Top Gear (US) s04e07 Episode Script
Fully Charged
1 Now on "Top Gear" We head to Michigan to test out three of the country's best-selling electric cars.
And one of us gets to drive the $100,000 Tesla model S.
Over the past year, the number of electric cars on America's city streets has increased by over 500%.
So, "Top Gear" sent us to Michigan to find out which entry-level electric vehicle was the best.
Here we go.
Gentlemen.
Waiting for us was the $30,000 Fiat 500e, the $37,000 Nissan Leaf, and the 40-grand Ford Focus Electric.
And I'll take the Focus.
I'll take the Leaf.
Buon giorno.
What are we doing here? "In front of you are three entry-level electric cars.
"You must drive them 85 miles to Lansing, Michigan.
"Along the way, you'll compete in challenges "that highlight these cars' unique qualities.
"The overall winner will get to test-drive the Tesla Model S.
" - Oh.
- Nice.
All right, let's go.
Our first stop was 20 miles away at Milan dragway.
In 1900, a third of all vehicles on America's city streets were electric, but 20 years later, a combination of their low range and cheaper gas killed them off.
Do today's electric vehicles stand a better chance? This car definitely feels like it was sent from the future, because everything I see is super high-tech I mean, from all of the interface Everything's touchscreen.
Even has this really weird gear selector that looks like an early '80s computer mouse.
Oh, and don't worry It's also confusing to use.
But Tanner was impressed.
This thing feels exactly like a normal car, except it's got a little bit more thrust to it.
But there was one thing missing.
The weird thing is not hearing the engine, not hearing that acceleration noise.
All of that just changes the entire feel of the car.
Yeah, it's like you're missing one of your senses.
Right, but your mind still needs that connection of engine noise and speed.
There's no sensation of speed in these cars That's what's weird about it.
I mean, I guess a silent car is good if you want to, you know, kill blind people.
Before Adam had a chance to put his theory to the test, we arrived at the Milan dragway and our first challenge A race against this.
Hey, hold on.
Do you hear that? What? That doesn't sound electric.
Wow.
Supercharged LS Camaro ZL1.
This was about as far from our electric cars as you could get 580 horsepower, 184-mile-per-hour top speed, and an average of 14 miles per gallon.
And it was here to do what it does best A quarter mile.
Sounds good! Isn't it a good feeling just hearing that? Wow.
12-second quarter mile.
- That's fast.
- That is pretty quick.
We'd have no chance of competing with the Camaro in our puffed-up golf carts, so what were we doing here? We had our choice of custom racecars that we'd use to clock the fastest quarter mile possible A 1994 all-electric Chevy s-10, an all-electric Porsche 944 And a full-on dragster, with a battery powerful enough to light up a suburb.
Gentlemen, I may have been mistaken about this being boring.
Is this one electric, though? It's got to be.
Let's look under the hood.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, it is.
"Danger.
High voltage.
Keep out.
" That's electric.
Good lord.
You know what? It's got Adam written all over it.
- Totally.
- I'll take it.
I'll take the dragster.
Why do you get the dragster? Because I've never driven one of these long dragsters, and it looks like the fastest one.
You're like "little daddy" don garlits.
So that leaves the old European car for Rutledge.
I'll take the 944.
Look at this.
You're like an environmentally conscious dentist.
Okay.
Well, good luck with that, gentlemen.
This was definitely the first time we thought we'd need helmets in an electric car.
But would any of them be able to beat the Camaro's 12-second quarter mile? Well, it does a burnout.
Check one for the all-electric Chevy.
I am frightened right now for him.
This was not a good idea.
I'm ready.
Let's do this.
321Go! Holy - Oh, my God.
- Oh, my gosh! - That is so scary-looking.
Wow, is this thing fast! Oh! Wow! 11.
72.
He did it by a second.
Wow! That's just just shove-you-back-in-the-seat fast! Adam was just faster than a ZL1, and he didn't wreck it.
Who knew that little banana had that much speed? Oh, God.
When he laughs like that, it freaks me out.
- That - Huh? Is amazing.
You just beat a ZL1.
You're kidding.
What did I do? 11.
70-something.
That's fast.
If this thing beat it by a second, what's a Porsche gonna do? Let's find out.
I'm ready.
Porsche time.
Oh, yeah.
With 100% of the vehicle's power available the instant you put your foot down, electric vehicles have the advantage over gas-powered cars off the line.
He's definitely got some temperature in there.
Did you fart? You got to lay off that jalapeño cheese.
Are you fellas ready to see a cool electric car? Come on, baby.
Let's go.
Okay, I'm ready.
In 321Go! Oh, it's so fast, it's unbelievable! - Oh, it's a good launch! Oh, my gosh! Wow.
It's still accelerating.
There's no noise! It's just wind! 11.
0.
He did an 11 flat.
Oh, my gosh.
It took my breath away.
This car is fast.
Aunt jemima! I hope that I beat him.
I'm gonna feel bad if I get in that fast-looking little lightweight dragster thing and I get beat by an s-10 and a 944.
- Yes.
- Good lord.
Look at this.
Look at that smile.
- Good lord.
- Wow.
How about that? That was 124 miles an hour, 11 seconds flat.
Boom.
Oh, my gosh.
I can't wait to see you in that dragster.
- Yeah.
- I am I'm nervous.
And in case, God forbid, anything come here.
I just want to say goodbye now.
- That's not funny.
- Okay.
Close the door.
I want to do it again.
It was electricity, two, gas-guzzling muscle cars, zip.
But an electric dragster That seemed like sacrilege.
You realize that's that's, like, a for-real dragster.
Tanner's a brave man And a dumb one.
Yeah.
Okay, not gonna lie Little bit nervous about this.
But you know what? Let's do it.
This flimsy-looking length of plastic and aluminum packed the equivalent of 1,000 horsepower, and that didn't feel very safe.
Come on.
Go get it, Tanner.
Here goes nothing.
Oh! I have never heard anything like that in my life.
That is so fast.
Oh! Under 10 seconds.
- An 8.
58? Holy hell! You've got to be kidding me.
Whoo! That was nuts! He just did a quarter mile in 8.
58 seconds in a dragster, first time.
Look at that.
Whoo! Yes! That was insane! Whoo! Yeah! Holy crap! So, how was that one? 8.
58.
8.
58.
Yeah! That was awesome.
Oh! See, these electric cars, I could drive one of these all day.
Yeah, this is great.
What's next? Where you going? Come on.
We I'm This is It's actually kind of tricky to get out of.
You guys could give me Guys? After experiencing the power and speed electricity could provide, we hopped back into our cars and headed to our next challenge a few miles down the road.
This challenge was also going to be a speed test, but to take advantage of a unique quality of production electric cars, we were going to do it in reverse.
And Rutledge seemed very excited about it.
Well, one of the cool things about electric cars is, since they use an electric motor, they can actually apply the same amount of torque going forward as they can in reverse, so, means you can go in reverse really quickly, something gas-powered cars can't do.
Wait.
Okay.
It's kind of cool that they do that.
Yeah.
But why would you need to go that fast backwards again? Maybe you need to get out of a parking space really quickly or a parking lot Long driveway, perhaps.
