for an increasing number of buyers, this is becoming central to how a car fits in their life. Besides, how does almost 400 miles of real world driving sound? Exactly.

Since its latest model update, there are two versions that make up the Tesla Model S range: regular and Plaid. Both get the same battery but where the former has two motors, the latter has three for 1,020hp. Battery variations are no longer signified by numbers as they used to be – where they came in in 75D, 100D and P100D forms amongst others.

Tesla’s Model S has been on sale in North America since 2012 and made in California, but UK models are built in the Netherlands. They also benefit from quality improvements, not least brought about by the introduction of the Tesla Model 3. Since then, we’ve seen plenty of new rivals arrive including the BMW i7, Mercedes EQS and a whole raft of SUVs, too. However, the Model S is no longer offered in right-hand drive form.

Due to the Model S’s pure EV nature, the cabin is incredibly spacious with a flat floor allowing easy and comfortable access to the middle seat. Open the large tailgate and you’ll find a 774-litre boot which can be extended by folding the back seats to reveal a cavernous 1,645-litre capacity.

Because there’s no engine up front, the ‘bonnet’ reveals another 150-litre boot, so even driving fully loaded there’s more usable luggage space than many people-carriers can muster. To find out what else the Model S can offer, keep reading for our full review.