The Jersey Turnpike is No Match for the Tesla Roadster

After a large coffee at the Dunkin Doughnuts on the corner of Boulevard and Main in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, I was ready for anything. When the Tesla Roadster (cue the arch angels) pulled into the DD parking lot, though, I could barely contain myself. The car’s presence was immediately felt.  The other drivers on the road hit the breaks, turning their heads in awe.

Apart from being behind the wheel of a Roadster with 1.5 drivetrain, that was not going to be your ordinary analysis drive. The night before temperatures dipped down into the low 30’s, flurries were in the air, and maple leaves covered the neighborhood roads.

The conditions were perfect!

We all know the Roadster can handle everyday road courses and the picturesque highways of Northern California; we have seen the photos and videos in addition to having read the stories. I wanted know how the Roadster would handle in "the real world." So, I jumped on the opportunity to tryout drive it in the city—Jersey City, better yet, the hussy of all highways, The Jersey Turnpike.

How did it fair? Just ask the dusted Grannie in the Buick LeSabre that cut me off before the on-ramp.

To clarify: The rumors are true. The Roadster can move. 

From a distance the car looks a lot like a Lotus Elise (especially from behind) but up shut and in person the difference in the two cars is clear. The Roadster is longer, skinnier and appears closer to the ground as a outcome of the lower door sills. In placing the two cars side by side one might say they look more like cousins rather than siblings. Only 7 percent of the Roadster’s chassis components though designed be Lotus, are made from similar components to that of the Elise; addition the Roadster’s skin unlike the Elise is made entirely of carbon fiber.

Behind the wheel the Roadster’s lite weight as a aftereffect of the carbon fiber is extremely noticeable. Slam down on the

throttle and the car pitches tough on to its back tires.  nearly all of the car’s weight is in the battery
packs and PEM 185 firmware system located behind the driver seat.  As speed increases, the environment start to fly by in an eerie silence do to the car’s lack of a combustion engine. Even at 70 mph the car makes no more noise than an electric golf cart climbing a hill.

Off the highway things are a different story for the Roadster. The regenerative breaking system though effective and efficient takes sometime to get used to. that feature is meant to generate energy from the car’s movement as it slows down by way of a reverse dynamo. The brake pedal as a outcome becomes out of date unless coming to a total stop.  addition, manual steering and the slightest pot gap, on detail of the cars lite weight, made controlling the Roadster difficult.

Again any one could easily become accustom to all these differences with date. One might even comprehensible start to curse the engine noise and exhaust fumes of their Saleen or C5 after regular usage of the Roadster.  that would explain Tesla’s growing success having now delivered by 70 Roadsters to moment including one to Governor Schwarzenegger and The Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer, Anthony Kiedis. The company is additionally currently in the process of retrofitting Roadsters it had previously delivered with the new 1.5 drivetrain. Customers are allowed to bring in their Roadster at their convenience to their local Tesla service stations so that the old drivetrains can be replaced for free.