{"id":25462,"date":"2018-08-07T06:49:38","date_gmt":"2018-08-07T06:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/?p=25462"},"modified":"2019-02-18T13:05:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T13:05:45","slug":"tesla-model-s-dubai-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/tesla-model-s-dubai-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Tesla Model S Review: Electric Saloon Driven In Dubai"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is it?<\/h3>\n

The Tesla Model S<\/a> is the quintessential electric car. Launched way back in 2012, Tesla has sold over 200,000 of these battery-powered saloons, providing the company with the funds to build the Model X SUV<\/a>, and the Model 3, the small saloon designed to bring all-electric motoring to the masses.<\/p>\n

The Model S, however, is not for the masses. You can have it in three guises in the UAE \u2013 75D<\/a>, 100D<\/a> and P100D<\/a> \u2013 but whichever option you choose, you\u2019re going to be spending a lot of cash for the privilege of guilt-free motoring. The cheapest model, the 75D, starts at 326,000, but that price rockets up to AED 560,500 for the high-performance P100D with the infamous \u2018Ludicrous Mode\u2019.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the P100D is the one we tested.<\/p>\n

What do you get for your half-a-million dirhams? Well, you get supercar performance. The P100D will do the 0-100 km\/h dash in 2.7 seconds, and go on to a top speed of 250 km\/h. It\u2019ll also provide a theoretical range of 613 km, running on electric-only power. That means you can speed about safe in the knowledge that you\u2019re contributing nothing to air pollution, the burning of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases. Going green may be expensive, but it sure feels good.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/h3>\n

How does it drive?<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s get Ludicrous Mode out of the way first. The Tesla Model S P100D is the fastest car we\u2019ve ever driven, hands-down. The way it gathers pace beggars belief. You stomp on the throttle, and 762 bhp is instantly available. There\u2019s no build-up of revs; it\u2019s just a hammer-blow to the face as you rocket towards the horizon. The G-force pummels your stomach to the point that, if you do several top-speed runs, you\u2019ll end up feeling nauseous. It\u2019s insanely fast, this thing. Ludicrous, if you like.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019re not going to be driving about in Ludicrous Mode most of the time. If you did, you\u2019ll see your batteries and hairline deteriorating rapidly. Happily, there are two other driving modes to choose from \u2013 Sport and Chill \u2013 and there\u2019s a lot to distinguish the three from each other.<\/p>\n

Chill is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Ludicrous. It turns the Tesla Model S from a mind-blowing super-saloon into something of a luxury limo. It\u2019s quiet and refined, and in no way encourages you to drive quickly. Even when you stomp on the throttle, you\u2019ll find that there\u2019s only a moderate amount of power available \u2013 enough to get you up to highway speeds, but nowhere near enough to give you goosebumps.\"New<\/a><\/p>\n

Funnily enough, Chill mode is probably the best fit for the Model S. After all, this is a comfortable, spacious saloon, and wafting around silently in it is an extremely pleasant experience. The steering is light, the ride compliant \u2013 it\u2019s no wonder limo companies are turning out to be great Tesla customers. You\u2019ll get more kilometres between charges when you drive like this, too.<\/p>\n

Sport is a nice mix between Ludicrous and Chill. While it doesn\u2019t provide access to the full 762 bhp that can be extracted from the batteries, you do get some pretty spritely performance \u2013 enough to see 100 km\/h in well under 5 seconds. The ride and steering, meanwhile, stay relaxed and light. It makes for an effective way to see off motorway miles with ease.<\/p>\n

If you do happen across some corners, though, the Tesla Model S won\u2019t disappoint. Delve into the sub-menus on the enormous infotainment screen, and you can add artificial weight to the steering and firm up the suspension. Even with everything set to their most comfortable settings, though, you\u2019ll find that the Model S is quick and responsive through the bends, with the car managing to hold incredible levels of traction through fast corners. The steering is a little distant, providing very little feedback in terms of what\u2019s happening to the front wheels, but it\u2019s easy enough to sense what the car\u2019s doing and adjust inputs accordingly.<\/p>\n

One thing that really takes getting used to, however, is the regenerative braking. It effectively kills your ability to coast \u2013 if you\u2019re not on the accelerator, you\u2019re slowing. A lot. This can be annoying at first, but then you notice the green charging bar filling up as you slow, and it becomes something of a mission to max it out. Plus, if you don\u2019t like it, you can turn it off.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the faux-leather (for environmental reasons) seats are excellent, the cabin is spacious and bright, and the back seats fold flat, meaning you can carry large loads about no problem.<\/p>\n

And range anxiety isn\u2019t really an issue in the 100 models, which carry larger battery capacities (though the P100D uses the extra juice for power, rather than range). The claimed range is 613 km, but you\u2019ll probably get around 500 km in real life. That still isn\u2019t bad, so long as you can plan your journeys around the half-hour it\u2019ll take to charge through a Tesla supercharger, or eight hours through a normal mains outlet. For most people in the UAE, though, journeys aren\u2019t going to be long enough to have to worry about running out of juice.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/h3>\n

