[Paul]

Tesla Model S: The luxury electric car with performance to blow away the petrolheads

"Expect over the next few years for Teslas to be a common sight on the road. Maybe even on the Hammond driveway"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/motoring/car-reviews/tesla-model-s-luxury-electric-3840012

Makes me wonder if the Top Gear TV show editorial is still going to be fiercely anti-Tesla and EVs in general, or if they're seeing where the tide is turning too?

 

[jontracey]

Ye gods the world has gone crazy, first May, now Hammond if Clarkson gives it a positive review I will know the next sign will be the 4 horseman of the apocalypse.

 

[flipper]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to find the price list for the petrol Zoe and Leaf that he alludes to...

 

[jontracey]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to find the price list for the petrol Zoe and Leaf that he alludes to...

Now now lets not be horrible to entertainer who pretends to know about cars

 

[Paul]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to find the price list for the petrol Zoe and Leaf that he alludes to...

No, I couldn't either.

 

[Gerald.Tomson]

I bet that man Clarkson don't like E/Vs just like he don't like diesels, he only wants the big fast sports cars to test,he sulks if if he don't get his own way

 

[markweatherill]

Makes me wonder if the Top Gear TV show editorial is still going to be fiercely anti-Tesla

On Top Gear I am sure Mr Hammond would be helping push the Model S when it inevitably runs out of electric.

 

[Jason Wallace]

I like the comments on the rivals too:

The Rivals
BMW 5-Series Active Hybrid M Sport : High performance hybrid with 335bhp. Economy and speed but still won’t see where the Tesla went. £50,625
Lexus LS600h : Powerful but ridiculously expensive and very pointless. Have you ever seen one? £99,995
Mercedes-Benz E300 Hybrid SE : Not really a rival because Merc has gone for economy over performance. Even the standard Model S will eat it. £39,880

 

[Jason Wallace]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to find the price list for the petrol Zoe and Leaf that he alludes to...

Yeah, yeah but we do know that a Clio and a Note are a very close comparison

 

[Brooktop]

Especially with the stunt they pulled last time http://green.autoblog.com/2013/03/10/uk-appeals-court-dismissed-teslas-bbc-top-gear-lawsuit/

 

[Jason Wallace]

Yes, I have to agree with the Judge on this one though. He said that any "reasonable" person would recognise that Top Gear rarely acts reasonably. I really would not make a purchasing decision on a single thing that Jeremy Clarkson said

 

[Edd Beesley]

I don't know about you guys, but I can't seem to find the price list for the petrol Zoe and Leaf that he alludes to...

How much -would- you pay for a Leaf that had a petrol engine in it instead of the electric drivetrain? Pretty sure it wouldn't be much above £15k.

 

[flipper]

How much -would- you pay for a Leaf that had a petrol engine in it instead of the electric drivetrain? Pretty sure it wouldn't be much above £15k.

I didn't pay much more than that for my Leaf as an EV...
Which brings another point - as always they're talking about list price. How many people pay list price for a car? My Leaf was definitely cheaper than many equivalent-sized petrol/diesel cars of similar spec.

 

[Paul]

How much -would- you pay for a Leaf that had a petrol engine in it instead of the electric drivetrain? Pretty sure it wouldn't be much above £15k.

Once you add in the satnav, reverse cameras, phone controls, alloy wheels, bluetooth and options-a-plenty, power and "engine" spec... I don't know, probably not that cheap?

Depends on the brand though, for some odd reason perceived value is very different from material value in cars - many brands charge a premium for exactly the same "on paper" spec, or size, or equipment level. Very hard to compare apples to apples.

 

[Edd Beesley]

Once you add in the satnav, reverse cameras, phone controls, alloy wheels, bluetooth and options-a-plenty, power and "engine" spec... I don't know, probably not that cheap?

Depends on the brand though, for some odd reason perceived value is very different from material value in cars - many brands charge a premium for exactly the same "on paper" spec, or size, or equipment level. Very hard to compare apples to apples.

Well if you spec a Juke like a gen1 Leaf it's £16k. The gen1 Leaf was £31k MSRP!

 

[Brooktop]

Yes, I have to agree with the Judge on this one though. He said that any "reasonable" person would recognise that Top Gear rarely acts reasonably. I really would not make a purchasing decision on a single thing that Jeremy Clarkson said

In an ideal world yes...but don't credit everyone else with the same intelligence you have. Having worked in marketing for over 20 years I can tell you that public figures have HUGE sway. Why do you think product placement is rife? I DON"T agree with the judge on this one. If the car had to be pushed back...then fine, but there was still ample charge in the battery. They misrepresented (lied about) the product for a cheap laugh and probably set the EV cause back years in many peoples' minds.

 

[flipper]

Well if you spec a Juke like a gen1 Leaf it's £16k. The gen1 Leaf was £31k MSRP!

I don't think a Juke is a valid comparisson - surely that's a smaller car (albeit it tall and chunky). As mentioned above, the Note might be a better comparison, the new Pulsar probably even better (and I think I read that the Pulsar will *start* at about £15k)
And it's not valid to compare it to a Gen 1 Leaf. If you're comparing like for like, then you do it against the current model.

 

[IanT]

You have to remember that the article is written by "Richard Hammond The Individual" and not "Richard Hammond The Top Gear Presenter". On Top Gear ( if they should ever feature the Model S ) he would probably have a different opinion.

Remember Top Gear Live is sponsored by Shell, doesn't look good if Top Gear fully endorses a car that doesn't need Petrol. It's a sort of 2 fingers up to you're main sponsor!!

 

[Brooktop]

That should have NO bearing on the TV programme or else the BBC would lose it's charter...(in an ideal world?)