Help Me Decide Between Long Range and Performance

[NinjaFoot]

I am in the market for a new car since trade in values are little higher than usual and tesla offered me what I would consider fair for my '19 Camaro 2SS.

Today I test drove a model 3 long range because they didn't have a performance version at the store. I liked everything about that long range version. Ride, handling, features etc. But I wasn't really sold on it. Coming from a 455hp car with 0-60 4sec it just didn't feel any faster than my camaro. However this is all based off my butt dyno.

After coming back to store they let me test drive a Model Y performance version and long story short I can tell I am very sold on it. Also, I know that Model 3 performance will be even faster than Model Y performance.

So here is my question: is Model 3 performance actually worth it? There is like $10k difference ($48k vs $58k) between LR vs P. Do you guys think Performance is $10k better than Long Range?

I mean I would enjoy taking mustangs, challengers, chargers to gapplebess but trading off 40 miles range and paying that extra money make me think about it.

Also I was told performance version's real world mileage is less than advertised 315 miles. Is this correct? Could anyone give me their inputs about real world ranges on both performance and long range versions? This will be my daily driver in Ohio. So the car will definitely will see sub 32degress and snow.

 

[El joe]

So many threads on this. I chose the LR AWD because of the range mostly, plus you can add acceleration boost for a .5 second 0-60 improvement.

 

[Lashlee]

I didn't test drive before I made the switch but work with guys that have a little of everything. Currently there are 3 Performance, 2 Long Range AWD, 1 Stnadard Range+ and a Long Range RWD (the unicorn since you can't get that variation anymore), and three Model S. I chose the Performance and glad that I did. One of the LR AWD's that came from a G8 GT wished he had chosen the Performance. I feel like that for most people there isn't a wrong choice, I think it's a no brainer considering your soon to be last car.

And yes, blowing the doors off the big 3's "performance" cars is a great experience!

As for the range, your speed and propensity to show off will definitely have an effect. I live about 200 miles from where I picked mine up (live in Knoxville, TN and picked up in Nashville, TN). I asked my SA if my M3P would be fully charged considering my return trip. I picked it up with 303 miles of range and got home with 52 miles of range left. I've charged it fully one other time and it showed 312 but I didn't keep up with range from that trip. I came from a Nissan Leaf so I'm used to the optimistic range estimations from the manufacturer.

 

[Black306]

... I liked everything about that long range version. Ride, handling, features etc. But I wasn't really sold on it. ... After coming back to store they let me test drive a Model Y performance version and long story short I can tell I am very sold on it. ...

Sounds like you answered your own question.

 

[The_Observer]

Sounds like you want the performance, since you are coming from a sports car background. You would probably appreciate the track mode that's only on the performance model as well.

As far as range, the stock 20" wheels will reduce a bit of range compared to the LR, there has been other members that reduced them to 18" or 19" wheels depending on their liking.

 

[bpjod]

PRACTICAL + fun vs. practical + FUN!!!!

Did you ever regret getting the 2SS over the 2LT?
Didn't think so...




(full disclosure: totally happy with LR RWD here but love sim racing and have many thousands invested in my driving rig and VR so I get the need for speed)

 

[NinjaFoot]

PRACTICAL + fun vs. practical + FUN!!!!

Did you ever regret getting the 2SS over the 2LT?
Didn't think so...




(full disclosure: totally happy with LR RWD here but love sim racing and have many thousands invested in my driving rig and VR so I get the need for speed)

Nope not even a bit! I actually regretted not getting a ZL1 lol.

 

[Xambler]

Had a similar test drive experience...they had a LR AWD model 3 but no performance. I was sold on the model we test drove but when we sat down to do the paperwork the sales rep noticed that a sleeper was scheduled to be built. Took them up on that ($2000 extra for performance motor in rear minus the performance track brakes that I had no interest in and minus the spoiler, lowered suspension, and the 21” tires which I definitely didn’t want.) Absolutely love the 3.0 second 0-60...more so the no spin control when doing that. Being retired though if it was $10k extra I likely would have stayed with just LR model.

 

[NinjaFoot]

Sounds like you want the performance, since you are coming from a sports car background. You would probably appreciate the track mode that's only on the performance model as well.

As far as range, the stock 20" wheels will reduce a bit of range compared to the LR, there has been other members that reduced them to 18" or 19" wheels depending on their liking.

