Consumer Reports Top 10 ‘Best Cars of 2015’ feature the electric Tesla Model S… Twice

If you thought that Consumer Reports' love story with the Tesla Model S – which broke their rating system by getting 103% in testing – was over because the sought-after 'Recommended' seal of approval was removed after reliability issues showed up, think again. They just released their Top 10 Best Cars of 2015 and the electric Tesla not only makes an appearance, it shows up twice!

Tesla/Promo image

Both the Model S and the Model S P85D (why not the P90D? Maybe they haven't tested that one yet…) are featured: "Look past its slick styling, futuristic controls, rapid-fire acceleration, and superb handling, and you’ve still got a car that gets the equivalent of 84 mpg." EV geeks will know that the 84 MPG figure quoted by Consumer Reports doesn't mean much and is based on assumptions about variables that can vary widely in the real world. One Model S owner might live somewhere where 100% of the electricity comes from coal and that makes the car not much better than a gasoline car (except in that over time if the grid gets cleaner, the EV will get cleaner too), while another could get 100% of the power needed from clean sources, making it way cleaner than an equivalent car getting 84 MPG…

CR's explanation for featuring Tesla twice? "Two Teslas on our Best of 2015 list? You betcha. We didn’t think it was possible, but the 691-hp P85D wowed us even more than the base model Tesla S."

Youtube/Screen capture