Thinking of ordering a model S - moving from a BMW 330

I came from a 630i and 330d. What I miss the most is how nimble the 330d is when cornering, although I only have an S85 you may find the 85D much more secure in the turn. The acceleration and comfort is far superior to either the 6 or 3 series IMO. I don't miss the firm suspension or the diesel costs!

I'm changing from a A6 Avant Sline TDIE low emissions but fully loaded to a 70D ( fully loaded ) as a business owner it makes massive sense ATM .
gone for air suspension because of extra ride enhancement and the fact that we have enormous speed bumps and plenty of pot holes in my locality .

Went from a 530d touring in March to a S85 and have never looked back!

As a company car with fuel paid by the company the overriding benefit was personal tax, I'm probably saving around £6k a year and the company saves too (around £1200 per annum over 5 years) with the enhanced capital allowance, reduced running costs and zero NI on the fuel benefit etc.

It's a big car, as much storage space as the 530d, I carried 3 passengers and 3 bikes in the car the other day...the only advantage the BMW has over the Tesla is the higher boot as it is an estate car as opposed to a hatchback.

The S85 may be the slowest model but apart from being a good second quicker 0-60, it feels so much quicker due to the single gear and immediate electric power....it's also significantly smoother due to the lack of a gearbox

Tech wise with the over the air software updates it's arguably more advanced than any other car although there are a few bugs to iron out - the updates do tend to eventually solve them and also improve functionality such as the Traffic Aware Cruise Control

Interior finish doesn't quite match the standard of the German marques but the minimalist style is definitely to my liking

Range not an issue if you're not planning on travelling >200 miles without the capability to charge, however the superchargers and motorway Chademos now really give you all the options you need for long journeys.

Unless you're a road warrior regularly doing more than 200 miles a day, I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't love it

We've got a 335i Coupe and a Model S, quite different cars. The Model S is a much bigger car and it feels like it. It has a nice open airy cabin, and plenty of room to store everything. On the other hand it doesn't handle nearly as well as the 335i. Biggest thing I like better about the 335i is the noise though, sometimes its great that the S is so quiet, but I love listening to the BMW with the windows down.

Ohh one other thing is the reliability... I've had 0 issues with my 335i and only a few with my 325i before it. Had quite a few on the Tesla, and all of those require a trip to the dealer, no DIY on the Tesla.

Peacher said:

also what's the sat nav like compared to connected drive? I love the way someone at my office can just send a location to my car, when it in transit, or I can use the BMW app to send my visits the night before. I was told my phone calendar will sync and pop up locations for that day, but they couldn't demo it in the showroom.... Has anyone real world experience of is? It's one of them Features I've got used to and don't know how I'd live without it.

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The nav has various features that are very good, and others that are bad or missing (keep the route-via-superchargers turned off if you value your sanity!). There are only 2 ways to get an address in there from 'outside' - via your phone calendar, or your phone contacts. There's a configuration option to have the calendar pop up every time you get in the car, or otherwise it's just one click away; any entries in the calendar that have addresses in them you can then just click and it puts the address into the nav. I use this for all my appointments and it works very well (with iPhone - can't speak for how well it works on Android). The other way is much less obvious but occasionally useful - you go to the 'phone' app in the car and select a contact as if you were going to call them, but if your contacts list also has their address you can click on that instead and it will be used as a nav destination.

The biggest snag with the nav is that the act of converting an address into a destination requires an internet connection - either WiFi or the car's built-in connection to O2. Once you've entered the destination, it will continue navigating even if you drive out of coverage, and if you select a previous destination (from 'favourites' or 'recent destnations') that also works, but you can't do a new search.

The Tesla handling is amazing for a ~5k lb 7-seat car, but you can never get away from all that extra mass. The 3-series is so much smaller and lighter its always going to handle better.

The Nav in the Tesla is so much better than any other car out there. There may be some things other cars do better, but the 17" screen trumps all. There is so much more viewable area, that you can make your own decisions if you don't like what the computer chooses.

As for reliability, personally we've had a sticking Frunk latch, Sunroof sticking + Gasket getting cut, moisture in the tailight causing it to fail, the rear-view mirror doesn’t seem dim, and the drivers side back door rattles when closed, and the window sticks. Seems like alot of these are pretty common problems, but reliability data is extremely hard to determine just from reading a forum.

jaguar36 said:

There is so much more viewable area, that you can make your own decisions if you don't like what the computer chooses.