So in theory, can Model 3P have more range if I put 18inch aero wheels during winter with snow tires? That I will get some range back and it will offset the lost range because of cold weather. Not sure if those wheels will fit because of bigger brakes maybe with spacers?

 

[MODEL+]

Like others on here have said. It sounds like your heart is already leaning towards the performance.
Let me follow up on that by asking how much do you care about looks/aesthetic aspect for this car?

Danny

 

[MODEL+]

So in theory, can Model 3P have more range if I put 18inch aero wheels during winter with snow tires? That I will get some range back and it will offset the lost range because of cold weather. Not sure if those wheels will fit because of bigger brakes maybe with spacers?

In theory yes, the range difference is due to the wheel sizing and tire compound used on the M3P.
18" Aeros do not clear M3P brake calipers without modification. I would look into aftermarket options if you decide to go this route.

Danny

 

[NinjaFoot]

Like others on here have said. It sounds like your heart is already leaning towards the performance.
Let me follow up on that by asking how much do you care about looks/aesthetic aspect for this car?

Danny

Looks and aesthetic aspect are also important. IMO, performance version will look better than LR because performance's suspension is lowered. Not sure by how much tho.

Since I am coming from a sports car with magna ride suspension, I like stiffer ride better than cushy floaty ride.

 

[Xambler]

Also, on range...in florida I get 350 miles in city driving (pretty much all 45 mph) And that is still being fast off stop lights. Highway varies a lot depending on speed and headwinds...I just drove 690 miles from south Florida to north GA and used 235 WH/mile for first part of trip and around 260 WH/mile on second part. So closer to the expected 300 miles rated..maybe 280? really hard to compare as I went 3 miles in one hour outside Atlanta. Not a big deal anyway as plenty of charger options (we stopped 3 times for charging)...think total electric cost for entire trip including topping off when we reached home was $25.

 

[The_Observer]

So in theory, can Model 3P have more range if I put 18inch aero wheels during winter with snow tires? That I will get some range back and it will offset the lost range because of cold weather. Not sure if those wheels will fit because of bigger brakes maybe with spacers?

18" Aeros won't fit in the performance model, I would get aftermarket wheels if you are going to downsize anyway, better looking and more choices out there.

 

[MODEL+]

Looks and aesthetic aspect are also important. IMO, performance version will look better than LR because performance's suspension is lowered. Not sure by how much tho.

Since I am coming from a sports car with magna ride suspension, I like stiffer ride better than cushy floaty ride.

We had a client who was initially facing this same dilemma before placing an order on her Model 3. After evaluating the fact that neither 0-60 pulls or going to the track was even close to a priority for her, we ended up offsetting almost exactly that $10k difference into high quality aftermarket cosmetic parts, suspension and wheels. She will now have a car that will ride better and be easier to identify at the grocery store parking lots

YMMV

Danny

 

[ODWms]

I think you have your answer:

https://imgur.com/a/kAUyLR9

 

[Gasaraki]

I am in the market for a new car since trade in values are little higher than usual and tesla offered me what I would consider fair for my '19 Camaro 2SS.

Today I test drove a model 3 long range because they didn't have a performance version at the store. I liked everything about that long range version. Ride, handling, features etc. But I wasn't really sold on it. Coming from a 455hp car with 0-60 4sec it just didn't feel any faster than my camaro. However this is all based off my butt dyno.

After coming back to store they let me test drive a Model Y performance version and long story short I can tell I am very sold on it. Also, I know that Model 3 performance will be even faster than Model Y performance.

So here is my question: is Model 3 performance actually worth it? There is like $10k difference ($48k vs $58k) between LR vs P. Do you guys think Performance is $10k better than Long Range?

I mean I would enjoy taking mustangs, challengers, chargers to gapplebess but trading off 40 miles range and paying that extra money make me think about it.

Also I was told performance version's real world mileage is less than advertised 315 miles. Is this correct? Could anyone give me their inputs about real world ranges on both performance and long range versions? This will be my daily driver in Ohio. So the car will definitely will see sub 32degress and snow.

What something is worth is up to the individual person. The Performance is faster than the LR and yes the range will be under 300 miles.

You can also buy a boost upgrade for the LR to get it to 450HP, 3.7 sec 0-60 if you want. You can buy that from Tesla for $2000.

