Model 3 Highland Performance/Plaid Speculation [Car announced 04.23.2024]

[duncanduncan]

I have had some but limited time in a prefl m3p. But it has been a while so hard to make direct comparisons.

As for the new car.

The power felt strong and consistent. Traction is excellent. It was damp with wet patches and it still pulled strong with no tramlining. Mashing the throttle at 30mph was smooth and gained speed very very quickly, as you would expect. Based on my 25years of fast car driving, felt every bit of 550hp.

The suspension is a strong point, good damping over stronger bumps like speedbumps, very smooth on the highway at 65mph, very quiet allthough some tyre noise could be heard over coarser roads. I purposely had the stereo off to make noises more obvious.

The steering had good turn in, very pointy, very controllable, slightly artifical at times, allthough as I was on a public road in a test car I wasn't pushing too hard. I think it will be a hoot on track.

Didn't really get to test the brakes, 1 pedal driving was easy.

The seats were comfortable and fit me perfectly, 220lbs 5ft4, short and stocky.
The seat cooling was wonderful and covered all the way to the neck allthough you could hear the motors.

Based on my 35mins of driving, anyone who buys this car will be extremely happy, especially at the price.

It's well sorted, comfortable, more than fast enough at legal speeds (here's hoping it has the top end to match) but even so, there has been so many upgrades it feels like what the car should have been to begin with.

Thank you Viperau for this exciting review!! Can't wait for mine to be delivered

 

[oreobbq]

I have had some but limited time in a prefl m3p. But it has been a while so hard to make direct comparisons.

As for the new car.

The power felt strong and consistent. Traction is excellent. It was damp with wet patches and it still pulled strong with no tramlining. Mashing the throttle at 30mph was smooth and gained speed very very quickly, as you would expect. Based on my 25years of fast car driving, felt every bit of 550hp.

The suspension is a strong point, good damping over stronger bumps like speedbumps, very smooth on the highway at 65mph, very quiet allthough some tyre noise could be heard over coarser roads. I purposely had the stereo off to make noises more obvious.

The steering had good turn in, very pointy, very controllable, slightly artifical at times, allthough as I was on a public road in a test car I wasn't pushing too hard. I think it will be a hoot on track.

Didn't really get to test the brakes, 1 pedal driving was easy.

The seats were comfortable and fit me perfectly, 220lbs 5ft4, short and stocky.
The seat cooling was wonderful and covered all the way to the neck allthough you could hear the motors.

Based on my 35mins of driving, anyone who buys this car will be extremely happy, especially at the price.

It's well sorted, comfortable, more than fast enough at legal speeds (here's hoping it has the top end to match) but even so, there has been so many upgrades it feels like what the car should have been to begin with.

Thanks for your impressions. When it’s convenient, can you lose about 40 lbs and go test drive again in dry conditions heheh.

Wish I could test drive this thing and see how it takes corners.

 

[Izzyz28]

Looking at the Draggy chart, it appears the car dead-hooked and did the run nice and smooth without any tire spin. I compared it to some of my 0-60 graphs and looked closely at the last 1/2 of the pull. It lines up perfectly with my run, meaning the power output is more or less the same, it tapers off to the exact same acceleration at the end of run, and took the same 154 feet as my runs. With a hot battery it should pick up a bit, but the overall power curve to 60 looks exactly the same.

 

[Destiny1701]

Looking at the Draggy chart, it appears the car dead-hooked and did the run nice and smooth without any tire spin. I compared it to some of my 0-60 graphs and looked closely at the last 1/2 of the pull. It lines up perfectly with my run, meaning the power output is more or less the same, it tapers off to the exact same acceleration at the end of run, and took the same 154 feet as my runs. With a hot battery it should pick up a bit, but the overall power curve to 60 looks exactly the same.

So same as a Pano battery??

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Looking at the Draggy chart, it appears the car dead-hooked and did the run nice and smooth without any tire spin. I compared it to some of my 0-60 graphs and looked closely at the last 1/2 of the pull. It lines up perfectly with my run, meaning the power output is more or less the same, it tapers off to the exact same acceleration at the end of run, and took the same 154 feet as my runs. With a hot battery it should pick up a bit, but the overall power curve to 60 looks exactly the same.

0-40 mph is way better than the old car by a lot. You have to remove over 200 lbs from the old car to match that time. 40-60 mph with this cold battery in the new LG car is way worse than the old US Panasonic cars with similar weight wheels.

 

[Destiny1701]

0-40 mph is way better than the old car by a lot. You have to remove over 200 lbs from the old car to match that time. 40-60 mph with this cold battery in the new LG car is way worse than the old US Panasonic cars with similar weight wheels.

