Model 3 in Canada

[Struja]

Hello Model 3 owners. Yesterday at a family gathering my sister expressed interest in a Model 3, so I pounced on the chance to get another ICE to EV convert, but she some concerns that I hope some of you can help with.

1. Is the Federal rebate only available on the base model? If yes, what if you swap out the wheels and opt for the 19” or get an “upgraded” paint colour? Does that take you out of rebate level?

2. My sister would be a LOW km driver - less than 10k per year. She takes the subway to work and would rarely drive far outside the GTA, so in that regard the SR is probably adequate but my concern is RWD. Can some of you discuss RWD in the winter? My old car (IS350) was RWD and it was terrible in the snow, even with winter tires. So, I would like to hear your experiences.

3. Right now she lives in a Condo that has NO charging but she is looking to move to a home. So, when I got my S, I installed a Tesla charger but she may opt for 15-50 outlet. Is anyone using this and if so, what were the installation costs?

4. She is a little apprehensive about the lack of an instrument panel in the usual area. Most things I have read from members is that they get use to looking at the display for info quickly. Is that your experience?

5. Any other important things for a prospective Model 3 owner should know?

Thanks in advance.

 

[darkenergy]

Hello Model 3 owners. Yesterday at a family gathering my sister expressed interest in a Model 3, so I pounced on the chance to get another ICE to EV convert, but she some concerns that I hope some of you can help with.

1. Is the Federal rebate only available on the base model? If yes, what if you swap out the wheels and opt for the 19” or get an “upgraded” paint colour? Does that take you out of rebate level?

Standard Range and Standard Range Plus based on MSRP with higher priced variants up to $55,000
MSRP excludes additional costs, such as freight, delivery, and other fees

FAQ

2. My sister would be a LOW km driver - less than 10k per year. She takes the subway to work and would rarely drive far outside the GTA, so in that regard the SR is probably adequate but my concern is RWD. Can some of you discuss RWD in the winter? My old car (IS350) was RWD and it was terrible in the snow, even with winter tires. So, I would like to hear your experiences.

We found absolutely no problems in our LR RWD during the winter, even without snow tires. Commuting in Toronto in our 2014 RWD Smart, with snow tires, is OK too. Although the Smart is much lighter and in the worst conditions I'd definitely prefer something like the Model 3. You should always have snow tires.

3. Right now she lives in a Condo that has NO charging but she is looking to move to a home. So, when I got my S, I installed a Tesla charger but she may opt for 15-50 outlet. Is anyone using this and if so, what were the installation costs?

We have a 6-50 receptacle in our garage with a Flo 7.2 kW L2 charger that we use for both the Smart and the Tesla. I think we paid somewhere between $500 and $1000 for the cable run five years ago. As of 2018 new build houses are required to have conduit in the garage for EV chargers. You may need an electrician to complete the wiring.

The additional costs will be offset by the gas and service savings on the car.

I would definitely go with a receptacle vs a hardwired charger. It turns the EVSE into an appliance so you don't need ESA inspections if you want to change it or replace one. Something we did a couple of times for unrelated reasons.

Any of the longer range EV should be ok for commuting as long as you can charge it every few days, either at a supercharger, mall or some other source of power. My wife charges at her office, and there is a nearby set of free L2 chargers as a backup.

4. She is a little apprehensive about the lack of an instrument panel in the usual area. Most things I have read from members is that they get use to looking at the display for info quickly. Is that your experience?

She will need to get used to it, but I doubt that will take long. I don't miss the speedo behind the wheel, the one on the screen has become "obvious". You also get a view of the surrounding environment including the visual blind spot warnings.

5. Any other important things for a prospective Model 3 owner should know?

You will never want to go back to driving an ICE car. If you're old enough, think of cell phones before the iPhone. Mostly useless bricks.

Hope that helps!

 

[MD-2000]

Plus Elon says the default paint is the Pearl White (not plain white). I think Pearl is the best choice - it practically glows. (Plus it seems every other car on the road nowadays is white). So a $2000 paint upgrade is now free.

We have a LR-AWD use a NEMA 14-50 (same as our stove) and the charger that comes with the car. Schedule charging for 1AM, it's almost always fully charged by 7AM (typically 46km/hr charge, 240V and 32A continuous). We paid a fellow a friend knew, who is an electrician and instrumentation tech, $800 all up. There's a 40A breaker, and we have 100A panel. Since we typically intend to charge at 1AM we should not overload the panel - we don't plan to cook and dry clothes while charging; we have an electric water heater but gas furnace. I'm told if you do things by the book you should get a load analysis and a city permit which might add to the cost. I don't want to know what upping house service to 200A would cost, but I bet it's not trivial. Someday I will buy the Tesla Wall Charger and then use the portable charger as a backup option.

I drove a 2000 BMW 323i for 11 years; it was RWD and rarely had issues. But I should point out, the problem with ICE is with the engine weight in the front and the drive in the back there will be a tendency to spin tires. A lot of the pickup-truck-types where I used to live would load several bags of sand in the bed to give the rear wheels more traction. (My BMW's have had the 12V battery in the back to help balance wheel weight). By contrast, the main weight in a Tesla is the floor sized battery pack, more evenly spread out. You don't have a massive weight on just the front wheels to resist rear wheel driving. The one fellow I talked to who had a LR-RWD said he had no problems.

The instrument cluster is not missed. You are right, you get used to it quickly. What do you use instrument cluster for? I like the speed where it is - actually easier than looking down. Oil light? Engine trouble light? RPM? Gas gauge? Water temp?

 

[IHartEV]

Hello Model 3 owners. Yesterday at a family gathering my sister expressed interest in a Model 3, so I pounced on the chance to get another ICE to EV convert, but she some concerns that I hope some of you can help with.

