A SLICE OF HISTORY FOR £8K

Tesla's Model S is a landmark car but it's also a bargain second-hand EV

- ALEX WOLSTENHOLME

Could the Tesla Model S really be the most important car ever?

This amorphous American saloon might not look revolutionary, but it has arguably done just as much as the Model T, Mini, Beetle and Corolla in transforming the global automotive landscape.

It wasn't the first mainstream electric car, but you can argue that it was the first EV to be truly competitive against its combustion-powered peers. It had a 265-mile range and could charge its battery in just an hour at a Supercharger – and by the time it made its way to the UK in '85' form (the number correlating to the size of the battery in kWh) in 2014, the Model S offered a whopping 310-mile range and 120kW fast-charging capability. Competitive figures even now.

You could also have the dual-motor, four-wheel-drive 85D, which cut just five miles from the range in exchange for more grunt, and the P85 and P85D (Performance), which reduced the 0–62mph sprint to just over three seconds.