Tesla Motors produces and sells electric cars. It first gained public attention with the first fully electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster. Tesla Motors is relatively new, having been founded in 2003 by a team of Silicon Valley engineers. Curiously, the company is named after the revered inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. In the four years that it was out on the market, the Tesla Roadster sold more than 2,000 units in 31 countries. In 2012, the Model S was unveiled. It was a premium sedan that could accelerate to 60 miles per hour from standstill in 4.2 seconds, and could travel up to 265 miles per charge. The Tesla Model S has the distinction of being the electric car with the best range in the market today, capable of traveling up to 265 miles per charge. It is equipped with a 85 kWh lithium-ion battery. To date, more than 47,000 units of the Model S have been sold worldwide. The Tesla Model S is also highly acclaimed. It has received awards like the World Green Car of the year for 2013, and Car of the Year for 2013 from the Motor Trend Car Automobile Magazine. Even the respected Time Magazine acknowledged it as one of the best 25 inventions in 2012. It is the top-rated car in Consumer Reports as well. Without a doubt, the most amazing innovation that Tesla has achieved so far is its battery and recharging technology. For the first time, an electric car has had an impressive range per charge. The Model S can travel up to 265 miles, which is more than triple of the 75 miles of its closest pursuer, the Nissan Leaf.
Recently driving the Audi TT, we wish it were radically entertaining instead of merely very fun, it's nevertheless a sharp coupe that vaults ahead of its predecessor with an inspired interior and eager handling. That car will be precursor to this TTS when it gets here a year from now, with the TTS adding adjectives like "more" and "better" to just about everything found on the base coupe. With the standard car having already put on such a fine edge, we wheeled the TTS on Spanish roads and at the Ascari race track to find out how much better and higher-performing the S will be. 8,350 premium over theTT. Assuming a commensurate gap is carried over into this next generation model, that supplemental dosh will get you 310 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque instead of 230 hp and 273 lb-ft in the standard TT. That would mean more for your money, too, since the gap between the current TT and TTS is 54 hp and zero lb-ft of torque.
To achieve the new numbers, the 2.0 TSFI engine from the TTS benefits from upgrades like sturdier valves, revised aluminum pistons and stronger connecting rods with new bearings, a reinforced crankshaft and a high-performance intercooler. The amplified brawn rips 0.7 seconds off the 0-60 mile-per-hour time, getting you there in 4.6 seconds. We aren't against buttons on a steering wheel in a sporty-minded car, but we often appreciate it when they're not there. The Sport Layout, exclusive to the TTS, further buttresses the sports car vibe. It fills the center of the 12.3-inch gauge binnacle screen with a tachometer, places a digital speedo inside of that and pushes supplemental information to the left and right. This helps the pilot focus on swapping cogs just before the 6,800-rpm redline when it's time to drive angry. That's exactly what we did around Ascari, forced to focus on the tachometer for the first few turns. The 2.0-liter four, a little boar of an engine, refuses to stop pulling until the digital red needle dips into the digital red numbers so we kept hitting the limiter until we learned the engine note. 8,000-or-so more fun than the TT around a track or on the road. Unless you really just gotta have that badge, that Sepang Blue paint or that unique dash layout, we think you'll be plenty pleased with the regular-strength TT. Even though the standard model is down a not-insignificant 80 horsepower, it's got plenty of torque and it knows how to use it - we had such fun blasting around Spanish backroads in one that we never wished for more. The TTS is quicker, harder and better, sure. You won't go wrong choosing it, but by the same token, we'd be hard-pressed to find the need to splash out for its extra cost.
Electrified cars are all too often about numbers: electric-only range, charging time, kilowatt-hours, and, of course, value. When it comes to an electrified luxury crossover like the 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, the default knee-jerk reaction is to throw out that last one. 4,000, and it鈥檚 a better performer. Value is relative, after all. Suddenly, electrification has hit the mainstream at Porsche鈥攁lthough we鈥檙e not holding our breath for a 911 hybrid just yet. The 2019 Cayenne E-Hybrid pairs a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 with a 14.1-kwh lithium-ion battery that supplies an electric motor. An 8-speed automatic transmission shuttles power to all four corners. The result is exceptionally strong acceleration from any speed and the ability to conserve battery charge for up to 27 miles of electric range. The last time Porsche hybridized its Cayenne it left us scratching our heads. The Cayenne S E-Hybrid that bowed back in 2015 featured a 10.8-kwh battery and a 95-hp electric motor. 3,000 more than the gas-only Cayenne and it hardly seemed worth the extra coin鈥攏ot to mention its S badge. The latest model, as we learned on a day鈥檚 drive from the French Mediterranean coast to Provence and back, reverses that notion.
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