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Montreal-Quebec: Tesla M3 SP+ RWD or M3 LR AWD - Which one to buy?!

If you were to buy used C43 AMG Coupe or Tesla LR AWD, which one would you go for?

  • Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG no incentives, more fuel and maintenance costs!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
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Hello all,

I am currently driving a 2016 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic (I have been driving only AWD since 2011). I am from Montreal, Quebec and the average temperature is about -10C degree through out winter (and the winter is kinda long here).

I was about to finance a 2017 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Coupe (48100km mileage) for about $930/month with $4700CAD cash down (value of $48800 + 15% tax). However, I have decided to test drive both the 2020 Tesla Model 3 SR+ and LR AWD. I fell in love with the LR AWD immediately. My heart is with C43, my mind is thinking about M3 LR AWD, and logic says to go with M3 SP+!!!

Here's why:
I get $13,000 cash incentive from Quebec ($8000) and Federal Gov ($5000) only if I go with the M3 SP+. The LR AWD is only eligible for the provincial rebate of $8000 and the price is about $10,000 more than SR+ here. (that's $15,000 more than LR AWD)

I liked the speakers on LR AWD, extra features like fast charging, etc...,the 520km range is a peace of mind (way more than my daily commute/out of town needs), and lastly I think it will end up having a better resale value than the SR+ as you will be seeing more used SR+ for sale than the LR AWD in the market in few years.

I don't know why It feels like going with SR+ is not a good decision but when I see the savings (incentives) I feel like I must go with it. Partly, it could be due to unfamiliarity with living with the electric cars and partly because of coming from Mercedes to Tesla, the SP+ range and features doesn't justify its price. The LR AWD is more attractive.

Sorry for a long post, I really need your help as daily Tesla drivers to tell me what would you have done if you were in the same situation as me.
Would you go for SR+ to save money and maybe in 1,2 years switch to a better Tesla/any other exciting cars? OR would you go for LR AWD and keep that for at least the next 4,5 years?

My lease ends in March, and I need to order my Tesla by the end of the week to get the car delivered by then. I'd appreciate your opinions on this and thank you all in advance!

Cheers
 
I’m in a similar situation to you. Also from Montreal (Laval actually) and looking to purchase a Tesla as the lease on my bmw 430xi gc is up in April.

I’ve been driving all wheel drive since I purchased a 335xi in 2014 and have experience driving real wheel drive in our winters owning a 135i from 2008-2014. I will be buying a SR+ because of the 15k difference as you have mentioned. My commute to work is about 40km round trip which would be no problem for range.

Anyone who tells you that a rear wheel drive car will drive as well as an all wheel drive in our Canadian winters is lying to you! (Assuming both cars have winter tires as required by law in Quebec) I didn’t enjoy driving my 1er in heavy snow at all! Traction control was decent but acceleration was terrible. Going uphill in the city really sucked! Fishtailing and sliding backwards was not fun, neither was getting stuck in the snow on small streets during storms!

Having said all that I’ve decided to go the SR+ after testing it last week in the snow. It drove much better then my 1er in the snow. Schedule a test drive on a day with snow and try it out for yourself. My wife has an all wheel drive Kona which I could always take at nights or weekends when the weather is bad out which has helped my decision in going for thenSR+. I would be stretching my budget a bit going for the LR awd but if you can afford it and don’t feel comfortable with rwd then go for the LR.
 
If you're really thinking of the Model 3 AWD, buy it now! The provincial credit of 8000$ will not be applicable starting April 1st when they lower the maximum car Price. At least from what I read.
I'm in Quebec city and hesitated between sr+ and awd, then settled on awd for : awd in the snow, bigger battery which really helps in the winter. There are more goodies but these are the main ones. If you have the money, I would say go for it.
 
I’m in a similar situation to you. Also from Montreal (Laval actually) and looking to purchase a Tesla as the lease on my bmw 430xi gc is up in April.