You know, driving backwards is kind of hard, right? Like, at speed, it gets wobbly.
You sure you want to do this? Really? It's for big boys That's for sure.
Do you want to go first? Yes, I'll go first.
"It's for big boys.
" You know, full-sized people.
Yeah, it's for big boys, but you can do it, too.
Well, this thing goes 76 miles an hour, which is the slowest of the three forward.
Maybe it's faster in reverse.
The world-record speed in reverse over a standing mile is 55 miles per hour.
Would we be able to beat it? Are you ready, tinkler? Ready here.
Let's see if I can put it in reverse.
Okay.
There it is.
I'm ready.
Hit it.
At full throttle.
I just tried the old pump-the-gas.
It works with golf carts Off the gas, on the gas.
How fast is he going? Come on! Come on! It was going so fast for a second there! Off the gas, on the gas.
Off the gas, on the gas.
Off the gas, on the Wow.
That sure wasn't cool-looking.
Yeah, that was pretty awful.
Pretty slow.
It was.
- How fast? - 20.
- What? - On the nose.
Exactly.
Look, that's obviously limited.
Yours could be limited to 18.
Yours could be limited to 10.
So I could still win this.
Give me the radio.
I'll go next.
Here.
How fast is he walking? It's probably faster than that car will go in reverse.
Okay, here's the deal I'm just gonna stand on the gas and see what happens.
I'm sorry stand on the throttle.
There's no gas.
Ready? Let's do it.
Gonna crash your Fiat in 321Go.
Figaro and we're going fast.
Hey, that's 10.
17, 18.
He's going towards the woods! Coming up, we take a little shopping trip.
And later, the winner gets to drive what may be the best-looking electric car ever made.
We were in Michigan, finding out who had chosen the best electric car.
So far, Tanner's Focus performed woefully in the reverse-top-speed challenge, clocking in at only 20 miles per hour.
Now it was Adam's turn.
He was struggling to keep his Fiat out of the trees.
He's going towards the woods! Okay.
Rollin', rollin', rollin'.
There's 21.
Just keep backing up.
- This is a dumb challenge.
- 26.
Hey, look at that.
27.
Look at that.
That was it.
What is cool about going 20 miles an hour? I mean, nothing for you, 'cause you're losing, but I mean, obviously, they've all made a decision They're gonna keep the speed somewhere in the 20-to-25-mile-an-hour range for safety.
- Hey.
- Oh, my God.
- Guess what.
- What? You sucked less than he did.
Wow.
Really? How fast? Basically, the same as 20.
Except it's 7 miles faster than 20, which means what? Thus far, you have the coolest car.
That's what it means.
Not a good measure of cool.
So I'll show you what cool in reverse looks like.
- All right.
- Watch this.
Good, 'cause you're poetry going forward.
I got this.
Plus, it doesn't hurt that I called a friend at Nissan to help me figure out how to take the limiter off so it'll go as fast as it can in reverse.
What if I break the world record I think it's 55 miles an hour In a Nissan? That would be cool, right? Rutledge? Yes, Tanner? Are you ready to do 12 miles an hour? I'm ready.
Count him down.
In 321 Go slow! Oh, wow! That is fast! He's already at 15.
- 20.
That what?! - What?! 20.
30.
40.
That is broken.
It's got to be broken.
He's doing 50.
50 miles an hour in reverse! It's still going! 55! 56! Oh, it's getting shaky.
57! It's a world record, and he almost just died.
57! Oh, I got to brake! Oh, my gosh! Oh, that is so crazy! Wow, that's fast in reverse! He cheated No doubt in my mind.
57 miles an hour.
Oh, it's making me sweat, that's so fast.
Whoo! How cool was that? What did you do? What are you talking about? That 57.
That's cool.
What did you do? I just helped it go a little bit faster.
I figured out how to get rid of the limiter.
That's cheating.
Does that car not look a little bit cooler to you now? Hold on.
Let me think about that.
- No.
- Yep, he's right.
Come on.
Let's hit the road.
It was 1-0 for the Leaf as we headed off to our next challenge, 30 miles away.
I keep looking down and checking my range.
I still have plenty, but just knowing that I can't go to a gas station and fill it back up It's a little weird.
There's a thing called range anxiety.
You want to use the air-conditioning or the heater? Your range goes down.
Want to drive fast? Range goes down.
So, that's one of the things about these electric cars You don't want to run out of a charge in a bad neighborhood.
Like, I wouldn't drive this through damascus right now.
A volkswagen beetle comes with a vase and a flower to kind of set the mood for its car.
An electric car, because it's got this ticking time bomb telling you when you're gonna be stranded, should come with a little dispenser for Xanax and a lifetime supply.
In theory, the good points of an electric car that I like Instant torque That's great.
Just pew Out of the hole, gone.
If you can get the range thing fixed and maybe figure out a sound file to put in, so that you would hear something when you drive, like like the jetsons' car, how cool would that be? Like And Rut, being the nerd he is, had come prepared.
Like, here you go.
Firing up a V-8.
Okay, yeah.
I'm in a V-8.
Cool.
It just looks kind of weird from here.
Okay, now it sounds like a vintage motorcycle.
That's kind of cool.
What else? No, I got two kids.
That's enough.
Okay, all right.
Okay.
I've hit I've hit something wrong.
While Rut struggled to keep focus, Adam was also distracted.
Ooh, indoor bouncy castle.
I could probably drive this right into the No emissions in this car, which means I can drive it anywhere.
All electric cars have zero emissions, so, theoretically, you can go where other vehicles can't.
Our next challenge was indoors.
In the mall? Yeah.
Yeah! Ooh, there's the code of conduct.
We had to drive from one side of the mall to the other without getting caught by security, who was also using electric power.
And getting busted by someone on a segway would be the ultimate humiliation and indictment of our car choice.
All right, first one to get nailed by the mall cop is a loser.
Oh, man, let's do this.
123Go! Oh, that was close.
Whoa! Oh, you got to dodge stuff left and right.
This is so insane.
Oh, I don't know if I can fit through there.
Whatever.
I'm just going for it.
Where's Tanner? Where is he? Oh! Going for the pass on the outside.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, sure.
Just go ahead.
Why don't you? You jerk.
Disco pants and haircuts.
My Focus was in the lead.
But then a predator approached.
Oh, gosh! There's someone chasing me.
Come on, Rut! Get out of my way! We were in Michigan, competing to see who had chosen the best electric car.
Rut's Leaf had won the reverse challenge.
50 miles an hour in reverse! It's still going! And now we were testing speed and maneuverability by racing through a mall and trying to evade security But they were closing in fast.
Oh, this is not There goes Adam.
How did he get around me? Oh, this is so scary.
This is so scary.
We were halfway through the mall, and security was right on my tail.
Going this way.
Gonna go this way.
Oh, my gosh.
I think I lost him.
Oh, it looks like the food court's still open.
Oh.
Thank you.
All right.
Little burger.
Oh, there's my turn.
Rut may have gotten away, but the mall cop wasn't done.
Uh-oh.
Cops.
