Another "help me chose a Model S configuration" thread

[DKPowers]

Hey! First time posting here. I'm a Model 3 reservation holder but I reserved it just a couple of months ago so I'd most likely have to wait for a one a long time. I can't wait that long and I need a car so a Model S it is then. When Tesla announced the AP 2.0 suite, I knew I had to get a Tesla.

Anyways, here I am. I'm sure there are tons of threads about Model S configurations but I thought to make another so I can get input on my specific needs.

First of all, colour (silver), roof (glass), EAP, sub-zero and wheels (stock) are decided so I won't need input on those.

Battery size: 60 or 90? I'm not entertaining getting the 75 because of the poor value of it. For 60: price, can charge to 100% more often, faster charge to said 100%. For 90: quicker, faster supercharging, longer range. Going from 60 to 90 is a huge price hike and while I can afford it, it means I need to work more for the deposit and I'll have less money to save because of the higher monthly payment. My usual travel distances are short, but occasionally going for trips about 200km one way (with possibility of charging at the destination). I do entertain the thought of doing a road trip in a Tesla in continental Europe.

If 60, 60 or 60D: Sure, we get a lot of snow and ice here but people drive RWD cars here fine. The quicker 0-100 time and (marginally) better range does sound tempting as does the (most likely) higher resell value. On the other had the D does cost a lot when you think about it.

Premium package or not: This is a bit tricky as although I do like the things it adds, the value of it seems poor especially when I need to get leather with it. I'll be checking the differences at Tesla on the weekend.

Interior: I used to like leather because of its ease of cleaning and longevity when properly maintained but nowadays I don't like how leather isn't very ecological. Most likely I'd get leather only if I get the premium pack as then the seats would be ventilated eliminating the one con of leather or syth. leather.

Air suspension: The Model S I had for a weekend had SAS and it rode nicely and smoothly. I did use the GPS raising although I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have needed it. More of a peace of mind thing when going over bumps. I'm most likely going to skip this especially if the steel coil ones ride as nice (gonna test drive this weekend).

HiFi: Probably going to skip this one. I like listening to music but my source materials is 320 kbps MP3s tops and I haven't heard that this option is a must-have. Feel free to convince me otherwise.

High power charger: Meh, most likely would be nice to have for when there's just a 22kW type 2 but I can always get it later.

So, feel free to chime in your opinions. I'm am (somewhat) a tabula rasa here so give it your best shot.

 

[spooky981]

You nailed it on the Premium Upgrade Packages. They're nice things to have, and I don't fault anybody for maxxing out an $80,000 vehicle, but its an awful value. Upgraded lightbulbs, a $50 cabin filter with a gimmicky name, and a power liftgate just aren't worth $3,000.

 

[DKPowers]

You nailed it on the Premium Upgrade Packages. They're nice things to have, and I don't fault anybody for maxxing out an $80,000 vehicle, but its an awful value. Upgraded lightbulbs, a $50 cabin filter with a gimmicky name, and a power liftgate just aren't worth $3,000.

Well, if it were 3000$ I'd probably get it but it's a steep 4000€ here.

 

[LoL Rick]

First of all, you picked the right color.

On battery size, I would say 60 if it looks like it will meet your needs. If not, you have the option to upgrade to 75 later. Yes I know it isn't a good value but still less money than the 90. That leaves more for your Model 3 down the road.

On RWD vs. AWD, the Model S is by far the best RWD car you will ever drive. The low mass of the drive train combined with the fantastic traction control makes it perfectly fine in the snow (says the guy in Florida). But you can ask any of the Norwegians who bought RWD Model S early on and love them.

Premium - not a good value at all. But does it include the ultra white seats for you? They are synthetic and supposed to be more environmentally friendly than leather.

SAS - the test drive will tell you. Don't bother if you don't need the ability to raise the car.

Sound is not worth the extra money, especially now that the standard sound has the equalizer. Just add a sub.

Charger - don't do it if you don't need it.

 

[LearnedFoot]

I have pretty bad hay-fever, which factored into ordering the premium upgrade. Also I drive a lot of twisty mountain roads so the adaptive headlights might be helpful (not 100% convinced), but the fog lights are a must for my area. I put in my order a few weeks ago, time will tell if I made the right choice.

