Model Y Performance vs Highland Long Range

[Chuck305]

I test drove both MYP and a Highland M3LR.

The 2024 MYP w/ 21 inch wheels was surprisingly comfortable and the drive experience was far better than the 2023 MYLR I test drove last December. I could feel the vibrations from in perfection in the floors especially in the mall parking garage and less so on the highway. I'd say the ride was sports car comfortable which is fine for me. It had much less body roll than the 2023 MYLR so I'm guessing it's got a stiffer suspension? I remember vividly that the 2023 MYLR cameras had significant lag making the video feature feel unsafe to use for lane turning. This 2024 had no noticeable lag and everything felt good.

I returned to the store and hopped into a Highland LR with 18 inch wheels. I love the looks, particularly the new tail lamp design. The interior is nicer than I remember of my 2020 MYP, but the steering wheel controls felt very award to use such as the turn signals. It's like having to memorize a video game controller button position and function, they are small and inconvient to operate for my hand size; I'm 6ft tall. I felt like I was sitting lower than I remember from 2020 with my knees higher up than normal for a sports sedan. I was not uncomfortable, just an odd position.

By the time I returned to the store.. I'm leaning towards the MYP which will be cheaper, thanks to EV Tax Credit than a Highland LR and in my opinion drives better overall as a cruiser and takes turns good enough with better than expected body roll.

I do have a question for the group. I remember at some point the Fremont Y's were inferior to the Austin Y's.. but the rep says they are now both one par and to the same build spec including gigacasting front and rear. Has Fremont Y's finally reached the same quality as Austin? I ask because my store says all the Y's they been getting for the last few months are from Fremont.

I wonder if Austin is retooling for Juniper or the updated version China got already.

 

[E90alex]

Y LR/P never got front gigacastings. It was only the Y AWD with 4680 structural pack which has now been discontinued.

Austin never built the Y Performance either, only LR and AWD. So if you’re specifically going for a Performance they are all from Fremont and always has been.

As for which factory is “better” I don’t think there’s a clear answer. Build quality is still hit or miss with either as with any Tesla. For a while Austin had the new door panels and rear shelf before Fremont. Then for a while Fremont put matrix headlights in all LR while Austin had the old headlights. They should both be identical now in terms of equipment.

 

[Chuck305]

Looks like Tesla indeed raised the price of Model Y LR & RWD this month as stated by Elon. At only 2K difference, the MYP is the better buy imo. I can wait a bit longer, I suspect the price will drop again in June.

 

[Hamtaro7]

for a big dude the Y, just getting in and out of the car is night and day having the higher seating position

 

[DanDi58]

I sat in the new M3 yesterday for the first time, while my MY was in for service. If I had a choice, I would absolutely wait for the updated MY version. The interior of the new M3 is so much nicer, much higher quality feel, and the exterior changes are great too, other than the fog light delete. I suspect you'd get used to the steering wheel buttons pretty quickly.

 

[TomServo]

We went from a 2020 AWD LR Y to a 2022 MYP and the first thing we did after taking a 2K road trip was to dump the 21" UTs and replace them with some 18s from TSportLine. What a HUGE difference. It's like an entirely different model. Not only is it FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT but the ride is better, the handling is the same, I can rotate the tires/wheels and I no longer fear potholes or curbs oh they weigh 68 pounds less. So I'd opt for the MYP and then consider replacing the OEM 21s immediately.

 

[Chuck305]

for a big dude the Y, just getting in and out of the car is night and day having the higher seating position

Yes I think that was a large part of why it felt so much more comfortable than the Highland to me. The new 3 seating position is also very low.

 

[Chuck305]

I sat in the new M3 yesterday for the first time, while my MY was in for service. If I had a choice, I would absolutely wait for the updated MY version. The interior of the new M3 is so much nicer, much higher quality feel, and the exterior changes are great too, other than the fog light delete. I suspect you'd get used to the steering wheel buttons pretty quickly.

I assume Juniper will not be eligible for the EV tax credit especially if Trump wins. That said having test drove Highland LR and an MYP I felt the interior upgrades were negligible difference especially if I can get a MYP at 52K - 7500 this year.

 

[tradosaurus]

Just watched Doug Demuro review the 2024 Model 3. He verified with Tesla that the "Highland" term was never used by Tesla.

 

[mlambert890]

Not sure about the whole “getting used to the steering wheel controls” thing honestly. I’ve not been able to get used to them in S refresh. Deal breaker for me. Turn signal is a miserable experience. Now if you just don’t care, or are the kind of person who never really uses them, or don’t have round abouts and situations like that in your daily driving, maybe it wouldn’t matter. The gear selector on the screen I don’t like either honestly, although that’s slightly more manageable.

I think the interior updates are massively exaggerated online. Yes the ambient lighting is decent, and the rear screen is cool, but people on forums make it seem like the Highland is suddenly an Audi or BMW. That’s ridiculous. It’s the kind of thing where 99% of the population wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference between M3 and M3 refresh in terms of materials quality and design elements alone. I mean even the S/X aren’t that much better than the latest 3/Y, so there’s barely a difference for “Highland” to split to begin with.

Whether or not waiting for “Juniper” is worth it is really about whether you value the stalks more than the ambient lighting and rear screen.

