Chris Harris on... Tesla Model S 'Plaid': 0-60 in under 2 seconds | Top Gear

now chris it probably hasn't escaped your attention that tesla has updated its model s and model x which normally we wouldn't talk about face lifted car would we but the interior is something a bit extraordinary have you seen the pictures is it legal i think it might have got approval for the uk to be legal this is the steering wheel so we're talking about a half steering wheel and ever since someone of my age watched knight rider we secretly or we wanted a steering wheel like that which isn't the steering wheel it's kind of more like a yokey thing yeah like it's no good for oversteer so i'm out look at it it looks funky but i don't i don't see how it's possible and also there was the usual arch comment from the overlord of tesla about how well it's it's going to be mostly redundant soon anyway because it will steer itself this is the the funniest thing it's basically going to steer itself and also someone said oh and how do you select you know where's d n and reverse buttons oh you don't need those the car assesses its surroundings and decides for you which direction you need to travel in yeah non-sentient beings deciding whether they want to go forwards or backwards worries i don't trust horses let alone a car exactly so it's all bit bizarre but it's it's tesla but the performance figures yes so the plaid played yeah plod whatever the plaid play any of the above 1100 horsepower not 60 less than two seconds that's just gonna be painful isn't it already the crazy one in in preposterous mode is is uncomfortable the problem with the electric car movement in in performance terms is because the dynamics of the cars is so compromised at the moment the only way they can demonstrate what they can do is just go faster and faster and faster it's accelerate faster and faster and it's a very much a short-term thrill as well if you've been in a model s that hit of acceleration it's quite an experience you want to experience it but you don't want to do it but do you want to experience it or do you want to get a passenger in and show off that's what you're doing isn't it you're getting someone in the press sitting going watch this yeah exactly where tesla's miles ahead of everyone else miles ahead quite literally is range yeah so this plaid plus that comes out ended this year 520 miles range apparently you know the new e-tron gt 300 miles yeah it's a it's nice night and day isn't it and the real world testing people does bears this out tesla is miles ahead everyone i speak to that that interacts with the tesla they think the vehicle's incredible but it's the network it's the network the fact that you've got the supercharger network established and everyone always just says it works it just works and as we all know car personal transportation only works if it offers you the user infinite flexibility yeah and the moment that you have to make allowances for the vehicle it's no longer a car it's just a thing that gets in your way so you might as well take an uber or or use public transport so there was a very interesting report wasn't there about volkswagen's current position in that marketplace a couple of weeks ago and it used lots of sort of putative monetary values and said where it's at how much money it's spent but the most telling statistic was how far behind in years the market felt volkswagen was from tesla and it was you know seven or eight years i think or maybe even more and i believe it i think i think elon has got a huge march on everyone and i know the valuation of the company is difficult to comprehend but he's doing the job he's doing it and i just think range i just think you're coming into electric car as you say you want the least amount of barriers the least amount of stress going from your petrol or diesel car into your electric car what does what 500 miles yeah plenty i cheers yeah 300 miles what 250 real world 200. i've never really understood range delivered in the context of miles or even in the context of time it should be delivered in two ways one how often you need to wear yourself and how often your children need to weep that's when you stop you've got the bladder of a camel i can drive most of the way through france and i don't need to go for a wee i need probably 600 700 miles that's fine but my children need to stop more frequently so it's it's the average you see i mentioned earlier audi utrom gt looks fantastic yeah there's arches there's creases yeah and uh if the rs6 weirdly is looking less and less good looking to me on the road i think the previous one is a nicer looking machine this thing wow and you don't mind you know this is the first rs badge on a pure electric model you're not all over that aren't we yeah you're all over that it's a it's a it's a thai can with a slightly better looking set of clothes on i remember you saying a while ago you were sort of looking you were sniffing around getting a thai cat yeah definitely said you're sniffing on a model three i'm i'm um i think in the next year i'll have an electric car yeah but i i don't know which one it would be hart says i'd love to have a thai can to drive but right now you'd have to have a model 3 because it's got the network but of course none of this matters because porsche's bringing out the tai can cross turismo which is basically a wagon yeah you're going to have that so i think um adi etron rs event which they'll do won't they they've got them they're not gonna let porsche get away with it no that'll be the one that would it would be it would be lovely it's weird isn't it we speak it's nice to talk enthusiastically about electric cars yeah but they're vastly expensive really really expensive what's the use value going to be like because that surely the rate of development of these vehicles is now going to be exponential so in two years time you know you will be able to buy one that's got double the range and that surely means that last one it's going to be like laptops in the 1990s they've got to figure out a way to just slot out the battery slot in the new tech and you can go on your way but how far how long until we get to where we think we'll be which is proprietary underpinnings that you just have a chassis that will do no everyone will have a car that does not 60 in under two seconds we'll have a range of 550 miles that's enough for everyone and you'll 3d print your body on top you will just go you'll just say i want a w124 mercedes i want to look like a 500d and be electric underneath but surely that surely isn't more than five years away i think it's a business idea my mate neil yates is doing that with these three five sixes down in cornwall you know he's got this he's this idea of a really simple underpinning he's got a 356 body on top of it and i i think there's some excitement there i quite like the sound of it chris harris excited by electric cars ish

