Hey!
Let's talk AWD m3.
What I thought: "It'll be like my friends rwd but quicker".
What I got: "Holy *sugar* does it punch above it's price tag!!".
Picked mine up from Tampa, Saturday afternoon (a week earlier then expected). No muss, no fuss. Guy asked me if i had any questions, told him I already knew everything (humble me) about the car so he just handed me the keys/box/thing and shook my hand. (just the way i wanted it) quick/easy and lets him help others or chill.
*Got the blue w/ultra white interior. Gotta say, SOOO F-ing glad i waited for white interior (whole reason i got AWD). The stark contrast is something you have to see in person. (my pics don't begin to show the brilliance).
Took about 15 minutes to go through every setting (AP +5, mirrors, seats, named it "Ol'Musky" from the Onion article, etc) and was ready to break this bad boy in, so went to the nearest supercharger to make it official. Talked with some other owners, surprisingly they thought it was an S.
The feel:
I've driven every Tesla version (even a rare signature P90 tesla loaner), some a few times but never owned a Tesla before this. Current stable is an i3 (rex) and a beater 2nd gen Prius (my work truck). So my first feeling was how soft the seats were, supportive, not too soft, but like a foam mattress where the first inch is super soft before the hard stuff kicks in. (just had my coworker sit in it and he says the seats feel just like his black ones)
Second feeling was, damn, being 6'5 makes this car seem small, until i moved the seat almost all the way back, then it felt fitted. Driving it reminded me of how a MX P100D feels after driving a MS P100D: powerful, solid/heavy, in control, but not neck snapping. Didn't gun it much, oddly enough b/c i knew it had the power, so nothing to prove.
IMO not worth 1 second to 60 for the extra price of a P, but at those levels you have the $$$ and 20k means something different to someone in my position.
The reactions:
I'm a millennial (looks like lots of m3 owners are) but lots of my friends skew <30 and were super excited for me to get it, they loved the big "like a Macbook Pro" screen and knew about it being "self driving" or something like that.
Everyone has loved the blue/white combo, they all ask if it stains easily. They're biggest surprise is they don't even notice that the roof is glass, so everytime they sit in it I tell them to look up "oooooohh sweet!!".
Those that have driven it/in it say it's crazy fast and love it. Also find AP to be spooky and crazy cool.
The takeaway:
I knew I'd love it. Knew it'd feel normal quickly but surprised how normal it felt driving after just a few hours, had to pinch myself. I grin every time i creep out into the road and gently, powerfully accelerate without fanfair. I've told people "it's like the car does everything behind the scene's and you get to just enjoy the journey, not "drive" so much as "guide" the car to your destination."
Most impressive/lasting takeaway: EAP. Wow. I had no clue it's come this far. It's not perfect but I've yet to have it hiccup on an actual highway. I use EAP everywhere I can and monitor it just like in my i3. Constantly impressed at how smooth and non-drama enducing it is. I can't wait to see what it grows into and what v9+ brings, let alone FSD (got that too).
Some people complain about FSD not being here yet, and maybe i'll complain once i'm a veteran Tesla owner sitting on my paid-for-intellectual-property, but until then, from a newby, this car is amazing. Car 2.0. And the only feature I'd say everyone should get is EAP.
*Drove about 400 miles this weekend, 18 aero's, no aero caps, 47psi, hwy @ 75-77mpg and averaging 287 whpm.
Cheers! (Time to hit the road and clean the bugs off the nose, oh joy!) Also AMA!
Let's talk AWD m3.
What I thought: "It'll be like my friends rwd but quicker".
What I got: "Holy *sugar* does it punch above it's price tag!!".
Picked mine up from Tampa, Saturday afternoon (a week earlier then expected). No muss, no fuss. Guy asked me if i had any questions, told him I already knew everything (humble me) about the car so he just handed me the keys/box/thing and shook my hand. (just the way i wanted it) quick/easy and lets him help others or chill.
*Got the blue w/ultra white interior. Gotta say, SOOO F-ing glad i waited for white interior (whole reason i got AWD). The stark contrast is something you have to see in person. (my pics don't begin to show the brilliance).
Took about 15 minutes to go through every setting (AP +5, mirrors, seats, named it "Ol'Musky" from the Onion article, etc) and was ready to break this bad boy in, so went to the nearest supercharger to make it official. Talked with some other owners, surprisingly they thought it was an S.
The feel:
I've driven every Tesla version (even a rare signature P90 tesla loaner), some a few times but never owned a Tesla before this. Current stable is an i3 (rex) and a beater 2nd gen Prius (my work truck). So my first feeling was how soft the seats were, supportive, not too soft, but like a foam mattress where the first inch is super soft before the hard stuff kicks in. (just had my coworker sit in it and he says the seats feel just like his black ones)
Second feeling was, damn, being 6'5 makes this car seem small, until i moved the seat almost all the way back, then it felt fitted. Driving it reminded me of how a MX P100D feels after driving a MS P100D: powerful, solid/heavy, in control, but not neck snapping. Didn't gun it much, oddly enough b/c i knew it had the power, so nothing to prove.
IMO not worth 1 second to 60 for the extra price of a P, but at those levels you have the $$$ and 20k means something different to someone in my position.
The reactions:
I'm a millennial (looks like lots of m3 owners are) but lots of my friends skew <30 and were super excited for me to get it, they loved the big "like a Macbook Pro" screen and knew about it being "self driving" or something like that.
Everyone has loved the blue/white combo, they all ask if it stains easily. They're biggest surprise is they don't even notice that the roof is glass, so everytime they sit in it I tell them to look up "oooooohh sweet!!".
Those that have driven it/in it say it's crazy fast and love it. Also find AP to be spooky and crazy cool.
The takeaway:
I knew I'd love it. Knew it'd feel normal quickly but surprised how normal it felt driving after just a few hours, had to pinch myself. I grin every time i creep out into the road and gently, powerfully accelerate without fanfair. I've told people "it's like the car does everything behind the scene's and you get to just enjoy the journey, not "drive" so much as "guide" the car to your destination."
Most impressive/lasting takeaway: EAP. Wow. I had no clue it's come this far. It's not perfect but I've yet to have it hiccup on an actual highway. I use EAP everywhere I can and monitor it just like in my i3. Constantly impressed at how smooth and non-drama enducing it is. I can't wait to see what it grows into and what v9+ brings, let alone FSD (got that too).
Some people complain about FSD not being here yet, and maybe i'll complain once i'm a veteran Tesla owner sitting on my paid-for-intellectual-property, but until then, from a newby, this car is amazing. Car 2.0. And the only feature I'd say everyone should get is EAP.
*Drove about 400 miles this weekend, 18 aero's, no aero caps, 47psi, hwy @ 75-77mpg and averaging 287 whpm.
Cheers! (Time to hit the road and clean the bugs off the nose, oh joy!) Also AMA!
