And after getting out of the X and into a regular car? We didn't miss the windshield or its expansive view out. Ergo, gimmick.

As usual, the Tesla's dashboard is dominated by a huge center-mounted touchscreen. Traditional automakers have had years to catch up with this piece of tech and have universally failed. With instant response, thoughtful menu structures, and a highly intelligent navigation system, this is still by far the best touchscreen in the business. Our Model X had an upgraded sound system, too, and it sounded as good as the name-brand upgraded systems in many other cars. No discussion of Tesla's in-car tech is complete without mentioning Autopilot, which is a full decade ahead of most other semi-autonomous driver's aids.

If not two decades.

The Model X's second-row seats are mounted on "monoposts," single-point floor mounts that supposedly give more legroom and under-seat storage space. They do no such thing—and unfortunately, the seats neither recline nor fold forward. Instead, they can be tilted for access to the third row (which cleverly also motors the front seats forward) without removing a baby seat.

The rearmost two seats are, as we've discovered before, actually sized for humans, and the lack of a center seat in our second row provided plenty of space to stretch out. This is especially helpful because the monoposts are located right where the third-row passengers' legs would go. Traditional seat frames would have been no less functional, forcing us to conclude that the monopost seats, like the falcon doors and panorama windshield, are more style than substance.

Speaking of style, there's little nice to say about the way the Model X looks. Its details are inoffensive—the headlights and taillights, for example—but it has the proportions of a pregnant hippo. This electric vehicle is certainly a slave to aerodynamics, and its drag coefficient is, Tesla claims, just 0.24, which is 20 percent better than the next-best SUV.

As a result of those aerodynamics, the Model X loses precious little range compared to its Model S sibling. Comparing P90D to P90D, the EPA-projected range drops by just 3 miles, from 253 miles to 250. Say what you like about its looks. That's a spectacular performance for a large SUV that seats up to seven passengers.

In fact, say what you like about Tesla's gimmicks, but the Model X, like its sedan sibling, is such a well-done piece of machinery that it makes you look at all other cars as if they've come straight out of the past. It'd be a better SUV without the falcon doors, the monopost seats, and the windshield, but as it sits now, the Model X is one hell of a people hauler.

And at 3.2 seconds to 60, its ability to haul tail is anything but a gimmick.

2016 Tesla Model X P90D (Ludicrous)
BASE PRICE	$81,200
PRICE AS TESTED	$135,400
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front & rear motor, AWD, 6-pass, 4-door SUV
MOTORS	Three-phase four-pole AC induction, 259-hp/244-lb-ft front, 503-hp/469-lb-ft rear; 532-hp/713-lb-ft comb
TRANSMISSION	1-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	5,516 lb (47/53%)
WHEELBASE	116.7 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT (L-Std-h)	198.3 x 81.5 x (65.0 - 66.3 - 67.6) in
0-60 MPH	3.2 sec
QUARTER MILE	11.7 sec @ 116.0 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	106 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.89 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	25.1 sec @ 0.78 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	89/90/89 mpge
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	38/37 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.00 lb/mile

2016 Tesla Model X P90D front three quarter in motion