1. Is the Federal rebate only available on the base model? If yes, what if you swap out the wheels and opt for the 19” or get an “upgraded” paint colour? Does that take you out of rebate level?

2. My sister would be a LOW km driver - less than 10k per year. She takes the subway to work and would rarely drive far outside the GTA, so in that regard the SR is probably adequate but my concern is RWD. Can some of you discuss RWD in the winter? My old car (IS350) was RWD and it was terrible in the snow, even with winter tires. So, I would like to hear your experiences.

3. Right now she lives in a Condo that has NO charging but she is looking to move to a home. So, when I got my S, I installed a Tesla charger but she may opt for 15-50 outlet. Is anyone using this and if so, what were the installation costs?

4. She is a little apprehensive about the lack of an instrument panel in the usual area. Most things I have read from members is that they get use to looking at the display for info quickly. Is that your experience?

5. Any other important things for a prospective Model 3 owner should know?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Struja,

You have listed some great questions, but the one fact you stated stood out to me the most is the fact that your sister will be a low KM driver.

I've had driven a Highlander Hybrid (My wife has a Prius) for the past 8 years until I finally got my dream vehicle, the Model 3 this past winter.

I do a lot of homework before purchasing anything in general, especially a vehicle.

The one common theme you will find when you do research to see if it's worth the financial penalty to buy a hybrid over a non hybrid vehicle (and even more so of a full EV) of the same car model (e.g. Hybrid Camry vs regular Camry etc) is only justified if the following two major variables makes sense:

1) Will you drive enough km's per year to overcome the $4K to $5K difference to get the hybrid variant (once again, even more so for the current highish prices of EV battery penalty)

2) Only if gas prices exceed $1.x amount, then the hybrid "tax" will be recuperated (or the Tesla premium would be absorbed quicker)

The premium of a Tesla really puts a much more bigger focus on those above two points that I just mentioned into sharper focus.

Unless your sister just wants a vehicle, and the iPhone version of a vehicle to boot + cost is not an issue, then my previous points are moot.

Winter driving with the right tires is a must due to braking distance alone, as the Model 3 is a hefty vehicle. On the flip side, the heft and even weight distribution made the Model 3 RWD + Winter Tires a non issue (beside spinning out a bit from the rear if you accelerate a tad quick but straightens right out).

Once your sister enjoys cool/hot air blowing directly on her face, she will appreciate the lack of instrumental panel directly in front of the steering wheel NOT blocking the direct blowing. =p

One very important thing that a prospective Model 3, or any potential new Tesla owner should know, is that the Tesla community is great. If your sister has social media and doesn’t mind perusing the forums, she will get so much support, help, and ideas.

I don’t think there are any other car companies that inspire such a passionate community of members that’s comparable to Tesla. I’m sure other luxury or speciality vehicles have great communities, but they are probably more of a tuning/showcar/racecar/car mod enthusiasts.

I hope this helps!

 

[Struja]

Really amazing responses. Thanks to all of you.

In response to @IHartEV - I can tell you that I think she understands that she already has a pretty small carbon footprint, but wants to decrease it, so I don't think she is looking at the Model 3 as a huge cost savings to her. She currently drives a Honda Accord, which is pretty fuel efficient and given her low km per year, this wouldn't be about saving money. I think the price of the Model 3 is within striking distance of many higher end sedans, so she can justify the price.

@MD-2000 - I hear you on the pearl white paint... that's what I have on my S!!! Although (admitedly), I am eyeing a Blue S for sometime in the future!!! Great info on the 14-50 charger. I will pass it along for sure.

 

[Bob_00]

I can answer a a few of the questions, first, SR+ qualifies for the Federal rebate, regardless of the upgrades (wheels, colour, FSD, etc), the only way to not qualify would be to upgrade to the AWD.

As far as charging is concerned, if she is a low KM driver, and has access to a standard 120v outlet, you can easily recoup a days worth for mileage overnight. Winter may be another story, but the GTA should have ample level 2/3 options to supplement.

As far as the interior layout is concerned, it took us no time at all to get used to the lack of instrument cluster. The wide open view is awesome.

As far as other things to note, the regen braking was the biggest thing we noticed different and took a few days to get the feel for it. But if you have an S, then you likely would be able to give her a pretty decent rundown/first hand demonstration if you haven't already.

 

[Vawlkus]

On the RWD question, one of my friends in the local EV group has an old ICE SUV and their LRRWD Model 3. Both cars get a full set of snow tires in the winter, and the Model 3 is the car she and her husband feel the safest driving. They flip a coin and whoever looses has to drive the ICE.

I’m kinda see where you family member is going from; I drive the X and I like having the two displays, but if I’m honest, the only reason to look at the display right in front of me is to check my speed.

 

[AZP85]

I would suggest your sister go test drive a Model 3. Find a friend who has one, I'm sure they wouldn't mind.
Or go find a dealer who might have a used one on the lot. I know of one in Burlington who has 1 or two.

 

[Struja]

I would suggest your sister go test drive a Model 3. Find a friend who has one, I'm sure they wouldn't mind.
Or go find a dealer who might have a used one on the lot. I know of one in Burlington who has 1 or two.

I let her drive my S on the weekend and that really got the ball rolling.

 

[Stan K]

I let her drive my S on the weekend and that really got the ball rolling.

If you live close to Finch and Albion, I can let her drive in the early evening or on weekend

 

[Struja]

If you live close to Finch and Albion, I can let her drive in the early evening or on weekend

I will keep that in mind and that is a very kind offer. I am not far from you but she is much closer to Yorkdale so she would probably do it there.