0-100 MPH: BMW M5 or Tesla Model S?

[GTaudiophile]

Watch and find out.

 

[Doppel]

EVs are tough off a start, even though it's clear that BMW would have nailed it if they kept going up to 150 or something.

Is there a pool yet on how long until Top Gear deliberately runs a Model S out of juice and declares it a huge piece of sh*t?

To be fair to the M5, in the video they show the guy with the BMW is way late on the start.

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

The tesla might be pretty quick... but it sure doesn't sound as good as the M5.

 

[LTC8K6]

How many runs can the Tesla make before it slows down?

We can drive the BMW hard for a long time.

 

[bigi]

Tesla is the new king. It makes me laugh seeing myopic gasoline fanboys bragging about sound and other crap.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The Model S is an impressive package IMO, though it's very expensive and range remains an issue (plus I am wary of the giant touchscreen dash). I think if I were a wealthy man I would likely use one as a daily driver.

 

[LTC8K6]

Tesla is the new king. It makes me laugh seeing myopic gasoline fanboys bragging about sound and other crap.

Only the rich can afford the fast version of the Tesla S, though.

The poor can afford a Mustang GT, which is right in the ballpark of those 0-60 times at about 4.5 seconds, and costs well under half as much.

 

[LTC8K6]

BTW, a 2013 M5 does 0-60 in well under 4 seconds.

Should blast well by any version of the Tesla S on any given day.

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 3.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 8.3 sec
Zero to 150 mph: 18.3 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 4.6 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 1.8 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.4 sec
¼-mile: 12.0 sec @ 122 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 155–190 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 165 ft

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2013-bmw-m5-road-test-review

 

[jlee]

Tesla is the new king. It makes me laugh seeing myopic gasoline fanboys bragging about sound and other crap.

Pics of your Tesla S?

 

[mmntech]

The Model S is an impressive package IMO, though it's very expensive and range remains an issue (plus I am wary of the giant touchscreen dash). I think if I were a wealthy man I would likely use one as a daily driver.

The 85kWh battery does 300mi, just under 500km. About as much as your typical SUV or minivan will do. It just costs a ridiculous amount of money to get that kind of range. EVs are useless in cold climates though because they suck range to run the heater/defroster.

 

[PottedMeat]

anyone know why the M5's headlights were blinking? camera shutter? are the lights PWM driven independently or something?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

The 85kWh battery does 300mi, just under 500km. About as much as your typical SUV or minivan will do. It just costs a ridiculous amount of money to get that kind of range. EVs are useless in cold climates though because they suck range to run the heater/defroster.

The problem is that, unlike a gas-powered car, you can't then just fill it up in 5 minutes - you have to find a charging station and plug it in for 6-10 hours. This is not necessarily a problem in a daily driver, but it is huge issue in a road trip car.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

anyone know why the M5's headlights were blinking? camera shutter? are the lights PWM driven independently or something?

I believe this is a known anomaly that occurs when LEDs are shot using digital video. It has something to do with the interplay between frame rate and the frequency that the LEDs cycle.

 

[mmntech]

The problem is that, unlike a gas-powered car, you can't then just fill it up in 5 minutes - you have to find a charging station and plug it in for 6-10 hours. This is not necessarily a problem in a daily driver, but it is huge issue in a road trip car.

If you can afford a Tesla Model S, that's not a problem. ^_^

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

If you can afford a Tesla Model S, that's not a problem. ^_^

True, but I was just responding to your post. The fact that a Model S has reasonable range under ideal circumstances (probably better, for example, than an E60 M5) doesn't mean it doesn't suffer from range-related problems in terms of being used in the real world, due to the limitation created by needing to charge it for several hours rather than filling its tank in a few minutes.

In this sense (and probably only in this sense), I think the Fisker Karma is a better car because its gas engine makes it capable of driving after its initial charge is gone. Of course, that in turn means much more complexity and maintenance - there really is no ideal solution. Certainly if I were spending $100K on one of these cars I would trust the Telsa over the Fisker.

