M3 LR - 200 mile/1 week bullet point review

[bhav]

Just wanted to share initial thoughts after 200 miles / 1 week - especially as a lot of others about to get their cars imminently!

Background

• Previous car: Audi A3 2017 with driver assistance pack & park assist (personal lease through Nationwide Vehicle Contracts)
• Now leasing M3 LR in deep blue - no other add ons - via salary sacrifice through my employer and Zenith
• To give you an indication - my total cost of ownership for the Tesla over 3 years will be less than the Audi - mostly because of the BIK rate

Appearance/exterior

• Bigger than I expected, but very happy with it
• No visible issues with paint/alignment etc that I can see
• Deep blue is stunning

Interior

• No major issues
• Couple of scratches on centre console plus sticky residue from where the key was stuck + a scruff on passenger side dash. I've submitted all of this in the app and have Service Centre appointment on 18 June (Park Royal a few mins away from me)
• Screen is beautiful!
• Seems to be a little creakiness from the dash when driving - Would be great if anyone can confirm what theirs is like?

Features/tech/etc

• Wipers working great for me (don't forget you can click the button on the stalk for a single wipe)
• Speaking of the stalk - not a big fan of how it works - hard to describe but the indicator stalk doesn't stay down when you shift it...it springs back to original position and you have to shift it again to turn it off (unless you've turned steering wheel enough etc)
• Spotify working great (have a premium account already so logged in with that)
• Navigation great (don't forget to hit the compass in top left to change the orientation)
• General point: read the manual! Having basically read all 170 pages a few days before it made getting familiar with everything very easy.
• Sentry mode working great - love that you can just turn it on from the app when you want to
• Lack of speed cameras on navigation is pretty annoying/disappointing coming from Android Auto/Google Maps on my A3
• Also, voice control is abysmal - again, disappointing having come from Android Auto/Google assistant
• TACC & Autosteer has worked great for me on M40/M25/A3 and a few other roads. I feel like having come from the adaptive cruise control with lane assist on the A3 I've moderated my expectations compared to others...(and also i've read the manual which clearly states these features are only for motorways and dual carriageways)
• One thing I like is when both are activated but you want to change a lane to overtake, you just signal and change lane yourself. Autosteer will deactivate but TACC will still be on - so you'll get back to your cruising speed and stay there (just with you steering). Then just up to you when you want to put autosteer back on

Accessories

• Door open stickers https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MXYBPYH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Sandisk SD card https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073JY5T7T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Sandisk SD card USB reader https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07G5JV2B5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Screen protector https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KXR6QH7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• USB C cable (+ iPhone cable) Model 3 Phone Charging Cable

Any questions / thoughts please let me know!

 

[LukeUK]

I have exactly the same car on order, collection hopefully a week tomorrow, so your posts are really useful, thanks.

 

[ChickenDipper]

Useful thanks!

Did the car come with front mud flaps?

 

[bhav]

Should have included some pictures!

@ChickenDipper nope!

 

[NorfolkMustard]

When you remember the car is built for semi and full autonomy, the indicator stalk not staying in up or down position makes sense.

You get used to it very quickly. If you do need to cancel the indicator a light tap, rather than a full pull down, sorts it. The same way you tap it for three blinks.

Similarly, You can do everything with the right stalk with just a tap or two rather than a full pull down. Only exception is to move it into Drive or Reverse.

Much less jarring to turn on autosteer with a light double tap.

 

[Adopado]

Seems to be a little creakiness from the dash when driving - Would be great if anyone can confirm what theirs is like?

Worth getting checked. I can only speak for my own car but there are no creaks from the dash so I wouldn't consider that normal.

 

[hctip]

Excellent write up and many thanks.

The SD set up working fine with both dashcam and sentry.

ta

h

 

[Godsense]

I agree with you on the indicator stalk, it's digital isn't it compared to alot of cars which have a physical link. I am getting used to it though.

I have zero creaks fyi

 

[bhav]

When you remember the car is built for semi and full autonomy, the indicator stalk not staying in up or down position makes sense.

You get used to it very quickly. If you do need to cancel the indicator a light tap, rather than a full pull down, sorts it. The same way you tap it for three blinks.

Similarly, You can do everything with the right stalk with just a tap or two rather than a full pull down. Only exception is to move it into Drive or Reverse.

Much less jarring to turn on autosteer with a light double tap.

This is true! And yes I later discovered the light tap (in either direction) to undo which isn't so bad.

@Godsense good point, hadn't quite appreciated the digital vs. mechanical but that makes total sense.

@Adopado @Godsense thanks re creaking point - think I need to do a few more miles to see if I can recreate it reliably and then will book it in!

 

[bhav]

Excellent write up and many thanks.

The SD set up working fine with both dashcam and sentry.

ta

h

Yes correct! I know there have been a lot of posts about it not working correctly and that being caused by the usb drive (potentially).

This set up is working great (note: plugged in directly, not into any hub).

FYI the manual recommends a couple of options too.

 

[Leilani]

Just wanted to share initial thoughts after 200 miles / 1 week - especially as a lot of others about to get their cars imminently!

Background

• Previous car: Audi A3 2017 with driver assistance pack & park assist (personal lease through Nationwide Vehicle Contracts)
• Now leasing M3 LR in deep blue - no other add ons - via salary sacrifice through my employer and Zenith
• To give you an indication - my total cost of ownership for the Tesla over 3 years will be less than the Audi - mostly because of the BIK rate

Appearance/exterior

• Bigger than I expected, but very happy with it
• No visible issues with paint/alignment etc that I can see
• Deep blue is stunning

Interior

• No major issues
• Couple of scratches on centre console plus sticky residue from where the key was stuck + a scruff on passenger side dash. I've submitted all of this in the app and have Service Centre appointment on 18 June (Park Royal a few mins away from me)
• Screen is beautiful!
• Seems to be a little creakiness from the dash when driving - Would be great if anyone can confirm what theirs is like?

