Tesla review: near-perfect Consumer Reports rating
Tesla review from Consumer Reports gives Model S a 99 out of 100. Tesla review is best Consumer Reports rating since 2007.
A Tesla Model S electric sedan is driven near the company's factory in Fremont, Calif., in 2012. A Tesla review in Consumer Reports gives the Model S a 99 out of 100 rating, tying the best score the consumer publication has ever bestowed on a car.
Noah Berger/Reuters/File
Not that you'd have much doubt about the Tesla Model S's qualities as a legitimate sports-luxury sedan (that just happens to be electric) if you'd read The Car Connection's full review or noticed Green Car Reports' award of Best Car To Buy 2013, but Consumer Reports has confirmed our own observations, rating the Model S 99/100 in its most recent test.
That's the highest score in the brand's tests since 2007, outpacing the likes of the Porsche Panamera (itself a very impressive sports-luxury sedan), which scored 84/100, and the nearly defunct Fisker Karma, which scored a meager (and accurate) 57 points.
So what brought on Consumer Reports' near-flawless score? The combination of invigorating performance, luxury accommodations, and all-electric driving range, apparently. And the Model S may improve further in the future.
Now, if Tesla could just get its communications act together, it might not seem so much like a shaky startup, but a nascent, promising automaker.