VIDEO: Top Gear finally tests the Tesla Roadster
Click above to watch the video
"Say goodbye to dial-up and say hello to broad band motoring!" That's the assessment of of Top Gear's chief wordsmith, Jeremy Clarkson, after testing the Tesla Roadster last night on Top Gear. Clarkson pitted the electric Roadster against the car which provided its chassis DNA on the TG test track and unsurprisingly came away with a startlingly different result from when he tested the G-Wiz. The extra torque of the version 1.5 drivetrain means it left the Lotus Elise in the dust, although the 1,000 lb battery pack in the middle took it's toll when going around corners. And then there is the issue of range. We all know about Tesla's claims of a 230+ mile range. That, of course, is based on the EPA driving cycle which comes nowhere near to taking advantage of the Roadster's full dynamic range. Our own estimate from our first drive last January is more like half the official number. Top Gear's range on the track? well let's just say it was considerably less than that. The TG crew actually had two examples on hand which proved helpful when Clarkson discovered the thermal limits of the Roadster's motor and brake issues with one car. When they finally handed the car over to the Stig he managed to match the lap time of the Porsche 911 GT3 under similarly damp track conditions. Wanna see it? Click and scroll down.
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Randy C. 12:29PM (12/15/2008)
Of course if you drive like a maniac your mileage will decrease. When do you get the best MPG in the Lotus? Certainly not while you are driving it like this. These tests are extreme punishment for any car not just an electric one. I'd like to see how far the Elise goes on just 1.5 gallons of fuel which is what the Tesla's energy supply is equal to.
Reply
Mark W. 1:10AM (12/16/2008)
Top Gear recently raced five exotics around the track. Each had one gallon of fuel. The Ferrari 399 coasted to a stop after 1.7 miles. The fuel miserly Audi R-8 won the endurance contest after 5 miles. Tesla will best these cars any day.
Scatter 12:45PM (12/15/2008)
All things considered it was a surprisingly positive review. As Randy pointed out though they deliberately emphasised the curtailment of range after ragging it around the track (they've done this before with the Prius vs M3 "test").
Most disappointing was the hydrogen puff piece at the end. Straight out of the Honda PR team's mouth. Just after the Tesla test they were saying how EVs were irrelevent because hydrogen cars are the future. Hmmmmmmmm. Just goes to show that TG really don't know what the hell they're talking about. Judge for yourselves here:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s92j97qx-gs
Reply
NomadRip 12:55PM (12/15/2008)
They can run a gas car out of gas and break stuff on that track just the same :-)
Reply
Snowdog 1:11PM (12/15/2008)
I felt they really showed Teslas in a bad light. Batteries toast in 50 miles, then 16 hours to recharge. Brake problems, overheated motor. Harping about where the electricity comes form.
Then the show the Hydrogen car like it is manna from heaven.
Yes they do look like a bit clueless on this one. The Clarity does have batteries. The hydrogen will eventually be produced from electricity at much lower efficiency than running a BEV. There is no hydrogen infrastructure.
The best thing I have seen recently was the big study that looked at a variety of energy solutions for transportation.
The winner was wind powered BEVs.
Reply
Jared 8:32AM (12/16/2008)
They didn't show Tesla in a bad light. They showed Tesla as it is -- completely incompetent. They've spent hundreds of millions of dollars to transplant an electric drivetrain from a third party vendor into a Lotus chassis and it still doesn't work.
Snowdog 8:47AM (12/16/2008)
I have no problem with a critical look at Tesla, but in the same show they snow us completely with the Hydrogen car.
The Tesla is targeted as a rich persons play car for ~$100K.
The Clarity is supposed to by a Sedan for the masses, but it cost 5 times as much as the Tesla and is only available on lease in a small area where there is a hydrogen station.
Jared 9:16AM (12/16/2008)
I agree that hydrogen powered fuel cells are completely impractical at this time and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Mike!!ekiM 5:25PM (12/16/2008)
They showed they are oil industry monkeys. Who produces this show?
Hank 1:13PM (12/15/2008)
"It's just a shame, that in the real world, it doesn't seem to work." Clarkson
I'm surprised that wasn't the quote in your lede. lol
--------
Oh well, it'd work for me and 90% of my driving. Too bad so $$$.
Reply
Throwback 1:30PM (12/15/2008)
Isn't the Tesla a sports car? Why shouldn't they drive it as they would any other sports car?
Reply
scooter 2:25PM (12/15/2008)
I love the Tesla Roadster! Wish to see it on Europe soon...
http://1000scooters.com
Reply
andrichrose 2:08PM (12/15/2008)
Its not really surprising that they tried to put the Tesla
down it does not fit the moulds that top gear has carved
out for itself in the last few years.
However there is no debating its lightening fast acceleration
which I really think shook up Clarkson , great to see him
humbled after all the poison he has poured on the EV
scene , lets just hope the Tesla is the first of many !
As the previous commenter pointed out the section on the
FCX clarity was very strange . I have always thought of
James May being the intelligent one of the trio and to see
him launch into what was quite clearly a dreadful piece
of un-researched journalism just shows what a free first
class round trip to LA ,a couple of nights in the Wiltshire
Hilton and all the steak you can eat ,( paid for I expect by
Honda) ,can do.
Funny he never mentioned the cost of the FCX , which
was something they were a pains to point out in the review
of the Tesla .
