Had a 2020 SR+ as a loaner recently and thought I'd share my thoughts, comparing against my 21 LR

[plisken]

My car, a Dec 21 LR with 3k miles was in last week for dash-cam issues (still not resolved) but as they wanted the car overnight to monitor, they gave me a courtesy car, a 70 plate SR+ with some 13k miles on it.

The first thing I noticed was the amount of rattles from inside the car, I'd certainly not be happy with that and I wonder if that's an indication of what 14k miles is like.

Secondly, I noticed was how quick this thing felt in comparison to my own, it felt a fair bit more more responsive, certainly in the part throttle range.

A few other observations included some quality issues that are not apparent on mine, such as panel gaps and differences in high/position between front and rear doors. Quite poor.

The climate control seemed better in the loan car, it felt cooler than mine, while on auto and also the fan speed was lower. Minor things, but differences all the same.

Finally, the range. I didn't doo too many miles in it but same commutes as I would have normally done in my own and saw no noticeable difference in battery usage. I think when I picked it up, 100% equated two 270 miles, not sure about my own, 330 or so I believe.


So, all in all, do I see where my extra £££'s went with the LR, not really, but then again, I probably knew that at the time and the allure of the heater steering wheel and the extra motor up front sucked me right in.

 

[Adopado]

Your SR+ loaner was likely to be a Fremont car so more variability in build quality according to the feedback of owners. I was lucky to get "a good one" in 2019 with great paint and no noticeable alignment issues. Also, despite approaching its 3rd birthday in September everything is solid with no rattles other than the occasional appearance of the mysterious Model 3 side window sound that is dealt with by lubricating the seals with Gummi Pfledge. No issues with loose trim. The car feels fast and responsive but I haven't driven an LR in a sporty manner so can't compare. I would have thought that the LR should feel noticeably quicker 0-60 even though the mid range might be a bit closer. My car never ever claimed 270 miles though even when new! I honestly can't remember what the number was when new because I quickly switched to percentage [Edit: maybe 238/240 ... 226 indicated recently]. Last week we drove back home 400 miles and only needed to stop twice to charge so despite being the shortest range Tesla it remains more than useable even for travelling longer distances. Recent warmer weather has certainly shown the AC to be very effective and to have little detrimental effect on range. I have the impression that the heat pump cars are noisier than mine when ramping up the cooling for Supercharging ... but then the LR is taking on more kW into the battery so needs to work harder. When supplied the SR+ was limited to 100kW Supercharging but a software update subsequently lifted its charge rate to 170kW ... and it readily hits that mark on a V3 Supercharger.
[Edit: The SR+ of that era was noticeably lighter that the LR and perhaps that affects the "feel" of the responsiveness? The replacement M3 base model no longer has this large weight advantage due to the LFP pack being heavier.]

 

[NewbieT]

I’ve had both. Biggest difference for me was long journeys in winter. 1 stop vs 2 stops makes a difference to overall travel time. If you don’t gobble up motorways, SR+ is fine.

 

[kelvin 660]

I've had 2 SR+ cars; 2020 Freemont and 2021 Shanghai and I can say the second car is so much better. No rattles, better range, more efficient and quieter too.
If your a typical 12 (to 20) thousand miles a year driver then this car is brilliant!
I never think, sh*t this car needs more power or acceleration and it handles beautifully as its so nimble.
The only real benefit of a LR, in my eyes, is if you make long road trips on a regular basis.

 

[plisken]

I was probably wrong about the 270 miles @ 100%

I think generally, the feeling I got when I stepped back into my own car was that I was stepping into a newer and more refined car. (cant believe I've referred to a M3 as refined), but anyway, the AC performance was certainly better than my own and as someone above pointed out, didn't seem to affect range, unlike in my own.

