Car wow M3 drag race. Surprising result

[Peteski]

I wonder how many P sales the LR Boost has "robbed" Tesla of. There must be people on the fence though thought they might be disappointed with the LR performance who buy it anyway knowing they have that option ( and then probably don't use it) I guess Tesla must have figured its worth it but given the price difference between the two is mainly profit as far as we can tell i'm surprised they don't like offer it only after a year or something to minimise the affect on sales.
I also wonder how much value it will add. Cant be near its full value since any owner can add it any time. Or would it be like some ICE mods car and drop the value since people will assume the previous owner was a hooligan!. Does it impact insurance costs?

I honestly don’t think most buyers of these cars are that well informed. They simply make the assumption that the P is much quicker and are probably not even aware of the LR boost option. So I doubt it makes much difference to sales.

It is interesting that Tesla totally hide the LR boost option when ordering a new car. It only becomes available once the car is delivered. If it was an option when ordering then more people would be aware and maybe then it would have some affect on P vs LR sales. Then there’s the exaggerated roll-out 0-60 time on the P to make it look like more of a difference. If they quoted a like-for-like 0-60 time for the LR and LR+ on their website then some people might think twice about the P, given the price difference.

 

[Peteski]

I chose the Model 3 P for all those entirely irrational reasons. I wanted the higher spec car. Yes, it costs a fortune. Yes, it explodes at the site of a pothole, yes it has less range. Yes it's less comfortable. Yes unless you track it you'll use precisely NONE if the little bit of extra power that it has over an LR with performance boost. But but... I have a red line and an entirely pointless spoiler. So ner. I kind of wish I had gone for an LR.

As for the Performance Y: I just don't understand the concept. Performance cars are low and sleek and wide. The Y is tall and ungainly and, as you say, only as fast as a model 3 LR. So I would never go for that one: you either want a comfortable and practical car and go for the Y LR or you want something with red brake calipers, in which case go for the 3 P

I totally agree. A PY makes less sense than a P3 and I probably will get the LR version to replace my MX next year. I’m presuming the P will be at least £10k more, which makes it an easy decision. I do want the hatch and tow bar too for my bike rack.

 

[Neilio]

I totally agree. A PY makes less sense than a P3 and I probably will get the LR version to replace my MX next year. I’m presuming the P will be at least £10k more, which makes it an easy decision. I do want the hatch and tow bar too for my bike rack.

Wise choice. In Tesla world the LR looks normal. But it offers way better performance to any of it's rivals. Its a super powerful car. And it'll be so well suited to the Y. A long range, comfortable cruiser that can still tear your face off when you give it full Wattage!

 

[Peteski]

Wise choice. In Tesla world the LR looks normal. But it offers way better performance to any of it's rivals. Its a super powerful car. And it'll be so well suited to the Y. A long range, comfortable cruiser that can still tear your face off when you give it full Wattage!

Before I bought my MX I test drove all the variants at the time, including the P100DL. The 75D on standard wheels was actually the nicest to drive. Still felt quick compared to a Porsche Cayenne and about 150 kg lighter than the P100D. A sub 3-sec 0-60 time just seemed pointless on a cruise ship of this size. The 75D has a 0-60 of 4.9 sec and feels subjectively quicker with the instant response. 3 years later, it hasn’t even lost a pointless, yet strangely satisfying ICE drag race. Even quicker on paper ICE cars lose because they are not in “sport” mode or “launch” mode or whatever, or the road is a bit too slippery for their Inferior ICE TC.

Anyway you get the point. All Teslas are quick compared to their ICE equivalents, so it’s usually less critical to have the fastest model. It’s not like comparing a BMW 318i vs an M3, where one is decidedly mediocre in performance.

 

[Neilio]

Before I bought my MX I test drove all the variants at the time, including the P100DL. The 75D on standard wheels was actually the nicest to drive. Still felt quick compared to a Porsche Cayenne and about 150 kg lighter than the P100D. A sub 3-sec 0-60 time just seemed pointless on a cruise ship of this size. The 75D has a 0-60 of 4.9 sec and feels subjectively quicker with the instant response. 3 years later, it hasn’t even lost a pointless, yet strangely satisfying ICE drag race. Even quicker on paper ICE cars lose because they are not in “sport” mode or “launch” mode or whatever, or the road is a bit too slippery for their Inferior ICE TC.

