Are bragging rights worth $15k?

[DayTrippin]

I read this thread having just purchased a 2020 MSP two weeks ago. I think, of course I’d love a Plaid. But since I wasn’t looking to buy new the price delta is a bit larger and my goal was no payments.

But you know I did sit here and think, hmm I can turn in this MSP and get all my money back - thanks Carmax - then turn around a lease a new Plaid.

But alas I slow my roll. This is my first EV and bought way sooner than I thought I would coming from a line of fast and fun ICE vehicles. I think I’d LOVE the insanity of a plaid but I still feel like I’d get plenty of satisfaction “knowing” I’d be ok against 95+ % of those who wanted to challenge you at the stoplight. And let’s be honest. We all know that 5% would be something with a Dodge badge on it lol. I think my MSP is fast enough…for now lol.

I definitely see your point. The 2020 MSP is a good car by most measures. From a roll it basically is like the current MS LR with respect to performance but the current LR will definitely start to pull it at about 60 mph. But from a dig, it is quicker than the LR.

What you do miss out on is all the improvements made besides the power. I think the interior is better. I like the horizontal screen vs vertical. The suspension is better. Vastly better headlights. With the Plaid, you can get the upgraded brakes. There are other refinements that might matter.

Another option that works for a lot of people is really the current MS LR but with the price delta so close to the Plaid, best to go MSP if you value performance. What has really blown me away about my ex MS LR and my MSP is how the performance never fades with back to back runs. It even holds up at low SoC. You can be in the 40% range and still run in the high 9's with the Plaid. Not mention you do have track mode that wasn't offered in the last gen cars.

 

[adl320]

I definitely see your point. The 2020 MSP is a good car by most measures. From a roll it basically is like the current MS LR with respect to performance but the current LR will definitely start to pull it at about 60 mph. But from a dig, it is quicker than the LR.

What you do miss out on is all the improvements made besides the power. I think the interior is better. I like the horizontal screen vs vertical. The suspension is better. Vastly better headlights. With the Plaid, you can get the upgraded brakes. There are other refinements that might matter.

Another option that works for a lot of people is really the current MS LR but with the price delta so close to the Plaid, best to go MSP if you value performance. What has really blown me away about my ex MS LR and my MSP is how the performance never fades with back to back runs. It even holds up at low SoC. You can be in the 40% range and still run in the high 9's with the Plaid. Not mention you do have track mode that wasn't offered in the last gen cars.

Great points. And I realize my mistake using MSP for the Model S Performance which is what I have. I think I’ll enjoy this vehicle for now and make the Plaid my next if I still love Tesla. I never even considered the Long Range which I should have. the ”no fade“ performance is a huge plus.

I think my driving style has changed though and I am finding myself playing the “how low can you go” Wh/mi game lol.

 

[DayTrippin]

Great points. And I realize my mistake using MSP for the Model S Performance which is what I have. I think I’ll enjoy this vehicle for now and make the Plaid my next if I still love Tesla. I never even considered the Long Range which I should have. the ”no fade“ performance is a huge plus.

I think my driving style has changed though and I am finding myself playing the “how low can you go” Wh/mi game lol.

The MS LR was awesome with respect to efficiency. About 10% worse than my M3 LR and significantly better than my MY LR.

 

[Rocko340]

I read this thread having just purchased a 2020 MSP two weeks ago. I think, of course I’d love a Plaid. But since I wasn’t looking to buy new the price delta is a bit larger and my goal was no payments.

But you know I did sit here and think, hmm I can turn in this MSP and get all my money back - thanks Carmax - then turn around a lease a new Plaid.

But alas I slow my roll. This is my first EV and bought way sooner than I thought I would coming from a line of fast and fun ICE vehicles. I think I’d LOVE the insanity of a plaid but I still feel like I’d get plenty of satisfaction “knowing” I’d be ok against 95+ % of those who wanted to challenge you at the stoplight. And let’s be honest. We all know that 5% would be something with a Dodge badge on it lol. I think my MSP is fast enough…for now lol.

