2016 Tesla Model S review – Roadshow

The Good The Tesla Model S 90D’s electric drivetrain is substantially more efficient than any internal combustion engine, and gives the car smooth and quick acceleration. All-wheel drive comes courtesy of a smart dual motor system. The new Autopilot feature eases the stress of stop-and-go traffic and long road trips.

The Bad Even at Tesla’s Supercharger stations, recharging the battery takes significantly longer than refilling an internal combustion engine car’s gas tank, limiting where you can drive. Tesla hasn’t improved its infotainment system much from the Model S’ launch.

The Bottom Line Among the different flavors of Tesla Model S, the 90D is the one to get, exhibiting the best range and all-wheel drive, while offering an uncomplicated, next-generation driving experience that shows very well against equally priced competitors.

Having tested driver assistance systems in many cars, and even ridden in fully self-driving cars, I should have been ready for Tesla’s new Autopilot feature. But engaging it while cruising the freeway in the Model S 90D, I kept my foot hovering over the brake.

My trepidation didn’t come so much from the adaptive cruise control, which kept the Model S following traffic ahead at a set distance, but from the self-steering, this part of Autopilot managing to keep the Model S well-centered in its lane with no help from me. Over many miles, I built up more trust in the system, letting the car do the steering in situations from bumper-to-bumper traffic and a winding road through the hills.

Although the middle of the Model S range, the 90D offers the best range and a wealth of useful tech, such as Autopilot self-driving.

Wayne Cunningham/Roadshow

Tesla added Autopilot to its Model S line as an option last year, along with all-wheel-drive. More recently, the high-tech automaker improved its batteries, upgrading its cars from their former 65 and 85 kilowatt-hour capacity to 70 and 90 kilowatt-hour. The example I drove, the 90D, represents all these advances.

More importantly, the 90D is the current range-leader among the Model S line, boasting 288 miles on a full battery charge.

The Model S’ improvements fall outside of typical automotive industry product cycles, fulfilling Tesla’s promise of acting more like a technology company, constantly building and deploying new features. Tesla accomplishes that goal partially through over-the-air software updates, improving existing cars, but the 90D presents significant hardware updates over the original Model S launched four years ago.

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Sit and go

Of course, this Model S exhibited the ease of use of the original. Walking up to the car with the key fob in my pocket, it automatically unlocked. When I got in the car, it powered up without me having to push a start button, so I only needed to put it in drive to get on the road.

Likewise, the design hasn’t changed, its sleek, hatchback four-door body offering excellent cargo room, both front and back, and seating space. The cabin feels less cramped than most cars due to the lack of a transmission tunnel and a dashboard bare of buttons or dials.

The flat floor in the Model S’ cabin makes for enhanced passenger room.

Wayne Cunningham/Roadshow

The big, 17-inch touchscreen in the center of the dashboard shows navigation, stereo, phone, energy consumption and car settings. I easily went from full-screen to a split-screen view, the windows showing each appearing instantly. A built-in 4G/LTE data connection powers Google maps and Internet-based audio. The LCD instrument panel in front of me showed my speed, energy usage, remaining range, and intelligently swapped audio information for turn-by-turn directions when started navigation.

The instrument panel actually made the experience of driving under Autopilot more comfortable, reassuring me with graphics that showed when the Model S’ sensors were detecting the lane lines and the traffic around me. Impressively, the sensors could differentiate, as shown on the screen’s graphics, a passenger car from a big truck.