I got to shake this guy.
I got to find somewhere to hide from this guy.
Ooh.
Here we go.
That's good.
He didn't see me.
Thank you, ladies.
Stuff is beautiful.
While Adam was being distracted by Detroit evening wear, I'd almost completed the lap.
Come on.
Come on.
Where's the door? There was only one thing standing between me and victory.
Oh, there's Tanner.
Come on, Rutledge.
Going for the pass on the outside.
But as Tanner raced away, he was spotted.
Whoa, security guy.
We need to get out of here.
It was time to test the instant torque.
Oh, we got big speed.
Oh, I got him now! Holy crap.
Rutledge has passed me.
With Tanner handicapped, I grabbed my opportunity.
Oh, I think I got him.
I think I got him.
Come on, baby! Oh, yes! No, no, no, no! Rutledge wins.
How is that possible? Come on! We'd made it out, but there was one man down.
He's still on my tail.
Come on.
Aha! Freedom! Yes! Back in your hole, segway boy! After ensuring that none of us would be welcome in a Michigan mall again Whoo! We left as fast as our electric-powered wheels would take us.
It was late in the day, and our cars were getting low on charge, so we turned in for the night.
Just after dawn, with our cars fully charged, we headed off to our final challenge.
This is what driving in the Leaf feels like Going into the future.
I just drove a Nissan Leaf, and, boy, are my arms tired.
Let me blow your mind a little bit.
There's more than 31 million cars registered in the state of California.
124,000 of those are electric.
Wow.
There's more cars in your yard, Rut.
Exactly Most of which are on blocks.
I would love to see a stat on what percentage of electric-car owners have an apple computer.
100%.
Absolutely It's got to be the most guaranteed 100% stat ever created.
I mean, electric cars are for hipsters and a little bit of hippies, and then the uppity folks who want to look like they're the hipsters.
I'll be honest.
I know we need electric cars.
I know that's what's coming.
But it just doesn't seem like it's time yet.
Electric cars are still kind of in the early stages.
It's like, when I was a kid, I remember "pong.
" That was the first video game.
Then we had atari.
Now look at what we got.
We got "call of duty," "world of warcraft.
" You can play online with a bunch of people in different countries.
The technology's just gonna keep zooming, and this is gonna get a lot better.
It ain't there yet.
We're still at "pong.
" Electric cars may still have a long way to go, but our next challenge would test one of their signature features silence.
Boy, that thing is cute.
Thank you.
Gentlemen, finally, we get to put this whole electric thing to the test, all right? How many times have you been caught sneaking out of your house? Like my parents' house in high school? - Yeah, like when in high school, exactly.
- Twice.
Twice.
What, midnight marching-band practice? "Dungeons & dragons" convention down the street? - Enough.
- Okay.
So, here's the thing Electric cars being quiet means that Imagine if you didn't get caught those two times Could change your life.
To find out which of our cars was the quietest, we each had to sneak out of the second floor of a house and drive our cars around the cul-de-sac and back without making a sound.
Sound levels would be monitored by a decibel meter.
Anything over the level of regular talking, which is about 30 decibels, would make an alarm go off, wake up the neighbors, and result in a penalty of 10 seconds.
The Focus is the quietest.
This was made for the Focus.
- I'm gonna go first.
- Okay.
All right.
It is cute.
He's not wrong.
Okay, Tanner, you ready for this? Okay.
Ready.
- In 321Go.
- Go.
Here he comes.
Kind of moves like a wind.
Okay.
Ooh, that was quiet.
Yeah.
I can't believe I didn't set it off yet.
That is so awesome.
Oh, almost.
That was a piece of gravel.
What? - Oh, there it went.
- There it went.
- Yep.
No way.
Okay, now it's all down to time.
That is a very obnoxious sound.
Making it squeal? Ohh! I heard that.
That's three.
That was a little loud.
Oh, and there's four.
Oh, damn it.
Wow.
Wow.
That went off four times.
Yeah.
That's a 40-second penalty.
Add it onto that.
He's not gonna be happy.
You're about as quiet as a bull in a China shop.
Here's the deal.
That was the tires.
The car was so quiet.
It went off, though Four times.
4 times, 10 seconds apiece That's a 40-second penalty.
40 seconds? Because I could have been more quiet.
I just figured I'd already blown it.
You hit 106 decibels.
What was the time? When you add 40 seconds onto 2:22, that puts you at 3:02.
3:02.
- Whatever.
3:02? - Yeah.
Fine.
You're up there, Leaf boy.
Shh! Just make like a tree andLeave.
There he goes.
Look at him Like a big, bearded ninja.
Here's the thing.
That jump out the window's higher than it looks.
I think you're missing the biggest obstacle he's gonna face He's got to cut through the kitchen.
You know he's gonna stop at the refrigerator.
- That's 30 seconds right there.
- Mean, but true.
Okay, Rut, are you ready? I'm ready, you guys.
Let's do this.
Go! Oh, gosh.
Okay.
What is that? Coming up, the winner of the electric-car challenge test-drives the Tesla model S.
We were in Michigan, finding out which of our electric cars was the best.
Rut had won the reverse challenge Oh, that is so crazy! And a race through a mall.
Oh, yes! Now we were in the middle of the noise test.
We had to sneak out of a house, drive around the block, and pull back into the driveway.
The noise meter would sound a penalty if we peaked over 30 decibels.
What? The fastest time would win.
Tanner hadn't done very well.
And now Rut was struggling just to escape.
What is that? That was ear-damaging level.
Okay.
Oh, geez.
Oh! That's two.
Here he comes.
Look at him.
He's almost running like a human.
Did he just skip? Yeah, he's very excited.
"I can't wait to get my dexterity points in 'dungeons & dragons'!" Ohh! Oh, the door.
Oh, the door.
60.
7.
Oh, there it goes.
54.
56.
And on drive.
Dude, that sounds loud to me.
Nice and easy.
No tire squeal.
Nice and easy.
Quiet as a mouse.
Here he comes.
Here we go.
Here's the driveway.
Come on.
Quiet.
Easy.
Easy.
Whew! Wow.
And that's four.
Took a lot out of you, big daddy.
That was That was intense.
Are you all right? What was my time? Well - Slow.
- Yeah.
And you got 40 seconds in penalties.
You had three before you even got in the car.
What are you talking about? Then you slammed the door That was the fourth one.
Good news is, you really wanted it.
Bad news is, you didn't get it.
So, he was at 3:58.
With the 40 seconds It's 4:38, but, I mean, that's not the car's fault.
I still have the best electric car here and the coolest.
You got a slower time, and you definitely don't have the coolest car because, obviously, the Fiat is.
I'm going next.
So, with Rut recording a time of four weeks, it was Tanner's time of 3:02 that I had to beat.
I am ready.
Here we go.
In 321Go.
- Boom, already one.
- 10 seconds.
What? What's the time? 42 seconds.
He is flying.
Okay.
Go.
Oh, he scuffed his foot.
67.
Okay, here we go.
Easy.
Easy.
Oh, that's kind of loud.
Oh! Oh, that's not good.
Okay, okay.
That's enough.
Here's the roundabout.
