AWD or RWD?

[JohnRDavidge]

Overall really disappointed as i had thought that the car price would come in cheaper, post Government Incentives. £38k post the incentives is steep considering its only $31k in the US for the RWD Partial Premium online base model.

There's a few things wrong with this comparison.

First, the $31k figure for the base model in the US includes a $3,750 deduction for the federal tax credit and $4,300 in gas savings.

The UK price includes a £3,500 government deduction as well, but doesn't include any petrol savings.

This makes the actual equivalent pre-tax price $35,300. This is before sales tax.

Sales tax in the US varies state by state, but a UK equivalent 20% tax rate would make the final purchase price $42,360. Which at today's exchange rate is £32,438.86. Add on the ~10% in import duties and shipping costs that Elon's always talked about and you get to a figure very close to the £38k that we're paying in the UK.

So yes, the Model 3 is a little more expensive in the UK, but it's much closer than your $31k vs. £38k comparison suggests.

 

[vitesse]

That's interesting as the conventional wisdom is that AWD is more efficient. I have read that in city driving RWD might have a very small edge, but elsewhere there is a clear advantage to AWD for range when comparing models with the same battery. Larger and heavier wheels can erode range; does one of your cars have bigger alloys? Is one older with a more degraded battery?

My wife and I have RWD and AWD here in the States.

We need one AWD for winter mountain driving (heavy snows in our state and aggressive tyre chain requirements for non-AWD).

However, the RWD version gives us noticeably better real-world range (probably 30 miles or so), and we thus use it for summer road trips. Then again, our summers are virtually rainless.

For use in the UK ... tough call. Would probably go with AWD given the frequency of damp roadways and accept the slightly reduced range.

 

[Midnight Star]

AWD for me as with a sloping drive on a sloping side street, a RWD drive car has trouble gripping when turning in or out in icy or or snowy weather. Especially as the street is not gritted either. Also, AWD is the Tesla approved (TM) way to get LR more cheaply

 

[WannabeOwner]

Winter tyres might do you (and be better in other situations). Particularly as Tesla (well, any BEV) so heavy

I would buy Winter Tyres before AWD, and if I had AWD I would have Winter Tyres then too (and then very hard to fall off the road ...).

 

[Midnight Star]

Agreed, I have had good results with winter tyres - cheaper, better grip and improved mpg during winter conditions when they are noticeably more efficient & effective than regular tyres

The only downside is the twice yearly swap out and having someplace to store the set of tyres that are not being used.

Since I am probably going down the AWD route anyway as I want LR, I am in two minds whether I would go for winter tyres *as well*

 

[WannabeOwner]

Since I am probably going down the AWD route anyway as I want LR, I am in two minds whether I would go for winter tyres *as well*

Its a heavy car, of course, so that helps in winter.