For as long as we can remember, the saloon class has been dominated by two German giants: Mercedes-Benz, and BMW.
As we enter the electric era, though, things are starting to change. A flood of rivals from the west, and the east, are starting to make their way into the UK market, but there's one brand which has taken Europe by storm.
Tesla has shaken up the market with the Model 3 and Model Y - which have both risen to become two of Europe's best-selling EVs - but the Model S was its first production model since the original Roadster electric sports car, and now it's back to take on the continent's biggest hitters.
Can the Model S, in its insanely powerful Plaid specification, really challenge the finest offering from two of Europe's biggest car makers? It's up to our team of testers to find out.
Read on, as we pit the 1000bhp EV against the BMW i5 M60 xDrive and the Mercedes EQE 53 AMG Performance Package. Which car will come out on top?
Quick links: The challenger: Tesla Model S Plaid - The stalwarts: BMW i5 and Mercedes EQE - Design - Performance - Ride and handling - Verdict
Introducing the Tesla Model S Plaid
Just one extended push of the Tesla Model S Plaid's throttle pedal is all you need to understand that the super-saloon state of play could be in for an upset.
With more than 1000bhp to play with, the Model S Plaid was never going to be slow, but the eye-widening, bowel-loosening pace that it delivers is like nothing you've ever experienced before.
Your seat-of-the-pants accelerometer is backed up by the data, because this is the fastest car to which we've yet strapped our timing gear.
The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport? Slower. A McLaren P1? Tardy by comparison. The Ferrari SF90 Stradale? You will see it in the Tesla's rear-view mirror. On this evidence, how can the BMW i5 M60 and Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 hope to compete?
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Need to wade through the cliche soup here to decode what's going on. For example, the BMW apparently 'hunkers down' in sport mode... like, lowers its ride height?
Given all 3 are too big to drive with abandon on European twisties, you're looking for luxury here. And I reckon the BMW without the rear wheel steer or active roll bars but with a sharper set of tyres would be the choice here.
Its still ugly though.
I bet that all three are better in their respective 'base' model forms. They'll be plenty fast enough, much cheaper and probably nicer to drive. It used to be you wanted the more expensive model to get a nicer engine, but with EVs there's must less incentive to move higher up the range.
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