Tesla Model S Review 2023

The Tesla Model S really is an electric car for anybody, assuming, of course, you’ve got the not insignificant outlay required to buy one. Its pricing puts it in the premium and luxury marketplace, however, it’s not constricted by usual electric car foibles of low potential range, it's genuinely able to cover long distances, with that Supercharger network offering sizeable coverage throughout most of the UK and Europe. 

That makes it a real alternative to cars like high-end performance and luxury saloons, whether they’re powered by petrol, diesel or hybrids of either, as well as the small collection of pure electric rivals. 

It might be the oldest model in the Tesla line-up, but it still looks fresh, gaining a slightly new look in 2016, and Tesla evolving the model gradually over time. If you’re a business driver looking to save money, or just an environmentally concerned driver with a good budget, then the Tesla Model S might be just the thing.

The closest rival is Porsche’s Taycan, and that it’s taken Porsche seven years to come up with a credible, direct electric car rival underlines how far ahead of the game Tesla really was. And remains, when you consider pure EV (Electric Vehicle) rivals can be counted on one hand, and none are able to deliver anything like the real-world range of the Tesla. 

You could try Jaguar’s I-Pace, or the Mercedes-Benz EQC or the Audi’s e-tron, these premium manufacturers all perpetuating old-school sensibilities by being wedded to the SUV body style, which sell so well with internal combustion powertrains.

We’d be unkind to say that it’s built like a movie prop, all style with no substance, subterfuge rather than substance, but it’s fair to say that for all the good looks, it lacks the sort of quality feel you’d expect in a car with a price, at its least expensive, of £82,000, and rising to just shy of £100,000. 

Tesla really has gone its own way, mostly, but the Tesla Model S does borrow a few interior bits and pieces from Mercedes-Benz, things like column stalks and window switches - if you’re going to find a quick fix, you might as well borrow from one of your better rivals. They’re among the best feeling plastics in the Tesla Model S’s interior, though it seems owners are happy to live with a cabin that’s not got quite the deep, legacy quality feel exhibited by its premium and luxury car rivals.  

And the huge touchscreen does a very good job at drawing the eye from the materials that don’t live up to the premium pricing the Tesla Model S commands.

When the Tesla Model S arrived back in 2014, its infotainment system felt, and looked light years ahead of the competition. It’s utterly dominated by a 17-inch touchscreen, which does absolutely everything, from mapping, to things like changing drive modes, radio stations, to heating and ventilation. There are sub-menus within it, but it’s so vast a screen that some shortcut functions can remain on screen all the time, which eases its operation. 

Premium Connectivity (free for the first year of ownership) includes live traffic with satellite maps via Google, DAB, in car music streaming (and video) Caraoke and an internet browser and Bluetooth connection. 

It all works pretty slickly, and Tesla can update it wirelessly, and, on occasion add so-called ‘Easter eggs’ like Romance Mode, which pops a video of a roaring fire and ups the heat from the vents, various games – controlled by the steering wheel when parked, obviously. There’s even an ‘emissions mode’ which can be set up to belch on demand, using steering wheel buttons or even the indicators. Silly stuff, but it’ll amuse the kids, or your friends. 

There’s no support for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but the Tesla’s infotainment is so absorbing and slick that you’ll probably not miss it.

With its great driving position, that feeling of space throughout thanks to the underfloor battery and the lack of the need to package a conventional, large internal combustion engine does mean the Tesla Model S is a practical machine. Four adults will find the interior very comfortable, adding a fifth making it a bit more cramped in the rear, but the absence of a transmission tunnel does at least mean there’s decent foot room for a third rear-seat passenger. 

As well as the interior’s spacious cabin, there’s vast boot space too. Tesla briefly offering that boot with rear-facing child seats, making the Tesla Model S a potential 7-seater, but the Model X fulfils the people-carrying brief these days, though it does underline just how big the S’s boot is. 

In numbers, Tesla Model S boot space is 804 litres, nearly double that of a Porsche Taycan and bigger than the seats-up load space in that pack mule of a machine, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate. Drop the rear seats, doing so in a 60/40 split, and that space increases to over 1600 litres, the Tesla Model S a hugely practical car, particularly given it’s a mere hatchback, and not offered in estate guise.   

Elsewhere, storage isn’t quite so ample, there not being any door bins, for example, while there’s a small shelf between the seats that you could chuck things on, though use the Tesla Model S’s acceleration and you’ll likely lose/break them. There is a decent-sized glove box and a pair of cup holders in the centre console between the driver and passenger. 

There’s ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outside rear seats and the ability to fit a roof rack if your sports gear cannot be accommodated inside. Tesla doesn’t offer the option of a tow bar if you wanted to tow with it, or fit a hitch-mounted bike or ski carrier. 

In terms of exterior dimensions, the Tesla Model S is 4970mm long, 1964mm wide and 1445mm tall. 

There’s no gearbox, or at least not what you’d conventionally consider one, the Tesla Model S being automatic - all you need to do is pop it in Drive and pull away. Two motors propel it, powered by a huge battery pack, those motors working on each axle to give it four-wheel drive, these allowing it its agility despite its sizeable weight. 

