An SUV that drives and can be handled like a sedan, that is the general consensus of the reviews about the upcoming Tesla Model X, which have been undergoing test driving since it was officially launched late last year. For some special concession, some American buyers already got their hands on the SUV ahead of its official release date in the second half of this year.
Most of those who have had the opportunity to test drive and own the Tesla Model X are one in saying that driving the SUV is very similar to the Tesla Model S sedan.
While some critics downplay such capability as they are merely looking in the vast size and weight difference between the two electric cars from Tesla, the real feat comes with the mountain of torque, the Biohazard Defense Mode, and the falcon wing doors of the Model X.
These features give the Tesla Model X the wow factor which is further complemented by its roomy interior and storage space, giving it the unique practicality, notes the International Business Times of UK.
Overall, critics believe that the Tesla Model X is a dramatic rethink of what an SUV can be while sticking to the Model S blueprint.
The first ever electric SUV from Tesla is not cheap but once potential customers realized the value of Tesla’s cheap and expanding electric car charging network all over the US and eventually in Europe, it would be just a matter of time when the Model X becomes a smash hit.
Release date outside of the US
It is expected that the Tesla Model X would be released in the US market at the end of summer this year before it eventually arrives into the UK and other countries in Europe.
The American electric carmaker has yet to make a formal statement or announcement regarding the release date of the Model X in European countries but it is already available on pre-order in the US at this time. Critics believe that it would happen before the end of this year or early next year so as not to take the limelight out of the projected release of the Tesla Model 3 late next year.
All variants of the Tesla Model X are four-wheel drive with an electric motor powering each axle and the majority of the power going to the rear.
Amid the vehicle’s huge power, the driver’s seat of the Model X is a very calm place to be. The silence, elevated seating position, and the vast widescreen that stretches back behind the driver’s head all help give the Tesla Model X a huge cabin featuring vast space and also light.
Crashing on its own
Meanwhile, a Tesla Model X owner recently claimed that his electric SUV suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated on its own to crash into a building while his wife was driving, reports The Verge.
The owner is Puzant Ozbag and he is actually not the first to have claimed that their Model X crashed all on its own and blaming the SUV’s semi-autonomous features for the accidents.
The problem with the complaints is that Tesla cars are not autonomous and cannot drive on their own. They are all semi-autonomous and the driver is still responsible for what the vehicle is doing at all times.
Thus, the American electric carmaker has the right to point a finger on the drivers for most of the reported mishaps, either for straight-up breaking the rules or for assuming that the car will be able to handle a situation that it clearly was not designed to handle in the first place.
In the accident involving Ozbag’s 90-year-old wife, Tesla said that the car was operating entirely in manual mode and neither the Autopilot nor the cruise control was being used at the time or in the minutes before.
In other words, the company found out that instead of hitting the brake, the driver stomped on the gas and the car consequently drove forward with maximum acceleration, as would any car in the same situation.