Tesla Model S P90D 2016 review | road test video

Richard Berry road tests and reviews the Tesla Model S P90D with specs, energy consumption and verdict.

Read Richard's full review here: http://carsgui.de/2aPRGlY

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I love petrol. I love the way it explodes inside the engines of my cars and the sound it makes and but especially because it makes them go fast. But now I'm all confused, because this is the fastest accelerating four door car on the planet and it runs purely electricity, yes. It's the Tesla P90D – and it's a weapon, the meanest and quickest Tesla money can buy. It means the end is approaching very fast now – for them!

How fast? We're talking 0-100km in 3 seconds.

The new V8 mustang GT takes almost 5. A Porsche 911 takes 4.6.

It's even faster than Ferrari F12 which has 12 cylinders.

The Tesla P90D has no cylinders.

Just batteries and electric motors.

The P90d is the big daddy of the Model S range. The P stands for Performance, the 90 refers to the size of the battery and the d means it has dual motors – one at the front and one at the back – that makes it all-wheel drive and the batteries lie flat under the floor.

The cabin feels like half science laboratory and half minimalist artwork with its lack of switches and buttons, the graphs of energy usage, its contoured armrests and handles in the doors.

Yet it's practical too – there's five super comfortable seats and plenty of legroom –although the floor is high because of the batteries underneath.

And then there's the boot – huge is too small a word to describe it.

It's not all perfect though. there are some annoying things like the key – it comes in a little leather keyring pouch but you need to take it out to lock the car or unlock the bonnet – and I reckon I'd lose the slipper sucker within a fortnight.

Then there are the mysterious holes in the centre console storage which ate our wallet, the clicker to the gate and even the key to the car. We had to fish around to find them all again.

But then there are the amazing things how you don't have to turn it on or off – you just in and out.

But wait – there's more, options that is The Model S also has what's called Autopilot, yes another option $3800, but it's incredible. The car uses sensors all over it to steer itself – there are other partially autonomous cars out there, but none this good.

To enage autopilot is easy just two flick of the cruise control stalk and it's steering itself – it's amazing. Tesla say the technology is still in the Beta phase, and we learnt that it's in no way perfect and you need to keep your hand on the wheel to catch it say in sharper corners which confuse the auto pilot.

Sure there's autopilot and it's a cool party trick , but this car is great to drive. Handling is good and those batteries placed low keep the centre of mass down and that helps with preventing roll in the corners. And that ride on the air suspension is delicious.

OK this a battery powered car and batteries go flat. A full battery in the P90D will get you about 732km when travelling at 70km/h. But if you have the optional 21 inches wheels that drips it to about 674km. Also the faster you go to quicker the charge runs out.

Braking recharges the battery, but if you're constantly doing the warp speed thing you'll have to plug it in to charge.

You've got a few options – you can charge it at a Tesla Supercharger – it takes about 70 minutes to fill it right up and it's free. Or you can have a wall unit installed at home.

As a last resort you can plug it straight into a power point at home which can take about 40 hours to fully charge.

Tesla's Model S is supercar quick but without the impracticality which goes with one. The battery range is also excellent, Tesla's free supercharger network is growing and if you're putting in electricity from a renewable source you really are driving emission free. I reckon I'll always love petrol cars, but I could get used to this very easily.

Back in 2012 when the Model s first came out Tesla showed the world that electric cars could also be fast and sexy. The P90d continues to prove that. From here it's clear that the era when fossil fuel monsters ruled the planet is coming to an end.

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