Seeing as James May mentioned him it would be rather
nice to bring back Raymond Baxter , and the age of
un-biased reporting !
Reply
kballs 2:22PM (12/15/2008)
Hyrdogen? Bah! When will the masses get it through their head that hydrogen is not an energy source, but just an energy storage medium, and that it's a very inefficient storage medium compared to batteries? Hydrogen is not free (or even cheap) or efficient just because it is abundant.
16 hours to charge: On 230V 30A it only takes 4, on 230V 80A it could take 90 minutes (if the batteries can take a charge that quick). On a routine basis you'd only be topping it up, so it would likely take about 4 hours on 110V 15A, 1 hour on 230V 30A.
Where the electricity comes from: This has been hashed over a billion times, it CAN be renewable, and even if it was dirty coal, it would be 1/2x the emissions of a gasoline car.
Crappy range, overheating motor, etc: This is NOT a track car, it's a high performance daily driver and Tesla has said this. If you want it to do track duty, you'd need to add extra cooling devices for the motor and/or batteries and could still expect a short range. And regarding the comment about the Elise on the track on 1.5 gallons of gas, it definitely wouldn't go 50 miles.
Clarkson's comments are still somewhat relevant though as the haters will have the same criticisms, and in the future if electric car manufacturers can address them they'll have nothing practical/objective to hate (only little things like the absence of a manly loud ICE or the inability to use a clutch, or that the interior "looks cheap" or criticisms like all other cars have).
Reply
ed 3:22PM (12/15/2008)
Watched this on Sunday night, all in all a fairly predictable piece from Top gear these days. It was nice to see Clarkson's face when he experienced the Tesla's relentless torque.. he was obviously shocked.
As previously said, i too was disappointed by May's California report, he must have got a fat package stuffed with $100 bills surely? "Honda saving the world, abundant Hydrogen, etc, etc.. what bullsh*t.
But hey, why let mere facts get in the way of entertainment for the poorly informed masses.
Reply
Torbjorn 4:02PM (12/15/2008)
Without seeing this TG show, I do watch it on a regular basis. I have to say from the comments though, it seems people want owners of the TESLA to drive it like a 90 year old Grandma. It was not designed to be a boring car. If real world sport driving gives this car a lot of trouble then it is more of an experimental toy. It is not something I would want to drive from Stockholm to the Swiss Alps. I'll stick with a proven Porsche 911 at this stage of development.
Based on the above, it stands to reason the comments by Clarkson were valid. EV at this point should be tiny little cars made for tiny roads in tiny villages to get tiny little groceries on a daily basis. Hybrids with batteries are much more practical for the masses who need reliable transport on a daily basis. The BYD's F3DM is the game changer in this arena.
Hydrogen, CNG and Propane is still a better fuel for the future masses due to the inherent way these gases provide reliable range a quick way to filler up when you need to go further.
Batteries are fun, but I highly doubt it will be the blessed Messiah Autobloggreen and fans say it will.
Reply
Chris M 10:21PM (12/16/2008)
Who said it was "messiah"? It is just a very good potential solution to the problems of conventional petrol engines.
gorr 4:07PM (12/15/2008)
This test was well done, maybe they push too hard but they showed realistically the strengths acceleration and the flaws, breaking, range, handling, long recharge time, pricy, not beautiful.
IT's a question of tastes. a political car to show that petrol car are shit but by having a different shit car then petrol. All in all i will say like some that hydrogen is the best alternative to sh*tty actual cars and trucks and planes and ships and trains and electricity producing machinery.
Reply
SimonK 7:04AM (12/16/2008)
I suppose any publicity is good publicity. 2 out of 3 super cars blow up on TG I bet.
James May - what a let down. "the Clarity doesn't have a battery, like an electric car does". Difficult to see how big the LiIon battery is in a Clarity (any one know), but at 228V and I guess at least 50Ah (to stop too much Voltage drop), it's over 14kWh - quite decent and already about 30% that of the Tesla. Hasn't he realised that the Clarity is a battery powered EV, with the added complication of the fuel cell? As in, this would be a real car now without the fuel cell - or maybe just as a standard serial hybrid...
Reply
boo 4:37PM (12/15/2008)
Torbjorn: You can still drive your Tesla like a sports car, but track is something different isn't it? Who actually spends their free time doing continuous circles on a track? I imagine not a lot of Porsche/Ferrari/Lamborghini owners either. You can use the Tesla like a normal person (read: NOT like a 'grandma') and get those 230 miles out of it, or you can be like most Tesla owners seem to be (reading actual owner testimonies) and do occasional crazy accelerations down the highway, get the blood pressure up, and still get 160 miles out of it. As long as you don't "overheat" it (actually the car self-protecting and shutting off to prevent damage) you can have tons of fun with it. I think Tesla COULD have made something that was specifically a track car and it could be awesome, but they specifically designed it for a different purpose (electronically limited the speed to 125mph as well).
I think the fact alone that all EVs before Tesla were essentially emasculated/kiddy cars that can't go over 40mph is a BIG DEAL. And only proves that things can only get better. I owned an EV1 back in the day and I can only imagine where EVs would be today had the right people had the drive to continue R&D, imagine where we would be now! We're at the start of something great.
Seriously, any Tesla haters NEED to drive one. I think your minds will change instantly. And hydrogen is a joke. That Hydrogen car cost over 500,000 dollars didnt it?
I'm glad to see more people in support of Tesla on this blog for once!
Reply