Easy with the tire squeal.
Oh.
Oh, geez.
Oh, that was it.
- Oh, count it.
- Five.
Wow.
Oh, my gosh.
Six penalties.
That's Gonna hurt him.
How did you get through the house so fast? Well, I knew that you got a big penalty coming out of the window, so I made a little stealthy escape.
I tied some bedsheets together.
Okay, so so, if we break it down, the breaking/entering part, like, the illegal-criminal part of all of this, - you were amazing.
- Right.
Once you got in the car and started driving, it all fell apart.
Just went right downhill.
Wasn't that bad.
You racked up 60 seconds' worth of penalties.
On top of 2:31, that would put you at 3:31.
Now, for the record, my car didn't get any penalties Just I did.
So I do believe that my car did the best at this.
What? Tanner could protest all he wanted.
Even if I did lose this challenge, my two previous victories made me overall winner And I was off to claim my prize.
What did we learn? Our electric cars were quiet, drivable indoors, and mine was particularly fast in reverse.
But none of them had that thing that just jumps up and grabs you in the showroom and shouts, "buy me!" But now an American company has launched an electric car that they claim will change all this.
This is the $100,000 2013 Tesla model S performance plus.
Like all electric cars, it has no engine.
But the difference is that its liquid-cooled induction motor cranks out over 400 horsepower, while somehow getting the equivalent of an astonishing 90 miles per gallon.
And it looks good A bit Jaguar here, a bit 7 series there Not dorky at all.
So it seems impressive, but is it going to be the vehicle that convinces us to finally take electric cars seriously? I'm pretty much your average American I'm from the South, I like nascar, I like barbecue, and I love the smell of burning rubber.
So if Tesla thinks that I'm gonna like the model S, the first thing it's gonna have to be able to do is go fast Really, really fast.
To see just how fast the Tesla could go, I'd race it against our old friend, the Camaro ZL1, over a quarter mile.
Yeah, an electric car faster than this supercharged V-8 America-mobile? Yeah, right.
I have to say, it's a pretty good-looking car.
Okay.
Oh, the door handle pops out.
That's cool.
It's so nice in here.
I can't believe how big it is.
Look at the size of this touchscreen.
It's like I'm in a spaceship right now.
I bet this is what the executive bathroom at apple headquarters looks like.
Okay, let's see.
Where do you put the key? There is no ignition, and the car is on.
Oh.
I'll I'll put on my seat belt.
Don't worry.
Whew.
Okay.
Let's see.
Steering mode.
I'm gonna go to sport.
Suspension is going to low.
Boy, this is exciting.
We're about to find out how fast a triple-phase liquid-cooled motor can rocket this car.
This was it Gas versus electricity, and according to Tesla, the past versus the future.
321Go! Oh, boy.
After winning the electric-car challenge, I was test-driving the Tesla model S, a top-of-the-line luxury electric car.
I wanted to see how it stacked up to its gasoline-powered competitors, and the first challenge was speed.
I was about to drag-race against the 580-horsepower Camaro.
Go! Oh, boy.
Oh, it smoked him off the line.
Can it hold it? Come on! Oh, it's holding off the Camaro.
Oh, my gosh! Oh, it beat it! It beat the Camaro ZL1! Holy Okay, so, it's fast.
It's not just fast It's like a cheetah being chased by wasps on a rocket ship fast.
Zero to 60 in 4.
2 seconds for a car that weighs nearly 5,000 pounds That's impressive.
Even more impressive is the torque is 100% available at zero rpms.
And it's so quiet, the cops will never hear you coming.
How the hell did Tesla do that? Now, going fast in a straight line is one thing, but what was the Tesla like on the open road? The car's got a really stiff chassis and a 47/53 weight distribution, which really helps it corner well.
Now, it's got a top speed of 133 miles an hour, which isn't that impressive, but when's the last time you needed to go faster than 133 miles an hour? Unless your name is, of course, Tanner "hi, I'm a racecar driver" foust.
Now, Tesla is run by elon musk, a billionaire industrialist.
And having made his fortune as one of the inventors of PayPal, he then set his sights on getting Americans to drive electric.
This 2013 model S is really the tipping point.
There's cheaper models in the pipeline, including an s.
U.
V.
And pickup trucks, which are all music to American ears.
But everything rests on this car.
I mean, this car has to prove to Americans that an electric car is the way of the future, because let's be honest We, as Americans We haven't exactly been just running out to try and go buy a car that we have to plug in to make work, have we? But maybe that's because driving an electric car has kind of always made you look, you know, like a dork.
Oh! Hello! Have you seen my electric car? It's amazing! I just plug it in! But there's nothing dorky about getting a 10 grand federal and state rebate just for buying one, or that warm, fuzzy feeling knowing you probably just saved a polar bear's life, reduced electricity costs for charging at home.
Since there's fewer moving parts, you got less maintenance and an average running cost of 6 cents per mile.
So why wouldn't you buy one? It comes down to one word Range.
Yep.
I said it.
It's the bogey word we all think about when it comes to electric cars, 'cause we just all assume we're gonna die alone in the desert somewhere 'cause we couldn't find an outlet.
Tesla claimed to have solved that issue, too, and the model S's range of 265 miles puts it level with most conventional cars.
So, basically, unless your daily commute is more than 240 miles, you're probably not gonna die a horrible death in the desert Probably.
So far, the American-made Tesla had almost persuaded me it was in the same class as its gas-powered luxury rivals.
But I needed one more test to be sure, and that meant bringing on the stig and the Tesla's direct competitor, the $100,000 Mercedes s550.
With its V-8 and 550 horsepower, this is the benchmark of German luxury performance.
Beat this, and it would be a victory not just for electric cars, but for American engineering.
The stig would take each car around the one-mile road course.
The Mercedes was up first.
Stig driving the benz had killed it at 1:15 for the lap.
Now it was the model S's turn.
And I couldn't resist the chance to ride along.
We're about to find out whether the Tesla is faster than the S-class Mercedes.
They weigh about the same.
This one's got 416 horsepower, 441 pound-feet of torque.
As soon as he hits the throttle, we're out.
Do you like electricity? You got electricity at the house? Solar? You're more of a solar guy? He's stonewalling me.
Here we go.
In 321Go! Oh, wow! We're smoking the tires on an electric car! I did not know that was possible.
Oh, my gosh! You can really feel that power come on.
Oh, my gosh.
Going around the racetrack in an electric car.
It's so weird to not hear anything besides some occasional tire squeal.
And you know what? We're going so fast, I don't miss it.
Far more violent than I was driving, and I can tell you, the seats need a little bit bigger bolsters.
Oh, my gosh.
1:12.
1:12 you beat it by 3 seconds.
That shows that an electric car doesn't have to just be good in a straight line It's great on curves, too.
That was awesome! You're theMan? Are you pumped or what? That's crazy.
I have to say, I'm pretty astounded by this car.
Tesla have, at their first attempt, managed to make an American luxury sedan that competes with the greats, and they've all been doing it for years.
Forget the Germans.
Forget Lincoln and Cadillac.
This is what we should be excited about A new American car that looks supercool, it's superfast.