Features/tech/etc

• Wipers working great for me (don't forget you can click the button on the stalk for a single wipe)
• Speaking of the stalk - not a big fan of how it works - hard to describe but the indicator stalk doesn't stay down when you shift it...it springs back to original position and you have to shift it again to turn it off (unless you've turned steering wheel enough etc)
• Spotify working great (have a premium account already so logged in with that)
• Navigation great (don't forget to hit the compass in top left to change the orientation)
• General point: read the manual! Having basically read all 170 pages a few days before it made getting familiar with everything very easy.
• Sentry mode working great - love that you can just turn it on from the app when you want to
• Lack of speed cameras on navigation is pretty annoying/disappointing coming from Android Auto/Google Maps on my A3
• Also, voice control is abysmal - again, disappointing having come from Android Auto/Google assistant
• TACC & Autosteer has worked great for me on M40/M25/A3 and a few other roads. I feel like having come from the adaptive cruise control with lane assist on the A3 I've moderated my expectations compared to others...(and also i've read the manual which clearly states these features are only for motorways and dual carriageways)
• One thing I like is when both are activated but you want to change a lane to overtake, you just signal and change lane yourself. Autosteer will deactivate but TACC will still be on - so you'll get back to your cruising speed and stay there (just with you steering). Then just up to you when you want to put autosteer back on

Accessories

• Door open stickers https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MXYBPYH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Sandisk SD card https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B073JY5T7T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Sandisk SD card USB reader https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07G5JV2B5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Screen protector https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KXR6QH7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• USB C cable (+ iPhone cable) Model 3 Phone Charging Cable

Any questions / thoughts please let me know!

Hope this works for you too.
I had the creaky sounds from the dashboard area when I got mine too. Push the dash in as if to make sure its well secured. I did this from the driver,passenger and middle of the dash. I have not heard a sound for 5 months of driving.

 

[Joelly]

Sentry mode working great - love that you can just turn it on from the app when you want to

?! Is this possible? I vaguely remember seeing sentry option come up, but I currently have it set to exclude home and I don’t see the option. Is that how to turn it on on demand?

Speaking of the stalk - not a big fan of how it works

I thought this initially. You get used to it.

no creaks for me btw.

 

[bhav]

?! Is this possible? I vaguely remember seeing sentry option come up, but I currently have it set to exclude home and I don’t see the option. Is that how to turn it on on demand?


I thought this initially. You get used to it.

no creaks for me btw.

'Controls' section of the app is where I see it.

Could be that I haven't set any exclusions!

Screenshot:

 

[Joelly]

ah

'Controls' section of the app is where I see it.

Could be that I haven't set any exclusions!

Screenshot:

View attachment 552128

ah i see. I thought you meant that you could activate it to start recording, rather than start monitoring. I generally have it on apart from at home, therefore no need to manually turn on in 99.99% of cases. Thanks for clarifying

 

[MrBadger]

I replaced my Sandisk Ultra with a Sandisk Extreme due to longevity issues. Extreme designed for continuous video recording. I reused Ultra for audio. Large TeslaDrive cards are not important wrt what can be stored as the dashcam and sentry largely self manage disc space - they only store relatively short clips (not whole drives) so only take up space if you actively decide to keep a clip. However large drives will reduce the number of overwrites which will increase the time before the drive will fail, but on an endurance card > 64/128MB you are talking several years if not using sentry 24/7.

 

[bhav]

I replaced my Sandisk Ultra with a Sandisk Extreme due to longevity issues. Extreme designed for continuous video recording. I reused Ultra for audio. Large TeslaDrive cards are not important wrt what can be stored as the dashcam and sentry largely self manage disc space - they only store relatively short clips (not whole drives) so only take up space if you actively decide to keep a clip. However large drives will reduce the number of overwrites which will increase the time before the drive will fail, but on an endurance card > 64/128MB you are talking several years if not using sentry 24/7.

Makes sense, will monitor the integrity of the card.

At the moment I'm running sentry 24/7 because of where the car is (i.e. not on my own drive) so I'm sort of feeling out what kind of attention the car is drawing in short term. But can imagine doing so literally all the time is going to hammer almost any drive/card.

 

[Dilly]

I put Torque Alliance coloured mudflaps on mine. They’re discrete and a perfect match.

 

[Rustybkts]

As above I certainly recommend the mudflaps to reduce any possibility of stone chips behind the wheels.

 

[m3gt2]

When you remember the car is built for semi and full autonomy, the indicator stalk not staying in up or down position makes sense.

You get used to it very quickly. If you do need to cancel the indicator a light tap, rather than a full pull down, sorts it. The same way you tap it for three blinks.

Similarly, You can do everything with the right stalk with just a tap or two rather than a full pull down. Only exception is to move it into Drive or Reverse.

Much less jarring to turn on autosteer with a light double tap.

In addition to the semi-autonomous driving I think you will also find it's down to reduced failure rates. If memory serves correct Vauxhall were the first to introduce this on the Vectra C almost 20 years ago and I've seen it on a few more over the years now.

 

[cliver18]

Thanks for the update, I get mine on the 29th (same model and colour), will have to download the manual to have a read