http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/ct-tesla-model-x-first-drive-20160218-story.html Tesla Model X customers finally test all-electric performance SUV [20160219] Robert Duffer
[video flash Take a look at the falcon wing doors of the all-electric Tesla Model X P90D AWD SUV at the Highland Park, Ill., store. Feb. 16, 2016. (Robert Duffer / Chicago Tribune) images http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c73815/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929/700/700x394 Photos: Tesla Model X http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c62c97/turbine/chi-apphoto-tesla-model-x-wre0031404498-20150929/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c73cc4/turbine/ct-ct-tesla-model-x-drucker-jpg-20160218/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c73cc5/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-006/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c73cc5/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-007/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c73ec3/turbine/ct-ct-tesla-model-x-slotnick-jpg-20160218/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c62c96/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-011/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-56c62c97/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-010/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-560b6047/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-004/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-560b604e/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-002/750/750x422 http://www.trbimg.com/img-560b6052/turbine/ct-photos-tesla-model-x-20150929-001/750/750x422 ] Good things still come to those who wait, even in the digital age. After four years of waiting for Model X, Tesla's sport utility vehicle, Chicago-area customers got to drive it and complete their orders at the Tesla store in Highland Park during a weeklong publicity blitz. "I was No. 789 on the wait list," said Natalie Slotnick, an interior designer from Glencoe who had her reservation from March 2012 queued up in her email. "If you want something, it's worth the wait." Since 2012, more than 20,000 people made a leap of faith in the form of a $5,000 (fully refundable) deposit, or reservation in Teslaspeak. "We were curious what Tesla would do with an SUV," said Rosie Drucker, a retiree from Chicago who owns a Model S. What Tesla did was use the same chassis, power plant and technology as the peerless Model S performance sedan, but expanded the body to accommodate three rows of easy-access seating. Then the company added falcon wing doors, and the mechanical complexity was responsible for the protracted delays of the California automaker's third model. The winged doors rise from the roof to offer easy access and ample headroom in all three rows, while still using an aerodynamic design. The all-electric all-wheel-drive vehicle, officially the Model X P90D performance SUV, has an estimated 250-mile range. It also has a Tesla-estimated 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds, in a performance mode the automaker calls "Ludicrous." Falcon wing doors differ from gull wing doors (think DeLorean) in that they are double hinged, at the center and at the roofline. This allows the door to tuck as the main hinge raises the door from the roof. The door sticks out only 10 inches from the body, which is less than some minivan sliding doors. If boxed in at a parking lot, a minivan owner wouldn't be able to slide between the open door and the adjacent car. Because falcon-wing doors open upward, a Model X owner can fit in tighter spaces. It also prevents kids from swinging doors out into an adjacent car, wall or unsuspecting sibling. Six sensors make sure the door pauses if it detects contact, and doesn't raise to full vertical flight if in a low garage. Perhaps more importantly, the design of the falcon wings enables adults to buckle kids in either row without much reach. An entering passenger less than 5 feet 10 inches or so could stand in the car under the open door. The X's ground clearance is about 8 inches (compared with 5.65 for the Model S sedan), which is less than the Subaru Outback's 8.7 inches. But active air suspension on the X can raise or lower it by a little less than an inch either way. The second-row seats, either in two bucket chairs or three seats across, get their own posts and controls. Child seats in the second row don't need to be removed to access the third row, just press the button to move the second-row seat forward. "We wanted to have an opening that was big enough to have real utility of the third row even if you have kid seats in the second row," Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, said in the reveal last fall. In short, the doors are a back-saver. Getting in and out of the second and third row was easier than my Honda Odyssey minivan and with less bending. The doors can be controlled by the driver's huge 17-inch-by-11-inch touch screen, by buttons on the inside, or on the outside by pressing the door handle. The handles remain flush with the body until pushed, then the doors take flight. Or just approach the car with the fob and the driver's side door will open. Perhaps most importantly, the doors look cool. "It's amazing-looking," said Slotnick, whose family has owned a Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt while awaiting delivery of the X. But the falcon-wing doors have another contender for coolest feature: the panoramic front windshield. While driving or riding shotgun, the Model X is like looking out of a helicopter. The windshield extends overhead into the roof to where the sunroof would be in traditional cars. The windshield visor that folds out from the door effectively splits the panoramic windshield in half. The overhead half is heavily tinted, so the sky appears in black and white. Of all the things to play with in the X, I couldn't stop marveling at the windshield. The expansive front visibility contrasts with the very limited rear visibility in the tiny rear-view mirror, which appears staggered with head rests. Split the touch-screen interface into rear-view camera and navigation, for instance, and drivers will have eyes in the back and sides of their heads. The Model X costs about 5 percent more than the Model S, which averages about $100,000 before federal tax credits. Then there's the gut-dropping performance of an SUV that can hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, just a shade off the 2.8-second time in the Model S (both with the "Ludicrous" package). It is no less breathtaking. Flooring it during our brief drive around U.S. 41 in Highland Park resulted in an ear-splitting grin. The acceleration is even more remarkable considering the Model X weighs a truck-like 5,441 pounds. It's also incredibly quiet for a car this size. The customers we talked to didn't mind enduring the wait based on Tesla's track record. "The Model S is the most fun car we've ever had," said Bob Drucker, a 91-year-old semi-retired business and farm owner who learned how to drive in his family's 1937 Buick convertible. His wife, Rosie, agreed, but the green-power customer was quick to add: "And it's electric!" "We're self-righteous buying an electric vehicle," Bob Drucker said. Then he smiled, and brought his hands together to symbolize the synergy between performance and efficiency. "It's hand in glove." [© chicagotribune.com] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Tesla-X-customers-test-their-Electric-SUV-tp4680628.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
