Driving The Tesla Model X: Iron Man Builds A Minivan

Don’t believe anyone who says they’ve truly driven the Tesla Model X yet. At the launch event Tuesday, Tesla gave a handful of reporters all of 10 minutes in the car, just enough to tool around a parking lot, do a couple of quick launches and play with the falcon doors.

But even a brief drive was enough to get a sense of how different the Model X is from other SUVs, in both technology and feel. If Tony Stark took time off from building Iron Man suits to design a family hauler, the result would be a vehicle much like the Model X.

From the outside, the Model X comes across as a sleeker edition of the European “coupe” SUVs—the BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe. The front end has been redesigned from the S with fewer openings; the lack of ventilation more clearly marks it as an electric machine. While most SUVs come with roof racks, Tesla will discourage owners from installing them on the X because of its penalties in aerodynamics and electric range; instead, it will offer a quick-connect tow hitch and an accessories bar for bikes and other kit.

When you set inside the X, you immediately notice the windshield rising above your head, stretching beyond the front seats. It’s a huge expanse of glass, with a shading applied in a seamless gradient. The sun visor pops out of the A-pillar and attaches to the center pod with a magnet; its far narrower than normal, requiring Tesla to hide the requisite mirror and makeup light behind another suede panel.

The dash has the high-def gauge display and 17-inch touchscreen from the Model S, a interface that still seems advanced three years after it appeared. The Model X has roughly 8 inches of ground clearance, and while it rides higher than an S, it’s by no means a towering SUV, something that might actually put off a few customers. While it has all-wheel-drive, there was no mention of off-road capability during our introduction

What we did talk about was speed.

You have to stomp it, the Tesla engineer said. Because the torque in an electric motor has its maximum effect when it just begins to turn, and because that moment happens faster than you typically move your foot, Tesla advises starting a 0-60 run by stomping on the accelerator.

The result: the Tesla kicks back, especially in Ludicrous mode. It can do 3.2 seconds to 60 mph, this run was 3.8 due to some wheelspin from loose gravel. From a standstill, it’s a Lamborghini-level of acceleration, and yet it’s also strangely silent. We have grown so accustomed to the roar of an engine to power such g-forces that their absence feels alien.

The Model S hustles around corners well for its size thanks to a combo of huge tires (up to 22 inches) and a wickedly low center of gravity from the bottom-mounted battery pack. The Model X follows the same formula with similar results; a couple of quick turns around some cones revealed minimal body roll, and a healthy level of grip.

But let’s be honest; most SUVs aren’t sold based on handling, but on utility, and here the Model X may take some salesmanship. The rear seats continue the spaceship theme—with leather and gloss-plastic backs instead of the traditional couch form. That creates a channel underneath the seats, much like an airplane, although anyone with children will immediately wonder how much food could get lost down there. While the third row (which would be tight for adult passengers) folds flat, the second-row seats do not; they slide all the way forward and scrunch themselves against the front seats for maximum hauling.

Elon Musk and other Tesla execs made much of how much cargo the X could hold in its various cubbies — between the front trunk, the main hold and a deep third well behind the rear seats big enough to swallow a couple of airline-sized carry-ons. All of which is true, but there’s still a few use cases where a more traditional SUV may outdo the X; long loads, or messy ones. I’m not used to worrying about cargo scratching the gloss finish of my seats, but Model X owners might be.

It would take several days with a Model X to truly evaluate its mission as a family car. The cars we drove, and the ones delivered to six customers Tuesday, were so new they were built with prototype or “soft” tooling while the company ramps up output. Tesla has been known for taking care of its owners when their cars have glitches, but the Model X looks like a next-level challenge for any automaker to build without flaw. Life with a Model X in your garage would mean the risk of tech issues unique in both type and number from, say, an Audi Q7. But it would never be boring, and that may be enough to get the Model X in thousands of homes.