Tesla Model S vs Model X

Post date: 22-Apr-2020 11:14:19

So you're about to buy yourself an electric car and more specifically you're gonna buy yourself a Tesla but which one do you get is it gonna be the Model S the new model 3 or the BigDog Model X you want to know the ins and the outs the ups and the downs the pros and cons.

well you're in luck as today I'm gonna break it all down for you it's Tesla vs. Tesla vs. Tesla and there are loads of questions that need answering which has the best range the best interior which is the most practical which is the best to drive which is the best value for money and which is the best car the youth.

okay I've got all three cars in front of me and I think it would be a bit of a shame if we didn't take some time and have a little bit of a perv starting with the og the Model S this thing is the most classically beautiful out of all three cars it's perfectly proportioned and seems to get better looking every single time they make an incremental improvement however it's not my favorite my favorite happens to be the Model X.

I've got a thing for SUVs and to me this thing is absolutely stunning there are a lot of people that don't like the X but to those people I say three words Falcon wing doors nuff said now the new kid on the block the model three it's not quite as well proportioned as the other two shall we say it's a little bit too short at the front a bit too big in the middle and the whole thing doesn't hang together quite as well as I would like however in person it's not quite as bad as I expected it's not making me throw up in my mouth quite as much as I thought it would one of the big questions is what do you get for your money with these three different cars and I'll show you by showing you the door handles this the model three is a 35,000 pound car so you get 35 grand door handles this is the key you hold it up against the b-pillar it unlocks you push your hand here all the door opens quite simple reasonably cheap however you spend a bit more money on the Model's and you get yourself 60 grand door handles.

this is the key right here that will tap it the door handles open and present themselves to you allowing you to open the door but if you want doors that are even more special you spend more money on a Model X because actually let me show you this so everybody you are you can eat that too second sis all we have to do is walk up to the car and even if your hands are full the doors will open automatically for you.

and let you in and then when you're inside and you want to close the doors all you've got to do is press the brake and they close for you how cool is that and did I mention Falcon wing doors come on before I Drive these cars we should probably have a quick chat about interior space in the Model X you get loads cupholders door bins cubbies it's all good in here they do this in a five-seater six seater and a seven seater configuration you get pretty good boot space as well more than you get in the Model S and Model 3.

the S is slightly less practical but that's because it's a slightly smaller car however you do get loads of room in the cabin for five grown-ups and a huge boots plus you get the option of two rear-facing jump seats for the kids now I definitely wouldn't want to ride in them and I probably wouldn't want to put my kids in them either because it feels that little bit too close to child neglect it might be okay for short journeys.

but if you want a practical car it's get an ex the model 3 is the cheapest smallest car with the least features so first and foremost it doesn't have a power tailgate it's not a hatchback either so the boot opening is slightly more narrow but there are a couple of advantages to that one of which is rear headroom there's no boot hinge above your head just this gorgeous panoramic roof so you get tons of headroom and a great view of the sky so no big surprises here practicality wires the X is the best the S is decent and the 3 is OK.

so should we drive them yeah but I'm not gonna go over there these are Tesla's and Tesla people don't go to their cars their cars come to them check this out this is summon mode and it's basically for people who are stuck in a tight parking space or have a really tight garage what people just want to show off like meat in the model three comes in two versions standard and performance this happens to be the performance version.

and you can tell because it's got 20 inch alloys this big glass sunroof and a tiny little carbon-fiber spoiler that probably adds around I don't know 400 grams of downforce every little helps like I said before it's a quirky little car this but if you think the outsides radical then wait till you see the interior if I Kia made car interiors this would be it look how pure and white this interiors I mean there's a big huge screen in the middle.

but there are no vents no clocks it's like the Feng Shui the hell out of it one way of looking at it of course is that it's clean the other way of looking at it is that they've removed all the clutter and just placed it all in one place it's a bit like having a lot of icons on your computer desktop and then deciding one day to make a folder and then highlighting everything and then thumping it all in one folder that's exactly what they've done with this car but hey I like it all your important stuff like your speed and your wipers are all there on the right hand side of the screen and that never moves everything else is.

I don't know a couple of hundred button clicks away nice and simple all your shortcuts are laid out along the bottom of the screen you've got your volume control on the far left rear and front screen be misting heated seat and climate control settings in the middle navigation and music you don't get apple carplay or Android auto but you do get Spotify let's talk Easter eggs there are loads of Easter eggs in the model 3 now you should already know about the emissions testing mode which causes your model 3 or your Model S or X.

to make a farting noise whenever you press a button on the steering wheel or whenever you indicate and there are around about one two three four five six seven different farts to choose from including this that that that and that genuinely hilarious but more interesting than that would you believe it is the Tesla arcade now this has a whole bunch of different games to choose from that you can play whenever you're pulled over including beach buggy racing - if you've ever played Mario Kart it's a lot like that really you basically control the game using the steering wheel and your brake pedal.

so you choose your character choose your level and then off you go [Music] with all of this technology it's easy to forget that this is a car after all so I should probably tell you how it drives and the answer is it's really nice the first thing that strikes you is just how quiet this thing is it's so peaceful to drive this car if you suffer from road rage or you have high blood pressure then this car is for you it will kill you right out acceleration in this car is genuinely mind-blowing this is the performance version and it will do naught to 60 in 3.2 seconds.

well she's knocking on supercar territory you press the throttle and you instantly get thrown back in your seat it's a mind-warping experience every single time as for brakes well they're really strong but you genuinely almost never have to use the brakes in a Tesla you lift off and the regenerative braking system slows the car down quite aggressively so usually you can drive with just a single pedal I really don't think you'll have to replace the brakes in a Tesla hardly ever come to end of the world all that's going to be left on this planet is cockroaches and brakes from Tesla Model 3 S range isn't really a problem either.