I have to chime in on the "Dodge badge" reference. Had a Hellcat, even with drag radials you can't hook it on the street. My 6 cylinder twin turbo AWD Genesis G70 would outrun my Hellcat. The spinfest just gets worse with the Demon. On the street, MSP will easily walk away from either of them. On a prepped track, if we're talking stock, the Demon has difficulty reproducing the mid 9's they advertise. MSP will run 9.25 all day. I would add that I've been street racing for over 40 years, I'm not spinnin' yarns, I've done it.

 

[adl320]

I have to chime in on the "Dodge badge" reference. Had a Hellcat, even with drag radials you can't hook it on the street. My 6 cylinder twin turbo AWD Genesis G70 would outrun my Hellcat. The spinfest just gets worse with the Demon. On the street, MSP will easily walk away from either of them. On a prepped track, if we're talking stock, the Demon has difficulty reproducing the mid 9's they advertise. MSP will run 9.25 all day. I would add that I've been street racing for over 40 years, I'm not spinnin' yarns, I've done it.

Great to hear it from someone who had lived it. Now my problem was owning a model s performance and having one simply lay into it just because I was minding my business passing two lanes. We were already doing 70ish so there wasn’t I wasn’t going to walk away from him so didn’t even try. Oooh if I had a plaid though lol.

 

[Ray_R]

I have to chime in on the "Dodge badge" reference. Had a Hellcat, even with drag radials you can't hook it on the street. My 6 cylinder twin turbo AWD Genesis G70 would outrun my Hellcat. The spinfest just gets worse with the Demon. On the street, MSP will easily walk away from either of them. On a prepped track, if we're talking stock, the Demon has difficulty reproducing the mid 9's they advertise. MSP will run 9.25 all day. I would add that I've been street racing for over 40 years, I'm not spinnin' yarns, I've done it.

Similar here. I sold a Challenger Hellcat Redeye for the same reason. I put 335 series tires on the rear, and still couldn’t get it to hook up at launch. Tesla has it figured out.

 

[NeuroRad]

A lot depends on the environment. I have to do like a 6 point turn to get in my garage and the selector and yoke were terrible for that, especially if was in a hurry. My garage is tight on a busy alley off a busy street. Not to mention the auto gear selection tells me to go forward when leaving the garage with the wall just a foot from the nose of the car.

Man that’s crazy. My auto gear always gets it right at home but I’ve had several occasions in parking lots where it wanted me to go straight into a wall. And if u aren’t careful you will

 

[Rocko340]

Great to hear it from someone who had lived it. Now my problem was owning a model s performance and having one simply lay into it just because I was minding my business passing two lanes. We were already doing 70ish so there wasn’t I wasn’t going to walk away from him so didn’t even try. Oooh if I had a plaid though lol.

Actually you would "walk away from him". Your Model S performance is a 10 second car with instant torque and acceleration. My Hellcat, a low 11 sec car, would break the rear loose at 70 mph if I just stomped on it, still had to roll into it a little. I certainly do not advocate doing that, you would be at 150mph in a heartbeat on who knows what road and traffic conditions. Also, just want to be clear about all this race talk, I never engage in rolling down the interstate bravado callouts or stoplight to stoplight stuff.

 

[EXOTIC1]

….. used Plaid may be the sweet spot for some
You can pick them up for 70K with low miles….
That’s a steal!

 

[EXOTIC1]

And after 2 seconds you’re bored and cruising in a Sedan that looks the same since 2012.

There’s a reason people still by Miata’s and it isn’t 0-60.

.m

……..Benz G wagen and Porsche platforms have looked pretty much the same last 25 years. When it works it works. I can honestly say I’ve never heard of anyone being bored driving a plaid.

 

[adl320]

Actually you would "walk away from him". Your Model S performance is a 10 second car with instant torque and acceleration. My Hellcat, a low 11 sec car, would break the rear loose at 70 mph if I just stomped on it, still had to roll into it a little. I certainly do not advocate doing that, you would be at 150mph in a heartbeat on who knows what road and traffic conditions. Also, just want to be clear about all this race talk, I never engage in rolling down the interstate bravado callouts or stoplight to stoplight stuff.

