Demo Drive done, couple of questions

[85vett]

My wife is an owner of a 2022 M3P and absolutely lover her car. I've enjoyed driving it as well and have become intrigued with getting a new Model S. My local Tesla center let me do an over night demo which really helped a lot. After the drive I had some questions that I was hoping this group could help answer:
1 - It was a rainy day and I noticed that several times my headlights/taillights would turn off periodically when the sun would peak through some of the clouds a bit. My wipers were still needing to be on high as it was poring rain but lights kept turning off. I don't recall this issue on my wife's car and I thought it was forced for the lights to come on when the wipers were active (like most other cars). I had to turn auto lights off and move to on. I told the sales advisor about this and they said they would report the issues. This maybe an issue with the car or was it working as designed?
2 - Test car was a 2023 so no front sensors. The car gave ZERO feedback on items located around it. I did a test with my wife's car and crept up close to it and the car never made any notice of distance nor a warning to stop as I approached her. I got as close as about 6 inches away from her bumper before stopping the car. I really like that my wife's car will advise of obstacles but this did nothing. The sales person said it should show a bubble around the car showing about the same as my wife's car. We also did a pedestrian test. The car showed a person on the display but no audible queues that their was something by me. If I was only watching the rear camera you could easily miss something like a person to the side or a bicycle laid down behind the car. What are you seeing? And yes, I know you just have to pay attention and I don't really rely on these things to help me drive, but one of the benefits of my wife's car is you really would have to ignore a lot to hit something in a parking lot or backing out of the driveway due to all its' visual and audible warnings where this car had none. I was pretty surprised as the step back it seemed to take from her car.
3 - The car didn't want to drive in anything but medium or low suspension levels. I tried to raise it to the high (not very high) setting due to the driving conditions (roadways flooding). It was fine in the medium but was surprised it didn't want to stay in the high setting. Is that just for temp use for large speed bumps and getting in and out of steep driveways?
4 - Can you not separate the rear media screen and the main car speakers? My kids kept turning on youtube and it would play that over all the speakers vs just the rear ones. Maybe a dumb question but my previous vehicle would separate the audio output from the front and rear entertainment system so just assumed the S would as well. Sales person said they thought that was a feature that was coming but couldn't guarantee it.
5 - Difference between plaid and long rang. Is it really just the following items; carbon fiber interior, red brake calipers (same brakes but different color as long range), 3 motors, rear spoiler? I had heard that the plaid was slightly wider and had wider tires but the sales rep said that wasn't true and they were physically the same car minus the above. Also, it sounds like top speed is the same for plaid and long range unless you get the track pack and thus it's really just the difference in acceleration? No suspension changes for the plaid or modes (outside of plaid launch mode)?

Sorry for some of the newbie type questions. I really liked the car and leaning towards ordering one but struggling with the plaid vs long range concept and if this car meets all my needs. It's meant to be the daily driver and travel car and we couldn't get over how much we were able to store in this car (my daughter plays travel softball so we have a ton of stuff). If I went plaid I'd most likely have to give up my Hellcat where I could keep it and get the S if I just went long range thus the plaid would really need to be a much better car than just 0-60 improvements for me to go that route (thus the question above).

 

[85vett]

Ah, man... I may need to upgrade my membership just for the edit feature to fix typo's... Sorry about those...

 

[krsgio]

3. the car is speed limited to what ride heights it can use before it auto lowers. High will go up to 35 mph, 25 very high I believe the rest defaults to standard unless you have a speed set to trigger it to lower to the low setting.
4. its allegedly been in the works to split the audio but hasn't happened afaik. I don't have a rear screen since I have older car.
5. the car is physically the same beside the motors for the plaid and cosmetics you listed. The long range has the same launch 'cheetah' mode as plaid.

 

[uscbucsfan]

I can answer some:
3. I've never tried to drive in high or very high. I'll test it out and let you know.
4. With a semi-recent update the rear screen in theater puts the balance all the way in the back, but you cannot have 2 separate things playing.
5. The motors are also carbon-wrapped and the seats have piping around them, but the car, batteries, display, suspension are the same. I like the interior of the LR a lot more with the wood, which the Plaid had the option for in the early release.

The Plaid is the fastest production car currently being made, (Sapphire isn't out, yet), but the LR is capable and faster than 98% of cars out there. It's up to you if the extra money is worth it. The range hit isn't huge.