 

[David29]

The only item I will comment on is the premium upgrade. I have an earlier version of it, before the ventilated seats or HEPA filter were part of it. These items added $500 to the US price, and possibly raised the perceived value. But even so, I was torn -- it was too expensive. But I thought I might need the power liftgate. I use the trunk a great deal, and I have had a history of shoulder trouble, and surgery on both shoulders. Some days we open and close the liftgate a half-dozen times. So I am glad to have it. Would I have been OK without the power liftgate? Probably, do not know. If you select the white non-leather seats, the premium package would also provide ventilated seats, which might be nice. People who ride in my car do seem to like the Alcantara on the dash. And the turning headlights would be helpful. But for me the power lift gate was the main thing I wanted from the premium package and I use it often.

 

[democappy]

I will throw in my opinions. I leaned a little more cost conscious than others might here, but these are my thoughts going off what you wrote.

Battery size: 200km isn't very far. If that is your max range needed I would say go with the 60. That price jump going from 60 to 90D is a lot.

If 60, 60 or 60D: I don't have a strong opinion when recommending to others, but I got a 60. No snow here though so not sure how much that changes the equation.

Premium package or not: Probably skip it if you are not going to get the leather. You are mainly paying for a power lift gate. Nothing else has that much value really in my mind. I got it and I don't regret it, but this is definitely a place I could have cut. If you cut this and leather, that more than pays for upgrading to the D. Also note that when I bought ventilated seats were not a thing, so maybe that changes the value here.

Interior: No strong opinions here either. I got the grey leather and the obeche matte and really like it. However, it doesn't look like either of those are options anymore... so do whatever you like best. This is one that I think is mainly personal taste.

Air suspension: If you don't need to adjust the height I would skip it.

HiFi: I would skip it. I don't have it and the base is good to me. Some people feel very strongly to upgrade, but I have never really understood it.

High power charger: Skip.

 

[jlund]

Battery Size: the 60 is such a good value. I think you are right to ignore the 75. Although, you mentioned you have a lot of snow. If that's the case, you might be in for a massive hit in range. I've heard ~20% decrease in range if you are good about pre-heating cabin and battery (while charging) before commute and up to 40% range decrease if you forget to pre-heat. If those numbers start to make your commute and extended day trips beyond a tolerated limit, e.g. ~10% battery remaining at the end of the day, the 90 might be worth it.

D: given that thought on battery size, if the 60 is *just* on the edge of tolerability, throw in the dual motor. It helps with resale, winter conditions, performance(marginally), and increases range that little bit more in a car that is already range limited

 

[wiredprairie]

Premium package: I wouldn't suspect the ventilated seats would provide much value in Finland normally (unless you happen to perspire/sweat a lot I suppose). On hot days here in the USA, my wife and I really have liked another manufacturer's car seats that had them. It's been frigid here since we bought our S, so we haven't tested them (intentionally -- just a few accidental activations while trying to turn on the heated seats!).

We've got a BMW with adaptive headlights and had a second car that did not. We definitely preferred the car with adaptive headlights (For us, it helps on rural twisty roads near where we live and illuminates all of the crazy deer that seem to wait for us when we are returning home from work at night).

The power lift gate is nice. It's not a must have for us, but I'd definitely miss it if we didn't have it now.

I wish the bundle would have been cheaper and had fewer options so we could have picked more specifically what we wanted. But, alas, this is how car manufacturers seem to do it. "You wanted a heated steering wheel? Great! That package includes a second spare tire, an inflatable raft, and a cheese grader for the low price of $3200."

HiFi: Skip it. I've even had Tesla employees say that it's not worth it unless you need the satellite radio support. For us, we don't listen to music where we'd appreciate the difference.

I'd suggest that if you have an existing car with some of the same features you're considering and really like them, don't skimp on the Tesla equivalent. Unfortunately, it's usually difficult to figure these things out with a short test drive.

