Worth upgrading 2022 MS LR to 2022 Plaid or not

[DayTrippin]

While looking at an out of state X Plaid, I saw an S Plaid as well there. I wanted an X to tow with but the S Plaid’s price got me thinking, especially when I found out the middle seats on the X Plaid won't fold down.

Basically I could trade in my MS LR and 20k + tax difference so let’s call it 21.5k for the MS Plaid. What I would get for the trade difference is same year as mine, less miles than mine (<5k on new car), the upgraded matrix lights, new taillights, longer warranty (a few months but still longer), 21” wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 4’s.

I don’t want to consider the 2023 as lack of USS is a deal breaker for me and HW4 doesn’t matter as FSD is pretty much worthless to me. Now if it had radar that could be used for parking, I'd be more interested. For me peak Model S is 2022 with matrix headlights, new taillights, radar and USS. This has all of those.

I checked a week ago with Tesla and if I were to trade in on a 2023 X Plaid (same price as S Plaid) I was looking at 37k before the price increase. Any thoughts?

 

[jjrandorin]

Basically I could trade in my MS LR and 20k + tax difference so let’s call it 21.5k for the MS Plaid. What I would get for the trade difference is same year as mine, less miles than mine (<5k on new car), the upgraded matrix lights, new taillights, longer warranty (a few months but still longer), 21” wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 4’s.

When I think about this kind of thing, I always ask myself "Would I write a check for the difference?"

So, ask yourself. Would you write a check for $21,500 for faster acceleration, and that list of stuff you put? If you could hand someone 21.5k in a briefcase and say "do all that to my current car" (including the acceleration and extended warranty), would you?

 

[Propofoln]

When I think about this kind of thing, I always ask myself "Would I write a check for the difference?"

So, ask yourself. Would you write a check for $21,500 for faster acceleration, and that list of stuff you put? If you could hand someone 21.5k in a briefcase and say "do all that to my current car" (including the acceleration and extended warranty), would you?

Yes. It’s that much faster

 

[Maaz]

Yep.

 

[jjrandorin]

To be clear, I am not saying it is or isnt. I was just sharing how I go about looking at decisions like this. For example, I was trying to decide if I should trade my out of warranty model 3 performance with 40k miles on it, in on a model S or a current model 3 thats quieter, etc.

I decided that I wouldnt write a check for what it would cost me, even though what I was looking at was financing the difference. Every evaluation is its own thing thats just how I go about it.

 

[mswlogo]

I would consider 21” wheels a downgrade.
Also I thought matrix was added shortly after they dropped radar. Doesn’t matter anyway, Radar is no longer used is I recall.

7 seater X seats fold down.

You can add a factory hitch to an S. But no factory wiring for lights. I tow with 22 Model S all the time.

 

[SoCal Buzz]

Depends what’s most important to you, and value of the added performance. For my money, the LR is in sweet spot with amazing range and power across spectrum. And I far prefer the ride on 19”. As a side note, I recently parked next to same color as mine with new rear lights and trim. You can barely even see the difference.

 

[DayTrippin]

I like my LR a lot but still irritated that not a single refreshed LR has ever met its claimed 0-60 time. I bought my LR expecting it to be faster than a Model 3 Performance 0-60 and it isn't. In the real world, almost any M3P is easily .2 seconds quicker to 60 and a good one is .3-.4 seconds. At this level of performance that is a huge gap. A good running MYP won't be that far behind, and possibly match, the MS LR to 60. It is almost a heads up race to 60.

When I ordered my LR, a Plaid was 50k more. I am still glad I didn't order a Plaid then as my wife would have killed me. I bought a Y and my S for about the same price and my wife was happy, until she wasn't. She didn't really like driving the Y that much and neither did I. There were no tests of how quick the LR was going to but I did some interpolation of performance and I figured the MS LR would be slower than the outgoing performance Model S to 60 but would be pretty close to it at higher speeds. For me a approximately second quicker to 60 wasn't worth 50k but I have several sport bikes and mid 10's in the quarter and mid 2's to 60, is about where I like to be for my daily rider.

Again the MS LR was pretty close, until I got it. I pretty happy with it 40-100 performance but the 0-40 is pretty much a dog if you consider 3.4 seconds to 60 "doggy". I personally do as my acceleration expectations are calibrated to the fast motorcycles I often ride. Again, at 50k it wasn't worth it to me, but at 20k, it seems like a screaming deal.

