For Those Who Went From Model 3 to Model Y

[Timothy]

You think getting out of the Model 3 is a problem--try the Roadster! I am turning 75 and have driven the Roadster as my primary car for 9.5 years. It is a gas (heh!) but it is getting tough to get in and out of it as the years go by.

I have driven my son's Signature Model S, Signature Model X, and Model 3 quite a bit. They are all GREAT cars. But if you are looking for FUN and not practicality, there is no comparison! Especially the rule that states that every time a traffic light turns green you have to push the accelerator to the floor!

I am planning to keep the Roadster as long as I can get in and out of it. But my wife wants a Model Y, so I am ordering it today.

 

[Retired in AZ]

I own a Model 3 LR AWD. My wife and I love the car, but have some age-related issues with it. We are well into our 70's and are challenged sometimes getting in and out of the 3. Also, since we have bunches of grandkids, we are essentially Sanata's sleigh when we travel to see them. The Model Y seems better in both respects. You step into the car instead of down into it, and there is gobs of room for cramming it full of goodies. We have no problems with comfort in the 3 with regard to ride and noise levels. I expect the Y will be at least as good there.

So, for you that have made this switch, what were your reasons and how happy have you been with the swap?

Thanks.

I JUST went through the same analysis for the same reasons. My encounter with a MY showed me that, although there's some advantage to the entry/exit being easier (MY is higher), I can adjust the driver's seat for the Easy Entry settings high enough to make the difference negligible. And, being 6 foot 4, I still have both headroom and steering wheel room. The back seat has more legroom and the boot is bigger. A power trunk lift rounds out the things I thought were important. My M3 LR AWD has only 7,000 miles on it in 15 months, and Tesla would offer me about $46,000 trade-in. The delta from there to the MY AWD was over $10,000. Not worth it.

 

[Electroman]

To be honest, the price difference between the Y and 3 make no sense to me

That really surprised me. A Model Y equipped the same as my early Vin (13k) Model 3 is actually cheaper, if you consider that I paid $5k for Autopilot at that time in early 2018, that is now rolled into the base price of the car

 

[matex]

I switched from M3 (Totalled in accident) to MY Performance edition. I love it so much that I want to drive it every day even without reason. Every morning I go to my garage just to adore it for a few minutes. I looked at VW ID.4 and Mustang Mach E and even Audi E Tron sports back and Jaguar I Pace. In all totality of visual appearance, functionality MY still is my favorite. After so many years Tesla body design does not look dated to me at all.

I am in Europe waiting for model Y performance arrival coming next year from Gigafactory Berlin.
What are the advantages you find in performance edition about acceleration, efficiency, noise and range?
I intend to change 21” wheels for aftermarket lighter 20x9” wheels. Do you know if there is any issues with this replacement?
Thanks.

 

[Jlpascoe]

I own a Model 3 LR AWD. My wife and I love the car, but have some age-related issues with it. We are well into our 70's and are challenged sometimes getting in and out of the 3. Also, since we have bunches of grandkids, we are essentially Sanata's sleigh when we travel to see them. The Model Y seems better in both respects. You step into the car instead of down into it, and there is gobs of room for cramming it full of goodies. We have no problems with comfort in the 3 with regard to ride and noise levels. I expect the Y will be at least as good there.

So, for you that have made this switch, what were your reasons and how happy have you been with the swap?

Thanks.

We picked up our model Y on Sunday and drove it home (170miles). A perfect automobile choice, and we found it easier to enter and exit than our 2015 Subaru. We also are in our mid 70s.

 

[jmatero]

One thing to note when going from the 3 to the Y: Foot room up front is a bit more cramped in the Y. It's narrower with the front wheel wells intruding into the space. You can see why below... the distance from the wheel well to the front door opening is MUCH smaller in the Y. I suspect they thought since you're sitting up, your legs aren't outstretched like in the 3 so it's less of an issue? Where I notice it most is the dead pedal which is closer to the driver and the brake pedal than in our 3. Front passengers have commented on it as well - they have to keep their feet closer together than in the 3. Moving the cab forward in the Y probably accounts for the increased leg room in the rear. Since they're on the same wheelbase, the rear-seat (and 3rd row for that matter) room had to come from somewhere.