 

[hingisfan]

Not sure how white seats would look on the silver, I'm sure fine, I've seen this combo on an X and it looks great. I'd consider white as an exterior colour as well, but silver is the easiest to maintain for sure.
Hifi, PUP, and air suspension are nice extras, but I'd skip all those to get the 90D, range and performance upgrades big time. Or save the cash and get the 60 without those options.

 

[brkaus]

Premium seats, premium package, cold weather, coil springs, 90D.

 

[DKPowers]

Well, the PUP just lost some of its usefulness as the ventilated seats are no longer available.

 

[JRMW]

I'm in MN.
Get the dual motors.
The RWD model S is fair to below average in the snow even with winter tires.

The AWD is very capable.

Do you want to spend $80k on a car that's below average in function?

I agree with your 60 vs 90 logic. But please be aware that cold weather destroys range.

Your 200km trip should be OK as long as you preheat Cabin and battery before you go. You'd probably even make it with a cold soaked car, but maybe not. You may need to turn down heat. I think you'd sweat if you were cold soaked and tried to drive 200km in a 25 C cabin for 1-2 hours.

For instance, I used 17 kWh to go just 31 miles yesterday! But that's because my battery was cold soaked and it's been windy and cold and i had cabin set to 68F with seat and steering wheel heaters on. car was constantly pulling 650-700+ Wh/mIle going 65 mph on the highway. First 10 minutes it pulled up to 1150 Wh per mile.
On a warmer day I pull 350 Wh/mile

Ship dual charger
Skip premium sound

I skipped premium interior and don't miss it. I thought I would miss it due to electric hatch. But Trunk is easy to open
the lighting is DARK without premium, but I just use my phone flashlight

I skipped SAS.
I will tell you my model S scrapes on snow a fair amount because it sits so low. Especially right after snow is plowed. (Like at intersections of my alley and street). But not sure it's worth the price.

My build
60D
All glass roof
Leather
Obeche glossy
Midnight silver
EAP

No premium sound, no SAS, no premium interior, no dual chargers

 

[DIL]

Well, the PUP just lost some of its usefulness as the ventilated seats are no longer available.

I'm hoping ventilated seats reappear as separate option or part of a different bundle

 

[wiredprairie]

I'm hoping ventilated seats reappear as separate option or part of a different bundle

That's a significant loss for that package. It's disappointing to see that the package price is unchanged.

 

[wesley888]

You got lot of very informative responds, so I'm not going to repeat that. I just like to emphasize the winter temperature, especially you are in Finland, you could get much less range from the cold battery. Not to mention the heating system doesn't work too well in very cold temperature, as reported from other Winter-driving threads. You'll have to crank up the heat quite a bit to get comfortable cabin temperature. Again, leaving you even less range. I would certain getting the 90 over 60 in your area.

 

[culverwood]

Winters in Finland have been milder so far this year and last. From what you say you live near Helsinki or one of the other cities and only take long journeys to the summer-house from time to time. Those journeys you can plan ahead for and if in mid winter pre-heat to get a few extra miles. Finland being a flat country also makes the projected distances pretty accurate.

Personally I would go for the 60D and I chose to add the air suspension as we have a rough drive.

 

[No2DinosaurFuel]

Battery size: 60 or 90? I'm not entertaining getting the 75 because of the poor value of it. For 60: price, can charge to 100% more often, faster charge to said 100%. For 90: quicker, faster supercharging, longer range. Going from 60 to 90 is a huge price hike and while I can afford it, it means I need to work more for the deposit and I'll have less money to save because of the higher monthly payment. My usual travel distances are short, but occasionally going for trips about 200km one way (with possibility of charging at the destination). I do entertain the thought of doing a road trip in a Tesla in continental Europe.

If you know you will travel less than 200Km a stretch, then save the money and get a 60. Unless you plan to keep this car 10 years +, it does not make financial sense to go up to the 90. Sure it's faster charging, and longer trip before stopping, but is it worth the money? How many time will you need this to make it worth it? And you said it yourself, you only occasionally do road trips. If you do road trips all the time, then I would recommend the 90 even if your road trip is short. The ability to travel in a long trip without charging does have benefits.