I’ve been driving all wheel drive since I purchased a 335xi in 2014 and have experience driving real wheel drive in our winters owning a 135i from 2008-2014. I will be buying a SR+ because of the 15k difference as you have mentioned. My commute to work is about 40km round trip which would be no problem for range.

Anyone who tells you that a rear wheel drive car will drive as well as an all wheel drive in our Canadian winters is lying to you! (Assuming both cars have winter tires as required by law in Quebec) I didn’t enjoy driving my 1er in heavy snow at all! Traction control was decent but acceleration was terrible. Going uphill in the city really sucked! Fishtailing and sliding backwards was not fun, neither was getting stuck in the snow on small streets during storms!

Having said all that I’ve decided to go the SR+ after testing it last week in the snow. It drove much better then my 1er in the snow. Schedule a test drive on a day with snow and try it out for yourself. My wife has an all wheel drive Kona which I could always take at nights or weekends when the weather is bad out which has helped my decision in going for thenSR+. I would be stretching my budget a bit going for the LR awd but if you can afford it and don’t feel comfortable with rwd then go for the LR.

This was really helpful. I was at Tesla today and managed to find an icy parking lot around the industrial area. It got stuck going uphill (was really icy though) I had to back up a little and tried again...
This will be my only car so as you said If I want to be on the safe side I should go with AWD.
Thanks a lot for your comment.
 
If you're really thinking of the Model 3 AWD, buy it now! The provincial credit of 8000$ will not be applicable starting April 1st when they lower the maximum car Price. At least from what I read.
I'm in Quebec city and hesitated between sr+ and awd, then settled on awd for : awd in the snow, bigger battery which really helps in the winter. There are more goodies but these are the main ones. If you have the money, I would say go for it.
Agree!
I think the AWD is a wiser option for us in Quebec. The extra range will compensate for the range we lose in extreme cold weather. Thanks for your comment.
 
SR+ RWD is surprisingly good in Montreal winters, definitely not as good as AWD obviously but still good because the car is so heavy and has great traction control.
I kinda got the same feeling when I was trying to slide/drift in the icy parking lot and it refused to do that. The only time I got stuck was when I slowly went uphill on icy part the of parking lot. I drive in Montreal every day, I guess I can get by and enjoy the savings.
 
I kinda got the same feeling when I was trying to slide/drift in the icy parking lot and it refused to do that. The only time I got stuck was when I slowly went uphill on icy part the of parking lot. I drive in Montreal every day, I guess I can get by and enjoy the savings.
Today was a particularly icy day, I was also slipping a bit this morning in the model 3. I have been driving it all winter though, and it's better than I thought. I rarely ever slip in any conditions, even after a snowstorm. Definitely gives me a fair amount of confidence on MTL winter roads. But I can feel the difference when I hop into the AWD model S... that car is fantastic in the snow. M3 AWD has a very similar feel.
 
Strange question to ask on a Tesla forum. I’d go with buy a Tesla.
Indeed.

And no background info shared that would be required to understand OP's needs, budgetary constraints, and lifestyle preferences.

With money not being an issue, my vote is for one of each. And a Miata on top, just for sh*ts and giggles.
Haha.. The money is always an issue! No one refuses extra saving when buying a new car! I am willing to give up a car that I really really like for something that helps the environment, and save me money.
The question is how much of a saving should I go for and how much of a trouble am I buying for myself when going for RWD SR+ vs AWD LP. :\
 
Today was a particularly icy day, I was also slipping a bit this morning in the model 3. I have been driving it all winter though, and it's better than I thought. I rarely ever slip in any conditions, even after a snowstorm. Definitely gives me a fair amount of confidence on MTL winter roads. But I can feel the difference when I hop into the AWD model S... that car is fantastic in the snow. M3 AWD has a very similar feel.
That's great! I think I end up going for the M3 SR+. I will get the car by the end of March if I order now. Hopefully, the winter would be over by then, hehe!
 