I recommend you test drive it and make sure you're ok with the difference. Feels almost like the 3 front room is comparable to most RWD cars, while the Y is more like a FWD car.

 

[Kat Jacks]

I own a Model 3 LR AWD. My wife and I love the car, but have some age-related issues with it. We are well into our 70's and are challenged sometimes getting in and out of the 3. Also, since we have bunches of grandkids, we are essentially Sanata's sleigh when we travel to see them. The Model Y seems better in both respects. You step into the car instead of down into it, and there is gobs of room for cramming it full of goodies. We have no problems with comfort in the 3 with regard to ride and noise levels. I expect the Y will be at least as good there.

So, for you that have made this switch, what were your reasons and how happy have you been with the swap?

Thanks.

I haven't 'made the swap', but a comment on getting in and out. If memory serves, you can have a driving setting and and entry/exit setting on the seat and steering wheel. If wheel goes in and seat comes up, moving in and out may be easier. Double check OM, or others' comments. The Y is nice, I rode in one last week. Enjoy those grandkids!

 

[SO16]

What is missing for us in the Tesla line up is a "real" SUV--that is, Sports Utility Vehicle. Neither the X or Y NOR THE CYBERTRUCK!!!!! can handle 8 foot long surfboards/windsurf boards inside. So we have to use the good old Chrysler Town n Country/Caravan/Pacifica to handle our actual sports gear (if we don't want to get another Suburban or Ford Expedition which actually have LESS internal storage capacity than our Pacifica.

We are hoping that Elon will either come up with a version of the cybertruck that allows the rear seat area to convert to contiguous with the truck bed and a cool camper top for the back, or to make a cargo/passeneger van configuration. I'm sure the latter would be quite luxurious (as the Pacifica is in the higher trims), be a towing powerhouse, and have tons of room and adequate length for boards (as well as, for example, 8x4 sheets of plywood.)
!

Elon Musk: Tesla Cybertruck Could Get Pass-Through Load Floor

 

[Dennisis]

After ordering a M3 on the announcement day, I took possession of the LR RWD car in July, 2018. I loved the car. As others have said, it is a bit more difficult to get out of, since it is so low. But it also made me realize I could use a Tesla on trips, not just for around town driving. I regretted not getting the AWD so that I could go up to the mountains in winter with snow for skiing.

When our other ICE car reached its retirement age, we got a LR AWD MY and became a two Tesla household. It definitely feels much bigger with much greater carrying capacity. It feels like a big car, even though it is only slightly bigger. It is much easier to get out of. Having a powered trunk door that goes up and down with a button push is great, though I had to lower the maximum height of the door to keep it from hitting our garage door (now I hit my head against it instead). I haven't noticed the difference in acceleration, but that is not something i look for. Both cars have greater acceleration than any other car I've owned in my 40+ years of car ownership.

But the one negative I've had (and I'd like to hear if others have experienced this) is that the range seems significantly less than the M3. I know they are rated at about the same range. But my M3 gets around 85-90% of the target range (perhaps because on freeway trips I drive at 70+ MPH, with AC on), but the MY seems to get 75% of the target range. On a recent trip from San Jose to Paso Robles (some rolling hills, but fairly flat overall), going around 74 MPH, I got 319 Wh/mi. I believe both LR cars have a 75KWh battery, so that would say the MY would have a range of only 235 miles. On an earlier, similar trip with the M3 I know I got much larger range, though don't have the exact figures.

Do others see this difference?

I put 13000 miles on my M3 including a couple of long trips in the mountains (Tucson-Park City-Denver and back) and averaged 257 wh/mi vs 5000 miles and and a similar trip (no Denver this time) and averaging 283 wh/mi. I averaged mid-70's to mid-80's for most of those trips so no slacking. I also have the 20's on my MY vs 19's on the M3. So overall the wh/mi are pretty similar given the wheel differences and I never worried about having enough range.

