Tesla Model S Review 2024

Being backed by one of the world’s richest men hasn’t hurt Tesla’s growth, nor has not being wedded to a traditional way of doing things, Tesla being among the most disruptive forces to hit the automotive industry in recent times. The Model S has been around since 2014 and still the traditional manufacturers are scrambling to catch up. Not cheap, and there are other compromises, but the Model S is the poster car for a plug-in future, and rightly so.

We used to be asked if we’d driven a *(insert supercar of choice here) whenever mentioning our work testing cars here at Honest John. That’s changed since Tesla arrived, and not just because the Model S has the ability to smoke most supercars when it comes to its accelerative performance, with plenty of YouTube videos to prove it, because everyone wants to know about it.

Smoke’s technically wrong, too, as the Tesla does its wild acceleration party-trick without producing any emissions, or at least from any tailpipe. Batteries power electric motors, with the Model S genuinely catching the traditional car makers unaware in relation to both its performance, and, crucially, range.

Tesla has become an almost cultish brand as a result, with dedicated followers unable to see past some of the company’s failings – build quality can be sub-par, and its proclamations of self-driving tech is somewhat worrisome – but that aside it’s impossible not to be impressed with what Tesla’s achieved in a very short space of time.

With the Model S Tesla hasn’t just produced a car, but it’s created a charging network to power it, which allied to the useful real-world range the Model S (and Tesla’s other models) makes the Model S a car that’s genuinely useable, even over long distances. 

That’s key to its success, early adopters of the Model S also benefitting from Teslas’s offer of free charging via its Supercharger network, which covers most of the UK, Europe and beyond.

Model S sales might have slowed now Tesla offers a cheaper, smaller choice with its Model 3, but it still offers the Model S in either Long Range or Performance models, with the Long Range able to eke out as much as 370 miles – that an official WLTP tested figure – and the Performance model only losing about 12 miles off that. Those are numbers that no plug-in electric vehicle from any rival has been able to come close to matching yet, with most struggling to achieve about half of that. 

Throw in the Model S’s mind-altering accelerative potential, with the Performance model able to reach 60mph in an organ-rearranging 2.3 seconds when set to Ludicrous Mode – seriously – that better than most hypercars, and even the Model S’s closest rival, Porsche’s Taycan Turbo S. Entirely unhindered by convention, then, the Model S underlines that with an interior that’s almost entirely controlled by a huge touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard.

It’s not perfect in its operation, but it’s arguably more user-friendly than rival manufacturers’ systems, and its size does help distract you from the otherwise less than perfect materials that can be found in the Model S’s interior.

Still, it feels like you’re driving the future when you’re in one, which you are, all of which makes the fact it’s actually been around now for nigh on a decade – it arriving in the US in 2012 – even more remarkable.     

The quickness of the motor response is also instrumental in how the Model S drives, all of which makes it very agile. The wide track helps here, too, and there’s very little body roll as a result, while the steering is quick and precise, too. All-wheel drive traction aids the Model S’s ability in all weathers too, allowing it to use its abundant power more of the time. 

It’s agile and capable then, the biggest limitation in its make-up being is scale, it feeling big on the road. It lacks the sort of precision and control of the finest of its rivals, notably the Porsche Taycan, but given Tesla hasn’t got decades of experience here the gap isn’t quite as wide as you might imagine.

Adaptive air suspension on both models means that it rides commendably, even when fitted with its largest 21-inch wheel option.

Not conventional engines, instead the Tesla Model S being powered by a pair of electric motors via its large battery pack.

There’s no gearbox as such, either, just pop it into Drive and off it’ll go. The motors work on both axles to provide four-wheel drive, which aids traction enormously, and helps the Model S do its mad acceleration trick if you’ve the inclination to set it all up to do so.

Do that and you’ll reach 60mph in 2.3 seconds with the Performance model, or 3.7 seconds with the Long Range Model S. Just don’t expect the battery to provide its headline-grabbing maximum range if you’re inclined to push your foot to the floor too often, though even driven briskly the Model S should provide a good overall range.

The Model S has been crash tested by Euro NCAP and achieved a maximum 5 star score. It also comes with driver and passenger front and side airbags and side chest and pelvis airbags as standard.

Take what Tesla says about its autonomous driver features with a healthy pinch of salt, as Autopilot isn’t a hands-off system, it needing monitoring like all those similar driver aids from rival firms.