This is making American cars exciting again.
Now all I need is an outlet.
And one of us gets to drive the $100,000 Tesla model S.
Over the past year, the number of electric cars on America's city streets has increased by over 500%.
So, "Top Gear" sent us to Michigan to find out which entry-level electric vehicle was the best.
Here we go.
Gentlemen.
Waiting for us was the $30,000 Fiat 500e, the $37,000 Nissan Leaf, and the 40-grand Ford Focus Electric.
And I'll take the Focus.
I'll take the Leaf.
Buon giorno.
What are we doing here? "In front of you are three entry-level electric cars.
"You must drive them 85 miles to Lansing, Michigan.
"Along the way, you'll compete in challenges "that highlight these cars' unique qualities.
"The overall winner will get to test-drive the Tesla Model S.
" - Oh.
- Nice.
All right, let's go.
Our first stop was 20 miles away at Milan dragway.
In 1900, a third of all vehicles on America's city streets were electric, but 20 years later, a combination of their low range and cheaper gas killed them off.
Do today's electric vehicles stand a better chance? This car definitely feels like it was sent from the future, because everything I see is super high-tech I mean, from all of the interface Everything's touchscreen.
Even has this really weird gear selector that looks like an early '80s computer mouse.
Oh, and don't worry It's also confusing to use.
But Tanner was impressed.
This thing feels exactly like a normal car, except it's got a little bit more thrust to it.
But there was one thing missing.
The weird thing is not hearing the engine, not hearing that acceleration noise.
All of that just changes the entire feel of the car.
Yeah, it's like you're missing one of your senses.
Right, but your mind still needs that connection of engine noise and speed.
There's no sensation of speed in these cars That's what's weird about it.
I mean, I guess a silent car is good if you want to, you know, kill blind people.
Before Adam had a chance to put his theory to the test, we arrived at the Milan dragway and our first challenge A race against this.
Hey, hold on.
Do you hear that? What? That doesn't sound electric.
Wow.
Supercharged LS Camaro ZL1.
This was about as far from our electric cars as you could get 580 horsepower, 184-mile-per-hour top speed, and an average of 14 miles per gallon.
And it was here to do what it does best A quarter mile.
Sounds good! Isn't it a good feeling just hearing that? Wow.
12-second quarter mile.
- That's fast.
- That is pretty quick.
We'd have no chance of competing with the Camaro in our puffed-up golf carts, so what were we doing here? We had our choice of custom racecars that we'd use to clock the fastest quarter mile possible A 1994 all-electric Chevy s-10, an all-electric Porsche 944 And a full-on dragster, with a battery powerful enough to light up a suburb.
Gentlemen, I may have been mistaken about this being boring.
Is this one electric, though? It's got to be.
Let's look under the hood.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, it is.
"Danger.
High voltage.
Keep out.
" That's electric.
Good lord.
You know what? It's got Adam written all over it.
- Totally.
- I'll take it.
I'll take the dragster.
Why do you get the dragster? Because I've never driven one of these long dragsters, and it looks like the fastest one.
You're like "little daddy" don garlits.
So that leaves the old European car for Rutledge.
I'll take the 944.
Look at this.
You're like an environmentally conscious dentist.
Okay.
Well, good luck with that, gentlemen.
This was definitely the first time we thought we'd need helmets in an electric car.
But would any of them be able to beat the Camaro's 12-second quarter mile? Well, it does a burnout.
Check one for the all-electric Chevy.
I am frightened right now for him.
This was not a good idea.
I'm ready.
Let's do this.
321Go! Holy - Oh, my God.
- Oh, my gosh! - That is so scary-looking.
Wow, is this thing fast! Oh! Wow! 11.
72.
He did it by a second.
Wow! That's just just shove-you-back-in-the-seat fast! Adam was just faster than a ZL1, and he didn't wreck it.
Who knew that little banana had that much speed? Oh, God.
When he laughs like that, it freaks me out.
- That - Huh? Is amazing.
You just beat a ZL1.
You're kidding.
What did I do? 11.
70-something.
That's fast.
If this thing beat it by a second, what's a Porsche gonna do? Let's find out.
I'm ready.
Porsche time.
Oh, yeah.
With 100% of the vehicle's power available the instant you put your foot down, electric vehicles have the advantage over gas-powered cars off the line.
He's definitely got some temperature in there.
Did you fart? You got to lay off that jalapeño cheese.
Are you fellas ready to see a cool electric car? Come on, baby.
Let's go.
Okay, I'm ready.
In 321Go! Oh, it's so fast, it's unbelievable! - Oh, it's a good launch! Oh, my gosh! Wow.
It's still accelerating.
There's no noise! It's just wind! 11.
0.
He did an 11 flat.
Oh, my gosh.
It took my breath away.
This car is fast.
Aunt jemima! I hope that I beat him.
I'm gonna feel bad if I get in that fast-looking little lightweight dragster thing and I get beat by an s-10 and a 944.
- Yes.
- Good lord.
Look at this.
Look at that smile.
- Good lord.
- Wow.
How about that? That was 124 miles an hour, 11 seconds flat.
Boom.
Oh, my gosh.
I can't wait to see you in that dragster.
- Yeah.
- I am I'm nervous.
And in case, God forbid, anything come here.
I just want to say goodbye now.
- That's not funny.
- Okay.
Close the door.
I want to do it again.
It was electricity, two, gas-guzzling muscle cars, zip.
But an electric dragster That seemed like sacrilege.
You realize that's that's, like, a for-real dragster.
Tanner's a brave man And a dumb one.
Yeah.
Okay, not gonna lie Little bit nervous about this.
But you know what? Let's do it.
This flimsy-looking length of plastic and aluminum packed the equivalent of 1,000 horsepower, and that didn't feel very safe.
Come on.
Go get it, Tanner.
Here goes nothing.
Oh! I have never heard anything like that in my life.
That is so fast.
Oh! Under 10 seconds.
- An 8.
58? Holy hell! You've got to be kidding me.
Whoo! That was nuts! He just did a quarter mile in 8.
58 seconds in a dragster, first time.
Look at that.
Whoo! Yes! That was insane! Whoo! Yeah! Holy crap! So, how was that one? 8.
58.
8.
58.
Yeah! That was awesome.
Oh! See, these electric cars, I could drive one of these all day.
Yeah, this is great.
What's next? Where you going? Come on.
We I'm This is It's actually kind of tricky to get out of.
You guys could give me Guys? After experiencing the power and speed electricity could provide, we hopped back into our cars and headed to our next challenge a few miles down the road.
This challenge was also going to be a speed test, but to take advantage of a unique quality of production electric cars, we were going to do it in reverse.
And Rutledge seemed very excited about it.
Well, one of the cool things about electric cars is, since they use an electric motor, they can actually apply the same amount of torque going forward as they can in reverse, so, means you can go in reverse really quickly, something gas-powered cars can't do.
Wait.
Okay.
It's kind of cool that they do that.
Yeah.
But why would you need to go that fast backwards again? Maybe you need to get out of a parking space really quickly or a parking lot Long driveway, perhaps.
