Scott Burgess: First 100 Miles

Guilt-free speedster: Tesla turns electricity into fine art

LOS ANGELES -- When Tesla Motors offered me a chance to get behind the wheel of its roadster, I couldn't turn them down.

I had heard and read about the amazing electric car from California -- zero emissions, instant torque, and blistering fast speed. It's the guilt-free green speedster. There was no way I was going to miss the chance.

Walking into the Tesla showroom in L.A., I was surprised at how small the roadster looked. It's built with Lotus and while there's a Lotus look to it, only 7 percent of its parts are from Lotus. (In fact, the Lotus Evora introduced at the Los Angeles auto show in November looks a lot like the Tesla.) It's a tight package: The roadster is only 155 inches long (that's 6 inches shorter than the 2009 Honda Fit) and only 44 inches tall -- and that's including the roof (always down in L.A.).

Size doesn't matter with this vehicle. It's stunning. The crisp lines across the carbon fiber body give it a futuristic look. The word "Tesla" written across the back bespeaks the car's modern language. The two sharp vents cut across the hood, and big air intake and oval eyes give the roadster a high-end feel. There's a minimalist approach to the car's body that combines form and function into fine art.

By the numbers the roadster rocks: 0-60 mph in under four seconds; top speed 125 mph (electronically limited); and most important, a range of more than 200 miles on a single charge.

The roadster uses a pack of lithium ion batteries that are liquid cooled. The batteries can hold a charge to carry the car 244 miles, according to the EPA. A more realistic distance, according to Tesla, is about 220 miles. It takes about 3.5 hours to fully recharge the car on a special high voltage charging unit that can be installed in the owner's home. An optional recharge kit allows the roadster to be charged up from any outlet in America. Tesla projects that the batteries will last about five years or 100,000 miles.

All of those impressive performance figures start with the car's powerful 115-pound electric motor, which produces 248 horsepower and more than 276-pound-feet of torque. Full torque kicks instantly. Plenty of power for a car that weighs 2,700 pounds (one-third of that weight is batteries).

The first thing you feel when you drive the Tesla is the power. Whoa! This thing is fast. Nearly silent, there's a slight whine as the motor spins up and propels the car. It takes some adjusting to because no matter what speed you're traveling, if you push the accelerator a little more, the car lurches forward. No downshifting, no heel-toe trickery or throttle blips and rev matching, just speed, all the way up to 14,000 rpm.

This is the perfect around town racer -- though it could easily reach Palm Springs for a weekend getaway. The manual steering is precise and the Yokohama Neova tires (16-inchers in the front and 17-inch wheels in the back) stay sticky on the road and the body remains stable around fast corners. The fully independent suspension is stiff and the short wheelbase gives the roadster a somewhat bumpy ride but it's on par with many performance cars.

There are some tricks that a driver needs to get used to. For one, climbing into the Tesla requires careful balance to step over the frame into the driver's seat. My first attempt ended with me falling into the car.

In the cockpit, the roadster was more austere than I had imagined. The aftermarket stereo -- selected because it fits perfectly in the dash -- provides Bluetooth connectivity and a navigation system. The bucket seats hold you tightly in place.

The floating center console and simple shift lever continue the modern look to the vehicle. A series of curves along the dash highlight the car's gauges and air conditioning vents. It's simple. I was expecting something more sophisticated considering its $109,000 starting price tag.

One attribute I did like was the use of the aluminum cross beam as the shelf along the bottom of the dash. The exposed piece of metal, integral for the car's body strength, is also a useful and decorative element.

Most of all, what I like about the Tesla roadster is that the company did it. This is a bona-fide real deal.

Instead of waiting for the next piece of battery technology, the people at Tesla took what was available, improved it and started rolling cars off of its production line -- admittedly at a very slow pace.

That said, this car is not the answer that some groups point to. And the $60,000 electric sedan the company is working on is not going to save the U.S. from its oil gluttony.

Both remain unattainable for the average American, even if financing was available. An electric vehicle for the masses -- one that will truly have an impact on America's oil consumption and energy independence -- is still a few years away. It will have to be easy to use, offer a longer range and cost less than $30,000.

But that's not to take away from what Tesla has accomplished.

In order for the electrification of the American automobile industry to begin, someone had to show it could be done in a commercially viable way. The Tesla roadster may not be the answer, but it's part of the solution.

More importantly, Tesla has picked up where others left off and has showed the world fuel efficiency can be fun.

Scott Burgess is the auto critic for The Detroit News. He can be reached at (313) 223-3217 or sburgess@detnews.com. His review appear online every Wednesday and Saturday.