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Gas or diesel power will live on for a while, especially for certain use cases. Towing, for example, as in our case, where we tow a small travel trailer behind our Q5 TDI. There is not now, nor will there be in the near-term future, an EV that even approaches the convenience we have with towing...

20 year old vehicles will always feel out of date. A lot has changed in the last 20 years.

During the pandemic we've had both of our ICE cars on battery tenders. Just not driving them nearly enough. Emissions-wise, this is a good thing I guess. Phantom battery drain would be big enough to cause problems within a month or so. That doesn't help with condensation messing with the oil...

All cars pollute. No exceptions. Emissions can be broken down into manufacturing emissions, operating emissions, and retirement/recycling emissions. None of these is zero for any car. The operating emissions dominate for any non-BEV vehicle. BEV operating emissions vary quite a bit with the...

I didn't say the model 3 was in the "high price" luxury category. I said it was in the luxury sport vehicle category. Which it is. It sure as heck isn't in any average cost nor in an average performance category. What a F150 dual cab costs is irrelevant. That's a different category altogether...

The average price of new cars in the US has been sky-rocketing. The numbers I'm seeing are up ~10% in the last year, about $3k, pushing into the low 40's. I have not been able to find the median price, just the "average" price, so it's unclear in my mind. I suspect it's the arithmetic average...

Hmmm. We haven't encountered EV haters, but plenty of skepticism - even from people I wouldn't expect it from. I have a friend who works at NREL, and my wife's cousin lives in Boulder, CO (very left of center, super concerned for the environment). Neither would ever consider an EV, for reasons I...

Agree. It is a surprising design that way, but then, Teslas don't support rear cross-traffic either, which is an even bigger miss. Even my Leaf has that. The tech package on the Leaf is not bad considering what it is. And what it sells for after incentives. We paid $27k in Colorado in 2019...

Thanks Mike. Great input. Yep, the Leaf has 360 degree camera, and I love it. I would miss that, definitely. I wish I could add it to our Audi, which I want to keep around as a camper tug for a few more years. Surprised with all the cameras that the Teslas sport, that they don't have that. No...

Honestly, the e85 steering isn't so bad - it goes exactly where I point it the instant I do so. Love that. I agree that the stick will only become more desirable for enthusiasts as time goes on. It also has a glass rear window in the soft top, which is nice. We had a e36 M3 (the original M3...

No, it just couldn't keep up. Funny what max torque from 0 rpm can do for you. You haven't driven a Leaf+, I'd wager. The plus makes 250 lb ft of torque. Weighs 3800#.

All good points. Having driven the LR AWD a couple of times in recent weeks, I'd say the performance is more than adequate for my needs around town. Arguably overkill. The M3P would be a bridge too far budget-wise. Thanks for the suggestion though. I may drive a MY just for the heck of it...

Neither am I. Nelson is one of the principal architects of this gillion dollar boondoggle. Enough already. SLS needs to die a natural death. Failing that, an unnatural one. Not going to happen in this cycle though. We'll pump a few more $B in before we finally give up on the damn thing. It's...

The OPs trial trip might strike folks outside of the Rocky Mountain region as an extreme example, but for those of us living and playing on the Front Range, this is par for the course. It's always cool at altitude in the mountains. 6-7% grades running 10 miles or longer are not uncommon. Snow in...

Agree. Just because sales of a top-end, image carrying vehicle are not high volume does not mean it's a sales failure. When compared against other cars in its price class, it still does well. How many 7-series cars does BMW sell? Not many. You cannot compare unit sales figures across market...

To my way of thinking, the ergonomics in the M3 today are a giant step backwards overall. Wiper controls are just one example. I want to be able to make some adjustments and make some inputs without taking my eyes off the road. FSD isn't here yet, nor do I believe it's all that close. Sorry...