On the plus side, the charge stats are showing up in the app since I got it back, only took 5 months

 

[pdk42]

I have a 2019 LR Fremont car (which I’ve had since new) and I’m not at all unhappy with its finish or durability. There are no noticeable rattles inside and the trim is standing up well to use (now on 35k miles). Battery degradation is minimal (about 20 miles down on new) and apart from squeaky front suspension ball joints (fixed under warranty) it’s been reliable. A Y I took for a test drive a couple of months back OTOH had terrible squeaks and rattles from somewhere in the rear. Maybe that was something easy to fix, but nonetheless it surprised me. I must admit that apart from the rattles, the Y did feel a bit quieter though - perhaps due to the double glazed glass. Based on my experience, I think the Fremont cars get dissed too much.

 

[Durzel]

I think the earlier Fremont cars were famously hit and miss, whereas the MIC onwards cars seem to be a lot more consistent. Trim alignment seems to be a thing of the past, for example.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Trim alignment seems to be a thing of the past

Initially I thought you meant misalignment then remembered we are talking about tesla...

 

[kelvin 660]

I've had 2 SR+ cars; 2020 Freemont and 2021 Shanghai and I can say the second car is so much better. No rattles, better range, more efficient and quieter too.
If your a typical 12 (to 20) thousand miles a year driver then this car is brilliant!
I never think, sh*t this car needs more power or acceleration and it handles beautifully as its so nimble.
The only real benefit of a LR, in my eyes, is if you make long road trips on a regular basis.

It looks like I'm not the only one that thinks the RWD - LFP car is brilliant!

 

[NewTangerine]

I’ve had both. Biggest difference for me was long journeys in winter. 1 stop vs 2 stops makes a difference to overall travel time. If you don’t gobble up motorways, SR+ is fine.

My 2022 SR+ gets around 220 - 240 miles in the middle of winter on the motorway. I’ve never wanted to drive for more than that distance without stopping for a break so I’m very happy with that range.

 

[pdk42]

It’s a pity the SR+ can’t be specced with the upgraded sound system.

 

[doats1]

My 2022 SR+ gets around 220 - 240 miles in the middle of winter on the motorway. I’ve never wanted to drive for more than that distance without stopping for a break so I’m very happy with that range.

Are you sure that range is achievable in the winter? Because even the LR would be close to empty in the winter with those numbers.

 

[kelvin 660]

I'm getting 240 in the summer and 184 in the winter, but that's for a 55 kwh battery. Still good enough for my usage... YMMV

 

[Buzzliteyear]

I've had 2 SR+ cars; 2020 Freemont and 2021 Shanghai and I can say the second car is so much better. No rattles, better range, more efficient and quieter too.
If your a typical 12 (to 20) thousand miles a year driver then this car is brilliant!
I never think, sh*t this car needs more power or acceleration and it handles beautifully as its so nimble.
The only real benefit of a LR, in my eyes, is if you make long road trips on a regular basis.

Only rattle on my Dec 21 mic SR+ is the front passenger seat belt hitting the seat when I'm the only one in the car.

 

[Buzzliteyear]

It looks like I'm not the only one that thinks the RWD - LFP car is brilliant!

It might be the slowest, but even in chill I'm leaving people at the lights

 

[Buzzliteyear]

I'm getting 240 in the summer and 184 in the winter, but that's for a 55 kwh battery. Still good enough for my usage... YMMV

Like others have said the range is greater than my bladder lol

 

[OUTATIME1]

My 2019 SR+ would do about 150 miles in winter at 70mph with the heater blazing. Not great.

 

[MrT3]

Like others have said the range is greater than my bladder lol

For a single journey that is the case. Where it doesn’t work is when you travel 100-140 miles to visit somewhere and then return a couple of hours later.

 

[Buzzliteyear]

My 2019 SR+ would do about 150 miles in winter at 70mph with the heater blazing. Not great.

Pre heat pump then.

 

[OUTATIME1]

Pre heat pump then.

Yeeeep - just ate charge in the winter. Great car overall though, loved it! Looking forward to seeing how the MY with it's bigger battery and heat-pump compare on the coldest of days.