2013 TeslaS
BASE PRICE:
$59,350
AVAILABLE:
Summer/Fall 2012
ONLINE:
teslamotors.com
AstonMartinCygnet
BASE PRICE:
$46,492
AVAILABLE:
Now
ONLINE:
astonmartin.com
DRIVING
Summer Wheels
W
Whoever said electric cars arenecessarily economy cars
hasn’t seen theTeslaS. It’s both, andmuchmore.
It’sentirelyelectric—nogasengineat all (unlike the
ChevyVolt,whichhasa small onboardgasengine that func-
tionsasa carry-it-with-yougenerator). It’seconomical (cost
perkilowatt hour tooperate is far less than the cost of
burninga $4gallonof gas). It’s luxurious—onparwitha
MercedesE-Class in termsof amenities.
And it’s ferociously fast, too.
Zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds, just inches off thebumper of
the twin-turboV-8-poweredMercedesE550 (0-60 in 5.2
seconds). But unlike thebrawnyBenz, theTesla cango
between 160 and 300miles (dependingon thebatteryver-
sion) before its onboardbatteriesneeda top-off, whichyou
cando slowlyviaa standard 110Vhouseholdoutlet or faster
(overnight) viaa 220Vhook-up. The latter requires some
specialwiring, but isn’t all that different from the 220V
hook-upsmost homes alreadyhave
for certainappliances, suchas a
washer/dryer or cooking range.
Commercial-grade fast-chargers
are expected to cut down recharge
times— 45minutes to replenish to 80 percent capacity.
Unlike thefirstTeslamodel, theTeslaRoadster, theS is
not anelectrified conversionof someoneelse’s car (theTesla
Roadsterwas looselybasedon theLotusElise). It isa com-
pletelyuniquevehicle, designedbyTeslaengineersand
built atTesla’splant.And it’sunique inotherways, not just
as faraswhat’sunder itshood (whichby theway isa trunk
whereyou canput your luggage).Among its standout fea-
tures: seating for seven—fiveadultsplus twokids in the
available rear-facing jump seats—plusa fullydigitized,
flat-screenLCD instrument clusterwith state-of-the-art
infotainment systems.
A
At justmore than 12 feet longand
around 2,200pounds, you canal-
most tuck theAstonMartinCygnet
underyourarmand carry it home
withyou. Itmaybe the smallest
exoticon fourwheels— theMini-
Meof über-luxury cars.
Though it is tiny,Astonhasstuffed itwith featuresand
equipment, includinghand-stitched leatherandmagnesium
silvermesh trim,CirrusGreyAlcantarasuedeheadliner, au-
tomaticclimatecontrol, iPod touchdock, andaportableGPS
unit.On theoutside, you’llfind retractableside-viewmirrors
(heated, too)whichwill helpyousqueeze through the tightest
alleywithout riskingapaint scratch.Availableoptions
includeacustomizedBillAmbergfive-piece luggageset,
matched to thecar, andasolarpanel forchargingbatteries.
Astonevenprovidesbackseats— though theone trick
they couldn’t pull offwasmaking space forbackseat passen-
gers. Use these seats forgroceriesonly, please.
Basedon theScion iQcitycar, theCygnet ispowered
byahigh-compression1.33-liter four-cylinderengine that
managesa respectable-for-its-size97hp. It’sofferedwith
eitherasix-speedmanual transmissionorcontinuouslyvari-
able (CVT)automatic. Itmaynothave the180-mph topspeed
of anewRapide.Butyour reward is36mpgcity, 37highway
versus theRapide’s rapacious13city, 19highway.TheRapide
maybequicker (OK, a lotquicker), but in theCygnet, you
won’thave tostopnearlyasoften.
TheCygnet is available only inEurope.
➤
SUMMER 2012
celebratedliving.com
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