Car review: Tesla Model X 90D

Electrifying Tesla X could quietly reign supreme on the roads, says Martin Gurdon

Impressive: the Tesla X has rear doors that pivot up from the roof

17 February 2017

The policeman said we’d have to wait. Even without the sub-machine gun, we wouldn’t have argued. “Her Majesty will be here shortly,” he said.

We were near Windsor in Tesla’s electric Model X SUV, close to an entrance on the Queen’s estate, and had been swiftly moved on. Soon, a flotilla of black Range Rovers swept past, one containing a familiar face.

Whatever you think of electric cars, Tesla has certainly changed the vehicles’ image from frumpy to desirable, and it hopes to repeat the process with the Model X, which clothes the Model S’s alloy underpinnings in a discreet SUV body with two unusual touches; a huge, panoramic windscreen and gimmicky rear doors that electrically pivot up from the roof.

The car has four-wheel-drive and twin electric motors, can have two or three rows of seats, and features the giant touch-screen centre console, which is a Tesla trademark.

There are several power options, but the thing is brutally quick. Some P100D versions offer a superbike-rivalling 0-60 of 2.9 secs. The 90D will hit 155mph, has a claimed range of about 303 miles, and with the pukka recharging gear, a 50 per cent power boost in about 20 minutes. Full home charging is six hours.

The car behaves like an automatic, and requires a little re-tuning to drive smoothly, as deceleration can be a bit fierce until you get used to it. It already has the technology to drive itself, and did this on the M4, even changing lanes, which felt weird.

It’s stuffed with tech and safety kit, is so quiet that little rattles inaudible in HMQ’s Range Rover become noticeable, and it handles and stops with precision. On London roads, the ride was rather unyielding, even on the softest suspension setting.

There’s a slight whiff of too-good-to-be-true about Tesla, but it’s hard not to be impressed by this car, although you’ll need to be wealthy to own one. Prices start at £79,000.

TESLA Model X 90D
Top speed: 155mph;
C02: 0g/km;
0-60mph: 4.8sec;
Price: £85,500.

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