FatherTo1
Active Member
The cheapest $40k RDX doesn’t have HUD, adaptive dampers, nor surround view. You need to step up to at least the $50K SH-AWD Advance trim for those goodies. So Model Y is still $13K more but offers better performance, more cargo capacity, arguably better tech and OTA updates, plus lower cost of ownership/maintenance/gas savings. If the Model Y were a gas car I very well would’ve still picked it over the RDX, but I also bought when the Y was only $51.5K. The appeal of EVs is the drivetrain and tech, all other features are secondary and not dealbreakers to most people.I think it is a pretty fair comparison. The cheapest Acura SUV vs. the cheapest Tesla SUV. A 40k base price for the Acura vs 62k for the Tesla. Not like we were comparing it to a Lexus. The RDX is the upgraded CRV.
As for options, I didn't say air suspension. I said better/adjustable. So give me better suspension or suspension I can adjust to my liking or auto adjust for me. Another display wouldn't have cost a ton to implement. Having your main info out of the line of sight is pretty terrible to be honest. Back to the RDX, it had HUD. Didn't ask for that but a lot of cars have it now. I don't think asking for those things makes it seem like I want an X.
Look at the BMW X series. You don't have to go to the top of the line BMW to get a lot of these features, nor should you have to. I didn't ask for massaging seats, drink cooler, etc. Just things that are fairly common in the price point/class the Y sits in. The RDX is the bottom of the SUV line in the Acura range. Overall the Acura name isn't as luxurious as Lexus for example across the line. Basically Acura is "near-luxury".
In this segment (Y), there is a lot of competition. Hyundai/Kia is really gaining here. Once they iron some of the kinks out of the MME, it definitely has the Y square in its sights. When you factor in the price of a new Y, lack of rebates, a lot of other models can be pretty compelling options. Obviously, I appreciate Tesla as I've dropped about 200k on their vehicles in less than a year. As an engineer, I appreciate a lot of what they've accomplished but also confounded by some of their design choices.
When you start dropping 60k on a car, there are a lot of things people expect regardless of the drivetrain. A lot of great things about Tesla but I think the competition is really gaining on them in areas that matter to a lot of people, rather than some of the stuff we debate on this forum. Don't even want to think about how crappy the quality control is on Tesla. My MS should not have its door rubbing on the fender when I took delivery. Regardless of price point, the customer deserves better than that. As the rest of the world catches up to Tesla, the less likely they are to overlook these flaws. There shouldn't be any QC issues when buying a 50k+ car.
A HUD is nice and so are adjustable dampeners but rather than point out features that Teslas are missing from other competitors, I instead see how hard the competition has to market extra features to get the public’s attention because the core ICE design can’t compete with the most advanced (volume) EV maker on the market.
I agree that competition is catching up but the substantial price increases by Rivian highlight how difficult it is to fully develop a product with performance/range, tech, and price on par with any Tesla model. Tesla used to have separate packages for Subzero, Premium, Ultra Hi-Fi options and eventually all those features became standard. Tesla isn’t sitting still so maybe more of those mainstream features, such as HUD, 360-surround, ventilated seats will become standard across the lineup at a future time but I don’t think they need to be a priority today. Our Model S and Y are plenty comfortable and outstanding vehicles without those add-ons.
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