This Car Earned Consumer Reports' First-Ever Perfect Score

You may know Consumer Reports as the nonprofit that tests and rates just about every item a consumer can buy. But what you may not have heard is that way back in 2015, the organization ran into a problem it never encountered before. A newly launched car at the time ended up scoring far too high and sort of broke the publication's road-test ratings. This was the Tesla Model S P85D, an all-wheel-drive electric sedan priced at roughly $127,820 – and it originally scored more than 100. It shouldn't have been possible, considering Consumer Reports normally capped ratings at 100. In fact, the organization had to go back and actually rework its scoring methodology just to account for this one anomaly.

After those adjustments, the P85D settled at a flat 100. That made it the first vehicle in the magazine's entire history to earn a perfect road-test score. And no, that doesn't mean it was a flawless automobile. Consumer Reports was pretty upfront about that. It noted that the interior materials weren't as plush as you'd expect for a six-figure price. And that grew even more apparent when something like the Mercedes S550, which scored 95+ and felt way more luxurious inside, was brought into the picture. The ride was also firmer and noisier compared to even the standard Model S. Long road trips were also troublesome because fast-charging stations were far less common back then. Worse, reliability was average, according to owner surveys at the time.

However, none of those caveats stopped Consumer Reports from calling the P85D "an automotive milepost". Fair to say, that kind of language — coming from an organization known for being more measured in its praise — said a lot.

So what was it about the P85D that caused all this fuss? It was all about the drive – raw acceleration in particular. The car could go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds during Consumer Reports' testing, putting it on par with vehicles from Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. One of Tesla's best drive modes was on this car, literally called 'Insane,' letting owners tap into that full launch force. And the wild part was that all of it happened in near-total silence, with no engine growl. Reviewers described experiencing an electric whir followed by sudden, forceful forward momentum.

For instance, TechCrunch's Greg Kumparak, who spent three days with the car in April 2015, described the experience as feeling as if the vehicle were "wired into you." He went into the review skeptical, convinced that the hype around Tesla had blinded everyone to its flaws, but left wanting to buy one. That reaction was pretty common among automotive journalists at the time. Also impressive was the fact that the P85D managed to do all that while still being a comfortable daily driver. It had room for five people and a surprisingly spacious cabin. Surprisingly, Tesla still tops Consumer Reports' customer satisfaction rankings for driving even today.

What's also easy to forget now is just how young Tesla was as a company back then. The automaker had only started delivering the original Model S in 2012, and that earlier version had already earned a perfect score from Consumer Reports.

And as for the Model S's charging problem, Consumer Reports also noted that the P85D returned the equivalent of 87 miles per gallon, making it highly efficient for its time. Sadly, the Tesla Model S is being phased out of production entirely.