One has to be Tesla let - they stirred up the industry and found solutions to problems that nobody cared about before. The topic of fast charging stations on motorways, for example, would not be a thing without Tesla's private commitment, including giving away the electricity, because there would be no pillars. We tried how to do that Tesla Model X beats in everyday winter life.
Model X is the top model in the Tesla nomenclature and a kind of SUV, whereby the 5,04 meter long vehicle is visually a mixture of van and SUV coupe, at least has nothing to do with conventional SUV standards. In spite of its width of 2,07 meters, it looks elegant on the street and its shape is harmonious. The drag coefficient of 0,24 seems quite credible. Because the successful, but ultimately simple form could not be enough for the inclined buyer to document the otherness of his vehicle, and because - as you can hear - 90 percent of the customers found satisfaction in surveys, Tesla donated wing doors to the Model X. But only in the back.
Theoretically, getting in easier, even in narrow parking spaces easier, practically go the wings not much less than the conventional front doors. Incidentally, in a vehicle of this width, any European standard parking bay is too narrow, so that better avoid such surfaces. All doors open and close electrically, which is smart, but takes longer than without tools. In everyday life you do not use the rear portals to quickly put a bag on the seat or hang up his jacket, as in normal SUVs. In addition, the process takes too long and for the jacket looking for a hook in vain.
The Tesla Model X is allowed to do that because it's different and needs to be different. Alternative solutions can be found so many. It is well-known that the models of this brand do without switches in the interior and that everything is controlled by a giant screen that is actually quite intuitive to use. Works well with small weaknesses that may be due to a lack of habit. The fact that the car unlocks when approaching is pleasant, the renouncement of a start button or an ignition key only logical. Where there is nothing to ignite due to lack of internal combustion engine, the footstep is enough on the brake pedal to make the car travel wide. To start, you use the well-known Mercedes steering wheel lever and taps him direction D and already purring 2,5 tons of vehicle almost silently.
Caution should be exercised when pressure is applied to the streaming pedal. Tesla uses the inherent nature of electric motors to deliver their maximum torque from the start to produce phenomenal sprint values. From the state only 3,1 seconds pass until the 100er mark is reached. The top speed is 250 km / h. That's not surprising, because 510 PS are at the rear and 262 PS at the front. However, the 100 kWh battery can only deliver enough power to limit system performance to 611 PS.
So there is plenty of power in the engines, and at the start also in the battery. Because it is winter in Germany, we were only able to test the acceleration force to a limited extent, but we pushed the battery to the limit by means of the required heating output. The Tesla Model X is, in spite of all the inherent finesse, a pretty normal electric car with the associated weaknesses. And this includes the battery. The battery holds 100 kilowatt hours, which is about four times as much as with an E-Golf or a Nissan Leaf. It also takes four times longer for a household socket to fill up the storage.
We did not really try that because we did not want to park the car for three days at the power outlet. The alternative with the power socket - the matching cable is at an extra price of 1.600 Euro - halved the charging time, but is also not satisfactory. Remedy the supercharger, the Tesla has set up along the highways. In 20 kilometers away is such a station. There, our test car, as promised in 30 minutes, reads 80 kWh of electricity, 80 percent of the full charge. This works like refueling at a gasoline pump. Remove the hose with the plug from the pillar, put it in the socket and eat a bite. Wonderful, especially since Tesla still gives away the power for this model.
Less wonderful is the resulting range. 542 km is Tesla in the European standard cycle, in our winter everyday test, it was about half. Consumption was between 35 and 4, kilowatt hours per 100 kilometer. The route profile and the heat output played a greater role than the average speed. On the highway, at a maximum of 120 km / h, as usual on American highways, the consumption decreases. German highways with frequent changes of tempo drive him up. The use of the air conditioning in winter is also not helpful. Nothing works without them. The attempt of resignation failed after a short time on fogging discs.
You get further with the Tesla Model X than with an E-Golf, but not as much as you would expect. The Model X is currently the only electric car that is also available with a towbar (800 euros). The advantages also include the ample cargo space. The front trunk swallows at least 187 liters, the rear up to 2.493 liters if you use the vehicle as a five-seater and fold the two seats in the third row. Right, thanks to the third row of seats, the Model X is the almost perfect mom taxi for your own children and their friends, in an urban environment - let's say in the greater Hollywood area - so it's in good hands. You should also be reasonably successful there, because Tesla charges 156.700 euros for this chic e-van. Our test car including various extras (cold weather package, autopilot, special paint, etc.) came to 182.540 euros. If you order it as 75 D with the smaller battery, you will have to pay 102.500 euros plus extras. Therefore, widespread use should not be expected. (Günter Weigel / SP-X)
