Tesla Roadster. Day Two. To The Streets

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The quality of finish inside the Roadster is vastly superior to any Lotus we’ve so far experienced. But there’s no disguising its origins, and we don’t have a problem with that. But unlike the Lotus driving experience, there’s no disguising the weight of that battery pack behind the seats either.

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Hit a corner at speed and there’s an abundance of nasty understeer while the rear struggles to make up its mind what it wants to do. We don’t fiddle with the traction control, as this is the only Tesla in the UAE right now and we want to keep on Green Car Rental’s good side. But perhaps there are some lairy oversteer antics waiting to be discovered for anyone with a wide enough road. We’d like to think so.

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Over the two days with the Tesla, despite an arduous and time-consuming recharging experience (our fault because we didn’t have the right set-up), the novelty of silent, emission-free performance shows no sign of waning. Seriously, the only cars we’ve experienced with this kind of acceleration have had either 12 or 16 cylinders.It’s positively slingshot, made all the more weird because the sounds we normally associate with this kind of speed are conspicuous only by their complete absence.

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We’re hooked, converted and we don’t care who knows it. And while warbling V8s, screaming V12s and turbochargers will always excite us, we’re overjoyed that there’s an alternative out there that doesn’t cost the earth.

Tesla Roadster
Motor: 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive
Battery: Custom micro-processor controlled lithium-ion
Power: 238+bhp @4500-8500rpm
Torque: 280+lb ft @ 0-4500rpm
Transmission: Single-speed fixed gear / rear-wheel drive / limited slip differential / traction control
Front suspension: Double wishbones / co-axial coil spring telescopic dampers / anit-roll bar
Rear suspension: Double wishbones / co-axial coil spring telescopic dampers / anti-roll bar
Brakes: Ventilated carbon-ceramic discs front and rear
Tyres: 175/55 R16 (front) / 225/45 R17 (rear) / Yokohama Neova AD07
Weight (kerb) 1283kg
Power-to-weight: 196bhp/ton
0-100kph: 3.9sec
Top speed: 201kph
Price: $109,000 ($1007 per day from Green Car Rental)

Categories: Road

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