 

[MikeyC]

You can also buy a boost upgrade for the LR to get it to 450HP, 3.7 sec 0-60 if you want. You can buy that from Tesla for $2000.

That's what I did. I got the LR AWD for the range and immediately got the $2000 performance boost. I didn't really have the $10k to put into a car I don't drive that often (I work at home) but I could swing $2k. LR AWD+ (performance boost) is so close to the M3P in straight line performance that it's a driver's/reaction time race. The M3P will pull the LR AWD+ from a dig and get 3-4 car lengths on it up to about 40 MPH but after that, it's dead even with the LR AWD+ maybe even pulling a little harder on the top end. I regularly get 3.6 0-60 at 80% charge (with rollout).

Before dipping my toes into "economy" EV's for a few years, I had a 2015 Challenger SRT, 2005 Corvette, a Mustang, highly modified Trans Am, etc. all of which I enjoyed taking to the dragstrip. Even the non boosted LR AWD beats them all on a non prepped surface and the LR AWD+ beats them even on a prepped surface all the way to the 1/4 mile. With all that said, if I had $10k burning a hole in my pocket, I'd rather have the M3P for the other "track goodies". But I'm mostly a dragstrip guy and it wasn't worth the extra $8k for me. YMMV.

My Challenger SRT was capable of 4.0 0-60 but I could never achieve it on the street: only a prepped dragstrip. I've found that 4.5 is about the fastest you'll see a rear wheel drive pony car go on the street, stock, with stock tires and even that takes quite a bit of skill. So you'd likely beat just about any Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger even with the AWD and without the performance boost since you'll be at 4.2 0-60 every time. And as the pony car guys add mods and power, you'll just be ahead even further because all that's going to do is make them spin more.

Here's the best comparison I've seen on the M3P vs LR AWD+ to give you an idea of the straight line performance difference...

Mike

 

[NinjaFoot]

That's what I did. I got the LR AWD for the range and immediately got the $2000 performance boost. I didn't really have the $10k to put into a car I don't drive that often (I work at home) but I could swing $2k. LR AWD+ (performance boost) is so close to the M3P in straight line performance that it's a driver's/reaction time race. The M3P will pull the LR AWD+ from a dig and get 3-4 car lengths on it up to about 40 MPH but after that, it's dead even with the LR AWD+ maybe even pulling a little harder on the top end. I regularly get 3.6 0-60 at 80% charge (with rollout).

Before dipping my toes into "economy" EV's for a few years, I had a 2015 Challenger SRT, 2005 Corvette, a Mustang, highly modified Trans Am, etc. all of which I enjoyed taking to the dragstrip. Even the non boosted LR AWD beats them all on a non prepped surface and the LR AWD+ beats them even on a prepped surface all the way to the 1/4 mile. With all that said, if I had $10k burning a hole in my pocket, I'd rather have the M3P for the other "track goodies". But I'm mostly a dragstrip guy and it wasn't worth the extra $8k for me. YMMV.

My Challenger SRT was capable of 4.0 0-60 but I could never achieve it on the street: only a prepped dragstrip. I've found that 4.5 is about the fastest you'll see a rear wheel drive pony car go on the street, stock, with stock tires and even that takes quite a bit of skill. So you'd likely beat just about any Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger even with the AWD and without the performance boost since you'll be at 4.2 0-60 every time. And as the pony car guys add mods and power, you'll just be ahead even further because all that's going to do is make them spin more.

Here's the best comparison I've seen on the M3P vs LR AWD+ to give you an idea of the straight line performance difference...

Mike

You are right about 0-60 performance of pony cars. Getting consistent their rated 0-60 requires a lot of work.

Now I am more interested in LR with $2k boost. So if I purchase that do I still have 350 miles range + 0-60 3.6 sec?

 

[NinjaFoot]

We had a client who was initially facing this same dilemma before placing an order on her Model 3. After evaluating the fact that neither 0-60 pulls or going to the track was even close to a priority for her, we ended up offsetting almost exactly that $10k difference into high quality aftermarket cosmetic parts, suspension and wheels. She will now have a car that will ride better and be easier to identify at the grocery store parking lots

YMMV

Danny

That's nice to hear lol. So let's say I get LR and put new 19" wheels on it (because stock aeros fugly) and installed a lowering kit, would that make the car ride and handle better. I just don't want to give up on rides on rails kind of handling my camaro has. Also would changing out rim size reduce the range of the car?