 

[Chuck305]

So it seems Model Y is at its all time lowest price today in my area. MYLR for $44090.00 & MYP for $48420.00. I suspect the Juniper lite refresh seen in Shanghai is coming to USA.

After test driving the Highland LR I don't believe the probable Juniper upgrades are worth potentially loosing the $7500 ev credit at this price for me. The question I have is the suspension on the MYP different than the MLR. I'm looking for a firmer ride with much less body roll. i remember the 2023 LR I test drove had significant body roll, but the 2024 Perf I recently test drove had muted body roll especially for its size. Are the brakes are bigger and larger caliper? I don't really feel the need for speed or would miss the acceleration a P brings over an LR, but for 4K difference I could swing it if the P is actually better aside from acceleration.

 

[Chuck305]

MYP does have different suspension. It is stiffer and lower (less ground clearance). Different brakes too.

I suspected that. it drove just as well as the Highland LR I test drove back to back. Thanks for confirming. At 44050 its very very tempting to buy MYLR, I still wan the MYP lower even though I recognized at 48090 it's the lowest I've seen to date in my area. I think 47 for grey or 48 for ultra red would be what gets me to pull the trigger.

 

[OCR1]

I suspected that. it drove just as well as the Highland LR I test drove back to back. Thanks for confirming. At 44050 its very very tempting to buy MYLR, I still wan the MYP lower even though I recognized at 48090 it's the lowest I've seen to date in my area. I think 47 for grey or 48 for ultra red would be what gets me to pull the trigger.

Prices briefly dropped to $47K for the MYP for existing Tesla owners via the paint credit at the end of March. Otherwise $48K was the low. I think we’ll see those prices again end of June, if not sooner. I went with the MYP because of the discount and tax credit. I test drove the Highland M3 and just wasn’t that impressed. I find the suspension on the 2024 MYP to be very comfortable even with the 21” wheels. And I like having the wood trim in my car. I don’t understand why people look at the M3H with a fabric headliner and think it’s a nicer interior. I don’t even think it rides better than the 2024 MYP. It does ride a lot smoother than my 2019 LR M3 though. The suspension on that car has been dreadful.

 

[Chuck305]

Prices briefly dropped to $47K for the MYP for existing Tesla owners via the paint credit at the end of March. Otherwise $48K was the low. I think we’ll see those prices again end of June, if not sooner. I went with the MYP because of the discount and tax credit. I test drove the Highland M3 and just wasn’t that impressed. I find the suspension on the 2024 MYP to be very comfortable even with the 21” wheels. And I like having the wood trim in my car. I don’t understand why people look at the M3H with a fabric headliner and think it’s a nicer interior. I don’t even think it rides better than the 2024 MYP. It does ride a lot smoother than my 2019 LR M3 though. The suspension on that car has been dreadful.

I got a Ultra Red MYP for 49,680 last month shortly after I made my post I'm glad I acted. Loving the MYP and very happy with the price I got it at.

 

[Dear_OP]

Prices briefly dropped to $47K for the MYP for existing Tesla owners via the paint credit at the end of March. Otherwise $48K was the low. I think we’ll see those prices again end of June, if not sooner. I went with the MYP because of the discount and tax credit. I test drove the Highland M3 and just wasn’t that impressed. I find the suspension on the 2024 MYP to be very comfortable even with the 21” wheels. And I like having the wood trim in my car. I don’t understand why people look at the M3H with a fabric headliner and think it’s a nicer interior. I don’t even think it rides better than the 2024 MYP. It does ride a lot smoother than my 2019 LR M3 though. The suspension on that car has been dreadful.

I had many experience riding the 1st gen M3 thanks to Uber and Lyft. It's not nice at all. Felt low rent. Highlander is a good improvement.

 

[Midnightsun]

Whether or not waiting for “Juniper” is worth it is really about whether you value the stalks more than the ambient lighting and rear screen.

There is a lot more to it then what you mention. Much quieter car, ventilated seats, auto shift beta, hands free trunk, and whatever else Tesla gives to us not applicable to what has/will become legacy models. Someone with kids will really appreciate the rear screen with bluetooth headphones and the upcoming "are we there yet" feature. What about ultra wide band which makes your phone actually work all the time as a key? Pretty sure there are a bunch more stuff I do not even know about.

 

[DanDi58]

There is a lot more to it then what you mention. Much quieter car, ventilated seats, auto shift beta, hands free trunk, and whatever else Tesla gives to us not applicable to what has/will become legacy models. Someone with kids will really appreciate the rear screen with bluetooth headphones and the upcoming "are we there yet" feature. What about ultra wide band which makes your phone actually work all the time as a key? Pretty sure there are a bunch more stuff I do not even know about.

Yeah, after sitting in the refreshed M3 in the showroom, the interior improvements really bring the car up a notch. And it's supposedly much quieter inside when driving. The exterior changes, while relatively modest, do give the car a sleeker look. I do like it and think it will improve the MY as well. This might be the one instance where I might advise a potential MY purchaser to hold off until it's updated....

 

[BluBolt]

Austin never built the Y Performance either, only LR and AWD. So if you’re specifically going for a Performance they are all from Fremont and always has been.

My 2024 MYP was built in Austin. My VINs 11th character is an A.