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Consumer Reports Says Tesla Model S Is Best Overall Vehicle
cartechboy writes "When one thinks of Consumer Reports, refrigerator ratings and car seat reviews usually come to mind, but the organization actually reviews cars too. In fact, it just released a new round of top vehicle picks and it said the Tesla Model S is is the Best Overall Car you can buy. It's unusual, to say the least, for an outlet that typically names a Toyota or Lexus to choose an electric car that costs nearly $100,000 in most popular configurations from a Silicon Valley upstart. Interestingly, the Toyota Prius was named the Best Green Car. Isn't the Model S green? But I digress. A company that many thought would be bankrupt and closed by now has produced a brand-new electric car from scratch that Consumer Reports feels is the best car it's actually tested since 2007."
"f you wanna live, you'd better step on the gas! Oh wait, is this a Tesla? Shit! Well press on the prissy pedal!" - Cartman
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
To be fair, you could spend $100k on a Merc or a BMW and get something that looks like a $40k Merc or BMW but is less reliable.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Interestingly, the Toyota Prius was named the Best Green Car. Isn't the Model S green? But I digress
Because the Prius is completely ordinary (or even sub par) in every aspect EXCEPT for it's "green" profile.
The Tesla S is a genuinely great car. From power to handling to in vehicle infotainment systems, everything in the Model S is top notch.
That might be related to the price tag of a Model S being about triple that of the Prius, but hey, you get what you pay for.
This signature is false.
Where are the other cars with interesting technology? Having stories for run of the mill ICE cars would be a mistake. But geeks do tend to be interested in EVs and AVs.
Consumer Reports controls the Nobel prize committee, or at least did in 2008? Whoa, when did that happen?
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
So, the best car overall is a $100,000 luxury vehicle that can drive, at most, 4 hours and then needs to recharge for 5 hours??? Obviously Consumer Reports has a different set of standards than 99% of people who live in North America. Most of us are lucky if we afford one car worth $30K, let alone two (Tesla for city driving and another one for long distance).
I thought that the Consumer Reports mission was to test and report on consumer items not luxury goods...
It's a big deal because a year later, lots of people STILL think it's the best car on the market.
I don't respond to AC's.
The Consumer Reports article plus solid financial news and analyst forecasts for Tesla today and widely circulating speculation about their planned Gigafactory to be announced in a couple weeks with an aim of cutting battery costs by at least 50%, all lead to a surge in the stock today (2/25).
Even the confirmation that the Model X would indeed not surface until 2015 seemed to have no effect.
The stock was up as high as 17%, and closed up just under 14% (+$30 on the day to $248). With Morgan Stanley estimating a $320 price there is probably significant growth left, It seems they will have no problem funding that 5 to 7 Billion dollar battery plant. The "giga" refers to Tesla's need to build the equivalent of all of the world’s current production of lithium ion batteries under one factory roof. May be time to invest in on Lithium stocks as well.
Of course, the next drunk that crashes his car and lives to watch it burn will provide a stock dip, but that just sounds like importunity knocking.
Still, I predict Haters going to Hate. They should be arriving in about 3 seconds.....
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Or you could spend three times that on a Bentley and have a reupholstered Volkswagen Phaeton that delivers all the mileage of a 1980s pickup truck (and is also less reliable).
Over priced as the Model S is, that price is going no where but down, and range is going to go up.
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Ok. The Tesla S is the best vehicle that does not require either a ground support team, a special license or a two man crew.
then why isnt the Bugatti Veyron #1 on the list at ~2 million dollars?
You're talking about a scam in a Tesla article and mention Le Car and the Nobel Peace Prize? Do you know what the definition of a scam is?
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
Home version:
"It was on sale for 50% off, so I was able to buy it with the money I saved!"
Silicon Valley version:
"We lose $40 on each one but we make it up in volume!"
(see Osborne Computer)
It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
And now CR Best Overall? Tesla's on fire!
*ducks*
I am Audience.
Because more expensive doesn't mean better.
The Tesla Model S isn't better because it costs more, it's better because it's better.
An electric car with a powerful motor gets awesome acceleration, yet a quiet ride.
But its the car's electronics are better than any other car out there.
Plus a hundred grand is a lot of money, but its a number that doesn't require to be a 1% to be able to afford it, it's like a 10% or 15% richest person car.
The cheapest one at less than 60 grand after credits are affordable to maybe the top quarter of the US population.
Musk was right, EVs will be the best cars from now on.
First and foremost it is considered a disruptive and transformative technology; it's one of Elon's pets; and it's an aspirational product for geeks. All of which, but especially the first point mean that any Tesla article will attract a sizable crowd.
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
My typical powerstation is horrible at converting fossil fuels to electricity.
Now rain water, that it converts very well.
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I get the Slashdot love for Tesla. Running at usable power, pushing the limits of electrochemical storage, society having to come to terms with legal and liability issues raised by an unusual business model. Good stuff.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Consumer Reports has been reviewing cars forever, and I relied on them for my first two car purchases. Then I zeroed in on a Jeep (needed to get into the back country) and CR went out of its way to expressly say "DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE". I bought it anyway, and it was the best I've ever owned. Repair record was not perfect but still better than all those previously highly recommended vehicles, and the ergonomics were superior to anything I've have before or since. If that same model were still made today I'd buy another.
If you are looking to buy a new vehicle, ignore CR.
Actually when you compare a non-hybrid SUV to a hybrid mileage-wise, they are more green because they save more gas. However, that's leaving unchallenged the customer's perceived need to buy an SUV in the first place (not that ther aren't some that do need one.)
Someone had to do it.
... that electric cars are no greener than what the energy company uses to generate and transport electricity.
What's funny is it would take someone only a few seconds to look up the relevant facts, but they never do. If someone is opposed to "green technology," they just let their confirmation bias decide that statements that align with their beliefs are obviously true. ICE engines are incredibly inefficient. All that noise that requires a muffler is wasted energy. All that heat that requires a radiator is wasted energy.Power plants are fairly efficient, as are electric motors. Don't believe me? Run the numbers:
Using the magical power of the internet, we can find out that a power plant burning petroleum produces 12.7 kWh per gallon. Tesla recently drove two Model S cars across the country (3,464.5 miles). The total energy consumed by both cars was 1197.8 kWh. It would take a power plant 94.3 gallons of gasoline (1197.8 kWh / 12.7 kWh / gallon) to generate the electricity used by both cars, so each car drove 3,464.5 miles on the equivalent of less than 48 gallons of gasoline. That's 72 MPG. What 5 seater, high performance, luxury hybrid gets 72 MPG?. It doesn't matter if the power plant is burring coal, power plants and electric motors are so freakin' efficient they blow everything else out of the water. Furthermore, it's much easier to scrub the exhaust of a power plant, than of a car.
And guess what, the US produces energy using all sorts of fuels: coal, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, wind and solar. Hybrids only burn gas, no alternative. Electric cars are green, get over it and stop spreading FUD to people too lazy to google reliable sources and perform simple math.
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In the 1960s, the top speed for a wheel driven vehicle (not a jet powered one, but '60s tech driving wheels) was over 400 mph. 50 years later, production cars (which this limited run doesn't even qualify for), are nearing 70% of what was achieved in the '60s. Managing to hit 70% of what was done 50 years ago isn't going to awe me. Top speed is one of the least interesting performance measures of a car. Why would top speed matter in a road car when it's never legal or safe for a car to do it on the road?
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