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Highland test drives
- Thread starter Pagemakers
- Start date
I believe they only have LHD showroom cars at moment, have put my name down in showroom for test drive a month ago but don’t think that will happen until the first RHD cars are shipped over Jan/Feb time?
Jason71
Well-Known Member
It's taking them a while to plan a test drive route with no roundabouts I expect.
If you consider this a test drive yes - few including my 9 year old
& that is in Cambridge - nice cherry red!Attachments
Andy_RS2113
Member
I sat in the new LHD red one at Park Royal on Tuesday evening whilst charging, very nice. Now I’m in Belgium over the weekend, there were 2 brand new ones at the supercharger just outside Bruges, just been picked up according to the new owners.
Sat in a LHD Highland today… random scatterbrain thoughts..
Coming from an American made 2020 M3P it felt a lot more solid. I know it’s a feature of the Highland version that the doors are more premium sounding , but you can definitely feel it.
The interior feels a lot more cohesive, in terms of the dash wrapping around to the doors. The contrast is nice. The car I sat in was a LR I think, so don’t know how much different it is to the base one (apparently loses Alcantara and gets plastic instead on the inserts)
The sales guy did his level best to try and reassure me that the indicators aren’t a problem, almost like he was anticipating my question. He tried to demo “swiping” the indicator buttons instead of pressing them, but this only worked on one of them - so not a great demo.
The boot opening and closing is a LOT smoother, both opening and closing (comparing to a 72 plate M3P I previously tried). It closes without any kind of drop at the end, and is very quiet in operation.
The latest console I’m not totally sold on - it just seems different to me, rather than better (comparing to current pre-Highland one, which I retrofitted to my car). There’s only one USB-C in it so that’s a downgrade. It feels a bit busier to me with the split opening. The wireless pads charged my iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (the pre-Highland one does too).
Rear screen - might be good in theory but I can imagine it making back seat passengers pretty sick if used on the move. I’m more susceptible to motion sickness than most, so maybe it won’t be a problem.
I asked a rhetorical question about the matrix lights, about if they had been activated or not, and was told no, but that they should be in a future software update (imagine if you’d been told that in March 2021).
Seat cooling didn’t feel that obvious. Could hear the fan but didn’t really feel the airflow?
All in all it felt like a nice package. If I was coming to it cold like in 2020 I’d have been very impressed, but I couldn’t shake the knowledge in the back of my head that the matrix lights don’t do anything, the park assist will be useless, and the autonomous features (bar lane keeping) either won’t work (Summon, Autopark) or won’t be that much better than anything else on the market nowadays.
I also happened to see and sit in one of these, which both looked and felt like an absolute weapon. The interior felt a lot more commensurate with the money too. I guess that’s a problem with comparing the Performance version of the Model 3 with LR/RWD, you don’t feel the extra money that you’re spending at all. Maybe that will change with the new Plaid/Performance M3.
Coming from an American made 2020 M3P it felt a lot more solid. I know it’s a feature of the Highland version that the doors are more premium sounding , but you can definitely feel it.
The interior feels a lot more cohesive, in terms of the dash wrapping around to the doors. The contrast is nice. The car I sat in was a LR I think, so don’t know how much different it is to the base one (apparently loses Alcantara and gets plastic instead on the inserts)
The sales guy did his level best to try and reassure me that the indicators aren’t a problem, almost like he was anticipating my question. He tried to demo “swiping” the indicator buttons instead of pressing them, but this only worked on one of them - so not a great demo.
The boot opening and closing is a LOT smoother, both opening and closing (comparing to a 72 plate M3P I previously tried). It closes without any kind of drop at the end, and is very quiet in operation.
The latest console I’m not totally sold on - it just seems different to me, rather than better (comparing to current pre-Highland one, which I retrofitted to my car). There’s only one USB-C in it so that’s a downgrade. It feels a bit busier to me with the split opening. The wireless pads charged my iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (the pre-Highland one does too).
Rear screen - might be good in theory but I can imagine it making back seat passengers pretty sick if used on the move. I’m more susceptible to motion sickness than most, so maybe it won’t be a problem.
I asked a rhetorical question about the matrix lights, about if they had been activated or not, and was told no, but that they should be in a future software update (imagine if you’d been told that in March 2021).
Seat cooling didn’t feel that obvious. Could hear the fan but didn’t really feel the airflow?
All in all it felt like a nice package. If I was coming to it cold like in 2020 I’d have been very impressed, but I couldn’t shake the knowledge in the back of my head that the matrix lights don’t do anything, the park assist will be useless, and the autonomous features (bar lane keeping) either won’t work (Summon, Autopark) or won’t be that much better than anything else on the market nowadays.
I also happened to see and sit in one of these, which both looked and felt like an absolute weapon. The interior felt a lot more commensurate with the money too. I guess that’s a problem with comparing the Performance version of the Model 3 with LR/RWD, you don’t feel the extra money that you’re spending at all. Maybe that will change with the new Plaid/Performance M3.
Greetings!
I hope I am replying correctly as I am new to this site. I test drove a 2024 Model 3 AWD today and thought my experience might be interesting as I have never driven a Tesla.