 

[uscbucsfan]

3. the car is speed limited to what ride heights in can use before it auto lowers. High will go up to 35 mph, 25 very high I believe the rest defaults to standard unless you have a speed set to trigger it to lower to the low setting.
4. its allegedly been in the works to split the audio but hasn't happened afaik. I don't have a rear screen since I have older car.
5. the car is physically the same beside the motors for the plaid and cosmetics you listed. The long range has the same launch 'cheetah' mode as plaid.

There's your answer to number 3. Thanks.

 

[EVRider-FL]

Regarding #2, the vision-based Park Assist that warns you about obstacles doesn’t appear to be available yet in the S or X, but the 3/Y have it. Also, take anything you hear from Tesla staff with a grain of salt, they’re often misinformed.

PS: You don’t have to upgrade your membership to get the Edit button, you just need to post more content since you’re a new member. You’ll get it eventually.

 

[85vett]

Thanks for the quick replies already.

Good to know that some of the things I felt were missing are truly planned to come to the car or have solutions for.

Thanks also for the confirmation on the differences in models. Think I'm probably more a long range person then as, while I do love the idea of the speed, I also know I wont really be using it based off I drive 99% of the time.

 

[beatle]

Track mode is also only available on the plaid. This is separate from the track package and it comes on all plaids, but not the LR:

Model S Owner's Manual | Tesla

Understand how to use Track mode to optimize performance when driving on a closed circuit race track.

www.tesla.com

 

[brkaus]

Do not purchase based on planned items. If they are not there, assume they will always not be there (and then possibly be pleasantly surprised).

 

[Carsly2]

Can confirm (4), audio playback does now seem to be confined to rear only when kids are playing videos, etc. from the rear screen. Maybe behind a software update or two?

re: (5) the plaid has wider front and rear fenders to accommodate the wider rubber. If they made this change to all the 2023's then that's news to me.

Regular Plaid (no track pack) also has a track mode that disables the traction control and changes the drivers gauges to bring up tire pressures, some temperatures - I forget which, brakes? - and a few other things. You also can configure a Track Mode setting for power balance and a few other things. Comes standard with two presets, racing and drift mode but you can add more presets as you wish. In Track mode the built-in lap timer will also be active and the car can/will - not sure which as I haven't run on a track - use the dashcam to record your lap(s).

 

[uscbucsfan]

re: (5) the plaid has wider front and rear fenders to accommodate the wider rubber. If they made this change to all the 2023's then that's news to me.

They didn't. Exact same size. They offer the same tires for both.

 

[brooklyn]

It boggles my mind that a car with this much cameras doesn't have a front parking camera, or an overhead view. My 2013 Audi S6 had both! I have a late 2022 build MSP and in my car you get the bubble and a distance countdown as you approach objects. Isn't great and there are times when the distance bubble turns red (impact imminent, presumably) when it's actually too late. OP, you're saying even that was removed from the '23?

 

[uscbucsfan]

It boggles my mind that a car with this much cameras doesn't have a front parking camera, or an overhead view. My 2013 Audi S6 had both! I have a late 2022 build MSP and in my car you get the bubble and a distance countdown as you approach objects. Isn't great and there are times when the distance bubble turns red (impact imminent, presumably) when it's actually too late. OP, you're saying even that was removed from the '23?

It's removed until they get 2023.6.X, but with FSD Beta there is a vector based birds eye view for parking.

 

[WilliamG]

My wife is an owner of a 2022 M3P and absolutely lover her car. I've enjoyed driving it as well and have become intrigued with getting a new Model S. My local Tesla center let me do an over night demo which really helped a lot. After the drive I had some questions that I was hoping this group could help answer:
1 - It was a rainy day and I noticed that several times my headlights/taillights would turn off periodically when the sun would peak through some of the clouds a bit. My wipers were still needing to be on high as it was poring rain but lights kept turning off. I don't recall this issue on my wife's car and I thought it was forced for the lights to come on when the wipers were active (like most other cars). I had to turn auto lights off and move to on. I told the sales advisor about this and they said they would report the issues. This maybe an issue with the car or was it working as designed?

Auto-wipers, for some reason, work this way. In Seattle, if it's raining during the day, my headlights don't come on, either.