You know, driving backwards is kind of hard, right? Like, at speed, it gets wobbly.
You sure you want to do this? Really? It's for big boys That's for sure.
Do you want to go first? Yes, I'll go first.
"It's for big boys.
" You know, full-sized people.
Yeah, it's for big boys, but you can do it, too.
Well, this thing goes 76 miles an hour, which is the slowest of the three forward.
Maybe it's faster in reverse.
The world-record speed in reverse over a standing mile is 55 miles per hour.
Would we be able to beat it? Are you ready, tinkler? Ready here.
Let's see if I can put it in reverse.
Okay.
There it is.
I'm ready.
Hit it.
At full throttle.
I just tried the old pump-the-gas.
It works with golf carts Off the gas, on the gas.
How fast is he going? Come on! Come on! It was going so fast for a second there! Off the gas, on the gas.
Off the gas, on the gas.
Off the gas, on the Wow.
That sure wasn't cool-looking.
Yeah, that was pretty awful.
Pretty slow.
It was.
- How fast? - 20.
- What? - On the nose.
Exactly.
Look, that's obviously limited.
Yours could be limited to 18.
Yours could be limited to 10.
So I could still win this.
Give me the radio.
I'll go next.
Here.
How fast is he walking? It's probably faster than that car will go in reverse.
Okay, here's the deal I'm just gonna stand on the gas and see what happens.
I'm sorry stand on the throttle.
There's no gas.
Ready? Let's do it.
Gonna crash your Fiat in 321Go.
Figaro and we're going fast.
Hey, that's 10.
17, 18.
He's going towards the woods! Coming up, we take a little shopping trip.
And later, the winner gets to drive what may be the best-looking electric car ever made.
We were in Michigan, finding out who had chosen the best electric car.
So far, Tanner's Focus performed woefully in the reverse-top-speed challenge, clocking in at only 20 miles per hour.
Now it was Adam's turn.
He was struggling to keep his Fiat out of the trees.
He's going towards the woods! Okay.
Rollin', rollin', rollin'.
There's 21.
Just keep backing up.
- This is a dumb challenge.
- 26.
Hey, look at that.
27.
Look at that.
That was it.
What is cool about going 20 miles an hour? I mean, nothing for you, 'cause you're losing, but I mean, obviously, they've all made a decision They're gonna keep the speed somewhere in the 20-to-25-mile-an-hour range for safety.
- Hey.
- Oh, my God.
- Guess what.
- What? You sucked less than he did.
Wow.
Really? How fast? Basically, the same as 20.
Except it's 7 miles faster than 20, which means what? Thus far, you have the coolest car.
That's what it means.
Not a good measure of cool.
So I'll show you what cool in reverse looks like.
- All right.
- Watch this.
Good, 'cause you're poetry going forward.
I got this.
Plus, it doesn't hurt that I called a friend at Nissan to help me figure out how to take the limiter off so it'll go as fast as it can in reverse.
What if I break the world record I think it's 55 miles an hour In a Nissan? That would be cool, right? Rutledge? Yes, Tanner? Are you ready to do 12 miles an hour? I'm ready.
Count him down.
In 321 Go slow! Oh, wow! That is fast! He's already at 15.
- 20.
That what?! - What?! 20.
30.
40.
That is broken.
It's got to be broken.
He's doing 50.
50 miles an hour in reverse! It's still going! 55! 56! Oh, it's getting shaky.
57! It's a world record, and he almost just died.
57! Oh, I got to brake! Oh, my gosh! Oh, that is so crazy! Wow, that's fast in reverse! He cheated No doubt in my mind.
57 miles an hour.
Oh, it's making me sweat, that's so fast.
Whoo! How cool was that? What did you do? What are you talking about? That 57.
That's cool.
What did you do? I just helped it go a little bit faster.
I figured out how to get rid of the limiter.
That's cheating.
Does that car not look a little bit cooler to you now? Hold on.
Let me think about that.
- No.
- Yep, he's right.
Come on.
Let's hit the road.
It was 1-0 for the Leaf as we headed off to our next challenge, 30 miles away.
I keep looking down and checking my range.
I still have plenty, but just knowing that I can't go to a gas station and fill it back up It's a little weird.
There's a thing called range anxiety.
You want to use the air-conditioning or the heater? Your range goes down.
Want to drive fast? Range goes down.
So, that's one of the things about these electric cars You don't want to run out of a charge in a bad neighborhood.
Like, I wouldn't drive this through damascus right now.
A volkswagen beetle comes with a vase and a flower to kind of set the mood for its car.
An electric car, because it's got this ticking time bomb telling you when you're gonna be stranded, should come with a little dispenser for Xanax and a lifetime supply.
In theory, the good points of an electric car that I like Instant torque That's great.
Just pew Out of the hole, gone.
If you can get the range thing fixed and maybe figure out a sound file to put in, so that you would hear something when you drive, like like the jetsons' car, how cool would that be? Like And Rut, being the nerd he is, had come prepared.
Like, here you go.
Firing up a V-8.
Okay, yeah.
I'm in a V-8.
Cool.
It just looks kind of weird from here.
Okay, now it sounds like a vintage motorcycle.
That's kind of cool.
What else? No, I got two kids.
That's enough.
Okay, all right.
Okay.
I've hit I've hit something wrong.
While Rut struggled to keep focus, Adam was also distracted.
Ooh, indoor bouncy castle.
I could probably drive this right into the No emissions in this car, which means I can drive it anywhere.
All electric cars have zero emissions, so, theoretically, you can go where other vehicles can't.
Our next challenge was indoors.
In the mall? Yeah.
Yeah! Ooh, there's the code of conduct.
We had to drive from one side of the mall to the other without getting caught by security, who was also using electric power.
And getting busted by someone on a segway would be the ultimate humiliation and indictment of our car choice.
All right, first one to get nailed by the mall cop is a loser.
Oh, man, let's do this.
123Go! Oh, that was close.
Whoa! Oh, you got to dodge stuff left and right.
This is so insane.
Oh, I don't know if I can fit through there.
Whatever.
I'm just going for it.
Where's Tanner? Where is he? Oh! Going for the pass on the outside.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, sure.
Just go ahead.
Why don't you? You jerk.
Disco pants and haircuts.
My Focus was in the lead.
But then a predator approached.
Oh, gosh! There's someone chasing me.
Come on, Rut! Get out of my way! We were in Michigan, competing to see who had chosen the best electric car.
Rut's Leaf had won the reverse challenge.
50 miles an hour in reverse! It's still going! And now we were testing speed and maneuverability by racing through a mall and trying to evade security But they were closing in fast.
Oh, this is not There goes Adam.
How did he get around me? Oh, this is so scary.
This is so scary.
We were halfway through the mall, and security was right on my tail.
Going this way.
Gonna go this way.
Oh, my gosh.
I think I lost him.
Oh, it looks like the food court's still open.
Oh.
Thank you.
All right.
Little burger.
Oh, there's my turn.
Rut may have gotten away, but the mall cop wasn't done.
Uh-oh.
Cops.
I got to shake this guy.
I got to find somewhere to hide from this guy.
Ooh.
