Car & Driver on the Plaid

[JeffKeryk]

"The shocking bit is after the Plaid's 2.1-second flash to 60 mph, when it's accelerating so quickly that your surroundings start to mimic the silly plaid animation on the dash screen. The VBox test equipment recorded 4.3 seconds to 100 mph and a 9.4-second quarter-mile, a tie with the Bugatti Chiron Sport for the quickest quarter we've ever measured."

"But for a large four-door that seats five, rides comfortably, and starts at $131,440 to mix it up with multimillion-dollar exotics is an amazing accomplishment. The Plaid actually blows the quickest exotics away in our passing tests, where it shot from 30 to 50 mph in 0.9 second and from 50 to 70 mph in 1.0 flat. Those are the quickest times our test gear has ever witnessed, more than twice as quick as the Chiron and about a 30 percent improvement over last year's Model S Performance and the Porsche Taycan Turbo S."

Car and Driver Test the Plaid

 

[97prizm]

It's still a Tesla. By the way the Plaid model has issues with the brakes catching fire. There are 6 totaled ones heading to auction soon, if you want one. I'd take a Bugatti Chiron any day over a plaid. Shove a huge battery into a car with a torquey motor sure it's fast. The Chiron is a work of art.

 

[2EHA]

garbage brakes with 4 piston fronts like it’s still 1989 and pads out of the autozone clearance section. this is the stuff you put on cars that run 13s not 9s

catching on fire and extreme brake fade is normal and acceptable if it was a plain jane base model m5 or e63. for a vehicle so fast, marketed around the ring times, and supposedly designed from the ground up to be driven recklessly it’s a complete joke.

all they had to do was pay up and get a copy of the rs6 and urus brake setup. now they want to charge 20k for a bbk

 

[Andrew1972]

The acceleration is amazing they just forgot to make balanced vehicle and work out high speed manners and also you know things like braking.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38453459/tesla-model-s-plaid-top-speed-200-mph/

Tesla is a neat company however they are not a world class car builder. That takes time, money and attracting proper talent.

 

[RooflessVW]

I think if Tesla built a car with things I care about it would cost twice as much.

 

[MrHorspwer]

I just can't get over that steering wheel.

It's like making a bicycle without a seat. Yeah, some bicycles designed for competitive purposes don't have seats. Can you still ride it? Sure, just stand up and pedal. Why inconvenience yourself on a commuter bike though?

 

[Vercingetorix]

I thought discussing religion wasn’t allowed here.

 

[RooflessVW]

I just can't get over that steering wheel.

It's like making a bicycle without a seat. Yeah, some bicycles designed for competitive purposes don't have seats. Can you still ride it? Sure, just stand up and pedal. Why inconvenience yourself on a commuter bike though?

A E S T H E T I C S

 

[manicrodder]

A E S T H E T I C S

A$$thetics!

 

[Owen Lucas]

Not enough service centers to keep fixing everything that's always breaking.

 

[JohnnyG]

Saw a click bait article today that said Elon is thinking about quitting all his jobs.
I didn't click on it tho.

 

[DwightFrye]

It didn't take long for the Tesla haters to come out did it.

Just for comparison's sake, how does the Tesla Plaid model compare to the big, 4 door $150k sedans from BMW, Mercedes and Audi in braking distances from 60 to 0 or 100 to 0 or however they are measuring such things these days and how well does it compare after several panic stops ?
Apples to apples guys, from a reputable automotive source and not something you heard somewhere.

 

[RooflessVW]

It didn't take long for the Tesla haters to come out did it.

Just for comparison's sake, how does the Tesla Plaid model compare to the big, 4 door $150k sedans from BMW, Mercedes and Audi in braking distances from 60 to 0 or 100 to 0 or however they are measuring such things these days and how well does it compare after several panic stops ?
Apples to apples guys, from a reputable automotive source and not something you heard somewhere.

Who cares?

The big German sedans are better cars. I want a well-built car with nice paint, not an electric rocket with the build quality of a Power Wheel™ and the interior of an iPad.