Like many, I am not a huge fan of the 21's. I've been pretty happy with the 19's on my LR. The upgrade in rubber for the Pilot Sports is a huge one. I am not going to take any long trips in my S so the range impact isn't as much of a difference and the very sticky rubber is a plus.The 21's on the car are aftermarket wheels but still trying to determine what ones they are. I'll probably need winter tires so I'll end up with 19's anyway at some point though I bought some lightweight 20's for my LR that I never put on.

The other plus for the Plaid is the track mode. I could definitely see myself playing with that from time to time.

I still wish Tesla had done more to differentiate the Plaid from the LR visually and for the interior. I do like the carbon fiber dash but I am fine with the other combos as well.

As for writing a check for the ~20k difference, I dumped far more into a MK4 Turbo Supra to get close the performance of the Plaid. There is a car I regret selling... To have that level of performance on a car that can hold 5 people and has a warranty, seems like a screaming deal at the moment. The Plaids have gotten hammered on depreciation, but the LR's not so much.

At the end of the day, I'd pay 20k for just the performance improvement. If the LR had actually performed as promised, I might not have. I was willing to spend 5-10k if they came out with a performance boost for the LR that would drop the 0-60 .4-.5 second, at least get it into the 2.8 second 0-60 range. So to drop about 1.2 seconds (on the street) for 20k seems like a screaming deal. The fewer miles, more warranty, upgraded lights, track mode, allegedly better brakes, make it hard to resist.

I'm just trying see if there is anything I might have missed thinking this through. I think the delta in price is about what I thought it should have been and that also seems to be where Tesla is pricing them now.

 

[gbailey]

I would consider 21” wheels a downgrade.
Also I thought matrix was added shortly after they dropped radar. Doesn’t matter anyway, Radar is no longer used is I recall.

7 seater X seats fold down.

You can add a factory hitch to an S. But no factory wiring for lights. I tow with 22 Model S all the time.

On towing have you managed to find a solution for trailer lights or do you just not use them? (I have a 22 MS with a hitch from a X but have struggled to find a solution for a trailer wiring harness).

 

[DayTrippin]

On towing have you managed to find a solution for trailer lights or do you just not use them? (I have a 22 MS with a hitch from a X but have struggled to find a solution for a trailer wiring harness).

Wiring for the refreshed S seems to be an issue. I was tracking this closely for some time but there doesn't seem to be a relatively easy bolt on solution so to speak.

 

[gbailey]

Wiring for the refreshed S seems to be an issue. I was tracking this closely for some time but there doesn't seem to be a relatively easy bolt on solution so to speak.

Thanks, that’s also what I concluded. I had the Tekonsha kit installed in my previous 2020 MS and that worked to a degree. Installation however was a major effort as I elected to tap the 12v directly from the lead acid battery in the frunk rather than tap off the power liftgate as some others have done. This required removing a lot of trim down the passenger side of the car.

 

[SilverGS]

I like my LR a lot but still irritated that not a single refreshed LR has ever met its claimed 0-60 time. I bought my LR expecting it to be faster than a Model 3 Performance 0-60 and it isn't. In the real world, almost any M3P is easily .2 seconds quicker to 60 and a good one is .3-.4 seconds. At this level of performance that is a huge gap. A good running MYP won't be that far behind, and possibly match, the MS LR to 60. It is almost a heads up race to 60.

When I ordered my LR, a Plaid was 50k more. I am still glad I didn't order a Plaid then as my wife would have killed me. I bought a Y and my S for about the same price and my wife was happy, until she wasn't. She didn't really like driving the Y that much and neither did I. There were no tests of how quick the LR was going to but I did some interpolation of performance and I figured the MS LR would be slower than the outgoing performance Model S to 60 but would be pretty close to it at higher speeds. For me a approximately second quicker to 60 wasn't worth 50k but I have several sport bikes and mid 10's in the quarter and mid 2's to 60, is about where I like to be for my daily rider.

Again the MS LR was pretty close, until I got it. I pretty happy with it 40-100 performance but the 0-40 is pretty much a dog if you consider 3.4 seconds to 60 "doggy". I personally do as my acceleration expectations are calibrated to the fast motorcycles I often ride. Again, at 50k it wasn't worth it to me, but at 20k, it seems like a screaming deal.

