2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5: New looks, wheels, seats, less noise

Tesla's on a roll, it seems. Two days after its successful public stock offering, the company has released details of the latest updates to its Roadster electric sports car--known as "Roadster 2.5" after software-release numbering. The 2.5 version sports some new styling at front and rear, including a new front fascia 
After spending an afternoon with the world's first volume produced electric sports car, it strikes me as something of a conundrum. On the one hand, I respect it for the accomplishment it represents, but at the same time the limitations it imposes give me pause.
The afternoon I spent with the Roadster, we covered 143 miles and it had 28 miles of range left when I took it back. Which theoretically means I could've driven it 171 miles in my admittedly uneconomical fashion on the charge it had when its key was handed over to me. Thing is, I could not have driven it to where I did and back like that if I'd s Tesla.
As a sports car, that limitation is something of a buzz-kill for me. However, taken as a commuter, it has the potential to be absolutely wonderful. Even if my job were 60 miles away from my home, it'd still have more than enough range to bring me back--on the same charge. And that's not even considering I'd Lotus Elise certainly have a place to plug it in while at work.
As a commuter car, the Tesla Roadster would be pretty tough to live with though. Based as it is on the  and inheriting that car's notoriously unfriendly ergonomics, contorting myself to get in and out of the Roadster to go to and from work everyday would get old fast. Remarkably, the thing it ought to be good at is fraught with peril while the thing it is good at is fraught with impracticality.
And that's before we even consider the price.
As tested, the Roadster I drove carried a $150,000+ sticker. For that kind of money there are more than a few truly amazing  sports cars you can drive wherever you like without the need to limber up before trying to get into them. Also, while the Tesla is low and sleek, when the road gets twisty it isn't exactly as swoopy as those other cars either.
You can dance with the Roadster when the music's hot, but you have to be very capable of managing understeer. The first time I tried to turn the Tesla aggressively into a corner, all that weight in its hind parts, coupled with the unexpected heaviness of its steering found me running considerably wide of the apex I'd aimed for.
Despite its diminutive size, and familial relationship to the go kart-like Lotus, the Tesla prefers to be set up for a corner as if it is considerably larger than it actually is and finessed through. Do that, you can run quite quickly, but it's conundrum time again. Here's a small sports car that wants to be driven like a larger GT car.
The Roadster is quite stable at triple digit speeds and its combination of regenerative and friction brakes are more than up to the task--absolutely fade-free and genuinely confidence-inspiring. I also like the way the strong regenerative braking helps slow the car, as downshifting would do, when entering a turn. This has the added advantage of generating more juice too.

The interior of the car is lovely, with exceptional quality in evidence throughout. The backlit pushbuttons for the single speed transmission's functions are slick and the iPod dock at the edge of the center stack is pure genius.
Again, for the accomplishment it represents, the Tesla Roadster deserves our unfettered adulation--rousing applause even. It has attracted considerable interest to electric cars, and some say it even embarrassed GM into creating the Volt. The viability of the Roadster's powertrain attracted partnerships from established players like Panasonic, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. As a marketing device for the Tesla Company it is an absolute success. Taken on its own as a sports car though--in this writer's opinion--the Tesla Roadster leaves some things to be desired.

2011 Tesla Roadster

 

The Basics:

Tesla has delivered on its promise: The 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5 is truly the first green alternative to more than 100 years of fast cars powered by gasoline. The Roadster's classic two-seat shape, complete with soft top, provides what can only be called kick-ass performance without a tailpipe, emissions, or a fuel tank.
The 2011 Roadster has been updated to "Version 2.5," in Tesla's Silicon Valley argot. This third model year for the low-production Roadster includes a restyled front end, more comfortable seats, better noise insulation, and an optional backup camera. Otherwise, it's the same all-electric Roadster whose performance has earned raves from reviewers all over the globe.
Based on a heavily revised platform borrowed from  Lotus Elise, the Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2006. Volume deliveries began early in 2009 at a price of $109,000 for the standard Roadster, and $128,500 for the even quicker Roadster Sport.
The Tesla Roadster will always be a low-volume vehicle. Tesla is moving closer to introduction of its Model S all-electric mid-size sports sedan, now planned to occur before the end of 2012. But Roadster production winds down in December 2011, once an assembly contract with England's  Lotus ends with a total of 2,400 cars built.
As a proof of concept to show what a modern electric can offer, the Tesla Roadster will go down in automotive history whether or not Tesla Motors survives as an independent company. The Roadster did more to update the image of the electric car than any other single vehicle. And it did it using the best of all possible arguments: It's truly, impressively, addictively fun to drive.
The 2011 Roadster is a 2-door, 2-passenger convertible sports car, available in two trims, the Convertible and the Sport.

Upon introduction, both trims are equipped with a standard MOTOR, 288-horsepower, electric engine. A 1-speed automatic transmission is standard. 
Tesla's on a roll, it seems. Two days after its successful public stock offering,  the company has released details of the latest updates to its Roadster electric sports car–known as “Roadster 2.5″ after software-release numbering.
The 2.5 version sports some new styling at front and rear, including a new front fascia (the grille-and-bumper area) that incorporates diffusing vents. There’s also a different rear air diffuser that reflects, says the company, “the future of  Tesla design.”
The changes come, Tesla says, as the result of its “close feedback loop” with its customers. “These improvements are a direct result of customer feedback,” says CEO Elon Musk. In other words, they’re fixing things that buyers have probably complained about.
Other updates include new “directional” forged wheels, offered in black or silver;
Inside, the most significant alteration is undoubtedly more comfortable seats, which have larger bolsters and now include a lumbar support system. Interior noise has been reduced in several ways, including new sound-suppressing front fender liners.
There’s now an optional backup camera in a 7-inch touchscreen display as well.
Finally, Tesla has further modified the Roadster’s power-control system, adding unspecified hardware to permit “spirited driving” (which we presume means maximum electric power) in exceptionally hot climates.
The company is now taking orders for the 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5, and it will appear shortly in Tesla's network of stores in the U.S. and overseas. “Where feasible,” according to Musk, “we will also offer existing customers the ability to purchase the upgrades.”
Its two newest Tesla Stores–in Newport Beach, California, and Copenhagen, Denmark–will open with evening receptions. Both will have the Roadster 2.5 on display.
Tesla has now sold more than 1,200 Roadsters to buyers in 23 countries. It claims the cars have logged a total of more than 5 million miles. Questions remain, however, over even after  whether the company can remain independent its IPO.