 

[jlarsson]

The 85kWh battery does 300mi, just under 500km. About as much as your typical SUV or minivan will do. It just costs a ridiculous amount of money to get that kind of range. EVs are useless in cold climates though because they suck range to run the heater/defroster.

Motortrend has a good article where they drove between LA and Vegas in the Model S.

The Model S is an impressive piece of engineering, no doubt. But 300 miles is probably under near ideal conditions.

And, in a few years, what will the battery capacity be then?

Personally, I'm not crazy about any battery powered vehicles. There's just too many engineering advances needed to make them reasonably viable for most consumers (I just don't see it ever being cost-effective either). I can't wait until we see car companies pushing out fuel cell cars (which sounds like it might be very soon).

General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Daimler, BMW and Hyundai, not only have decades-long development efforts in this area, they claim they can have fuel cell cars showroom ready by 2015.

From: http://green.autoblog.com/2012/07/27/hydrogen-fuel-cells-may-get-a-shot-at-batteries-after-all/

 

[LTC8K6]

2013 M5 should do close to 400 miles highway on a tank.

 

[Apex]

2013 M5 should do close to 400 miles highway on a tank.

Sounds doable, though probably not easily. It took me 3/4 of a tank to hit 250 miles, but I wasn't just plodding along.

 

[Brovane]

The problem is that, unlike a gas-powered car, you can't then just fill it up in 5 minutes - you have to find a charging station and plug it in for 6-10 hours. This is not necessarily a problem in a daily driver, but it is huge issue in a road trip car.

Here is a article about driving a Tesla Model S from Lake Tahoe to LA using the new SuperCharger stations that Tesla has deployed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/automobiles/on-an-electric-highway-charging-into-the-future.html?_r=0

 

[Dman8777]

The problem is that, unlike a gas-powered car, you can't then just fill it up in 5 minutes - you have to find a charging station and plug it in for 6-10 hours. This is not necessarily a problem in a daily driver, but it is huge issue in a road trip car.

That's where a setup like the Volt comes in handy. Use no gas driving around town and then get ~45 mpg on long highway trips. It's not perfect for everyone but given today's tech, it's probably the best compromise.

 

[LTC8K6]

Sounds doable, though probably not easily. It took me 3/4 of a tank to hit 250 miles, but I wasn't just plodding along.

Well, they were trying to get good range in the Tesla, so if you really tried with the M5, you might even do better than 400 miles.

 

[LTC8K6]

Here is a article about driving a Tesla Model S from Lake Tahoe to LA using the new SuperCharger stations that Tesla has deployed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/automobiles/on-an-electric-highway-charging-into-the-future.html?_r=0

If I had the money to buy one...

It'd be a bit different with a base model, though.

You can't use the superchargers.

I'd probably only stop once or twice to pee on a 500 mile trip in a regular car.

 

[Brovane]

That's where a setup like the Volt comes in handy. Use no gas driving around town and then get ~45 mpg on long highway trips. It's not perfect for everyone but given today's tech, it's probably the best compromise.

The bad thing about this is that you still have to haul around a ICE engine. One of the great things about electrics is that you have less maintenance, no oil changes spark plugs etc. However still having a ICE engine you still have all this complication. I have driven a volt several times. Where I work they bought a couple as fleet vehicles. I have done several 70+ mile trips with them. It is a interesting concept. However the vehicle is really small inside, it really feels like a compact. The gas tank is not very big at all. The gas mileage isn't really that great once you run the battery out.

 

[ViviTheMage]

The problem is that, unlike a gas-powered car, you can't then just fill it up in 5 minutes - you have to find a charging station and plug it in for 6-10 hours. This is not necessarily a problem in a daily driver, but it is huge issue in a road trip car.

They have recharge stations that will do it in under 30 minutes actually

 

[halik]

EVs are tough off a start, even though it's clear that BMW would have nailed it if they kept going up to 150 or something.

Is there a pool yet on how long until Top Gear deliberately runs a Model S out of juice and declares it a huge piece of sh*t?

To be fair to the M5, in the video they show the guy with the BMW is way late on the start.

The tesla jumped the start, easily half of second (look at when the brake lights go off). No tire smoke or exhaust on the M5 take off either... i claim shenenigans.