I took a Tesla Model S on a road trip - and found out the hard way why it's a very different car

In 2015, I drove one of my kids to camp in a BMW i3, an extended-range electric vehicle that at the time was rumored to be a basis for the Apple Car.

The trip went great, so I decided to make our annual camp sojourn to the scenic Catskills in upstate New York a regular EV-paloooza. And what better car to serve as our futuristic chariot in 2016 than ... the Tesla Model S?

And not just any Model S, but a P90D with Ludicrous Mode: the baddest, fastest, coolest Tesla in all the land. (At least until the P100D arrived in early 2017.)

The idea was to see if this four-door luxury "family car" with supercar-beating acceleration - 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds, claimed - could handle a journey of decent length (about 240 miles round trip) involving two adults, three kids, and the gear of a pair of campers for two weeks.

Quite a test, eh? And with a few scheduled stops to dine, take in the sights - and recharge the battery.

Our adventure began on a pleasant Sunday in July, just like 2015, and all initially went according to plan

Until it didn't.

Read on to learn all about our most excellent misadventure with the world's most famous electric car.