If 60, 60 or 60D: Sure, we get a lot of snow and ice here but people drive RWD cars here fine. The quicker 0-100 time and (marginally) better range does sound tempting as does the (most likely) higher resell value. On the other had the D does cost a lot when you think about it.

Most would recommend the regular 60 to save money because of lack of snowy conditions, but I think you can benefit even if you don't get snow. My 90D has never slip on wet roads before. Even close to full throttle from a red light. The P85+ loaner i drove struggle to even stay planted in slightly wet road with any slight hard acceleration. Now the S60 does have less power to the wheel compared to the P85+, but I would still think it will slip in wet condition if you try to full throttle it from a red light. Also I hear the tires wear more evenly as well as better regen compared to the S60. I say get the 60D for you snowy condition as well as wet and dry acceleration performance.

Premium package or not: This is a bit tricky as although I do like the things it adds, the value of it seems poor especially when I need to get leather with it. I'll be checking the differences at Tesla on the weekend.

I have driven in a tesla without extended leather and it feels cheap. The extended leather is now standard on the premium package. The other thing is the power lift gate. Sure it's expensive to get pay the premium package price just for the power lift gate, but for the amount of times I use it, I think over the life of the car, it's worth the cost.

Interior: I used to like leather because of its ease of cleaning and longevity when properly maintained but nowadays I don't like how leather isn't very ecological. Most likely I'd get leather only if I get the premium pack as then the seats would be ventilated eliminating the one con of leather or syth. leather.

Vented seats are gone now I hear. Either case, premium seats are pretty good, but the new textile seats also have the same form of the leather, so I don't see any benefits going leather for the seats. Save the money and cows by going with textile if you are fine with the cheap feel. It is also easier to clean and lower maintenance cost long term.

Air suspension: The Model S I had for a weekend had SAS and it rode nicely and smoothly. I did use the GPS raising although I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have needed it. More of a peace of mind thing when going over bumps. I'm most likely going to skip this especially if the steel coil ones ride as nice (gonna test drive this weekend).

I haven't been in a tesla with coil, but the SAS is pretty useful. I usually raise it at all the supercharging stations I go to as well as in my steep driveway. Other than that, I am not sure about noise and ride comfort between the two. The SAS does make noise when it's filling the shocks when you are driving. So if you are after complete silence, get coil and save money.

HiFi: Probably going to skip this one. I like listening to music but my source materials is 320 kbps MP3s tops and I haven't heard that this option is a must-have. Feel free to convince me otherwise.

Skip. Save the money and get after market. They sound so much better. I have the regular and it sounded better than the HiFi of the old cars. Now the new cars might be better, but my current one is pretty damn good. And if you are really after good sound, go aftermarket for the best sound.

High power charger: Meh, most likely would be nice to have for when there's just a 22kW type 2 but I can always get it later.

You will almost never use this. If you are price conscious, DON'T get it. The only rare instance this will save you is again on long road trips where there is no supercharger and you happen to find a 22KW charger. What is the probably of this as they add more and more supercharger?

 

[idealsol]

You mentioned the 90 is quicker, faster charging, longer range
Exactly

That was a dilemma for us. We bit the bullet and ended up with a 90d. For us, we made the right choice
The longer range and better acceleration were worth it for us. This was a stretch from our comfort zone regardless of what model we chose. No regrets now. When we ordered we could have also ordered the P90d, which would have been something like 23k over the 90d. That was way more than we were willing to pay, as we already had the range we were after

BTW - my avatar is of our dog "Teemu" - named after our all time favorite hockey player Teemu Selanne - the Finnish Flash

Congrats on whatever you choose

 

[DKPowers]

I test drove a car with coils and without PUP. The ride was perfectly fine and I didn't miss anything the PUP offered. Even the trunk lid opened and closed really nice manually.

In the end I went with the 60D with multipattern seats, no SAS, no PUP. 60D because the 90D was just too expensive. With the 60D I'm able to cover maybe 90% of my travels without special planning and maybe 95% with planning and some extra travel time. Plus I don't have to work so hard to pay for it.

The sales rep said that I don't need to finalize the order before the 15th, just pay the deposit to get the unlimited supercharging, so I'm happy with that.