90: Tesla Model X – at the forefront of the electric revolution

Top cars for 2018: Capturing the zeitgeist but flawed all the same

Arguably, the Tesla Model X is the car at the finest point of the blade of zeitgeist. Made by the car company about which everyone is talking, reading, and blogging it's an all-electric SUV with a a thick veneer of California cool.

Thanks to having a battery pack and electric motors instead of an engine it has a humungous interior, with five, six, or seven seats (depending on how you lay it out) and it even has two boots. It also, of course, has the ‘Falcon’ doors which are open up and over and are liable to cause a riot on the school run.

Like the Model S saloon with which it shares so much structure it has the huge central touchscreen in the cabin, and a P100D model can give Porsche 911s a dose of anxiety when it comes to 0-100kmh times.

Sadly, however, it’s also quite flawed. The steering is lifeless and the chassis responses both wooden (around corners) and lumpy (over bumps). And like the Model S, there are just too many quality glitches, and cabin squeaks, for a car with a €100,000-plus price tag, no matter how clever its doors are.

READ MORE

Best model: Model X 100D

Prices start from: €102,558

Finance package from: €920

Co2 emissions: 0g/km

Sum-up: Amazing electric powertrain, and the coolest doors this side of a Lamborghini, but the quality's just not there yet.