First new post here. Empty nesters, Denver Area. Have 2007 Z4 roadster (toy car), 2015 Q5 TDI (sporty camper tug) and 2019 Leaf SL+ (urban corridor runabout). Considering combining the Z4 and the Leaf+ into a Model 3 LR AWD. Have test driven before, briefly at least, have some understanding of the EV scene, but not of the Tesla twists to car ownership and travel. Been reading up here and chatting with the couple of owners I know.
The Leaf+ offers about 240 miles of real world range in town in the summer time, and roughly 200 in winter running snow tires in Denver, unless it's really cold. I don't drive it like a baby carriage either. We routinely see about 4.3 mi/kwh in summer and 3.5-3.9 in winter. Ours has every option available, including 2-tone leather, a decent sound system, LED lights all around, more than enough power for day-to-day, and a heat pump to help in winter (no fancy octovalve, but it does work to heat the cabin with minimal range impact, sometimes simpler isn't all bad...). Interior is an updated version of what we've always known. Apple Car Play and Andriod Auto standard. DCFC is Chademo of course. I've never used it. We charge at home 100% of the time (so far) using a 14-50 240v line on a dedicated 50 amp GFCI circuit.
NIssan's standard "Pro-Pilot" is comparable to Tesla's basic autopilot from what I gather, but does offer rear cross-traffic alert. It works well enough as long as the cameras are clean. I rarely use it, since we're not on the highway that often with this car. I've taken it as far as Ft Collins north of us to visit family, 135 miles round trip in summer, got home with 100 miles of range showing. For bopping around town, it's a great little FWD car. Not fancy, but it drives nice, handles nice, and is dead quiet. Under-appreciated overall, I think.
I expect the Leaf to depreciate pretty steeply in the next 12 months. So far it's holding value quite well after incentives. We all but stole it back in 2019. 40% off! But the lack of TMS on the battery and the newer cars coming out will not help its resale. It just isn't desirable enough on the market to hold its own.
The Z is a hoot to drive. 6 speed stick, short throw shifter to die for, silky smooth in-line 6, light-weight, goes exactly where you point it in the instant you do so. Loud on the highway. Not an over-the-road car in traffic. Mountain road, afternoon trip for lunch car seems to be the sweet spot. So it's a little limited. Once we sell it, there's no looking back though. We'll never again own anything quite like it. Still has low miles, so it's got a little value, but once we put another 5-10 thousand on it, that will evaporate.
Since I'm not patient with "twitchy" cars that can disappoint in a big way in a pinch, I'm a little gun-shy on the model 3. Not sure it's a good fit. Folks who've had a great experience sing its praises, others sing a decidedly different tune. Tesla has it's own way of doing things, and it's their way or the highway. I do appreciate fine engineering, and being in IT I for the last 20-some years, I have some understanding for how hard things are to get right.
Tomorrow I'm going for yet another test drive. We have a newer service center near us, so that helps, and the 2021 refresh has addressed some of our concerns from past test drives (heat pump, and wind noise, mostly). The interior takes some getting used to, but at least the UI is better now.
I'm on a Tesla board here, talking with enthusiasts. Given all that above, what should I be thinking about on this test drive? What kind of pros and cons have you run into in your transition from pre-Tesla to Tesla ownership?
The Leaf+ offers about 240 miles of real world range in town in the summer time, and roughly 200 in winter running snow tires in Denver, unless it's really cold. I don't drive it like a baby carriage either. We routinely see about 4.3 mi/kwh in summer and 3.5-3.9 in winter. Ours has every option available, including 2-tone leather, a decent sound system, LED lights all around, more than enough power for day-to-day, and a heat pump to help in winter (no fancy octovalve, but it does work to heat the cabin with minimal range impact, sometimes simpler isn't all bad...). Interior is an updated version of what we've always known. Apple Car Play and Andriod Auto standard. DCFC is Chademo of course. I've never used it. We charge at home 100% of the time (so far) using a 14-50 240v line on a dedicated 50 amp GFCI circuit.
NIssan's standard "Pro-Pilot" is comparable to Tesla's basic autopilot from what I gather, but does offer rear cross-traffic alert. It works well enough as long as the cameras are clean. I rarely use it, since we're not on the highway that often with this car. I've taken it as far as Ft Collins north of us to visit family, 135 miles round trip in summer, got home with 100 miles of range showing. For bopping around town, it's a great little FWD car. Not fancy, but it drives nice, handles nice, and is dead quiet. Under-appreciated overall, I think.
I expect the Leaf to depreciate pretty steeply in the next 12 months. So far it's holding value quite well after incentives. We all but stole it back in 2019. 40% off! But the lack of TMS on the battery and the newer cars coming out will not help its resale. It just isn't desirable enough on the market to hold its own.
The Z is a hoot to drive. 6 speed stick, short throw shifter to die for, silky smooth in-line 6, light-weight, goes exactly where you point it in the instant you do so. Loud on the highway. Not an over-the-road car in traffic. Mountain road, afternoon trip for lunch car seems to be the sweet spot. So it's a little limited. Once we sell it, there's no looking back though. We'll never again own anything quite like it. Still has low miles, so it's got a little value, but once we put another 5-10 thousand on it, that will evaporate.
Since I'm not patient with "twitchy" cars that can disappoint in a big way in a pinch, I'm a little gun-shy on the model 3. Not sure it's a good fit. Folks who've had a great experience sing its praises, others sing a decidedly different tune. Tesla has it's own way of doing things, and it's their way or the highway. I do appreciate fine engineering, and being in IT I for the last 20-some years, I have some understanding for how hard things are to get right.
Tomorrow I'm going for yet another test drive. We have a newer service center near us, so that helps, and the 2021 refresh has addressed some of our concerns from past test drives (heat pump, and wind noise, mostly). The interior takes some getting used to, but at least the UI is better now.
I'm on a Tesla board here, talking with enthusiasts. Given all that above, what should I be thinking about on this test drive? What kind of pros and cons have you run into in your transition from pre-Tesla to Tesla ownership?
