Tesla P85D Test Drive

Guest Post: Kay Talley, Tesla Model S owner and Vice President at InLogis, makers of the popular EV Surge Protection and Energy Metering products for Model S.

A fortunate window of opportunity, weather-wise, arose in snowy Denver just as my friends at the Tesla Park Meadows showroom handed me the key fob to a pearl-white P85D (Performance 85Kw Dual Motor) and asked me if I would “like to take it out?”

Hailed as one of the fastest-accelerating road vehicles on the face of the planet (somewhere between McLaren F1 and P1 for crazy speed), I was not quite sure what to expect when I flipped through the Controls menu and found the car already in the “Acceleration: Insane” mode. However, I quickly discovered that this model behaves just the same as my own in regular driving; no little tap on the accelerator was about to jettison us into lower-earth orbit (any more than I am used to – that is).

I drove a few miles to a stretch of road where I knew there would be very light traffic and a straight shot of asphalt. However, knowing what I was about to do with the 691 hp available to me, I pulled off the road to completely clear the snow build-up from the hood. (Despite the fabulous aerodynamics of the car, at this acceleration that little onboard weather pattern about to happen could possibly have blinded my vision immediately.) I then paused the P85D for a minute or so, waiting until a car or two ahead had placed enough distance between us for me to “floor it.”

The Elon Musk and Team new land-rocket just took my breath away. A very sexy Pratt & Whitney jet engine-like whine greeted me as the dual motors whirred up to provide the instantaneous, massive 864 lb-ft peak torque kicking in as my foot hit the pedal. Adrenaline rush? Totally.

Eyeballs, relieved of near G-Force, finally returned to their rightful place of origin as the brain finally caught up and processed the experience of being catapulted 3.2 seconds into the future.

I did not get a chance to actually time the 0-60, but I can safely say that I have never – in any other high-performance vehicle I have previously driven – experienced anything quite like this completely beautiful animal. Wildcat acceleration – yet the traction control is awesome in its capability to shift between front and rear in AWD. This baby seriously hugs the road no matter how Insane you want to put your foot down.

Evaluation of Tesla P85D. If you love performance cars – what’s not to love? It rocks!