Channel: Top Gear

Views: 872,843

Rating: 4.7621765 out of 5

Keywords: Top Gear, Top Gear Series, Car Review, Car Compare, Super Car, street car, BBC, BBC Studios, Chris Harris, Top Gear Tesla, Tesla, Top Gear Chris Harris, Chris Harris Tesla, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model S Plaid, Plaid, Tesla Plaid, Tesla 0-60, 0-60, Power, 1100bhp, 1.9, Chris Harris Drives Tesla, Plaid Edition, Tesla Steering Wheel, Tesla Autopilot, Chris Harris Autopilot

Id: IndX2vzdDEM

Length: 6min 14sec (374 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 29 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/ishliss]

" Chris Harris on... Tesla Model S 'Plaid': 0-60 in under 2 seconds" More like Chris Harris on electric cars in general.

[u/Studentdoctor563]

I miss Chris Harris's YouTube channel so much.

[u/No_U_Crazy]

We spent most of the last decade wondering when Tesla was finally going to fail and Musk was nuts. Now, we're going to spend most of this decade frustrated that other manufacturers are having trouble catching up with Tesla and we wish they were a little more nuts.

[u/agod2486]

It's interesting, the big automotive players already have their modular chassis that they can use for a wide range of vehicles, with VW probably being the best example. If everyone could have essentially the same electric "skateboard" underneath and simply drop in different bodies on top, it could theoretically offer customers lots of options with minimal costs to the manufacturers.

Take it one step further, what if you could buy different body styles and just bolt it onto the skateboard yourself? If you had purchased wagon/minivan/truck/sedan bodies, you can pick what you drive based on your needs. As Chris mentioned, they could sell specialty options for those that miss older offerings.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but it's interesting to wonder where the electric market will end up when all cars have 500+ miles of range and 0 - 60 under 2 seconds or something ridiculous like that.

[u/phooonix]

Love this quote - "The second you need to make allowances for your car, it's no longer really a car"

[u/Sagan_kerman]

That drive selection system sounds so unbelievably awful.

[u/zoo32]

Disagree that the thrill of insane acceleration is something that wears off or something that you just do to show off to your mates. It’s something that puts a smile on your face over and over. Showing your friends and sharing the experience is a bonus.

And I recognize to someone like Harris who owns a GT3 and an M2 might need impeccable driving dynamics/couldn’t stand owning a car that weights 4,000+ lbs but that’s not true for a lot of ppl.

Edit: a word

[u/deeretech129]

Does anyone else kind of just shrug and ignore whenever they hear new electric car is fast?

[u/GEAUXUL]

I’ve loved Tesla cars for a long time now but after hearing years and years of complete bullshit from them I’ve found myself actively rooting against them lately.

They made a practically unusable and potentially dangerous steering wheel based on the idea that you won’t need it with their FSD system — which at the moment is practically unusable and potentially dangerous.