Skip advert
Advertisement

Tesla Model S review – engine and gearbox

The Model S’s electric motors offer near-silent propulsion and superb grunt and traction

Evo rating
RRP
from £79,980
  • Remarkable and addictive acceleration, low running costs
  • Regenerative brakes make it difficult to really connect with the car

The standard Model S uses a pair of electric motors – one at the front axle, and the other driving the rear. The Plaid goes further with a triple-motor layout, which uses two units to drive a rear wheel each for more power and precise torque vectoring at the back.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Because the Tesla Model S doesn’t have a regular engine it doesn’t use a traditional gearbox with multiple ratios and some means of selecting them. Instead, the drive from the high revving electric motors is sent through a reduction gear, which converts high motor speeds to more appropriate wheel speeds. The motors provide enough torque at any revs and are able to spin at a larger variation of speeds than an internal combustion engine, there is no need for a gearbox – particularly in the case of the Plaid, which uses carbon-sleeved rotors for its drive units to reach extremely high revs 200mph flat out.

The savage acceleration of the Model S means you don’t long for the noise and drama of an internal combustion engine. But in an age where engines that have had all their character lobotomised by turbochargers have become the norm, that’s perhaps not a huge surprise. Ten years ago, when saloon cars had big burbling V8s or screaming V10s the Tesla’s effective but clinical approach might not have been quite enough to distract die-hard enthusiasts.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
News

£15k off Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio super SUV

If you have to have an SUV, a Stelvio QV is acceptable. Now it's being heavily discounted.
8 Jul 2025
MST Mk1 Sports is a more affordable less extreme Ford Escort recreation
MST Ford Escort front
News

MST Mk1 Sports is a more affordable less extreme Ford Escort recreation

Costing a tenth of most made-new classics, the MST Mk1 Sports is comparatively accessible
8 Jul 2025
Mini JCW 2025 review – too feisty for its own good
Mini JCW – front
Reviews

Mini JCW 2025 review – too feisty for its own good

The petrol-powered JCW lives on – for now. But in its latest incarnation, has this supermini survivor become too hardcore?
6 Jul 2025