Interior quality and tech<\/h3>\n

Being a car designed to usher in a new world of personal transportation, the Tesla Model S obviously goes big on tech. As a result, there are no buttons on the dashboard \u2013 every control is instead found on an enormous, 17-inch tablet display at the top of the centre console.<\/p>\n

It looks complicated, but what\u2019s actually disarming is the simplicity of the whole thing. You climb in, and your first instinct is to search for some sort of start\/stop button. But you\u2019re a Tesla driver, not a caveman, so there\u2019s no need. Instead, the key fob \u2013 which looks like a little toy Model S \u2013 recognises you\u2019re in the car, and you can simply switch the gear selector to Drive and go. It\u2019s the same story when you exit the vehicle \u2013 just get out and it\u2019ll turn itself off and lock.<\/p>\n

And while you can just drive about in your Tesla without paying much attention to the screen, you\u2019ll want to unpack its myriad functions. There\u2019s on-demand internet radio, meaning you can tune into any station from anywhere in the world. There\u2019s an amazing sat-nav that\u2019s basically Google Maps displayed on the gigantic display. There\u2019s a properly good park-assist function that displays your distances from whatever objects are around the car. The lists goes on.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s before you start diving into the car\u2019s settings. Through the screen, you can change everything from how long the interior light stays on after you exit to how forceful you want the regenerative braking to be. And you get notifications about when your car\u2019s due a service, and when over-the-air updates have been delivered. It\u2019s properly futuristic, this thing.<\/p>\n

The same can be said of the overall cabin design. It feels like a concept car that was actually put into production as is. There are swooshing lines along the side-sills and large glass panels, and the fact that there are hardly any buttons only adds to this feeling of technological advancement.<\/p>\n

The materials aren\u2019t quite up to the same standard as you\u2019d find on, say, a BMW M5, but they\u2019re by no means unacceptable on a car as expensive as the Model S. Overall, the Tesla Model S feels like a quality product, and it\u2019s easy to see why its owners are so fond of it.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/h3>\n

Running costs<\/h3>\n

This is where things get interesting. While you\u2019ll have to fork out at least AED 326,000 for your Tesla Model S, you should at least be able to run it for next to nothing, right? That\u2019s tempting with petrol prices climbing.<\/p>\n

As its name suggests, the Tesla Model S P100D contains a 100 kWh battery. In Dubai, buying your electricity from DEWA, filling the battery up from zero will cost you AED 23. That\u2019s incredibly good value for 500 km of driving. We run a daily Fiat 500, one of the least thirsty cars available, and 500 km will cost us around AED 80.<\/p>\n

Plus, if you\u2019re so inclined, you can top up your Tesla at various free (for now) charging points dotted around Dubai, so if you were really looking to save money, you wouldn\u2019t have to spend a single dirham on battery juice.<\/p>\n

But what about services and battery replacements? Well, Tesla will give you an eight-year, unlimited mileage warranty on your car, including the battery. And if anything does go wrong with the car, Tesla reckons 95% of issues can be fixed via over-the-air software tweaks that are worked out by running through the car\u2019s diagnostics.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re running the P100D, though, one thing you\u2019ll have to budget for its tyres. Our test car ran on high-performance Pirelli rubber, and those tyres don\u2019t come cheap. Likewise, you\u2019ll have to set aside quite a bit for fully comprehensive insurance<\/a> \u2013 a half-million-dirham car is expensive to cover no matter how green it is. Expect to pay at least AED 28,000 for a fully comprehensive policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/h3>\n

Our verdict<\/h3>\n

The Tesla Model S really does feel like we\u2019ve arrived in a petrol-free future. It delivers real-world usability with its impressive range, and enormous thrills if you opt for the P100D. Make no mistake, this is a hugely expensive car, and Tesla\u2019s credentials as a luxury brand aren\u2019t quite up there with the established manufacturers. But if you\u2019ve got the money and you want a taste of things to come, we\u2019d recommend the Model S over any other electric car (and even over a lot of conventional cars, too).<\/p>\n

Scroll down for more pics.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We drive the Tesla Model S in Dubai, finding real-world usability with an impressive range, and enormous thrills if you opt for the P100D.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2797,2666],"tags":[2672,2595,2869,2612,3261,3262,2723,2606,2780,3263,2559,2560],"class_list":["post-25462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electric-cars","category-reviews","tag-driven","tag-dubai","tag-electric-car","tag-electric-cars","tag-model-s","tag-p100d","tag-review","tag-road-test","tag-tesla","tag-tesla-motors","tag-uae","tag-united-arab-emirates"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yallacompare.com\/car-deals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}