One year later, Consumer Reports still likes Tesla Model S

After a year of tooling around in its Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan, Consumer Reports likes the car, but says it has created "a few mild irritations." To which the Tesla-less among us say: cry us a river.

The Model S looses up to 10 miles of range when left uncharged for 24 hours at a time.

CR has put almost 11,400 miles on the Model S during the past year, and does have a few (very few) quibbles with the car. The single-charge range for the 85-kWh version of the car in "non-max" mode, which was rated by the EPA to be about 245 miles, regularly comes up about 20 miles short. Cold weather shaves off even more, and the car looses as many as 10 miles of range when left uncharged for 24 hours at a time.

And the air-conditioning isn't that great, CR says, noting that the cooling efforts aren't helped by the fact that there's no retractable shade for the roof. And, well, that's about it. Other than that, CR likes its rig. We should not be too surprised, since CR called the Model S "the most practical electric car we've ever tested"this past spring, giving the EV a score of 99 out of a possible 100 and touting the sedan's acceleration, handling and styling. The car continues to impress. Last month, CR reported near-perfect satisfaction levels from owners. Inquiring readers can check out Consumer Reports' most recent review here.

All of this is good news for a company still doing a bit of damage control in the wake of four fires, which haven't caused any major injuries but have made some folks (not to mention Tesla investors) a little skittish. Tesla re-stated that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration still gives the 2014 model-year Model S a five-star crash-test rating, and reminds everyone that the car remains far safer than the typical gas-powered vehicles. Now about that air-conditioning...


News Source: Consumer Reports