 

[RichardKJ]

I went from an RWD Model 3 to a stealth performance Model Y and I’m very happy. I previously had an RWD Model S; still happy.

 

[arnolddeleon]

While the rear view is smaller I find the view better, more useful, in the model Y. I think the sitting position and driver height are factors. I'm 5' 5"

 

[fparent]

For some unknown reason to me, the insurance cost on my model Y is $320 less a year than the 2-year old M3 that I traded. That will pay for the homelink module I had to buy. It will also pay for the lifetime data I lost when I switched car.

 

[richyrich]

I own a Model 3 LR AWD. My wife and I love the car, but have some age-related issues with it. We are well into our 70's and are challenged sometimes getting in and out of the 3. Also, since we have bunches of grandkids, we are essentially Sanata's sleigh when we travel to see them. The Model Y seems better in both respects. You step into the car instead of down into it, and there is gobs of room for cramming it full of goodies. We have no problems with comfort in the 3 with regard to ride and noise levels. I expect the Y will be at least as good there.

So, for you that have made this switch, what were your reasons and how happy have you been with the swap?

Thanks.

Similar reasons to me... except I'm in my forties. I'll blame years of soccer. Definitely the 3 is low and a bit tough to get out of. Got my Y last month replacing an M3 LR RWD and loving it, definitely easier to get in and out of and just better all round. I didn't notice it being slower but then I did go from RWD to AWD. Acceleration boost has settled it for sure!

 

[TheDeadEye]

stealth performance Model Y

I had no idea there were stealth Y's available... Can you give any more details (price/config)?

 

[laservet]

I'm in my late mid-60's and have serious back and neck problems, both of which will probably require surgery at some point. I'm 6'2" and getting in and out of the M3 was just like my BMW 335i, I had to crawl in, but once in both are very comfortable. With the MY I can just sit down, no bending, and even if I wind up with surgery it should be an easy in/out. The difference between the two is dramatic if you have a back problem.

 

[hcdavis3]

I'm in my late mid-60's and have serious back and neck problems, both of which will probably require surgery at some point. I'm 6'2" and getting in and out of the M3 was just like my BMW 335i, I had to crawl in, but once in both are very comfortable. With the MY I can just sit down, no bending, and even if I wind up with surgery it should be an easy in/out. The difference between the two is dramatic if you have a back problem.

In my 3 I had difficulty getting into the car too. I sit first and the swing my legs in.

 

[Twiglett]

I'm flip flopping at the moment with the same question.
I got my Model 3 in May '18 when there was only one model to choose from
Now I've got 36k miles on it and added FSD I'm not sure I'd get enough from Tesla to make it worthwhile switching to the Y
Would love to get the upright seating position along with that cavernous cargo space for sure.
[edit]
just noticed @richyrich traded almost the same car as mine. Did you trade to Tesla and if you did was their offer reasonable?

 

[richyrich]

just noticed @richyrich traded almost the same car as mine. Did you trade to Tesla and if you did was their offer reasonable?[/QUOTE]

Yes I traded to Tesla. The offer was $6000 more than when I asked a year ago (with a lot less mileage) which is odd so it's definitely worth asking - you get a trade in number within a couple of days and it's all by email so very easy. The tax saving and convenience of trading in was worth more to me than trying to scrabble for a few thousand more privately.

 

[MY-Y]

I had no idea there were stealth Y's available... Can you give any more details (price/config)?

The MYP was available until this summer without the "free" PUP package. It had the AWD height, 19" wheels, and AWD brakes. The MYP was $8k over the AWD if I recall correctly. The summer drop made the difference $10k and had only the PUP configuration.

 

[jpfive]

Another question occurs to me. Do aftermarket floor mats for the Model 3 fit the Model Y also?