It does include such assistance technology as emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, collision warning and more, and there’s the possibility to option what Tesla describes as Full Self-Driving Capability via an expensive option, though it’ll arrive via a software update at some point in the future.

Tesla doesn’t officially offer the Model S with a towbar, though there have been instances where aftermarket companies have attached tow balls to the Model S. As these aren’t type approved, there are no figures relating to what the limits could or should be, so we’d recommend if you want to tow, you should buy something else to do so.

Its batteries are slim, and under the cabin, while its electric motors are compact, too, so there’s loads of space for both passengers and luggage.

Access to the boot is via a huge hatchback tailgate, with the volume quoted at 804 litres – which is better than something like a Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate with its seats in position.

The space in the rear is so vast that Tesla briefly offered the Model S with a pair of rear-facing seats in the back, making it a 7-seat proposition, though with the arrival of the Model X – Tesla’s SUV/MPV mash-up – the Model S is only offered as a 5-seater. A generously spacious one, though, with the lack of a transmission tunnel in its flat floor meaning there’s decent space for the middle rear passenger. 

Drop the rear seats (in a 60/40 split) there’s as much as 1,600 litres of space, which will be enough for most, and should it not be, there’s even some additional space under the bonnet if that’s not enough, but it’s best used for storing the charging cables. 

Here’s the crux, Tesla’s newbie status as a car manufacturer is revealed in the quality and finish inside. It’s below what we’d expect in most cars, let alone one that commands the price that the Model S does.

It’s improved as the car’s aged, and the parts bin bits it has borrowed – from Mercedes-Benz – underlines that it understands the need for quality, but the interior still lacks the sort of substantial feel of its premium rivals. Forgivable, perhaps, given its new status, and the fact the Tesla Model S is so radical elsewhere, but to truly compete in against its rivals it needs to up its game in relation to the materials used, and how they’re fitted. 

Infotainment here is taken without any legacy, that means Tesla very much does its own thing. The huge 17-inch touchscreen underlines this, it containing all the car’s functions with things like mapping, music streaming, DAB as well as all the heating and ventilation controls as well as virtually every other driving, comfort or amusement function.

There’s some real surprises, with odd things like Romance Mode, which pops up a roaring fire on the screen and pumps heat through the vents, there are even driving game modes – which use the steering wheel, when parked, obviously – while the madness continues with things like Caraoke sing-along and even an ‘emissions mode’ which will amuse your children – and you, be honest – by farting on command. Yup, your car farting for you, this is what we’ve become.

The Model S isn’t cheap, but then neither is its competition, and it’s a fairly radical proposition from a technological point of view. The £77,980 Tesla asks for the Long Range model doesn’t seem too bad, then, when compared to executive models in the same size category, albeit powered by conventional internal combustion engines.

The Performance ups the price to £92,000, which is quite a leap for that additional sprinting ability, it unlikely you’ll find the Long Range’s 3.7 second 0-60mph time and 155mph top speed in any way lacking.

Indeed, looked at against things like the Mercedes-Benz EQC, the Jaguar i-Pace and Audi eTron electric SUVs, it looks fairly reasonably priced – if, admittedly more, that trio starting in the mid £60,000 sphere. Factor in the Tesla’s greater range and its ability to plug in ot the Supercharger network and that price difference pales, too.

Porsche’s Taycan Turbo and Turbo S are arguably its closest rivals in relation to performance and range, both still being not as good as the Tesla, and to get in one of those you’ll have to pay significantly more.

Many models are sold with free charging, so you can plug in on any journey and have free power from the Supercharger network, while charging at home via cheaper evening tariffs will be relatively inexpensive.

Servicing costs should be minimal, and the Model S dodges all sorts of penalty payments for emissions like London’s Congestion Charge, company car tax and more, all of which makes it even more economical to run and own. Insurance won’t be cheap, it in the highest categories, though Tesla does have a partnership with Direct Line that should offer preferential rates, due to Tesla buyers apparently valuing ‘technology and safety’.

The Model S line up was simplified in 2019, with it being offered in either Long Range or Performance forms. The key differences between them are as the names suggest, though both offer long range, in EV terms at least, and huge performance, too.

All are four-wheel drive, have a premium audio system, wireless charging for your smartphone and Bluetooth connectivity. There’s heated seats and a heated steering wheel, with the Performance model gaining some carbon fibre trim inside and slightly differing looks outside, as well as the Ludicrous Mode option that allows it its mad acceleration.