Oh.. not good. I have a 22’ LRboost and I like my 40-60/70 (60-110km) power. Would suck if the new LG P is similar to this.

 

[viperau]

I just don't want people to overreact on the basis of ONE run that stopped at 62mph with a cold battery and 75%soc. If I remember I had to change lanes on the run as well, something as simple as that can affect it. It's also the LG pack which will behave differently the the Panasonic pack.

Use this data as a guide, but don't take it as gospel yet. When I get my car ill be doing a full suite of tests but Australia isn't going to get theirs until at least july

 

[Jangy]

It doesn't matter how Tesla justifies it. These practices will continue to ensure that resale is abysmal.

Increasing pieces hurts your resale? People in this forum just generalize instead of speaking facts. Tesla has had all types of ups and downs. Life isn't the split second you define it as forever. I made money on my first tesla and I'm NOT under on my current one. People need to take accountability for their finances instead of blaming a company for meeting the immediate supply and demand.

 

[cptnslo]

Saw the delivery post on Reddit. Hopefully he will get it to the track over there!
What’s the break in procedure for an ev? I’ve never actually looked into this since I got my MS second hand. I can’t imagine it would be the same as an ICE since you’re not worried about valve seating and stuff

 

[mpgxsvcd]

I just don't want people to overreact on the basis of ONE run that stopped at 62mph with a cold battery and 75%soc. If I remember I had to change lanes on the run as well, something as simple as that can affect it. It's also the LG pack which will behave differently the the Panasonic pack.

Use this data as a guide, but don't take it as gospel yet. When I get my car ill be doing a full suite of tests but Australia isn't going to get theirs until at least july

Yes, definitely we should take that run for what it is. However, I also want to stress that the 0-40 mph was fantastic for that run. That is a noticeable difference in acceleration under 40 mph.

What this shows is that we really need to preheat the battery still. That should be the first thing anyone does if they are going to test acceleration. Navigate to a Supercharger regardless of the SOC. It will make a TREMENDOUS difference.

 

[viperau]

Saw the delivery post on Reddit. Hopefully he will get it to the track over there!
What’s the break in procedure for an ev? I’ve never actually looked into this since I got my MS second hand. I can’t imagine it would be the same as an ICE since you’re not worried about valve seating and stuff

From what i understand there isn't a lot, So while the actual electric motor doesn't need running in, there is still bearings and gearsets and other mechanical parts in the drive unit that does need a few hundred km before it's fully ready to go. Same with brakes and suspension components.

A small amount of mechanical sympathy early will reap rewards later.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

Increasing pieces hurts your resale? People in this forum just generalize instead of speaking facts. Tesla has had all types of ups and downs. Life isn't the split second you define it as forever. I made money on my first tesla and I'm NOT under on my current one. People need to take accountability for their finances instead of blaming a company for meeting the immediate supply and demand.

This is a fine opinion. I have a different one:

The unprecedented overnight 20% price drop on Teslas that occurred last year destabilized the entire EV market, hurting existing owners, dealers, and competitors. "So what" many people say, "Tesla is a business and out for blood". Well, the entire industry now lives in fear of another such drop and that fear is priced into the trade in values of all EVs. This, in combination with the tax credit is why every new dual motor 3/Y loses $20K off the lot, and a big reason why the public at large is quickly viewing EVs as a financial sinkhole. And sure, constant price adjustments happen with all new cars, generally on a monthly basis through changing programs, rebates, and negotiating ability. But these changes are not as readily visible to the public and the MSRP almost never changes 20% overnight, ensuring the perceived value stays at least somewhat stable. With Tesla changing the price WEEKLY and in the open, they're continuously reinforcing to the public that any day could again bring a huge drop that leaves them well underwater. A lot of folks who would be very happy with a Tesla now just go buy Toyota hybrids instead because it feels like a much safer financial move. And they're not wrong.

 

[Izzyz28]

Saw the delivery post on Reddit. Hopefully he will get it to the track over there!
What’s the break in procedure for an ev? I’ve never actually looked into this since I got my MS second hand. I can’t imagine it would be the same as an ICE since you’re not worried about valve seating and stuff

I launched my 3 and Plaid right in front of the Tesla dealer and have beat on them every day ever since.

