What It’s Like to Test Drive the Tesla Model X P100D
By Nick Mafi. Photos courtesy of Tesla.
Consider the fact that by the time you finish this sentence, an SUV weighing 5,400 pounds would have, from a stand-still, accelerated up to 60 m.p.h. And just to make the feat all the more impressive, it will have been done so without emitting a single bit carbon into the environment. Thus is the dream of one of the world's most revolutionary innovators, Elon Musk.
Tesla has grown from a small all-electric auto company trying to break into a diesel-dominated industry to, earlier this spring, surpassing General Motors in becoming the most valuable automaker in the United States. And at the forefront of this revolutionary brand, which is also reshaping the roofs of our home with a more sustainable design, is the Model X P100D. Forget the fact that this SUV is quicker than any car in its class on the planet, and that it's all electric, but that it also has autonomous driving capabilities as well.
AD took the Tesla Model X P100D for a test-drive last week, which have recently been released to the first customers late last year, to see if it's worth all of the hype, and the $82,500 to $150,000 price range.
Exterior Features
The smartly designed Tesla Model X P100D is the type of vehicle that will turn heads on any street corner. But not because of a guttural engine noise (in fact, the car emits virtually no sound since there is literally no engine) but because of its futuristic aesthetic. Most notably, the car has two distinctions that, at first glance, separates it from every other car on the road. First is the front windshield, a 65-inch sheet of glass that curves past the drivers head (about double the size of a normal windshield), making it the world's largest front window. Second, and more impressively, the SUV has falcon wing back doors (also referred to as gull-wing doors). Not only can these (and the two front doors) be operated by an expansive touch-screen in the car (more on that later), but by a compact remote that's shaped like the Model X. If the falcon doors were not enough, Musk ensured they were designed in a way that, through various sensors, the doors-turned-wings would not hit any surrounding objects. This feature makes them in all likelihood, the world's smartest doors to ever be fitted onto a car.
Interior Features
As with any car that costs six-figures, the seats of Tesla's Model X P100D are sharply designed and comfortable to sit in. But that's likely the only similarity you will experience inside this car versus other in the same class. The front dashboard has no nobs or buttons, as everything (from controlling the doors to browsing the internet, and more) is controlled through a 14” x 9.5” touchscreen that looks similar to an iPad. Because it's a touchscreen that is running through various softwares, the SUV will always be the most up-to-date version of the car available, as Tesla wirelessly sends updates to its vehicles around the world.
Engine
For staters, there is no engine in this car. Which means the front space is open and available for towing luggage. Instead, the car is propelled from roughly 7,000 batteries which is located at the base of the car. The energy flows from the batteries, through an inverter, to the motor, which then eventually moves the wheels. These batteries can drive 289 miles on a single charge (and can recharge more than fifty percent in roughly thirty minutes). A map of the world (which can easily be pulled up on the touchscreen) shows the location of each Tesla charging station around the country, and world. Sure, the U.S. map is flooded with charging areas, as is Europe. Yet, there appears to be an increasing number of charging locations being established in places within the Middle East as well as throughout Asia. Speaking of charging, one of the most remarkable features with this car, perhaps, is the fact that when the driver stops accelerating, the torque propelling the four wheels reverses, causing the magnetic field to reverse, sending the energy that's moving the vehicle back into the battery pack, effectively giving the car more juice while it's still driving. If this isn't proof that the future is now, I don't know what is.
Advanced Technology
Owners can now select level 2 of semi-autonomous driving. (Over time, a car with “Full Self-Driving Capability" will become increasingly more capable until it is eventually capable of level 5 autonomy at a safety level significantly greater than that of a human driver.) Level 2 means that the car, using eight cameras and twelve ultrasonic sensors around the vehicle, will move and stop, while the driver handles the steering wheel. This is perfect for bumper to bumper traffic (which is exactly what I experienced at times in New York City's congested streets). Again, I tried this while on the highway, going 60 m.p.h., with dozens of cars around me. Instinctively, I was very nervous at times when other cars veered too close to me. But, true to form, the Model X sensed the surrounding cars and acted accordingly. So advanced are the cars sensors, that it has the ability to self-parallel park, even in the tightest of spots.
Selling Points
The Tesla Model X (even without the P100D addition) is the world's safest SUV. Much of that safety comes from the base of the vehicle. Because it's tightly packed with some 7,000 batteries, it is extremely heavy, which means it won't easily roll over (a common concern with SUV's). What's more, the base means that a T-bone collision from the side has significantly less impact since the other vehicle is hitting such a tremendously sturdy, and well-fortified base. Beyond safety, the SUV runs (very, very quickly) exclusively on clean energy. After driving the Tesla Model X P100D, I am convinced more than ever that the concept and engineering behind the vehicle is how the car's of tomorrow must be built, no matter the brand.
This story originally appeared on Architectural Digest.
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