70D loaded vs. 85D with fewer options

In cold weather, the 85D for sure.

 

85D

 

Yep. Once upon a time, I used to make a case for the 60 back then. But, Range is King, particularly in colder climes!

May I steer you away from the leather seats towards textile?! I had the previous gen leather seats in my erstwhile 60 but, I'm enjoying the two-toned textile seats (with faux leather inserts) in my P85D a lot more. They are usually temperature-neutral, look cool and offer great friction to make up for any additional bolstering from the next gen leathers (if you are getting those).

With textile, you may be able to squeeze in titanium silver and/or the pano roof into your 85D config.

 

I would also suggest the textile seats - my Tan leather seats have not held up well. The new option bundle makes the power lift gate pricey.

 

85D. I'd go for the range and the power.

 

Definitely the 85D. I recently drove a 70D and the performance is nowhere like what you get with the 85D. The 70D is certainly adequate but the 85D is an exhilarating joy to drive.

If money is of issue, you can always make it stretch by going with an inventory 85D or a CPO 85D. Someone recently sold her used 85D on here for $75K.

 

Range is king in winter. 85D or 90D if you can afford it

 

A few months ago I spent 3 weeks helping Tesla deliver cars. Almost half of them were 70's. I talked to a lot of the owners, and for most of them I thought the 70 was a pretty reasonable fit.

But if you have a 180-mile drive to make in CT with no Superchargers, no way I would even consider the 70. Definitely get the 85! The 70 will work some of the time, but after 30k miles of electric roads trips I am positive there will be days that you need those extra miles. And even days where you don't absolutely need them, you will feel more relaxed.

 

85D

You need to consider two things:

1. Degradation: -5%
2. Actual range vs rated range: -17%

Here is a simplified calculation:

70D = 240 mi rated range
240*0.95= 228 mi rated range left after 5% degradation
228*0.83= 189 mi actual range on average after rated range is converted to actual range

85D = 270 mi rated range
270*0.95= 256.5 mi rated range left after 5% degradation
256.5*0.83= 213 mi actual range on average after rated range is converted to actual range

 

+1.

 

For the budget conscious I'm not sure why air suspension would even be something you'd want. Just adds extra complexity, and expense over the long haul. I have the coil suspension and I love it, but I admit I really like the ride of the coils.

The standard sound package is rather lousy, and I can attest to it because I have it. With that being said lots of people hate on the ultra sound option as well because it's really not that good either. In my own opinion the worst thing about sound is the level of road noise over 70mph. My plan on my 70D is to address road noise first before bothering with the sound package.

Pure and simple the 70D is a great car for money, but you can't get around the fact that in cold weather you need as much range as possible. The other thing to factor in is it's an indescribably good road trip car. So if you have the means go for the most range. The 85D also has better performance in that 40-70 area. Sure for me it would have been nice, but not really a necessity. I don't think a person can go wrong by getting either one. Neither is a ridiculous choice like a 16GB iPhone 6S. I have absolutely no regrets about the 70D that I got, but I admit I went for the 70D because I wanted to dip my feet versus going full on in. It really comes down to a budget decision more than anything else.

Cold weather package is so nice. Having a heated steering wheel is pure bliss.

Auto Pilot is a must pure and simple. All the hardware is on the car already so it's a bit silly to let it go unused.

I like the premium package and I got it in part because I really wanted the fog lights. The reality though is the fog lights suck. I still like the package though, but not a necessity. I'd say pass on this if tight on funds.

For the Seats I can't imagine not having the next gen seats. This comes down to personal preference.

So in summary what I'd get if I had to do it all over again.

90D
Next Gen Seats
Auto Pilot
Cold Weather package

 

It really boils down to time. An 85D, and a 70D are close enough in range that most often it boils down to charging for a little bit longer. or driving a little slower. In the OP's climate weather starts to play such a
large factor that I think the 85D is the more reasonable choice.

The three enemies are Speed, Weather, and charge time to range needed.

In the Pacific northwest

Speed? HAHA.
Weather? Not too cold, not too warm.
Charge time? a 70D probably cost a person needing 180+ of range about 15-30minutes or so. This is where it impacts me the most since I tend to go into Portland/Vancouver without wanting to charge in the city. So I do the long haul with 5%-10% left on the battery, and large charge times.

Bailout Chademo chargers in case of issues? Plentiful

In CT it's likely a much different scenario.

 

Do you need a D, I know it snows but the RWD 85 is a sweet spot in my option.

 

Buy used. with the 8 year unlimited mileage warranty you can get a loaded P85 for $70K, why would you ever consider buying new with this type of warranty?

 

If the setting are adjusted, the sound is not too bad on the standard stereo. The Premium is definitely better, but if you are on a tight budget, the standard might be okay.

Make sure you bring in a good sample of high quality music on a USB thumb drive to test it. And check the settings. I tested both side by side last week, and they had the premium stereo car base cranked to max and the standard stereo set to almost the middle. Of course it sill sound tinny like that!

I decided the standard was good enough that I would take the inventory car that had it. So I ended up saving $4300 ($2500+$1800) by willing to live with the standard stereo system.

 

This is also a good point, and CPO models come with a 4 year warranty.

 

Yes. If you are price sensitive and plan to keep the car a while, air suspension is a bad option. Nothing against Tesla's implementation but by nature an air suspension is much more likely to break -- and costly to fix -- than a coil suspension. If you don't have a preference for the feel of the air suspension (common view here is they feel near-identical), I would not even consider it. Clearance issues are overrated; air only gets about an inch higher than where coils sit, and in most cases actually sits lower which means if you ever forget to raise it, you're more likely to scrape with air, not less.

I have UHFS and love it. I don't know if I'm an audiophile or not but I'm a musician with an attentive ear and I really appreciate the clarity of the system. Most people talk about the UHFS version having better bass, and that's true, but what really stands out to me is the clarity (I listen mostly to acoustic guitar and piano, if that's helpful). Model S is the only nice car I've ever owned so I can't compare its system to that of a Mercedes, Audi, et al.

Cold weather package in New England is a no brainer.

If you ever have to go 180 miles without charging in bad weather, I would implore you to get the 85D. If you can charge mid-way, the 70D will be fine. In the latter case, I would get the 85D if you plan to make ample use of the supercharger network (85D charges faster); otherwise I'd save money and get the 70D.

Good luck!

 

About the Standard Audio, I have it too and it's gotten a bit better, bass-wise, with a recent firmware update. It's not great though; my previous car, an '04 Acura TL had a fantastic system as standard for a $40k car.

I couldn't justify a $2,500 sound package option though.

About the Autopilot package, when Tesla does eventually release the 7.0 firmware sometime soon, it'll surely go through a few firmware updates before the bugs get shaken out. So, waiting to add the option for $3k later is not a bad idea. I had sunk the $2,500 ten months ago with nothing to show for it.