 

[Jangy]

This is a fine opinion. I have a different one:

The unprecedented overnight 20% price drop on Teslas that occurred last year destabilized the entire EV market, hurting existing owners, dealers, and competitors. "So what" many people say, "Tesla is a business and out for blood". Well, the entire industry now lives in fear of another such drop and that fear is priced into the trade in values of all EVs. This, in combination with the tax credit is why every new dual motor 3/Y loses $20K off the lot, and a big reason why the public at large is quickly viewing EVs as a financial sinkhole. And sure, constant price adjustments happen with all new cars, generally on a monthly basis through changing programs, rebates, and negotiating ability. But these changes are not as readily visible to the public and the MSRP almost never changes 20% overnight, ensuring the perceived value stays at least somewhat stable. With Tesla changing the price WEEKLY and in the open, they're continuously reinforcing to the public that any day could again bring a huge drop that leaves them well underwater. A lot of folks who would be very happy with a Tesla now just go buy Toyota hybrids instead because it feels like a much safer financial move. And they're not wrong.

Whomever wants to get a Prius over a Tesla should GO. You are changing facts to suit your needs. You complained that Tesla INCREASED prices. Please explain how that hurts your resale? You're also wrong that the $7500 tax "credit" causes a $20k drop in value when you leave the lot. The delta between a new and used car has ALWAYS been big. The fact that I can walk into a Mercedes dealership today and get $30k off of a new EV doesn't reflect in resale value? Your entire argument is biased. There are absolutely things to criticize Tesla about. But moaning because new cars cost significantly more than used cars is baseless.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

This is a fine opinion. I have a different one:

The unprecedented overnight 20% price drop on Teslas that occurred last year destabilized the entire EV market, hurting existing owners, dealers, and competitors. "So what" many people say, "Tesla is a business and out for blood". Well, the entire industry now lives in fear of another such drop and that fear is priced into the trade in values of all EVs. This, in combination with the tax credit is why every new dual motor 3/Y loses $20K off the lot, and a big reason why the public at large is quickly viewing EVs as a financial sinkhole. And sure, constant price adjustments happen with all new cars, generally on a monthly basis through changing programs, rebates, and negotiating ability. But these changes are not as readily visible to the public and the MSRP almost never changes 20% overnight, ensuring the perceived value stays at least somewhat stable. With Tesla changing the price WEEKLY and in the open, they're continuously reinforcing to the public that any day could again bring a huge drop that leaves them well underwater. A lot of folks who would be very happy with a Tesla now just go buy Toyota hybrids instead because it feels like a much safer financial move. And they're not wrong.

A lease makes all of this irrelevant.

 

[jjrandorin]

A lease makes all of this irrelevant.

People like to say this, but no it really doesnt. You are still paying for the depreciation on a lease. Every month you are paying part of the depreciation, depending on how much the lease is structured with higher residuals or not.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

People like to say this, but no it really doesnt. You are still paying for the depreciation on a lease. Every month you are paying part of the depreciation, depending on how much the lease is structured with higher residuals or not.

But the lease ALWAYS has you paying less each month. There is absolutely zero chance this car is going to be worth more than I owe in two years when I don’t get the tax credit with a purchase.

Yes, you pay depreciation each month with a lease but with the tax credit discount you will always pay less with the lease even with the absurd interest rate.

If you qualify for the tax credit with a purchase then it will probably end up better than the lease depending on your interest rate. If you don’t qualify for the tax credit on a purchase then you will pay more almost certainly especially if you have to pay interest on the loan too.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

People like to say this, but no it really doesnt. You are still paying for the depreciation on a lease. Every month you are paying part of the depreciation, depending on how much the lease is structured with higher residuals or not.

You are paying depreciation on a loan too. You are just hoping you are paying more principal than the depreciation after a few years of making payments. Without the tax credit that is entirely unlikely with a loan on this car.

 

[jjrandorin]

You are paying depreciation on a loan too. You are just hoping you are paying more principal than the depreciation after a few years of making payments. Without the tax credit that is entirely unlikely with a loan on this car.

yes, you are paying it on both. I never said a person wasnt paying depreciation on a loan. I just take issue with people saying "dont pay depreciation on a lease" which is not an accurate statement. You obviously understand the nuance, but a lot of people parrot that statement like its cut and dried "oh If I lease I dont pay depreciation".

 

[mpgxsvcd]

yes, you are paying it on both. I never said a person wasnt paying depreciation on a loan. I just take issue with people saying "dont pay depreciation on a lease" which is not an accurate statement. You obviously understand the nuance, but a lot of people parrot that statement like its cut and dried "oh If I lease I dont pay depreciation".

That quote wasn’t from me was it? I never said you don’t pay depreciation on a lease. I said that it is irrelevant how much the car is actually worth after a few years because they automatically take it back without even giving you the opportunity to buy it.

Leasing is simply a bet on depreciation. You are betting that the leasing company has overvalued their car and they are betting that you have undervalued it.

You are always paying depreciation on a lease. You are just hoping that they have underestimated that depreciation for this particular car.