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Having listed the negatives in my previous post, I'd echo this as the big positive. I use the nav much more than I used to in my previous car (ie. on routes where I know where I'm going), because you can treat it as a guide rather than something to follow blindly.

As for reliability, personally we've had a sticking Frunk latch, Sunroof sticking + Gasket getting cut, moisture in the tailight causing it to fail, the rear-view mirror doesn’t seem dim, and the drivers side back door rattles when closed, and the window sticks. Seems like alot of these are pretty common problems, but reliability data is extremely hard to determine just from reading a forum.

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As a counter-point, my car hasn't been back to Tesla since it was delivered over a year ago. Admittedly I do have one fault that's not been worth taking back for repair - a couple of the individual LEDs of the high-level brake-light don't work, which was evidently a bad batch because everybody I know getting their cars at the same time as I did suffered that problem, while I haven't heard of it since.

arg said:

As a counter-point, my car hasn't been back to Tesla since it was delivered over a year ago. Admittedly I do have one fault that's not been worth taking back for repair - a couple of the individual LEDs of the high-level brake-light don't work, which was evidently a bad batch because everybody I know getting their cars at the same time as I did suffered that problem, while I haven't heard of it since.

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Yep I had that problem.

As well as: Poorly aligned door, cut door rubber, condensation in all the lights (which has been "fixed" once), grating noise from door handles, something adrift with the main dash screen that rattles, a annoying ticking noise form the seat belt (which was fixed with some teflon tape), creaking dash, failed chargers, and the door card came off in my hand.

I've done <9000 miles just city commuting.

The worrying part isn't necessarily the fact I've had this number of issues, I know some have had none, rather the variability in QC.

Combined with month waits to get service appointments to get niggles fixed right now, and it's not a great experience.

I come from a 335i x-drive and got a P85 two years ago. Like the RWD handling more. I highly recommend the switch to the Tesla, I liked a lot the BMW but it now feel like antiquated cars. Its hard to realize now but once you get the Model S for some time and then drive a gas car with a transmission and all that noise / vibrations... You'll understand.

Since the P85 is no longer available (unless CPO), the 85D gives similar performance otherwise the 85 (non-D) gives a much more usable front trunk (frunk).

I've had several BMWs (325i, 545i, E46 M3, E36 M3) and don't miss them. I've had my model S 9 months now and have only had to rotate the tires, no service issues at all. If BMW made a Model S equivalent, with a charging network, I'd buy it over the Tesla. But that's not going to happen anytime soon.

I did 80,000 miles in a 240bhp 330d. I got my model S a couple of years later.

No comparison! The BMW would now feel like being in the stone age.

Bit confused here about some negative comments regarding the handling of the Model S. It never feels anything else than absolutely stuck to the road. I should do with a centre of gravity at 20cm above the road surface.

Mine is coil sprung with 19 inch wheels. The ride and the handling is excellent. Perfect. The only car more comfortable is my 35 year old Citroen CX as far as I am concerned.

The 19 inch wheels on the 330d felt like they were going to crach your teeth every time they went over a pothole. I went through 5 wheels due to cracks over my 3 years.

After 18,000 miles in the Model S, I have had no reliability issues whatsoever.

Electricity, excluding free charges has cost me £508. That is 7 tankfuls in the 330d so about 190 mpg!

In fact I might buy another S on the company, we like ours so much.

politeperson said:

Bit confused here about some negative comments regarding the handling of the Model S. It never feels anything else than absolutely stuck to the road. I should do with a centre of gravity at 20cm above the road surface.

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Handling vs. grip (an oft debated topic on pistonheads)

The S has plenty of grip, feels planted and secure. It's what most people want. The P85+ has more feeling through the wheel, understeers less if pushed, and generally takes a line better.

Overall I'd say the S is more Audi like in feel compared to a BMW.

All subjective stuff. Depends on how much of a steering snob you are

The air is definitely better at small corrugation compliance though if you are buying Tesla #2, highly recommend asking for a weekend loaner if you do decide to take the plunge.