Anyway you get the point. All Teslas are quick compared to their ICE equivalents, so it’s usually less critical to have the fastest model. It’s not like comparing a BMW 318i vs an M3, where one is decidedly mediocre in performance.

Ah no, I was thinking in the EV world. I know the 3 and Y don't have direct rivals yet but any small EV family car or SUV has poor performance compared to their Tesla equivalent. As does the model x to any large EV SUV. I believe even a similar priced Model S will outshine it's Taycan rival performance wise.

 

[Peteski]

Ah no, I was thinking in the EV world. I know the 3 and Y don't have direct rivals yet but any small EV family car or SUV has poor performance compared to their Tesla equivalent. As does the model x to any large EV SUV. I believe even a similar priced Model S will outshine it's Taycan rival performance wise.

Yes, Tesla have their EV performance pretty well nailed. No such thing as a slow Tesla, just varying degrees of super quick. I do think people coming from other cars don't always appreciate that. I've had discussions with guys on the Porsche forums who said they wouldn't consider a Model S/X because the Performance versions are too expensive. Then it turns out their Porsche is actually considerably slower than the base Model S. But the same people also seem to think the Taycan performance is out of this world, regardless of spec.

 

[M3P_W8]

So what priorities and circumstances do you think would make it perfectly rational to spend an extra £10k on a P? The usual response is that they simply wanted the quickest version regardless of cost or even how much quicker it actually is. FOMO is often mentioned too. Or simply because it is the most expensive top of the range model. I fully understand this kind of reasoning, but it is by definition irrational. That doesn’t imply it is wrong, just irrational!

Now if the P model really was massively quicker than the LR then as a speed freak I would probably have gone for it. But having checked out a few drag strip comparisons I came to the same conclusion as Carwow ie it’s a lot closer than I would have thought. Especially since Tesla quote 0-60 times for the two cars in different ways just to make the P look relatively faster. That is a bit naughty of them really.

Anyway I will soon have the dilemma of choosing between a P and LR Model Y. The MY P has about the same performance as a M3 LR, which I can happily live with. But I’m not sure I want to take a backward step in performance with the MY LR. I admit that’s a fairly irrational way of looking at it, but there you go!

Is any Tesla purchase decision ever 'perfectly rational'?

I'm very excited to take delivery of my M3P because I want the fastest Tesla that I can afford. I also happen to significantly prefer the look of the P over the other variants. As I prioritise those things it would feel irrational for me to then choose the LR instead, even if my bank balance would thank me for it!

If someone prefers the look of the SR+/LR (or is indifferent), doesn't care about having the fastest variant or has difficulty justifying the cost of a P for any reason, then of course it would be irrational for them to choose a P.

I'm not disagreeing with the anyone who argues that the LR is the best value. A 'good deal', however, is not my top priority. I just want the best I can get for the funds that I have available and for me that continues to be the M3P.

 

[Jason71]

Is any Tesla purchase decision ever 'perfectly rational'?

I'm very excited to take delivery of my M3P because I want the fastest Tesla that I can afford. I also happen to significantly prefer the look of the P over the other variants. As I prioritise those things it would feel irrational for me to then choose the LR instead, even if my bank balance would thank me for it!

If someone prefers the look of the SR+/LR (or is indifferent), doesn't care about having the fastest variant or has difficulty justifying the cost of a P for any reason, then of course it would be irrational for them to choose a P.

I'm not disagreeing with the anyone who argues that the LR is the best value. A 'good deal', however, is not my top priority. I just want the best I can get for the funds that I have available and for me that continues to be the M3P.

perfectly- No
but in mid 2019 when I wanted a long range family size EV to take advantage of the up and coming zero percent BIK and the waiting list on a Kona or Kia was a year and the Leaf was, well a Leaf, and everything else was at least £65K.
it was not that irrational either.