I think the short answer to the OP's question is, "It depends on the ICE car..." Plenty of forgettable cars in the world. Most of them, in fact, IMNSHO. We also have an Audi Q5 TDI. I actually prefer its interior to the sterile interior of the model 3. An M3 is way too minimalist for my...

Our e85 series Z4 3.0si roadster has its charms: 6-speed stick, short-throw shifter to die for, perfectly weighted clutch, top-down fun. Goes exactly where you point it in the instant you do so. Sound system is nice - dual sub-woofers, one behind each seat. Makes pretty engine noises too. Is...

Yep, definitely looking at one of these, if they ever get it here. eTron itself is way too big for my purposes.

I should clarify that we run the suv version of the WR3. The Q5 is a diesel and weighs 700# more than the LR. It’s a heavy car too. Being an all-weather tire (not to be confused with an all-season), they’re closer to a performance snow in some respects.

Our 2015 Q5 does really well in snowy mountain driving. Pretty much unstoppable until things get super hairy to where you just need more ground clearance. We run Hakka WR3s on that car, and like them. Better in the dry and merely wet, tolerate warmer temperatures too. Trying to decide on a...

Gotcha. Makes sense.

A $2k bump in price with the incentive wouldn't change my mind - I'd jump at it. But I think $5k would (I'd pass on the car). Wouldn't surprise me. I'd be more surprised if they didn't. Looking at a 2021 LR AWD. Some overlap with the OP. Not retired yet, so if I want a new toy, sooner rather...

You bring up some great points, hence my question to the cloud. Not that we have a ton of money burning a hole in our pockets... Definitely not. We would arrange things to not have much of a payment. Between the 2 sales, and a potential incentive if proposed legislation passes, the model 3 would...

Can't answer your question directly, but I can say that a lot of factors go into a tow rating. Power, weight distribution, braking capacity, suspension and chassis stiffness are among the major factors. It would seem that those would be comparable between the 2 designs, but the devil's in the...

Just checked out your Surveyor. Nice rig! Way roomier with the slide out than our little Lance. Quite a bit heavier. If we had younger kids or grandkids, might be an interesting camper for us, but as things stand, we'll stand pat. Thanks for sharing. Where we live, the best camping is a bit...

As I noted above, no EV is going to fit the bill appropriately for towing a tall camper through the Rockies any time soon. Plenty of power, good stability, not nearly enough towing range. The Q can go ~400 miles towing on a single tank. (We average about 20 mpg towing at 65 mph through the...

Cool. Thanks everyone. Test drove the M3 again over the weekend. Nice car. No surprises there. The one we drove had one significant build issue, in that the forward roof glass was clearly shifted too far forward and to the driver's side, to the point where the seals didn't contact the sheet...

LOL. I'm not sold on towing with any EV just yet. The Q has the equivalent of ~300 kwh battery on board, net net after efficiency adjustments, and "recharges" in small minutes. I can hook up and drive through the mountains over multiple high-altitude passes from home to Carbondale in 5 hours...

Wow. similar? When rated over 100 miles farther EPA? Dang. That would be a disappointment. Can you elaborate?

Our Z is more like 3100# empty. I consider that light.

Buying our Q5 was the good experience that makes all the others seem bad. We also had a good experience just a few weeks ago buying our son's xTerra. So it does happen. We bought our Q from a genuine enthusiast, young guy who knew the car inside and out - the ONLY time I've ever run into a...

First new post here. Empty nesters, Denver Area. Have 2007 Z4 roadster (toy car), 2015 Q5 TDI (sporty camper tug) and 2019 Leaf SL+ (urban corridor runabout). Considering combining the Z4 and the Leaf+ into a Model 3 LR AWD. Have test driven before, briefly at least, have some understanding of...

First time post here. Have some of the same general concerns. The cars are interesting at one level (or even a couple, lol). Not sure it's a good fit though, which is to say, not sure if I'm willing to adjust my expectations to what Tesla is offering. I don't have a lot of patience for a car...