Tesla says you can get 348 miles from the performance version and that's on a par with most cars in fact check this out a bmw m3 has a 14 gallon fuel tank and will do about 20 miles per gallon that gives you a range of about 250 miles a hundred miles less than this electric car of course the real problem with electric cars is of course the recharging.

but if you top-up everyday from home or use a supercharger where a full charge takes a little over an hour then the model 3 is actually really good value for money stunning but how does it compare to the Model S the most obvious difference between these two cars so far apart from the fact that one's pretty and the other ones challenging to look at is the fact that the S is a lot more traditional in the way it looks and not quite as many of list you get actual physical air vents for a star and look at this physical switches for your wipers old school also it's worth saying that if you want more space in your car then get them unless it's not quite perfect I mean there are no door bins for a start so there's nowhere to keep a stash of Haribo however there is an ample amount of storage in the center console and you get the option of having up to 7 seats in this car even if sitting in the very rear most seats is equivalent to torture let's get some facts and figures out of the way this is the Model S P 100 D.

which is the all-singing all-dancing top of the range version it uses two motors and this latest model actually borrows the front motor that's used in the model 3 it's bigger and about 400 kilos heavier than the model 3 mostly because it has a bigger battery so it will do around 370 miles on a single charge on the EPA cycle 50 more than the model 3 it might not sound like much but having just that little bit of extra range could end up making this car just that little bit more convenient than all the rest.

so it goes further but it's also much faster much much faster the model 3 does nought to 60 in 3.2 seconds the Model S does it in 2.2 they might not sound like an awful lot but there isn't anything on this planet that can accelerate quite like this car you've smashed your throttle and it just takes off like you wouldn't believe there's no Lamborghini no Ferrari I mean the laferrari isn't as quick as this 260 can you believe that this is a staggeringly fast car.

mashing the throttle in this thing is not something you want to do every single day because it kind of hurts it just takes your breath away another big difference between the s and the cheap of three is the fact that new Model S comes with adaptive suspension one of the problems I had with the original Model S when I first drove it years ago was that the ride was a little bit too harsh but this new car feels a lot more grown-up and a lot more comfortable so the Model S is definitely faster and has much better suspension.

is it more fun I'm not sure it is you know it's definitely more pleasant to drive it's a much more grown-up luxurious experience in this car but when it comes to raw fun I kind of think the model three has the edge the three just feels that a little bit more engaging and playful this feels like a much more serious device if the S is the serious one then the X is the lunatik of the family did I mention Falcon wing doors yeah I mean I don't know why this appeals to me but it just does the idea of a family van that flaps its doors like wings yet it's quick enough to outrun a Porsche just appeals to me take my money now it does have a serious side.

of course the X is all about utility if you're stuck in a tight parking space they can make it slightly easier to get inside the car space wise there's no competition really this is the car to go for especially if you have a family if you do have a family and that includes a dog then you'll want to know about dog mode all three testers have it what it does is this we all know how bad it is to leave a dog in a car on a hot summer's day.

but with dog mode you can actually set a specific temperature inside your car so you can leave your pets while you go and do some shopping it will also leave a message on the screen to alert passers-by that you haven't just inconsiderately left your pets to die really cool if you're worried that someone might steal your dogs or you you can switch on century mode these cars have a load of external cameras we should use for the autopilot feature but they can also be used as CCTV if your car detects a threat like someone smashing a window it will activate the alarm and play music at maximum volume one of the coolest things about driving the Model X is having this huge panoramic glass windscreen in front of you both the Model S and the model 3 have a support beam that run from the a pillar to the other a pillar but that's not the case in the X the windscreen runs all the way back almost as far as the B pillar to give you a fantastic view of the road ahead if I had to choose a car.

just for wafting around in it might just be the Model X especially when you turn on the autopilot feature there's just something really cool about gliding along in a silent high riding spaceship on wheels that just gets me every time if I had to choose a car for driving fast this probably wouldn't be it the Model X is the heaviest of all three cars by far it's 200 kilos heavier than the Model S and 600 kilos heavier than a Model 3.

so it's not the most dynamic car in the world it comes with the same adaptive suspension as the S and that helps but there's only so much you can do against the laws of physics the trick to driving the Model X though is to take it easy through the bends and then take advantage of the absolutely ballistic acceleration on the straights and let's not forget this version the Model X 100 D long range has a 0 to 60 time of 4.4 seconds so the distance between bends can feel ridiculously small the range in this car is 325 miles.

that's about what you get in the model 3 but a little bit short of what you get in a Model S however considering this cars size weight and the level of practicality on offer I think that kind of range is actually really decent so the big question which Tesla is the best Tesla well the answer is it really does depend on what you want if you want a car that's spacious practical and yet still feels incredibly special then get the Model X.

if you want a car that looks special feels special and has a timeless beautiful design and it's fast enough to make you swallow your own tongue then get the Model S but the Model 3 that really thrills the cat amongst the pigeons for me it's lighter more agile more fun than any other Tesla and in performance guys it's actually faster than 95% of cars on the market today most important of all maybe is the fact that it manages to be reasonably affordable.

while also being immensely desirable we've had affordable electric cars before but this one feels different it feels like I don't want to give this too much height but it feels like we've reached a watershed moment where we have an electric car that's affordable but also desirable attainable while also being aspirational you won't go wrong whichever one of these you pick but if it was my money the car I'd get well that's the model 3.