RIDING THE CURRENT

AS SOUTH AFRICAN MOTORISTS STEADILY OPEN THEIR WALLETS TO FULLY ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THE BIGGEST DEVELOPER OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES WORLDWIDE, TESLA MOTORS, HAS ITS SIGHTS SET ON OUR MARKET.

The Palo Alto, California-based company only has 13 years of carbuilding experience to its name and already has seen tremendous success. Currently, it’s built a roadster, luxury sedan and crossover-type vehicle. But it’s going to scale down somewhat to offer a global competitor in the form of the Model 3, which is reportedly going to be launched here by the end of this decade. Before we look at this, let’s find out who paved the way for Tesla’s upcoming current.

There was much hype five years ago about the progress of the Joule, the electric car built right here in South Africa by Optimal Energy, a Cape Town-based firm that had actually built driving prototypes of what seemed to be our very own EV, and even showcased their product at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. Unfortunately, the company ran out of funding and that project never saw the light of day.

What did manage to make it out to SA was the Nissan Leaf, the first full EV to go on sale in Mzansi. Nissan pioneered the way forward locally with a product that brought the dream of environmentally conscious motoring to fruition for South Africans. Sized to compete in the C-segment, the Leaf is practical enough for most families and offers a

surprising amount of grunt off the line (254 N.m available immediately). Dynamically, the Leaf is no ball of fire and the realistic range from a full charge is around 140 km. It also manages to blend in with the internal combustion crowd, thanks to safe styling. Fast forward to 2015, and the BMW i3 captured the attention of the automotive world, partly for being the baby brother of the i8 sports car, but mostly because it appears so obviously different from everything else on four wheels. Funky design, glossy finishes and futuristic details are found inside and out, and even though the i3 packs only slightly more torque than the Leaf, there’s plenty more peak power – making full-blown acceleration runs the order of the day. Even the i3, with all of its bells and whistles, and clever regenerative braking, can’t overcome the thirst of its battery-powered motors and its range isn’t any more impressive than the Nissan’s. And this is where Tesla comes in. The upcoming Model 3 mid-sized sedan, the first of its kind for the brand, is claimed to be capable of a range exceeding 320 kilometres, while offering seating for five adults and enough room for their luggage. The best part is the asking price of just $35 000 (roughly R495 000) given the Model 3’s size and range. Why should we believe Tesla? Above all, the company has delivered on all of its promises with the original Tesla Roadster (which cost almost three times the price of the Model 3), the Model S and Model X – so much so that it began showing profits only in 2013, 10 years after opening its doors. At the time of writing, the company had already secured in excess of 300 000 pre-orders, roughly R200 billion in funding.

INSIDE STORY

Giving a foretaste of how 2025’s cars will look – EV or not – is this “sculpture”, based on the interior of the forthcoming new Excellence, the flagship of the Swedes’ S90 range (below).

The S90 Excellence Lounge Console Concept is actually three interiors in one:  a mobile workstation with fold-out work table and large screen;  a pure entertainment area;  a relaxation zone in which the occupant can recline the seat, enjoy a cold drink from the fridge and put his or her feet up on the heated foot support.

“We had such positive feedback with our original Lounge Console Concept in the XC90 that we wanted to take it a step closer to reality with an S90 Excellence interior. With this interior we wanted to create a piece of art, a sculpture. We’ve taken many of the original concepts and brought them to life,” says Robin Page, the company’s vice president of interior design.

A centre control panel incorporates features such as heated and cooled cup holders, sound system, massage functions and large multimedia screen. The rear armrest holds a refrigeration unit and boasts hand-cut crystal glasses from Swedish glassmaker Orrefors. In case you wondered, no there is no front passenger seat. The seat was removed to provide unrestricted forward visibility, a sense of space and more light.