 

[85vett]

It boggles my mind that a car with this much cameras doesn't have a front parking camera, or an overhead view. My 2013 Audi S6 had both! I have a late 2022 build MSP and in my car you get the bubble and a distance countdown as you approach objects. Isn't great and there are times when the distance bubble turns red (impact imminent, presumably) when it's actually too late. OP, you're saying even that was removed from the '23?

Yes, that's correct. Didn't show any warning at all nor was their a birds eye view type of thing. Granted as someone mentioned above I think it could have been out of date on the updates. The icon showing an update was available was present but I didn't have it install while I had the car since it's not mine and I assumed they didn't do the update(s) for a reason.

Auto-wipers, for some reason, work this way. In Seattle, if it's raining during the day, my headlights don't come on, either.

That's just crazy to me since a lot of states are adopting the "wipers on lights on" laws. Maybe a future update.

 

[uscbucsfan]

Yes, that's correct. Didn't show any warning at all nor was their a birds eye view type of thing. Granted as someone mentioned above I think it could have been out of date on the updates. The icon showing an update was available was present but I didn't have it install while I had the car since it's not mine and I assumed they didn't do the update(s) for a reason.


That's just crazy to me since a lot of states are adopting the "wipers on lights on" laws. Maybe a future update.

1. The birdseye is only for FSD Beta users at this point. It's a vector space birds eye, which means it's rendered. There is no camera in the front of the car or the proper cameras on the side to give a birds eye like most cars have.
2. I think only 16 states have laws that require lights to be on with wipers. Tesla typically picks whatever a majority of states have when it comes to automated features.

 

[85vett]

I think I've diffidently narrowed things down to a Long Range if I go this route over the Plaid. It would never be a track car and is just going to be a daily driver so the acceleration boost doesn't produce the ROI for me. I was hoping it came with a better (more adjustable) suspension, better brakes and was wider (thus a bit more aggressive looking). Since those are the same as the Long Range, I think it just makes more sense to me to go that route and just add my own personal touches to the car to make it more me. We did a full carbon fiber swap on the interior of my wife's 22 M3P as well as a carbon front lip and rear valence. We call it our "Space X" edition as we removed the dual motor badge and put a space X badge in it's place. Probably do the same to the S, with some nice wheels.

Thanks again everyone for your guidance and feedback on my questions. That helped a lot to confirm what is actual and what is just rumor.

 

[DayTrippin]

Some additional data points.

The highest suspension mode is only good to 15 mph.
The top speed of the LR is 149. The Plaid I think is good to 160 (not in track mode) and I think it either 172 or 175 when in track mode. WIth optional brakes they will unlock the 200 mph top speed. Totally unrestricted a Plaid will do about 211 or better based on a test in Canada.

As a side note, the Plaid, from a standing start 1/4 mile can exceed the top speed of the LR in the 1/4 mile. Pretty incredible when you think about it.

The Plaid and LR both have 3 drive modes. LR = Chill, Sport, Insane. Plaid = Chill, Sport, Plaid. When running the Plaid in sport mode, it was a touch quicker than my LR was in Insane. Running any of these cars in their top performance modes, Tesla has the following note.

"Insane or Plaid strives to keep the Battery within an optimal temperature range. In addition to heating the Battery, these settings also cool the Battery when necessary (for example, while driving at high speeds, during rapid acceleration, driving for long periods, etc.)."

What this means in the real world is it will take energy from the battery and cooling/heating capacity from you and prioritize the performance over your comfort. Think of old cars that cut off the AC under full throttle. Maybe not to quite that bad, but can be close. This will likely result in increased energy consumption to maintain the battery.

So if you want to drive your LR around in Insane mode to enjoy it, it will impact your range even when you are taking advantage of it. Not sure how much but something to consider. Another thing to consider is Tesla flat out lied about the performance of the MS LR. Your M3P WILL beat it to 60 mph so don't run your wife heads up. At least have her give you the hit and a car length. Look out for fast MYP as well. You have a 50/50 chance against them to 60. Hell, when racing my son in my MS LR and me in my M3 LR with boost, if I cut a better light, I'd beat him to 60. Once at about 40 mph, the LR finally performs as you would think ~700 hp car would.

The LR isn't a slow car, it will crush the M3P in the 1/4. It maintains its performance quite well even down to 30% charge. Tesla just dialed back it launch so much there wasn't enough Tesla grin for me. As a result, I dumped my LR and bought the Plaid. I don't regret it for a second. I didn't buy a new Plaid as I wanted USS. It makes a huge difference for me so I looked for a 2022.

