I had the good fortune yesterday to go over to my in-laws as a "test" run of my M3 over a long distance. They are about 110 miles away and it was an opportunity to test the car which I bought used and scope out the supercharger that is about 3/4 way there. We tend to visit quite a bit when they are in town ( snow birds) and up to now, it's always been with ICE vehicle. Since my M3 is the Standard Plus, I wanted a feel of how it really behaved on freeway and heavy traffic. Worked out just fine and each week my range anxiety of just 220 miles diminishes a bit more. I did a very conservative drive down ( 65 and under) but kicked it to 70-75 on the way back.. both with autopilot on a good portion of the trip. I'm getting spoiled with the auto pilot 
90% when I left and 52% when I plugged in for a charge just a few miles away from my destination. I was at 35% when I got back home so I call that pretty good for a 220 ish round trip.
The car did fine but the treat for me was to be able to drive my in-laws MS-70D for a few hours. Very different but the same. The family resemblance is strong between the two models. But the vote from the family was the M3 seats are more comfortable but the MS has a touch more room in the back. As the driver I enjoyed have a mini dash again but my mind is not made up over the portrait mode display vs landscape. The MS has a more "car like" feel to the brakes and steering and didnt have the same torque on acceleration. Not a slug by any means.. just different.. softer acceleration. The ride was a bit harsher than my M3.. choppy is a word I would use to describe it. It handles like a dream.
One reason for all this is that my father-in-law is now 82 and we as the family know that it won't be long before we have to made some choices unless they are made for us. We are debating as to keeping the car in the family or selling it when the time comes. The family has a few teslas now and the concern is maintaining an older one like this. He had to get the MCU replaced a few months back and it was something around 1500 USD. Does anyone have experience with the care and upkeep of an older Tesla like this Model S?
90% when I left and 52% when I plugged in for a charge just a few miles away from my destination. I was at 35% when I got back home so I call that pretty good for a 220 ish round trip.The car did fine but the treat for me was to be able to drive my in-laws MS-70D for a few hours. Very different but the same. The family resemblance is strong between the two models. But the vote from the family was the M3 seats are more comfortable but the MS has a touch more room in the back. As the driver I enjoyed have a mini dash again but my mind is not made up over the portrait mode display vs landscape. The MS has a more "car like" feel to the brakes and steering and didnt have the same torque on acceleration. Not a slug by any means.. just different.. softer acceleration. The ride was a bit harsher than my M3.. choppy is a word I would use to describe it. It handles like a dream.
One reason for all this is that my father-in-law is now 82 and we as the family know that it won't be long before we have to made some choices unless they are made for us. We are debating as to keeping the car in the family or selling it when the time comes. The family has a few teslas now and the concern is maintaining an older one like this. He had to get the MCU replaced a few months back and it was something around 1500 USD. Does anyone have experience with the care and upkeep of an older Tesla like this Model S?