I'm interested in replacing my wife's 2004 BMW 325xi as it has a ton of miles and is slowly going south. From my research I determined because the Model 3 is so different from her BMW, I thought it best to take a test drive myself (they gave me 25 minutes) to get an idea of how the car works so I could prepare her for what to expect. Here are my findings. [Please note, my cars are old (2008 Porsche Cayman S and 1998 BMW M3) and while they are not that fast compared to newer cars, they are quite light and thus handle and brake extremely well.]
- The car has only one option for regenerative braking (Maximum + Hold). The nice rep at the dealership said the other options were removed a while back. This feature was very weird at first but by the time I got back, I was almost used to it. If we get this car, I think I will love this feature as I could drive easily with only one pedal.
- TACC and Autosteer worked great. I saw some videos saying how picky the "nanny" was on making sure you were paying attention to the road, so I looked away a few times when nothing was ahead of me to simulate looking at my phone, but the car never complained. Overall great feature.
- Braking. Surprisingly good considering the weight and softness of the car. Surely not Porsche-level braking, but still better than any "normal" car I've driven. At least as good as my wife's BMW (which is very good).
- Performance: Really fast and turns in nicely...a little squirrely (like the tires are hunting for traction) on maximum acceleration, but not scary.
- Steering. Nice ratio but pretty much no feeling for the road. It is very easy to tell on my current cars where the level of adhesion is at, on this, no clue.
- Front and side visibility: Great! Almost as good as my two door M3 coupe (which has frameless doors and tiny pillars. Better than the Cayman.
- Rear view using mirror. Pretty bad, probably need to get used to using rear camera.
- Car's ability to see objects: Wildly awesome! Not used to paying attention to this but I could see this being very useful. I wonder how good it is at night.
- Ride: Nice, not pillowy, but not jarring. Little softer than I am used to.
- Seating position, very nice, I'm 6'3" and I did not have to put the seat all the way back.
- Very comfortable
- Ingress/Egress: Acceptable. Cars need to be built like tanks now (which is a good thing but makes for big pillars) but better than my Cayman. Side note: I looked at a Porsche Taycan (didn't drive it), and it was, by far, the most difficult vehicle to get out of I've experienced. The Taycan was also huge without having a lot of space...weird.
- Adjusting mirrors. Strange, kept switching back and forth. But s/b fine once set.
- Button turn signals: Not a fan, don't think it will be too difficult to master, but hard to see how anyone but an accountant at Tesla would like this.
- Rear room, pretty good. My headroom was not good, but I don't expect to be back there.
- Trunk space: Similar to my BMW but with added space under cover in truck + frunk.
- Quality: Car was new, looked good to me but I think only time will tell.
- Autowipers: Got some schmutz on my front screen and they came on. [The Internet seems to like mocking them so I thought I should mention ;-) ]
Well. I hope this useful.
Cheers!
I hope I am replying correctly as I am new to this site. I test drove a 2024 Model 3 AWD today and thought my experience might be interesting as I have never driven a Tesla.
I'm interested in replacing my wife's 2004 BMW 325xi as it has a ton of miles and is slowly going south. From my research I determined because the Model 3 is so different from her BMW, I thought it best to take a test drive myself (they gave me 25 minutes) to get an idea of how the car works so I could prepare her for what to expect. Here are my findings. [Please note, my cars are old (2008 Porsche Cayman S and 1998 BMW M3) and while they are not that fast compared to newer cars, they are quite light and thus handle and brake extremely well.]
- The car has only one option for regenerative braking (Maximum + Hold). The nice rep at the dealership said the other options were removed a while back. This feature was very weird at first but by the time I got back, I was almost used to it. If we get this car, I think I will love this feature as I could drive easily with only one pedal.
- TACC and Autosteer worked great. I saw some videos saying how picky the "nanny" was on making sure you were paying attention to the road, so I looked away a few times when nothing was ahead of me to simulate looking at my phone, but the car never complained. Overall great feature.
- Braking. Surprisingly good considering the weight and softness of the car. Surely not Porsche-level braking, but still better than any "normal" car I've driven. At least as good as my wife's BMW (which is very good).
- Performance: Really fast and turns in nicely...a little squirrely (like the tires are hunting for traction) on maximum acceleration, but not scary.
- Steering. Nice ratio but pretty much no feeling for the road. It is very easy to tell on my current cars where the level of adhesion is at, on this, no clue.
- Front and side visibility: Great! Almost as good as my two door M3 coupe (which has frameless doors and tiny pillars. Better than the Cayman.
- Rear view using mirror. Pretty bad, probably need to get used to using rear camera.
- Car's ability to see objects: Wildly awesome! Not used to paying attention to this but I could see this being very useful. I wonder how good it is at night.
- Ride: Nice, not pillowy, but not jarring. Little softer than I am used to.
- Seating position, very nice, I'm 6'3" and I did not have to put the seat all the way back.
- Very comfortable
- Ingress/Egress: Acceptable. Cars need to be built like tanks now (which is a good thing but makes for big pillars) but better than my Cayman. Side note: I looked at a Porsche Taycan (didn't drive it), and it was, by far, the most difficult vehicle to get out of I've experienced. The Taycan was also huge without having a lot of space...weird.
