I have had my 18" aero P3- for a week now. The biggest thing I researched prior to buying was about the cabin experience - noise and ride quality etc. especially on motorways/long journeys. I originally ordered the 20" P3+ but after a 10 minute test drive I ultimately decided to change to an AWD. I was lucky enough to be able to switch to a P3- with 18" aeros just a week or so before delivery so in the end I feel like I got the best of both worlds.
However, prior to this last week of driving the car I was still really unsure of how this would perform for me. I read quite a few comments from people picking up their P3+ that the noise was actually fine, but I always wondered what they were comparing to and how high up their list this point actually is. I get the feeling that a lot of the people who have bought the P3+ are largely concerned about the handling and the speed, not caring so much for the ride quality and noise, or at least it being lower down on the priority list. At the end of the day it is a track ready sports car!
For my comparison: I also own a 10 year of BMW 5 Series M-Sport (2 litre diesel engine, not very fast, but lowered with harder suspension and big wheels). My P3- which is effectively an AWD in this respect is considerable louder on all roads above 30 mph, getting more noticeable the faster you go. I don't have decibel readings (which are often quite hard to mentally process anyway) but at 80mph on the motorway on a smooth but not brand new piece of tarmac, I have to speak fairly loud to have a conversation in the M3 vs. being able to speak normally in my BMW. I would say general ride quality is about the same - both being quite hard. I am not sure exactly how much worse the M3P+ is to this as I have never driven it at motorway speeds but for me any worse than the AWD would start to feel like a real issue.
I know all this stuff is very subjective and it totally depends on what you are comparing to as well as whats important to you but I am personally really glad I chose the P3-/AWD over the P3+. The Model 3 is an awesome car and this does not effect my opinion of it. Sure I would like it to be a bit quieter considering there is no audible engine but everything else more than makes up for it.
However, prior to this last week of driving the car I was still really unsure of how this would perform for me. I read quite a few comments from people picking up their P3+ that the noise was actually fine, but I always wondered what they were comparing to and how high up their list this point actually is. I get the feeling that a lot of the people who have bought the P3+ are largely concerned about the handling and the speed, not caring so much for the ride quality and noise, or at least it being lower down on the priority list. At the end of the day it is a track ready sports car!
For my comparison: I also own a 10 year of BMW 5 Series M-Sport (2 litre diesel engine, not very fast, but lowered with harder suspension and big wheels). My P3- which is effectively an AWD in this respect is considerable louder on all roads above 30 mph, getting more noticeable the faster you go. I don't have decibel readings (which are often quite hard to mentally process anyway) but at 80mph on the motorway on a smooth but not brand new piece of tarmac, I have to speak fairly loud to have a conversation in the M3 vs. being able to speak normally in my BMW. I would say general ride quality is about the same - both being quite hard. I am not sure exactly how much worse the M3P+ is to this as I have never driven it at motorway speeds but for me any worse than the AWD would start to feel like a real issue.
I know all this stuff is very subjective and it totally depends on what you are comparing to as well as whats important to you but I am personally really glad I chose the P3-/AWD over the P3+. The Model 3 is an awesome car and this does not effect my opinion of it. Sure I would like it to be a bit quieter considering there is no audible engine but everything else more than makes up for it.