Here is a vid walking through the differences between the Plaid and LR.

 

[85vett]

That's some great extra info and damn you... you're bringing the debate back up as yes, I was in insane mode the whole time I test drove the car and would do the same when owning the car. Now I wonder just how much a difference it would have made in sport mode. I know in my wifes M3P we bumped it down out of it sport mode (I think that's it's highest setting) and it REALLY slowed way down. We immediately flipped it back to sport and never touched that setting again.

I'm not super sensitive to range as her M3P is more than we realistically need. Most of our Travel is from Leander to Houston, San Antonio or Dallas area's and we can easily make it their on a single charge. I assume the S (either version) would be even better than it. I'm not overly into romping the pedal all the time from a light but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was more common in her M3P than it is my Hellcat or even Viper. Those cars just draw WAY to much attention when I have fun with them so it's nice to have some fun without drawing that attention. The car we test drove had Goodyear tires (thought they came with better ones) and only had 1500 miles on it. When I punched it from a slight roll or even dead stop I swear I felt slight wheel spin. Didn't feel as fast as my wife's car but I just figured it was just my butt dyno being off calibration but what you say makes more sense now.

Still not sure it's worth the $20K but it makes that gap much smaller knowing this info. I've seen several 2022 Plaids for about the price of a 2023 new LR, so maybe an option as well if I don't want to spend the extra but still wish to have the pro's of a Plaid. I don't care about new vs used as long as the car is in like new condition and still under warranty. I hate the yoke (I know, I know) so new with the full wheel was a pro as well but I know you can add the full wheel now to the older cars.

 

[DayTrippin]

That's some great extra info and damn you... you're bringing the debate back up as yes, I was in insane mode the whole time I test drove the car and would do the same when owning the car. Now I wonder just how much a difference it would have made in sport mode. I know in my wifes M3P we bumped it down out of it sport mode (I think that's it's highest setting) and it REALLY slowed way down. We immediately flipped it back to sport and never touched that setting again.

I'm not super sensitive to range as her M3P is more than we realistically need. Most of our Travel is from Leander to Houston, San Antonio or Dallas area's and we can easily make it their on a single charge. I assume the S (either version) would be even better than it. I'm not overly into romping the pedal all the time from a light but I'd be lying if I didn't say it was more common in her M3P than it is my Hellcat or even Viper. Those cars just draw WAY to much attention when I have fun with them so it's nice to have some fun without drawing that attention. The car we test drove had Goodyear tires (thought they came with better ones) and only had 1500 miles on it. When I punched it from a slight roll or even dead stop I swear I felt slight wheel spin. Didn't feel as fast as my wife's car but I just figured it was just my butt dyno being off calibration but what you say makes more sense now.

Still not sure it's worth the $20K but it makes that gap much smaller knowing this info. I've seen several 2022 Plaids for about the price of a 2023 new LR, so maybe an option as well if I don't want to spend the extra but still wish to have the pro's of a Plaid. I don't care about new vs used as long as the car is in like new condition and still under warranty. I hate the yoke (I know, I know) so new with the full wheel was a pro as well but I know you can add the full wheel now to the older cars.

You pretty much hit a lot of the points in on my internal debate on what way to go. Choice between a 2022 Plaid and 2023 LR is easy; Plaid all day long. I'd get USS which I like and I'll use the thrust more than any current benefit of HW4 in a 2023.

I love the Plaid because it is stealthily quick. It is like an assassin that obliterates their opponent without making any noise. I ran a Hellcat Redeye several times that was pretty modified in my MS LR. Holy hell that thing was loud. Did it from a stop and first time it was no contest, W for the LR. The next time, all the spinning from his first run must have got the tires sticky enough he pulled me about the first 100'. Then it was nothing but LR. Last run was from about 50 mph, that one was pretty decisive W for the LR. If I had been driving a ICE car, I would have never been able to hear my motor if I had an even remotely quiet exhaust. The beauty of both the LR and Plaid are the repeatability of good launches. EV traction control is so precise.

A lot of Plaids in Texas, some close to Houston, in the mid to low 90's. Outside of Texas I saw some nice ones in the upper mid 80's with less than 10k miles.