THE first showroom in Crawley to exclusively sell electric cars has opened to the public in Manor Royal.
American manufacturer Tesla Motors opened up a showroom and service centre on County Oak Way last Thursday from where it sells cars that have no gearboxes, use no oil and run off a battery.
Tesla, which has its main base in Silicon Valley, California, alongside the likes of Google and Facebook, has chosen Crawley as the location for its first garage in the UK outside of London.
Its vehicles are powered purely by electricity generated by an onboard battery.
Laura Hardy, a spokeswoman for the company, said: "Tesla's mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable transport.
"We have come to Crawley because this is a really good location between London and the south coast that is easily accessible from the M23."
Company bosses plan to offer Tesla owners a shuttle service from the Manor Royal base to Gatwick Airport, so when going on holiday they can drop off their cars there to be serviced while they are away.
From County Oak Way the company currently sells one make of car – the Model S, which comes in three different versions.
One has a 60 KWh battery, costs £49,900, has a top speed of 120mph and does up to 240 miles on a single charge.
The second has an 85 KWh battery, costs £57,300, has a top speed of 125mph and covers up to 312 miles on a single charge.
And the third, the P85, has the same 85 KWh battery, so will also do 312 miles on a single charge.
But it is the performance version, producing 412 brake horsepower, doing 0 to 60mph in 4.2 seconds and costing £68,700.
With very few moving parts, so less that can go wrong, and being cheaper to run than cars that require petrol or diesel, Tesla thinks its cars are the future of motoring.
Ms Hardy said: "You can charge the car from any power source, including the standard three-pin socket, but that will take a long time to charge – over 24 hours to reach full capacity.
"Charging points are quicker and range from 3 kW to 43 kW. And Tesla has its own superchargers that are 120 kW and charge the car from empty to full in just over an hour."
Ms Hardy added that on average when charging at home it costs between £8 and £10 to fill the battery.
Tesla has three superchargers in London, one in Edinburgh, one in Birmingham and one in Reading.
The company is installing one in Maidstone, in Kent, so Tesla owners can reach the continent and the network of chargers there.
Crawley is also well prepared for electric car owners.
A Crawley Borough Council spokesman said: "We have two charging points at the Town Hall which are fairly well used and there is a rapid charge point at the Pease Pottage service station."
Reporter LUKE WARREN gives his verdict on the Tesla P85 Plus after being invited to take it out on a test drive.
The last thing you want to happen when about to test-drive a car that does 0 to 60mph in 4.2 seconds is for the heavens to open.
But that's exactly what happened – raindrops the size of pound coins peppered the car's windscreen, spray rose from all round and ominous puddles formed in the road.
The Tesla handled it all, however. When I became too enthusiastic and my right foot too heavy on Martyrs Avenue, in Langley Green, the back wheels seemed for a second to lose grip, but the car's traction control kicked in and kept us in a straight line.
On the M23 the Tesla proved its power – pushing its occupants back in their seat as it accelerated onwards.
And it was bizarre for such a powerful car to make so little noise. The car has no gearbox – so no clutch – and has just one continuous gear, so the engine smoothly pulled forwards, making more of a "whoosh" noise than a roar or a growl.
After the M23 we headed to the Town Hall to one of two charging points there.
The car's battery stretches horizontally underneath the car from its front to rear wheels.
But the Tesla didn't need charging at this point – we were just showing it off in the town centre.
Depending on how you drive the car, it will do more than 300 miles on a single charge.
Like a petrol or diesel engine, the harder you drive it, the fewer miles you will be able to cover.
Inside, the car has leather seats and a sunroof operated from a huge touchscreen, which allows you to go online, listen to the radio, view Google maps and control the Tesla's many features.
And rather than a rev counter on its digital dash, the Tesla has a dial that shows you how much electricity you are using.
![New showroom opens in Crawley - selling just electric cars]( "New showroom opens in Crawley - selling just electric cars")