It’s the elastic response of those motors that’s so compelling with the Tesla Model S, you might get used to the acceleration over time, but the way it’ll just hurl itself forward will never, ever, fail to raise a smile. If you’ve passengers who have never experienced it before, prepare for an outburst of expletives if you push the accelerator to the floor. 

The Performance model covers the 0-60mph time in a faintly ridiculous 2.3 seconds, while the Long Range Model S takes 3.7 seconds, both those numbers wouldn’t shame hyper and supercars, indeed, that 2.3 seconds is about as fast as you’ll get to 60mph in anything with wheels.  

As headline-grabbing and YouTube dragstrip supercar-baitingly amusing as those figures are, it’s the way the Tesla Model S accelerates when it’s already moving that really impresses. If you need to overtake, or just move into a gap, it’ll gain speed with alarming alacrity. The top speed for the Performance Model S is 162mph, while the Long Range doesn’t trail it too much, with a 155mph maximum. Just don’t expect the battery to be too long range if you do that in either of them. 

As if the performance isn’t eye-widening enough, the way that it achieves it with an almost complete absence of sound only heightens the experience. Without the distraction of a roaring engine, it feels like you’re being catapulted into a vacuum, with only the merest chirp of protest from the tyres as they put the power to the road. Driven more sedately an EV’s drivetrain becomes its biggest asset, because if comfort is measured in quietness then the Tesla Model S is hugely comfortable indeed. 

That’s particularly true at town speeds, but as speed rises there’s a bit of tyre noise, but even here it’s commendably hushed, particularly when you consider that with rivals those sounds would be competing with engine and driveline noise to distract you. 

What’s as noticeable as the lack of sounds is the lack of vibration - there’s none - which is completely at odds with any combustion engine rival, with even the most refined among them inevitably succumbing to the mechanical movement within their engines, and transmitting that as sounds and vibrations to the interior. 

Built from conception as an electric vehicle using high strength architecture to house the floor-mounted battery the Tesla Model S should be strong in impact. EuroNCAP tested it and it scored a five star rating. It’s fitted with driver and passenger front and side airbags, side chest and pelvis airbags as well as an airbag cut-off switch if children are carried in the front seat. They shouldn’t need to be, with two ISOFIX seat mounts in the rear. 

Four-wheel drive as standard, electronic stability control come as standard too, while Tesla offers a well-publicised suite of driver assistance aids, which some say promises autonomy, or at least a degree of it. 

That’s a dangerous route to go down, as while the ‘Autopilot’ system offers driver assistance technology like emergency braking, collision warning and blind-spot monitoring, it’s not ‘driver replacing’ as some people seem to think. 

There’s the option to select what Tesla claims as Full Self Driving Capability via a £5800 option, this future-proofing your Tesla Model S, with the promise of automatic city driving, traffic light recognition and response, as well as an enhanced summon, where you can have your Tesla come and meet you. This would be via a software upgrade when it’s available, legally possible to do so. As it is, the Tesla Model S can currently auto park itself, and you can summon your Tesla Model S, but presently, it’s only from close by. 

Range is the limiting factor for most EVs, but the Tesla Model S has long been ahead of the pack in this regard. The Long Range model has a WLTP tested range of 379 miles, which suggests an easily attainable real-world range comfortably in excess of 300 miles, and more if you’re gentle with it. 

The Performance model doesn’t actually trail too much, with its official WLTP tested range being 367 miles, again it's likely that around the 300 mile mark should be relatively easy to achieve. In this regard the Tesla Model S remains the EV benchmark, with only the Porsche Taycan getting close, and even then it’s still about 50-100 miles off the best distance the Tesla can officially cover.

Tesla didn't exactly set the world alight in our sister site, Honest John's, owner satisfaction survey – it came second on our list of the least reliable car manufacturers – only Jeep scored worse. On the upside, all cars come with a decent four-year/100,000-mile warranty.  

Group 50 insurance for the Tesla Model S in the UK, which means you’ll pay handsomely for your insurance. That’s not really surprising given its supersaloon/supercar performance, while it’s EV construction will make it expensive to repair should you bend it. Tesla does have a collaboration for insurance with Direct Line, offering preferential rates, because Tesla drivers ‘value technology and safety’. 

The Tesla Model S dodges VED luxury car surcharges, despite its lofty price point, therefore it’s exempt from road tax. It’s also eligible for free travel in the London Congestion Charge Zone, following a £10 registration fee, likewise it’s compliant with Ultra Low Emissions Zones, again, saving you money if you regularly travel in these zones. 

A simplified choice of models from 2019 onwards, the Tesla Model S offered in two, somewhat unambiguous forms. There’s the Long Range, or the Performance, and, they’re all but identical technologically, the Performance only gaining things like a carbon fibre spoiler outside, enhanced interior styling and, of course, that quicker acceleration in ‘Ludicrous Mode.’ 

All get four-wheel drive, a Premium Audio System, Cold Weather Features (heated seats for every passenger, heated steering wheel and washer nozzle heaters) Bluetooth connectivity and Wireless Charging in the centre console.