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It was difficult to determine which aspect of Tesla's Model X caused the most intense reaction from the crowd.
Did it sound fart noises (caused by the indicator that sent the four-year-old (and his grandparents) into paraxysms of laughter?
Was it the falcon wing doors – a showcase every time they were open in public, even though it is suspected that they are not always subject to the same? universal approval.
Or was it the real screams and gasps when the hood was opened to reveal a front chest big enough for a golf bag, not a motor in sight. "Where's the engine?" Shouted the scream. Should not there be an electric?
Where indeed. In Tesla electric vehicles, it is hidden, unlike other future electric vehicle manufacturers (such as Jaguar and Hyundai) who have designed their electric motors to look like the internal combustion engines (ICEs) they are designed to replace and place them in the same place. .
The reactions to the X model, and the sheer novelty of electric cars and driving, show however that, despite all the talk about electric vehicles and the coming transition, how bad is an electric vehicle. is loaded, and how he can be smart.
This makes the Tesla Model X a perfect illustration, if not typical.
At $ 250,000, the version of the X model loaned to The Driven over a long recent weekend (as part of the Tesla Destinations campaign) is not within the range of one of the so-called 1%. all you can imagine is an indicator of what the future could hold for everyone.
Let's start with the driving experience. It's true that every electric car will behave much better than its fossil fuel equivalent.
For starters, it's quiet and there is no exhaust pipe. The added benefit is that the electric motor provides more torque, sometimes decisive acceleration, and that the weight and position of the batteries provide a lower center of gravity and handling experience rarely found in gasoline and diesel equivalents. .
The X model is not different. It's big, just check the difference between this image and the S model (about the same size as a BMW or an Audi).
But its power, provided by 100 kWh of batteries, is phenomenal. Its size, after a few days of acclimatization, is no more than a parking problem and the "invocation" mode of the Tesla application can solve this problem.
The range is the big question. Model X is a big consumer. Therefore, if you bring it home almost empty, it will absorb 100 kWh of solar energy, batteries and especially the network.
It can take a lot of time at home, although the alternative is to find a public quick charger along the route or nearby, which can charge most of the charging time in 20 minutes.
But most daily trips are between 40 and 50 km. In an X model, this may involve adding 10 kWh per day.
Even with a home "maintenance charger" that will only take a few hours, and with a smaller EV, this would mean as little as 5 kWh. The average solar system and the battery are more than capable of handling that.
And until people drive an EV for a few days, they do not understand how easy it is to refuel or refuel. Just plug it in – it takes about 10 seconds. It becomes a habit.
And it's a great way to drive. The regenerative braking, which acts as a kind of brake when reloading the battery, slows the car unsteadily, the foot stops the accelerator.
It offers better control and "pedal-to-pedal" driving. I've always liked to change the subject, but it's a lot more fan.
An exit – to the nearest village – resulted in a positive charge. We had more batteries at the destination than we originally had, thanks to regenerative braking.
It's a fascinating prospect for those who pay little and may be looking to find a nearby public charger, and another reason to buy a house on a hill.
As suggested by James Kennedy of Tritium, the temptation may be not to use the network, to use solar power on the roof and the battery to power the house and the car, the car allowing to power the house on days where solar energy does not produce much, and drive to a public charger and bring home if the rain falls for days.
But what about intelligence? There is an endless list of summoning and pollution controls, going through the disco dance of the Hawk wings of the Model X and the light show, up to the dog mode to protect your best friend when you you park (the air conditioning stays on).
But the car, or the software, does a lot of work for you. It tells you where the nearest charging station is and will dial your devices and put you in eco mode if the charge is low to make sure you arrive.
The giant screen acts like a giant Ipad, offering entertainment (a full suite of music), and even videos and games (it will not work when you move), and it even has the "romance" mode.
Added to this is a growing set of driver-badisted and near-autonomous driver badistance features that help you stay on track and change them for you, keeping the space you choose between yourself and the vehicle that's right for you. precedes you.
All these features will expand and grow. This suggests one thing: a future where cars will be more or less autonomous and where the driving experience, or rather mobility, will be completely different from what it is today.
This is interesting in the X model – in addition to its luxury and performance – it is a transit lounge for the future. And that tells us that the future is not that far.
Then, alas, the three-day loan ends and the X model is removed. He returns to the French sports diesel and chokes on the fuels and vapors of poor quality authorized by the Australian government in the country.
The four-year-old was right. Fart sounds are a lot more fun when they are a gadget.
Giles Parkinson is the founder and editor of The Driven, and has also edited and founded the Renew Economy Group and One Step Off The Grid. A journalist for 35 years, he was deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.
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