Agree. These are things that are good to know in the mind but best to not explore on public roads. The challenger was obviously looking to pick a fight and the simple act of me passing another vehicle triggered him and he just played into it. I hit it for like a second which was enough to go from 60-85 then shut it down while he continued to storm ahead, obnoxiously loud exhaust and all just to prove some point to himself lol. I’m not doing long pulls on the freeway.

 

[SpicyPaneer]

Count me on the side that says $15k is a bargain for what you get. I sold my MS LR to get the MSP for a few reason that may or may not be relevant.

When I ordered my LR, it was supposed to run 0-60 in 3.1 seconds. It never was close to that. My M3 LR w/boost was honestly not much slower than my MS LR. The LR lacked the visceral 3 of what I was looking for. Any M3P would beat the MS LR to 60 on almost any charge level. The MS LR launched pretty softly but pulled pretty nicely in the midrange.

I moved to an area where I was doing less highway driving and more around town. The MSP launched so much harder than the LR it is a different world. So even a quick 0-30 launch was fun whereas with the LR, it just reinforced that Tesla dumbed it down not to compete with the Plaid.

The Plaid supposedly upgraded the brakes over the LR, can't say it was much if they did. I went with the track pack brakes and OMFG, it now has world class brakes to match its acceleration.

The other bonuses for the 15k upgrade in my book were, carbon fiber trim, and track mode. I really wish track mode was available for the non-P cars as well. You can dial in the front to rear power distribution to your liking. You can instantly turn your Plaid into a 700-hp RWD drift car. Or whatever front to rear bias you want. You get torque vectoring for the rear which really takes the handling up a huge notch.

In the end I found the MSP was more fun in the 0-30 range as well as at higher speeds. The Plaid will do 60-130 mph about as quickly as the MS LR will do 0-70 if that helps you put the power in perspective. One added bonus in my area is for some reason the MSP has been cheaper to ensure than my MS LR was of the same vintage. Not hugely so but about $200/yr.

If you value performance, the Plaid is still the bargain of the century currently. The MS LR is a good car, and I might have still owned it, if Tesla hadn't lied about the 0-60 times. It should have never been slower than any of the M3 variants. In the end very glad I spent the difference for the Plaid.

My concern is the rear inner tire wearing faster than normal

 

[NeuroRad]

My concern is the rear inner tire wearing faster than normal

Buying a model s is like panel lottery on buying a TV. Not every car has every issue, but no one can explain why.

 

[DayTrippin]

My concern is the rear inner tire wearing faster than normal

Not everyone has it. Easy to fix if you have it. You'll know pretty quickly if you do.

 

[NeuroRad]

came across a model s 60-130 video on youtube and was like damn, that was fast. To my amazement it was an LR. I wrongly assumed plaid.

 

[DayTrippin]

came across a model s 60-130 video on youtube and was like damn, that was fast. To my amazement it was an LR. I wrongly assumed plaid.

Yep, that was my first impression of my MS LR when I got on it at about 60 mph for the first time. I was impressed. While not as quick as the Plaid, the vast majority of people would be happy with it.

 

[NeuroRad]

Yep, that was my first impression of my MS LR when I got on it at about 60 mph for the first time. I was impressed. While not as quick as the Plaid, the vast majority of people would be happy with it.

So the plaid will do 60-130 in high 4s whereas the LR is high 7s. But simply looking at the speedo on the LR it looks ridiculously fast, enough to take down most high performance gas cars. If tesla didn’t neuter the LR from a dig the overall delta to the plaid would be a lot closer imo.

 

[Yelobird]

So the plaid will do 60-130 in high 4s whereas the LR is high 7s. But simply looking at the speedo on the LR it looks ridiculously fast, enough to take down most high performance gas cars. If tesla didn’t neuter the LR from a dig the overall delta to the plaid would be a lot closer imo.

Having an extra motor helps a bit also.

 

[NeuroRad]

Having an extra motor helps a bit also.

Absolutely. However many times on the street the plaid is at the mercy of street conditions and tire temperature. Also, if you look at the small power meter on the dash from a dig you’ll see it ramps in the power.

 

[DayTrippin]

The LR is pretty close to a C8 Z06 in the 1/4 and 60-130. Depending on the car, a touch quicker. Not bad for a 5 seater, family car base model. Most C8 owners I've spoken to have been very happy about their car's performance.