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A bit freaked out - P90D vs 90D

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I would actually recommend you consider not purchasing either. The reasoning is since you are doubting yourself spending a small increment of the actual purchase price, you should actually in fact be doubting the large purchase price of the car. My guess is this car is a stretch financially for you, even though you and your wife both want it, I would do an evaluation Comparing the P90D v a car with a price less than $40k. Are you still sure about your decision, and what could you do with an extra $80k?
 
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I would actually recommend you consider not purchasing either. The reasoning is since you are doubting yourself spending a small increment of the actual purchase price, you should actually in fact be doubting the large purchase price of the car. My guess is this car is a stretch financially for you, even though you and your wife both want it, I would do an evaluation Comparing the P90D v a car with a price less than $40k. Are you still sure about your decision, and what could you do with an extra $80k?

It wasn't a stretch for me but that's because I've spent my entire life carefully considering and analyzing every purchase. It sounds like the OP is doing this same so I wouldn't assume it's a stretch just because he's debating whether an extra $20K is worth the extra performance.
 
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Nishy, put it this way. You're not going to regret either choice. You're going to be driving a Tesla, dawg. :)

If it were me, I would go with the 90D (you can see that was my choice last year before the 90kWh option!) because I have a job where I do drive around a lot. Range is king for me. Also, I found myself getting car sick in the P85D because I couldn't help myself but do Insane launches all the time (I had a P85D for 5 days).

But for you, from the vibe so far in your posts, I think you want the P90D. You're just looking for us to tell you it's ok to get it.

Well, it's more than ok. Do it! But you won't regret either choice no matter what-- I'm very certain you'll feel that way as soon as you get into your new car.

- K
 
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I was in a very similar situation a few months ago. Sold my 2013 991 S Cab for a more practical kid friendly car. I went back and forth on 85D vs P85D, but eventually decided that the 85D was enough power for the money... but that was a mistake. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't hesitate to get the Performance version. The regular is plenty peppy, but it also feels heavier that I thought it would. It's fine and it's not like I'm going to trade it in or anything, but I'd do it differently next time.
 
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I was in a very similar situation a few months ago. Sold my 2013 991 S Cab for a more practical kid friendly car. I went back and forth on 85D vs P85D, but eventually decided that the 85D was enough power for the money... but that was a mistake. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't hesitate to get the Performance version. The regular is plenty peppy, but it also feels heavier that I thought it would. It's fine and it's not like I'm going to trade it in or anything, but I'd do it differently next time.

Thanks man. Really helpful. I think I probably made the right choice. For me the 911 is a fun drive but it's the nimbleness and responsiveness I enjoy the most. Sounds like the 90d has that off the line but less in the mid range.

Are you a fairly aggressive driver? I don't think I am but I'm a bit scarred by my previous car choice. Had an M5 (the v10 version they used to have) and then went to a panamera but stupidly went for the base v6. Everytime I sat in the car and saw the porsche badge it taunted me that I had literally no power. It was like driving a vw. So when I got the 911 I got the S because I felt like I didn't want to make the same mistake twice. Don't think that's as big of an issue with the tesla but didn't want the regrets again.
 
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No problem, I think you'll be happy with the p90d. It'll be an excellent and fun daily driver with tons of passenger and storage space. I got to ride shotgun in a ludicrous one recently, and damn that acceleration is impressive. That said, you mention nimbleness and responsiveness... this is an area I haven't been too impressed with. My 85D handles like a big heavy sedan, a quick one for sure, but don't expect it to carve up back-country windy roads like the 911 did. Another big difference is the sound, no surprise that it's dead quiet, I didn't think that would be a problem for me, but I do miss it. Mostly it's the fact that I can't express my frustration with a slow driver by flooring it and audibly startling them as I rocket past.

I feel like I'm ******** all over the tesla, so I need to write some positive things now, it's all about trade-offs. Sure it's not as nimble as a sports car nor does it wail when you put your foot down, but... It's damn fast. It's damn quick. If you have EV charging at work, it's practically free to power. Never having to go to the gas station anymore is huge time saver. It doesn't make a lot of noise, but that means you can floor it without drawing too much attention to yourself. Heck, you can floor it at ever red light! In the 911 to get max acceleration at a red light, you had to turn on launch control and rev the engine like an idiot until the light turned green, the tesla just goes. The reliability seems outstanding (compared to my 911 anyway). Maintenance and warranty are both reasonable (again compared to a p-car).
 
I think you'll regret *not* getting the P90D (with ludicrous), unless the price differential is meaningful. This is about opportunity cost. If you have a higher and better use for the extra cash flow, then be a rational economic actor. If not, buy the cooler car so that you never have to explain why you didn't. I mean, you're already in "bad ass" territory either way. So go "full bad ass," unless there is a compelling economic reason not to. Sure, most people will never notice the difference. But those who do will know you're a pimp.

Totally agree. We have 85D and I love driving that car. That being said, I still DD my 911 C4 so I don't miss having the hardcore performance of a sports car. If I had to sell my 911 - I would do what my friend with the 996 TT did - get a P85D (well, P90D now). Re: Ludicrous mode or not - if you're a 0-60 kind of guy (i.e., your draw to sports cars is straight line performance) then get the Ludicrous mode. If you're more into handling and still a good kick of speed, get the P90D with Insane mode. It's darned fast already and I'm pretty sure most owners don't go flooring the pedal very often...

Have fun!
 
Totally agree. We have 85D and I love driving that car. That being said, I still DD my 911 C4 so I don't miss having the hardcore performance of a sports car. If I had to sell my 911 - I would do what my friend with the 996 TT did - get a P85D (well, P90D now). Re: Ludicrous mode or not - if you're a 0-60 kind of guy (i.e., your draw to sports cars is straight line performance) then get the Ludicrous mode. If you're more into handling and still a good kick of speed, get the P90D with Insane mode. It's darned fast already and I'm pretty sure most owners don't go flooring the pedal very often...

Have fun!
Thanks amigo!
 
Totally agree. We have 85D and I love driving that car. That being said, I still DD my 911 C4 so I don't miss having the hardcore performance of a sports car. If I had to sell my 911 - I would do what my friend with the 996 TT did - get a P85D (well, P90D now). Re: Ludicrous mode or not - if you're a 0-60 kind of guy (i.e., your draw to sports cars is straight line performance) then get the Ludicrous mode. If you're more into handling and still a good kick of speed, get the P90D with Insane mode. It's darned fast already and I'm pretty sure most owners don't go flooring the pedal very often...

Have fun!

The extra power in L mode is only available after 30 MPH so I'd think that if freeway passing performance is important, then L mode would be important as you get that extra power at all freeway speeds. It improves the 0-60 a little, but only after 30 MPH.
 
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