2nd TESLA MODEL S The compact drivetrain gives plenty of luggage space. There’s 894 litres on offer, which rises to 1,795 litres if you fold the seats. You can get seven seats for £4,000.

Searing straight-line pace and cutting-edge tech grabs the headlines, but there’s much more to the Model S

IF you’ve not driven an electric car before, then you’ve never experienced the instant power an EV delivers. However, nothing can prepare you for the punch of the P100D’S dual electric motors – you’ll be left stunned at the performance on offer.

This most powerful Model S comes with Tesla’s Ludicrous Plus power upgrade, which puts 603bhp to the road through all four wheels. However, like the Porsche, it’s the torque that takes your breath away. Despite the Model S’s hefty 2, 242kg kerbweight, acceleration is rapid, thanks to the 967Nm on offer. In order to extract maximum performance, you have to go through a lengthy process of pre-heating the battery pack, which can take up to an hour.

Time constraints meant we weren’t able to fully test the car in Ludicrous Plus mode. However, even in the regular Ludicrous mode, the Model S still sprinted from 0-60mph in 3.0 seconds, helped by the convoluted launch control procedure.

The Tesla accelerated from 30-70mph in a startling 2.4 seconds, which was a full second faster than the Porsche, partly because the Panamera has to shift through gears, whereas the Tesla’s electric motors don’t have any ratios.

However, the Model S’s mass means it can’t match the Porsche in the bends. The steering is light and doesn’t weight up or offer much feedback, and it also doesn’t grip quite as hard. Even if you delicately squeeze the accelerator out of corners it triggers the traction control, so it actually limits performance until you’re in a straight line.

You also feel the car’s weight when braking, and despite the regenerative effect from the motors, it doesn’t feel as stable as the Panamera. Nor does it yield to tricky surfaces as well as the Porsche, thumping over bigger bumps despite its air-suspension. There’s also a lot of road noise.

With no combustion engine to drown out wind and road noise, you hear more on the move, but despite a less sophisticated feel to the way the Tesla rides, it still offers a decent level of comfort.

No engine brings big benefits for packaging. The cabin is spacious, and with no transmission tunnel there’s plenty of storage below the enormous 17-inch touchscreen – plus, there’s good legroom in the back for the passenger in the middle seat.

Like Porsche’s £2,438 Innodrive autonomous driving system, Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot option will control the car, adapting to traffic around it and keeping the car within its lane. However, its £5,000 price more than cancels out the £4,500 Government Plug-in Car Grant. Even without that option, the top-spec Model S is a hefty £129,400.

DRIVING

It’s not as nimble or precise as the Porsche, but the Model S feels like nothing else to drive. The surge from the motors does eventually abate, but only well above the speed limit. Acceleration is smooth.

BRAKING You choose the level of regenerative braking to help top the battery up. In the higher setting you don’t need to use the brake, the effect is so strong. However, one-pedal driving feels natural in traffic, but artificial on twistier roads.

RUNNING COSTS

Electric cars attract nine per cent company car tax – the Panamera’s Benefit in Kind rate is 37 per cent. The Tesla will cost £4,656 per year for higher rate drivers, compared to £13,759 for the Porsche.

CHARGING The Tesla will be cheap to charge, as ownership entitles you to 400kwh (around 1,000 miles) of free electricity every year using Tesla’s Supercharger network. A fast top-up at these locations takes 30 minutes for an 80 per cent increase in range.

PRACTICALITY

BOOT Capacity quoted above includes 150 litres of space in the nose, but the deep, wide load area in the rear will be more than spacious enough for most of your needs.

INTERIOR & TECHNOLOGY

Quality isn’t of the same grade as the Panamera’s. Parts feel plasticky, such as the cup-holder and storage tray, but there’s leather, cool metal inserts and lots of tech that feels upmarket.

SCREEN The Model S’s interior is dominated by its 17-inch touchscreen. This controls all of the car’s functions, from the panoramic roof to Ludicrous mode. It’s a focal point to the cabin with lots of tech – including Internet in the car – but requires a minimum 3G connection to run most functions.

OWNERSHIP

If you have any hang-ups over the Tesla’s battery and motors, an eight-year unlimited mileage warranty should dispel them. The rest of the car is covered under the standard four-year/50,000-mile package.

SAFETY Collision avoidance and autonomous braking have been added through updates. The Model S got a five-star Euro NCAP rating in 2014.