Here we go.
That's good.
He didn't see me.
Thank you, ladies.
Stuff is beautiful.
While Adam was being distracted by Detroit evening wear, I'd almost completed the lap.
Come on.
Come on.
Where's the door? There was only one thing standing between me and victory.
Oh, there's Tanner.
Come on, Rutledge.
Going for the pass on the outside.
But as Tanner raced away, he was spotted.
Whoa, security guy.
We need to get out of here.
It was time to test the instant torque.
Oh, we got big speed.
Oh, I got him now! Holy crap.
Rutledge has passed me.
With Tanner handicapped, I grabbed my opportunity.
Oh, I think I got him.
I think I got him.
Come on, baby! Oh, yes! No, no, no, no! Rutledge wins.
How is that possible? Come on! We'd made it out, but there was one man down.
He's still on my tail.
Come on.
Aha! Freedom! Yes! Back in your hole, segway boy! After ensuring that none of us would be welcome in a Michigan mall again Whoo! We left as fast as our electric-powered wheels would take us.
It was late in the day, and our cars were getting low on charge, so we turned in for the night.
Just after dawn, with our cars fully charged, we headed off to our final challenge.
This is what driving in the Leaf feels like Going into the future.
I just drove a Nissan Leaf, and, boy, are my arms tired.
Let me blow your mind a little bit.
There's more than 31 million cars registered in the state of California.
124,000 of those are electric.
Wow.
There's more cars in your yard, Rut.
Exactly Most of which are on blocks.
I would love to see a stat on what percentage of electric-car owners have an apple computer.
100%.
Absolutely It's got to be the most guaranteed 100% stat ever created.
I mean, electric cars are for hipsters and a little bit of hippies, and then the uppity folks who want to look like they're the hipsters.
I'll be honest.
I know we need electric cars.
I know that's what's coming.
But it just doesn't seem like it's time yet.
Electric cars are still kind of in the early stages.
It's like, when I was a kid, I remember "pong.
" That was the first video game.
Then we had atari.
Now look at what we got.
We got "call of duty," "world of warcraft.
" You can play online with a bunch of people in different countries.
The technology's just gonna keep zooming, and this is gonna get a lot better.
It ain't there yet.
We're still at "pong.
" Electric cars may still have a long way to go, but our next challenge would test one of their signature features silence.
Boy, that thing is cute.
Thank you.
Gentlemen, finally, we get to put this whole electric thing to the test, all right? How many times have you been caught sneaking out of your house? Like my parents' house in high school? - Yeah, like when in high school, exactly.
- Twice.
Twice.
What, midnight marching-band practice? "Dungeons & dragons" convention down the street? - Enough.
- Okay.
So, here's the thing Electric cars being quiet means that Imagine if you didn't get caught those two times Could change your life.
To find out which of our cars was the quietest, we each had to sneak out of the second floor of a house and drive our cars around the cul-de-sac and back without making a sound.
Sound levels would be monitored by a decibel meter.
Anything over the level of regular talking, which is about 30 decibels, would make an alarm go off, wake up the neighbors, and result in a penalty of 10 seconds.
The Focus is the quietest.
This was made for the Focus.
- I'm gonna go first.
- Okay.
All right.
It is cute.
He's not wrong.
Okay, Tanner, you ready for this? Okay.
Ready.
- In 321Go.
- Go.
Here he comes.
Kind of moves like a wind.
Okay.
Ooh, that was quiet.
Yeah.
I can't believe I didn't set it off yet.
That is so awesome.
Oh, almost.
That was a piece of gravel.
What? - Oh, there it went.
- There it went.
- Yep.
No way.
Okay, now it's all down to time.
That is a very obnoxious sound.
Making it squeal? Ohh! I heard that.
That's three.
That was a little loud.
Oh, and there's four.
Oh, damn it.
Wow.
Wow.
That went off four times.
Yeah.
That's a 40-second penalty.
Add it onto that.
He's not gonna be happy.
You're about as quiet as a bull in a China shop.
Here's the deal.
That was the tires.
The car was so quiet.
It went off, though Four times.
4 times, 10 seconds apiece That's a 40-second penalty.
40 seconds? Because I could have been more quiet.
I just figured I'd already blown it.
You hit 106 decibels.
What was the time? When you add 40 seconds onto 2:22, that puts you at 3:02.
3:02.
- Whatever.
3:02? - Yeah.
Fine.
You're up there, Leaf boy.
Shh! Just make like a tree andLeave.
There he goes.
Look at him Like a big, bearded ninja.
Here's the thing.
That jump out the window's higher than it looks.
I think you're missing the biggest obstacle he's gonna face He's got to cut through the kitchen.
You know he's gonna stop at the refrigerator.
- That's 30 seconds right there.
- Mean, but true.
Okay, Rut, are you ready? I'm ready, you guys.
Let's do this.
Go! Oh, gosh.
Okay.
What is that? Coming up, the winner of the electric-car challenge test-drives the Tesla model S.
We were in Michigan, finding out which of our electric cars was the best.
Rut had won the reverse challenge Oh, that is so crazy! And a race through a mall.
Oh, yes! Now we were in the middle of the noise test.
We had to sneak out of a house, drive around the block, and pull back into the driveway.
The noise meter would sound a penalty if we peaked over 30 decibels.
What? The fastest time would win.
Tanner hadn't done very well.
And now Rut was struggling just to escape.
What is that? That was ear-damaging level.
Okay.
Oh, geez.
Oh! That's two.
Here he comes.
Look at him.
He's almost running like a human.
Did he just skip? Yeah, he's very excited.
"I can't wait to get my dexterity points in 'dungeons & dragons'!" Ohh! Oh, the door.
Oh, the door.
60.
7.
Oh, there it goes.
54.
56.
And on drive.
Dude, that sounds loud to me.
Nice and easy.
No tire squeal.
Nice and easy.
Quiet as a mouse.
Here he comes.
Here we go.
Here's the driveway.
Come on.
Quiet.
Easy.
Easy.
Whew! Wow.
And that's four.
Took a lot out of you, big daddy.
That was That was intense.
Are you all right? What was my time? Well - Slow.
- Yeah.
And you got 40 seconds in penalties.
You had three before you even got in the car.
What are you talking about? Then you slammed the door That was the fourth one.
Good news is, you really wanted it.
Bad news is, you didn't get it.
So, he was at 3:58.
With the 40 seconds It's 4:38, but, I mean, that's not the car's fault.
I still have the best electric car here and the coolest.
You got a slower time, and you definitely don't have the coolest car because, obviously, the Fiat is.
I'm going next.
So, with Rut recording a time of four weeks, it was Tanner's time of 3:02 that I had to beat.
I am ready.
Here we go.
In 321Go.
- Boom, already one.
- 10 seconds.
What? What's the time? 42 seconds.
He is flying.
Okay.
Go.
Oh, he scuffed his foot.
67.
Okay, here we go.
Easy.
Easy.
Oh, that's kind of loud.
Oh! Oh, that's not good.
Okay, okay.
That's enough.
Here's the roundabout.
Easy with the tire squeal.
Oh.
Oh, geez.
