M/T: Fastest bar of soap we've ever tested

[kevm14]

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2016-mod ... 66BFF86CB2

Apologies to some bars of soap, which have more styling cues than the Model X.

The numbers: 0-60 in 3.2 (launchy, as we'd expect) and 1/4 in 11.6 @ 116.

116 means that it cannot shake a $20k C5 Z06 from a roll. Granted, this is an "SUV" though a mid-size one. If the purpose is utility, there are better deals. If the purpose is speed, there are better deals. Yeah I'm a hater. This was $135k as tested (and 5,500+ lbs). I may as well post an article on the Lamborghini Huracan and be like "omg this is awesome." Not my thing.

The reason I don't care about launch is because I already can beat anyone off a light in my Caprice. Not because it's faster off the light (sometimes it is) but because people don't drive like that. I need trap speed, not ET. Passing on a 2 lane road or the highway or anywhere? That's trap speed, not ET. Highway merging performance is trap speed, not ET. Anything that isn't traction-dependent (i.e. rolling acceleration) is trap speed, not ET. So 3.2 0-60 is fast but not really relevant. 116 mph is relevant. And it IS fast, but not untouchable by any means. Pretty fast for the package it is in, I guess.

If Jamie's SRX and this were next to each other and floored it from a roll, this thing would put bus lengths on the SRX much like a C6 Z06 would do to my CTS-V. But it's $135k. I have a much greater chance of building an LS-swap turbo car that is faster. For $25k (less after selling the unused drivetrain components), I could probably build an LS-turbo AWD SRX that exceeds the performance of this Model X (go, stop, turn) with all of the utility.

[kevm14]

what they don't tell you is that the this acceleration can only be attained when the battery is fully charged and the vehicle has less than 10,000 miles on it. I would love to see the automotive press test out teslas with 20k miles on their batteries running on half a charge. I think we would see a very different performance story. At least with gas vehicles you get the same performance whether the tank is full or almost empty.

Another reason why this kind of PR is misleading. Does it even sell cars? Or just create fanboys?

Somewhat related, heat is free in an ICE car, and A/C is cheap.

[Bob]

More battery life handwringing... Reminds me of the people who thought that every Prius would require a $20k battery at 100k miles. From what I have seen, even the early Tesla Roadsters are aging pretty well when it comes to retaining their battery capacity. Yes, it does require a high SOC to attain the max performance because of the discharge rates. This is just an example of the very different constraints that exist in the EV world. I'm not about to stand here and say I think the Model X is the greatest thing ever, because I don't think it is, but can you name any other vehicle that seats 7 and traps 116?

[kevm14]

X6 M traps 115. I don't think it is 7 passenger.

[kevm14]

This will trap over 116: http://m.caranddriver.com/features/2017 ... or-feature

I don't think it is 7 passenger, either.

It's not a technology problem though.

[kevm14]

I am glad we are improving batteries but I don't think they are a great energy storage solution. Though in cars it is obvious they are the only real alternative to gas that's actually in the market.