Like many, I am not a huge fan of the 21's. I've been pretty happy with the 19's on my LR. The upgrade in rubber for the Pilot Sports is a huge one. I am not going to take any long trips in my S so the range impact isn't as much of a difference and the very sticky rubber is a plus.The 21's on the car are aftermarket wheels but still trying to determine what ones they are. I'll probably need winter tires so I'll end up with 19's anyway at some point though I bought some lightweight 20's for my LR that I never put on.

The other plus for the Plaid is the track mode. I could definitely see myself playing with that from time to time.

I still wish Tesla had done more to differentiate the Plaid from the LR visually and for the interior. I do like the carbon fiber dash but I am fine with the other combos as well.

As for writing a check for the ~20k difference, I dumped far more into a MK4 Turbo Supra to get close the performance of the Plaid. There is a car I regret selling... To have that level of performance on a car that can hold 5 people and has a warranty, seems like a screaming deal at the moment. The Plaids have gotten hammered on depreciation, but the LR's not so much.

At the end of the day, I'd pay 20k for just the performance improvement. If the LR had actually performed as promised, I might not have. I was willing to spend 5-10k if they came out with a performance boost for the LR that would drop the 0-60 .4-.5 second, at least get it into the 2.8 second 0-60 range. So to drop about 1.2 seconds (on the street) for 20k seems like a screaming deal. The fewer miles, more warranty, upgraded lights, track mode, allegedly better brakes, make it hard to resist.

I'm just trying see if there is anything I might have missed thinking this through. I think the delta in price is about what I thought it should have been and that also seems to be where Tesla is pricing them now.

If I were in your position I'd get the Plaid S.

 

[dmurphy]

Honestly, I find the extra performance to be a parlor trick. But I'm the guy who buys cars as daily drivers, not as track toys.

To each our own, of course, but for me... I bought the S LR and don't regret it one iota. Plaid wouldn't improve my life in any way, shape or form. And, in fact, the first time I crack a 21" wheel on a pothole (this IS New Jersey) - I'd let out a string of cusswords that'd make Tony Soprano proud.

I'd much rather take that $21.5K and take my family on an epic vacation to remember.

 

[dwbv]

Any thoughts?

Sounds like you already made up your mind and it comes down to that $21.5k.

If 21.5k won't even blip on your financial radar then I say go for it. It will easily afford you a new experience that you will enjoy. No need to justify the cost.

 

[K.I.T.T.23]

I totally agree with @dwbv . If this is in your price range, don't blink, just do it. Seems like you are a speed-fiend as well. I have spen't 100's of thousands of dollars to have one of the fastest cars on the road! Oddly, I found it reduces how fast I drive. I know I could do 200mph and 0-60 in 2ish seconds... no need to prove it.

Ironically the last time I got a speeding ticket it was when I was a broke teen, driving a 1991 Geo Metro lol

 

[dmurphy]

Oddly, I found it reduces how fast I drive. I know I could do 200mph and 0-60 in 2ish seconds... no need to prove it.

Amazing feeling, isn't it? I agree wholeheartedly. And that's with my lowly LR.

 

[K.I.T.T.23]

Amazing feeling, isn't it? I agree wholeheartedly. And that's with my lowly LR.

Lowly? man, that thing is still screaming fast! An amazing machine.

 

[dmurphy]

Lowly? man, that thing is still screaming fast! An amazing machine.

Oh, for sure. That was just firmly tongue-in-cheek -- I know my place in the pecking order, and I'm just not a Plaid owner. Doesn't hold appeal for me - would much rather Tesla invest in something like massaging seats than MOAR POWAH. LR's a beast even if it isn't king of the hill ... still more than I'll ever use.

Bought it 3 months ago and still haven't engaged Drag Strip mode. No acceptable places around here to play with it anyway.

 

[jjrandorin]

@DayTrippin , based on your post in post #8, it very much sounds like you have answered the question for yourself

 

[darkelf23]

Oh, for sure. That was just firmly tongue-in-cheek -- I know my place in the pecking order, and I'm just not a Plaid owner. Doesn't hold appeal for me - would much rather Tesla invest in something like massaging seats than MOAR POWAH. LR's a beast even if it isn't king of the hill ... still more than I'll ever use.

Bought it 3 months ago and still haven't engaged Drag Strip mode. No acceptable places around here to play with it anyway.

I second the massaging seats!