 

[Yev000]

When I had my SR+ ( in 2019 BC - Before Covid) I used to brag to my co-workers that this is the "slowest Tesla" before planting it.... Was always a party favourite.

 

[Peteski]

Is any Tesla purchase decision ever 'perfectly rational'?

I'm very excited to take delivery of my M3P because I want the fastest Tesla that I can afford. I also happen to significantly prefer the look of the P over the other variants. As I prioritise those things it would feel irrational for me to then choose the LR instead, even if my bank balance would thank me for it!

If someone prefers the look of the SR+/LR (or is indifferent), doesn't care about having the fastest variant or has difficulty justifying the cost of a P for any reason, then of course it would be irrational for them to choose a P.

I'm not disagreeing with the anyone who argues that the LR is the best value. A 'good deal', however, is not my top priority. I just want the best I can get for the funds that I have available and for me that continues to be the M3P.

Sure. I guess it just comes down to how much money you are prepared to pay for those marginal gains.

 

[Neilio]

When I had my SR+ ( in 2019 BC - Before Covid) I used to brag to my co-workers that this is the "slowest Tesla" before planting it.... Was always a party favourite.

That was like when I had the "Smallest engined" TVR Chimera. It was still a 4.0l

 

[tomorrowman]

All I can say is I am a happy owner of a 2019 M3LR (with performance SW upgrade)
The price differential to the P at the time was minimal, but my prime reason for not going with it was tyre size - the larger they are the more they cost, the poorer the ride quality and the worse the efficiency.

Ultimately I valued range over performance (plus the eventual performance SW upgrade addressed any 'accelerate faster' cravings )

 

[UrbanSplash]

I’m expecting that orders for y will be this year. YP for me as you can still have a tow hitch with the P

 

[Redbrick]

I wanted the range so bought the LR. Then, next day when I saw the AB possibility on my account, I bought that as well. Best of both worlds as far as I can see.

Me too...range was top priority for me... for long commutes.

 

[Kenners]

I'll bite the 70K taycan kind of isn't a competitor .. by the time you've added on things that are genuinely useful (bigger battery etc) it's getting on for an 80K+ car. So while it *is* a better put together car and probably better suited for many high speed runs, you do pay for it.

I would be amazed if I managed to get a Taycan specd for less than 100k tbh. That is the price of proper performance

 

[btc1k]

Well written and agree.

We have a fair few 2021 M3P vehicles in our UK fleet now. I have not heard anyone mention a drop in performance at below 40% charge. I believe at very cold temperatures (that we do not get in the U.K.) that this might be a temporary problem... but it will be fixed for sure.

Is there anyone on the forum with a 2021 M3P that can verify this? Be interested to hear. The temps on that test didn't seem to be excessively low (below what we might see in UK typically)

 

[Mrklaw]

I wished there was still a RWD LR splitting the difference in price between the sr+ and LR. I’d have liked the extra range but wasn’t bothered by the extra performance or AWD so the price gap pushed me away

 

[2021_M3P]

Is there anyone on the forum with a 2021 M3P that can verify this? Be interested to hear. The temps on that test didn't seem to be excessively low (below what we might see in UK typically)

My comment was related to the TeslaBjorn’s test, not the carwow test... details are within the earlier threads.

None of the 2021 M3 Performance in our fleet are seeing a noticeable drop in performance at U.K. temperatures below 40% SoC.

 

[btc1k]

My comment was related to the TeslaBjorn’s test, not the carwow test... details are within the earlier threads.

None of the 2021 M3 Performance in our fleet are seeing a noticeable drop in performance at U.K. temperatures below 40% SoC.

Yes, I was referring to the Bjorn tests and not the carwow tests. There were no low temps mentioned in the carwow tests...

Just a niggling concern about the performance drop at low temps on the M3P after seeing Bjorn's video.... Wanted to hear it first hand from some owners this winter!

 

[15Peter20]

Me too...range was top priority for me... for long commutes.

AB makes an LR into an SR quite easily...