Test-Driving the Tesla

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Once underway, it's a different story. Acceleration is strong, in fact better than any gasoline powered automobile I've ever tested, and as I found myself sucked back into my seat, I imagined that this is what fighter pilots must feel like when they're performing multi-G rolls.

Driving around town feels easy and natural. Since the transmission has only one forward and reverse gear, the car operates like a conventional automatic, making city and rush hour driving easier. A few minutes behind the wheel was all it took for me to get used to the slight negative bias of the accelerator, which allows you to slow the car just by pulling back on the pedal rather than by slamming on the brakes. Road feel is quite good and while driving it certainly feels like you're connected to the road through the steering wheel.

The highway driving experience is more like a thrill ride than a commute, with nimble maneuverability and seemingly endless reserves of power for acceleration, it was fun and easy to go around any obstacle (i.e. other drivers). One surprise was the amount of road noise within the cabin. We had assumed that without an internal combustion engine, that the Roadster would be quiet as a mouse, but while driving, particularly at high speed, there's a lot of road noise coming off the tires, so driving noise seems pretty typical of any car with performance wheels and suspension.

Price aside, even with the issues I had getting in and out of the Roadster, there's no doubt that we'd love to be driving one of these on a daily basis. The Roadster qualifies under California Law for a special electric vehicle sticker that allows the car to be driven in a carpool lane with only one passenger during commute hours. This is great for the commuting executive, but make no mistake, even though the Roadster could double as your daily commuter, it's definitely an enthusiasts luxury sports car.

Summing it up

Overall, Tesla's done nearly the impossible by proving to a recalcitrant industry that it is possible to build competitive electric vehicles. Ten years ago the industry wasn't even interested in electric cars and in fact spent billions of dollars upon futuristic hydrogen powered vehicles than have never become practical. Thanks largely to Tesla's example, there are now several startups working on electric vehicles, and the large manufacturers all have prototypes and plans to bring them to market.

This is quite an achievement, who would have thought that a startup could turn the entire auto industry on it's side? Apparently Tesla did, and it plans on continuing to innovate and work to change the industry. We can't wait to see what they come up with next.

Provided by Gizmag.com—ideas, innovation, invention

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