Surely, this will drive the critics crazy: Owners call Tesla Model S most satisfying

Under the hood of the Tesla Model S: Storage space.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There has been a lot of big news in the world of green cars lately -- from Toyota's decision to turn its back on all-electric passenger vehicles to Tesla owners picking their Model S as most satisfying.

Toyota recently unveiled the 2016 Mirai fuel-cell sedan, but a report today says only 700 units of the hydrogen-fueled car will roll off the Japanese assembly line in its first year of production.

See: Only 700 fuel-cell Toyotas in first year

Few of the reports I've seen have questioned why Toyota -- the world's leading seller of gas-electric hybrid vehicles -- didn't make the seemingly natural transition to all-electric cars. 

Meanwhile, California-based Tesla Motors expects to sell 50,000 premium electric cars in 2015, just over half of those in North America, officials said in November.

Sales of Tesla's Model S began in mid-2012, and the four-door hatchbacks carry no model-year designation.

Behind the wheel of a Model S, above and below.

Buy your car again?

In an owner-satisfaction survey, Consumer Reports asked subscribers "whether they would get the same car all over again."

They were asked to weigh attributes such as styling, comfort, features, cargo space, fuel economy, maintenance and repair costs, overall value and driving dynamics," according to the January 2015 issue.

The survey found 98 percent of Model S owners "saying they would definitely purchase it again." 

That's more than for any other vehicle in the survey.

"Not only is the Tesla roomy, comfortable, and a lot of fun to drive, but it also has low operating costs -- returning the equivalent of 84 mpg...."

Next most satisfying were four sports cars, the Chevrolet Corvette and three Porsches -- Cayman, Boxster and 911.