 

[JeffKeryk]

It didn't take long for the Tesla haters to come out did it.

Just for comparison's sake, how does the Tesla Plaid model compare to the big, 4 door $150k sedans from BMW, Mercedes and Audi in braking distances from 60 to 0 or 100 to 0 or however they are measuring such things these days and how well does it compare after several panic stops ?
Apples to apples guys, from a reputable automotive source and not something you heard somewhere.

They can't compare. It takes exotics to even come close. Doesn't matter, everyone is entitled to their own likes and dislikes. And opinion.
EVs are the future; ICE is the past. Teslas are amazing, warts and all.
Kinda funny, I love our GS350 F Sport, which is a great car but pretty old school. It's a Lexus.
I love the Model 3 for other reasons; it is soooo futuristic.
They are both great fun and true driver's cars. One is the future and one is not made anymore.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Who cares?

The big German sedans are better cars. I want a well-built car with nice paint, not an electric rocket with the build quality of a Power Wheel™ and the interior of an iPad.

That's your opinion and that's fine. You buy the car that works for you, as can others. Tesla is killing BMW in the market place, right?

 

[mightymousetech]

That's your opinion and that's fine. You buy the car that works for you, as can others. Tesla is killing BMW in the market place, right?

Better recheck your numbers.

 

[RooflessVW]

That's your opinion and that's fine. You buy the car that works for you, as can others. Tesla is killing BMW in the market place, right?

I, among others, was called a "hater" because I refuse to worship at the foot of His Muskiness. Tesla is doing great right now, and I wish them continued success. I just wont own one unless there are major fundamental changes made to the way the company conducts business and the way the cars are constructed. Tesla is "killing it," for now.

I remember when the New Beetle, Neon, and PT Cruiser had their time in the limelight.

That you call your GS350 F Sport or even your Model 3 "true driver's cars" tells me that we do not prioritize the same things when it comes to the cars we buy.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I, among others, was called a "hater" because I refuse to worship at the foot of His Muskiness. Tesla is doing great right now, and I wish them continued success. I just wont own one unless there are major fundamental changes made to the way the company conducts business and the way the cars are constructed. Tesla is "killing it," for now.

I remember when the New Beetle, Neon, and PT Cruiser had their time in the limelight.

That you call your GS350 F Sport or even your Model 3 "true driver's cars" tells me that we do not prioritize the same things when it comes to the cars we buy.

No one asked you to buy a Tesla. It's your money; spend it how you wish.
No one asked you to worship Elon Musk. I certainly admire his work ethic and success, but worship? Please...
Comparing New Beetle, Neon, and PT Cruiser to the cars that have changed the world is a pretty odd comparison.

I am not sure what you mean by "way the company conducts business and the way the cars are constructed". Every legacy car maker is envious of Tesla's margins and their vertical integration. Can you name a company that managed the chip shortage even close to Tesla? Can you name a company with such an impact in the last 50 years?

 

[DwightFrye]

Back to my question. A great deal has been written about the Tesla's staggering acceleration times and speeds. And apparently they handle pretty well with their low center of gravity and turn in impressive lap times around circuits and not just on a dragstrip.

The automobile publications used to have a data sheet with their reviews showing acceleration and braking performance and skidpad performance. So how well does a Tesla Plaid compare with other 4 door sedans in the same price range in performance other than a straight line ?

We can talk about the supposed poor paint quality, cheap interior and video game dashboard in a separate thread (if you feel like opening yet another one on those subjects that is)

 

[2EHA]

how does the Tesla Plaid model compare to the big, 4 door $150k sedans from BMW, Mercedes and Audi in braking distances from 60 to 0 or 100 to 0 or however they are measuring such things these days and how well does it compare after several panic stops ?
Apples to apples guys, from a reputable automotive source and not something you heard somewhere.

doesn’t take a lot of brain power to tell 4 piston front calipers and 380mm rotors are not going to end well