Electric cars are yet to make an impact in the UAE and the gulf region. The first one to pop up was Fisker Karma which unfortunately was stalled before it even started thanks to the manufacturing company going bankrupt. The Lexus hybrids too didn’t fare well with their high prices and lack of performance. But the one electric car for which the entire world is excited about isn’t yet offered in the UAE. You guessed it right “The Tesla Model S”. Therefore we were surprised to spot one in Abu Dhabi.
Tesla Motors’ second model is a large 5-door lift back, built by a tech start-up company. It was first brought into the eyes of public at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show as a prototype; it however hit the streets late by the summer of 2012. It is currently available in several variants, the plug-in electric Tesla Model S Performance model with an 85 kWh battery pack has a range of 426 km at full charge as claimed officially, making it undoubtedly the electric car with the greatest range available. The starting price of the 85 kWh model is around Dhs 295,000 with top-spec prices going beyond Dhs 350,000. There also is a cheaper base model, with a starting price of Dhs 260,000 and a 60 kWh battery having a comparatively lower range of 335 km. The 85 KWh lithium-ion battery pack consists of more than 7,000 battery cells. It has been safely mounted under the cabin floor and uses Panasonic cells with nickel-cobalt-aluminium cathodes for efficient and reliable performance. A replacement battery can pinch even the rich as it costs as much as Dhs 40,000 but on the brighter side it is insured for a minimum of 8 years.
The Tesla Model S Performance model has a 416 hp and 600 Nm rear-mounted motor. The Model S Signature model with an 85 kWh pack can attain a top speed of 201 kph and can do the 0-100 kph run in mere surprisingly low 5.8 seconds. As far as the charging the car is concerned, it can be charged from any 240V power supply, but the downside for the same is that for a full charge one needs to leave the car plugged in overnight. But the big smartphone-like car does still take just as long to charge up as your phone ironically, which limits its appeal to only those who can afford to grey-import one from across the border and keep it in their garage every night.