Oh, that was it.
- Oh, count it.
- Five.
Wow.
Oh, my gosh.
Six penalties.
That's Gonna hurt him.
How did you get through the house so fast? Well, I knew that you got a big penalty coming out of the window, so I made a little stealthy escape.
I tied some bedsheets together.
Okay, so so, if we break it down, the breaking/entering part, like, the illegal-criminal part of all of this, - you were amazing.
- Right.
Once you got in the car and started driving, it all fell apart.
Just went right downhill.
Wasn't that bad.
You racked up 60 seconds' worth of penalties.
On top of 2:31, that would put you at 3:31.
Now, for the record, my car didn't get any penalties Just I did.
So I do believe that my car did the best at this.
What? Tanner could protest all he wanted.
Even if I did lose this challenge, my two previous victories made me overall winner And I was off to claim my prize.
What did we learn? Our electric cars were quiet, drivable indoors, and mine was particularly fast in reverse.
But none of them had that thing that just jumps up and grabs you in the showroom and shouts, "buy me!" But now an American company has launched an electric car that they claim will change all this.
This is the $100,000 2013 Tesla model S performance plus.
Like all electric cars, it has no engine.
But the difference is that its liquid-cooled induction motor cranks out over 400 horsepower, while somehow getting the equivalent of an astonishing 90 miles per gallon.
And it looks good A bit Jaguar here, a bit 7 series there Not dorky at all.
So it seems impressive, but is it going to be the vehicle that convinces us to finally take electric cars seriously? I'm pretty much your average American I'm from the South, I like nascar, I like barbecue, and I love the smell of burning rubber.
So if Tesla thinks that I'm gonna like the model S, the first thing it's gonna have to be able to do is go fast Really, really fast.
To see just how fast the Tesla could go, I'd race it against our old friend, the Camaro ZL1, over a quarter mile.
Yeah, an electric car faster than this supercharged V-8 America-mobile? Yeah, right.
I have to say, it's a pretty good-looking car.
Okay.
Oh, the door handle pops out.
That's cool.
It's so nice in here.
I can't believe how big it is.
Look at the size of this touchscreen.
It's like I'm in a spaceship right now.
I bet this is what the executive bathroom at apple headquarters looks like.
Okay, let's see.
Where do you put the key? There is no ignition, and the car is on.
Oh.
I'll I'll put on my seat belt.
Don't worry.
Whew.
Okay.
Let's see.
Steering mode.
I'm gonna go to sport.
Suspension is going to low.
Boy, this is exciting.
We're about to find out how fast a triple-phase liquid-cooled motor can rocket this car.
This was it Gas versus electricity, and according to Tesla, the past versus the future.
321Go! Oh, boy.
After winning the electric-car challenge, I was test-driving the Tesla model S, a top-of-the-line luxury electric car.
I wanted to see how it stacked up to its gasoline-powered competitors, and the first challenge was speed.
I was about to drag-race against the 580-horsepower Camaro.
Go! Oh, boy.
Oh, it smoked him off the line.
Can it hold it? Come on! Oh, it's holding off the Camaro.
Oh, my gosh! Oh, it beat it! It beat the Camaro ZL1! Holy Okay, so, it's fast.
It's not just fast It's like a cheetah being chased by wasps on a rocket ship fast.
Zero to 60 in 4.
2 seconds for a car that weighs nearly 5,000 pounds That's impressive.
Even more impressive is the torque is 100% available at zero rpms.
And it's so quiet, the cops will never hear you coming.
How the hell did Tesla do that? Now, going fast in a straight line is one thing, but what was the Tesla like on the open road? The car's got a really stiff chassis and a 47/53 weight distribution, which really helps it corner well.
Now, it's got a top speed of 133 miles an hour, which isn't that impressive, but when's the last time you needed to go faster than 133 miles an hour? Unless your name is, of course, Tanner "hi, I'm a racecar driver" foust.
Now, Tesla is run by elon musk, a billionaire industrialist.
And having made his fortune as one of the inventors of PayPal, he then set his sights on getting Americans to drive electric.
This 2013 model S is really the tipping point.
There's cheaper models in the pipeline, including an s.
U.
V.
And pickup trucks, which are all music to American ears.
But everything rests on this car.
I mean, this car has to prove to Americans that an electric car is the way of the future, because let's be honest We, as Americans We haven't exactly been just running out to try and go buy a car that we have to plug in to make work, have we? But maybe that's because driving an electric car has kind of always made you look, you know, like a dork.
Oh! Hello! Have you seen my electric car? It's amazing! I just plug it in! But there's nothing dorky about getting a 10 grand federal and state rebate just for buying one, or that warm, fuzzy feeling knowing you probably just saved a polar bear's life, reduced electricity costs for charging at home.
Since there's fewer moving parts, you got less maintenance and an average running cost of 6 cents per mile.
So why wouldn't you buy one? It comes down to one word Range.
Yep.
I said it.
It's the bogey word we all think about when it comes to electric cars, 'cause we just all assume we're gonna die alone in the desert somewhere 'cause we couldn't find an outlet.
Tesla claimed to have solved that issue, too, and the model S's range of 265 miles puts it level with most conventional cars.
So, basically, unless your daily commute is more than 240 miles, you're probably not gonna die a horrible death in the desert Probably.
So far, the American-made Tesla had almost persuaded me it was in the same class as its gas-powered luxury rivals.
But I needed one more test to be sure, and that meant bringing on the stig and the Tesla's direct competitor, the $100,000 Mercedes s550.
With its V-8 and 550 horsepower, this is the benchmark of German luxury performance.
Beat this, and it would be a victory not just for electric cars, but for American engineering.
The stig would take each car around the one-mile road course.
The Mercedes was up first.
Stig driving the benz had killed it at 1:15 for the lap.
Now it was the model S's turn.
And I couldn't resist the chance to ride along.
We're about to find out whether the Tesla is faster than the S-class Mercedes.
They weigh about the same.
This one's got 416 horsepower, 441 pound-feet of torque.
As soon as he hits the throttle, we're out.
Do you like electricity? You got electricity at the house? Solar? You're more of a solar guy? He's stonewalling me.
Here we go.
In 321Go! Oh, wow! We're smoking the tires on an electric car! I did not know that was possible.
Oh, my gosh! You can really feel that power come on.
Oh, my gosh.
Going around the racetrack in an electric car.
It's so weird to not hear anything besides some occasional tire squeal.
And you know what? We're going so fast, I don't miss it.
Far more violent than I was driving, and I can tell you, the seats need a little bit bigger bolsters.
Oh, my gosh.
1:12.
1:12 you beat it by 3 seconds.
That shows that an electric car doesn't have to just be good in a straight line It's great on curves, too.
That was awesome! You're theMan? Are you pumped or what? That's crazy.
I have to say, I'm pretty astounded by this car.
Tesla have, at their first attempt, managed to make an American luxury sedan that competes with the greats, and they've all been doing it for years.
Forget the Germans.
Forget Lincoln and Cadillac.
This is what we should be excited about A new American car that looks supercool, it's superfast.
This is making American cars exciting again.
Now all I need is an outlet.