The Tesla Model S is so good it broke Consumer Reports' ratings barrier. On a scale that is supposed to top out at 100, the Model S P85D garnered a score of 103. Consumer Reports recalculated its score reporting so this Model S wound up with a reported score of 100. The P85D is the all-wheel-version with motors both front and rear.
Consumer Reports says it bases its road-test score on the results of "more than 50 tests and evaluations" on public roads and track testing.
Why is Tesla so good?
Consumer Reports' auto testers are car fanatics. Some race cars. If ever they were cast in the image of Ralph Nader, that's in the rear-view mirror. They got off on the "brutally quick" 0-60 mph acceleration time of 3.5 seconds, the quickest of any car ever tested by the magazine. (Tesla claims 3.2 seconds 0-60, 1.4 seconds quicker than the original Model S.) They noted the car produced 691 hp by adding a 221-hp motor in front.
At the same time, it gets the equivalent of 87 miles per gallon, calculated by comparing the cost of the electricity the car uses to what it would cost to run a similar vehicle on gasoline. Electricity from the wall outlet is 2-3 times as efficient as gasoline on a cost basis.
On the downside, the car weighs almost 5,000 pounds, the range is 200 miles-plus, and you have to plan long trips around the location of 220-volt chargers or preferably Tesla 440-volt DC superchargers (with free electricity). It's also noisier at speed and less luxurious than other cars in its pricing ballpark -- $127,820 in the case of the CR test car. Early on in testing, there was a broken electric door latch to contend with.
Some things Tesla does well may not show on ratings. Tesla is the only automaker with a 17-inch center stack LCD. Rather than dedicate buttons to a garage door opener, they're virtual buttons on the display that pop up once you're close to home. Tesla sends updates over the air when they're needed and they're not just bug fixes. Some unlock more power and range via new algorithms. No need to trek to the dealership.Rounding downward to 100
All those good things gave the car a score of 103 out of a supposed-to-be-maximum of 100 points. Consumer Reports says it adjusted its ratings so the scale once again tops out at 100. For the time being, at least, the ratings of other vehicles won't be adjusted downward to keep the relative scale intact.
Twice before CR has had to adjust its ratings to account for high-scoring vehicles: the Porsche Boxster several years ago, and the Lexus LS in the early 1990s.
CR's current best cars: 6 German, 4 American
According to Consumer Reports, these are the highest-scoring cars CR has tested. About half did not get a "recommended" stamp, meaning the models were new and there was insufficient repair data from reader surveys, or because the car scored below average on repairs. Six of the 10 are German, four are American (two Teslas, two Chevrolets), and none are Asian.
Make/Model, Consumer Reports test score Tesla Model S P85D, 100 points Tesla Model S (85 kWh), 99 (recommended) BMW M235i, 98 (photo above) Mercedes-Benz S550 (AWD), 96 Porsche 911 Carrera S, 95 (recommended) Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec, 93 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 3LT, 92 (recommended) Audi A8 L, 91 Chevrolet Impala 2LTZ, 91 (recommended) Audi A6, (3.0T), 90 (recommended)