- Adjusting mirrors. Strange, kept switching back and forth. But s/b fine once set.
- Button turn signals: Not a fan, don't think it will be too difficult to master, but hard to see how anyone but an accountant at Tesla would like this.
- Rear room, pretty good. My headroom was not good, but I don't expect to be back there.
- Trunk space: Similar to my BMW but with added space under cover in truck + frunk.
- Quality: Car was new, looked good to me but I think only time will tell.
- Autowipers: Got some schmutz on my front screen and they came on. [The Internet seems to like mocking them so I thought I should mention ;-) ]
Well. I hope this useful.
Cheers!
Got my test drive tomorrow morning. I’ll be potentially moving from a 3P so my expectations will be very different to yours.
Just completed a 30 min test drive of a RWD. I’m coming from a 2019 3P and the short test drive wasn’t long enough for my purposes so having a longer drive again mid week.
I wasn’t as blown away as I thought I would be probably due to the lack of performance and other niggles.
Positives:
The build is better without question.
It’s noticeably quieter and the ride smoother.
Nicer steering wheel.
Better sound system but not massively.
Seats are more comfortable.
Screen is more responsive. Didn’t notice the larger viewing area.
So-so’s:
Not sure if I’m a fan of the ambient lighting.
Did 10 minutes of motorway driving and had 1 hesitation when passing another vehicle.
Negatives:
The parking visualisations are crap. Simple as. Not a patch on the USS in my current Tesla. This is probably the biggest negative.
Gear selection by screen. Didn’t like that much and it certainly doesn’t correctly anticipate the direction you want to drive in. I pulled out of a parking space in a car park and pulled up to the car in front. I stopped and expected the car the reverse back when I next applied power. It didn’t - it would have just moved forward and hit the car in front.
Indicators. I went to grab the stalk on almost every occasion just because of what I’m used to. That said are the buttons better? Absolutely not. Will play havoc in the car rental market for sure.
Felt quite sluggish but I am coming from a 3P. Performance was dull on the RWD. I’d certainly order the AWD.
Booked to have a longer test drive mid-week before I make up my mind to order or keep what I’ve currently got.
I wasn’t as blown away as I thought I would be probably due to the lack of performance and other niggles.
Positives:
The build is better without question.
It’s noticeably quieter and the ride smoother.
Nicer steering wheel.
Better sound system but not massively.
Seats are more comfortable.
Screen is more responsive. Didn’t notice the larger viewing area.
So-so’s:
Not sure if I’m a fan of the ambient lighting.
Did 10 minutes of motorway driving and had 1 hesitation when passing another vehicle.
Negatives:
The parking visualisations are crap. Simple as. Not a patch on the USS in my current Tesla. This is probably the biggest negative.
Gear selection by screen. Didn’t like that much and it certainly doesn’t correctly anticipate the direction you want to drive in. I pulled out of a parking space in a car park and pulled up to the car in front. I stopped and expected the car the reverse back when I next applied power. It didn’t - it would have just moved forward and hit the car in front.
Indicators. I went to grab the stalk on almost every occasion just because of what I’m used to. That said are the buttons better? Absolutely not. Will play havoc in the car rental market for sure.
Felt quite sluggish but I am coming from a 3P. Performance was dull on the RWD. I’d certainly order the AWD.
Booked to have a longer test drive mid-week before I make up my mind to order or keep what I’ve currently got.
Attachments
Thanks for sharing your experience
I think I would probably find the same things pertinent and agree on all fronts. After 55 years of using indicator stalks, adjustment would come hard.
it would appear that whilst it’s fundamentally better, it’s let down by unfinished software to a greater extent than our early cars.
With just 12K miles on mine, i shan’t bother with a test drive.
Zilla91
Active Member
Sounds to me, from what you’ve said, that you should probably keep what you’ve got.
Negatives seem to vastly outweigh the positives from what you’ve said + that’s before you throw in the step down in performance
Just concerned if I keep my car I have no warranty from March.
Re the performance I was in the RDW which has a 0-60 in 5.8 sec compared to the AWD 4.2. Think the performance is 3.8 so it’s not that far off.
After driving the car I think the biggest concern is the vision only system. I’m sure I’d get used to/accept the indicators.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
Is there an alternative location - up by the rear view mirror or somesuch? Be interested to hear if you find that better (same issue with it not being a stalk, I'm interested in whether the "alternative" is more viable, than a stalk - compared to the screen-swipe.
IME having owned Performance MS and driven plenty of Bog Standard loaners, and also M3 SR, LR and P, the P-Models have all been "sorted", and all the others (and I've driven plenty of loaners) were not. I don't know why that is - I would have expected the same software to allow flooring-it and having no drama. But all the P which I have driven have been like that, and all the Non-P I have driven have had some loss of traction, skittery-ness, and lack of sure-feet in the wet. None of those with the P.
So you may find that AWD doesn't solve that problem for you, and you (obviously!!!) need to wait for the Highland P