I made an Excel sheet with every single expense i've done on my Model 3 LR RWD I received in April 2019. I'm also from Montreal. So far, the harsh winter freezing has reduced the range to 50% and there are a few problems such as frozen door handles, unable to open the door because the window is stuck to the rubber.
A small whack on the door, and some silicone solution (gumni pfledge) fixed those 2 issues for me.

A round trip to Bromont took about 80% of my battery in -20C conditions with Sentry mode on (7 hours).
The center seat is uncomfortable for 1 grown man, especially with 1 seat down for my snowboard equipment (he had very little space in the middle)

2000km cost me approx 34-35$ from what I estimated with 10c/kWh

If you need more info, let me know.
 
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That's great! I think I end up going for the M3 SR+. I will get the car by the end of March if I order now. Hopefully, the winter would be over by then, hehe!

My first car as a teen many years ago was RWD, and since I didn't know any different I was unbiased about its behaviour. I never had any issues in the winter with all-season tires (this was before the big push for winter tires and hey I was a teen so I was invincible). And other than a wimpy engine this car had no traction control/ABS/power steering/power brakes.

Ever since that car all my vehicles have been FWD, so the first time I was caught in some heavy snow with the LR RWD I was nervous (forgetting the lessons all those years ago, and alarmed by the power I was wielding). I was also used to a manual transmission which allows a lot of control in slippery weather.

Nonetheless I have not had any issues with the Tesla. At the first opportunity I took the car into an empty parking lot to test its reaction and stability, and you have nothing to worry about. I suppose compared to a AWD you might not be able to climb a hill as steep or whip around the corners/take off as fast. But in general I have no issues with normal driving.

The traction control allows you to "floor it" taking off at a stop and it stays nice and straight in snow, although you will accelerate faster if you moderate the power to avoid slipping the tires and causing traction control to take over.
 
We've got an sr+ in december and we live on north shore of Montreal, typically we always get around 200km range unless it's brutally cold outside like the -25 we got 2 weeks ago. That day I got around 160km range driving 120kmh on highway blasting cabin heat at 26c...

I don't have any regrets not buying the LR as the price difference with the incentives is quite steep...

Wife drives the car 80% of the time, while she was totally in love with the car before ordering it I had to reason her that the car was rwd only and could potentially be less "great " on snow and ice. Finally we are both surprised at how great it is in winter with good tires...

Even in cold weather if you don't go out in the woods there are several superchargers around montreal, I took the plunge on the 700$ chademo adapter as the circuit electrique has a lot of dc fast chargers available, makes the charging opportunity much more convenient...

If you are about to order don't forget to ask someone driving a tesla for their referal link so you and them get 1500km free supercharging
 
Hi @gearheadDigest

I live in Ottawa. I picked up a LR AWD in September 2018 and have run 38,000 km. I've driven through 2 winters here. I've also done several road trips, one to Florida, and another to Mexico > California > home (12,500 km).

There are pros and cons to either option of course, but I'd recommend the AWD / LR for our weather - both to avoid not being able to get up hills, and for range in very cold weather. I'm driving from Ottawa to Montreal many weekends right now, and I'd say you will not be able to reliably drive that 2+ hours in less than a LR in cold weather. I planned to buy AWD SR originally, but they never released it. I bought LR because I needed AWD to get into our cottage in the Gatineau Hills - no 2WD will get up our hills. I don't regret it! If you plan on occasional road trips, you'll appreciate being able to drive 3.5 hours at a stretch (stopping once or twice per day) vs. 2.5 hours at a stretch (and stopping up to four times per trip).

My $0.02 worth based on experience.
 
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I made an Excel sheet with every single expense i've done on my Model 3 LR RWD I received in April 2019. I'm also from Montreal. So far, the harsh winter freezing has reduced the range to 50% and there are a few problems such as frozen door handles, unable to open the door because the window is stuck to the rubber.
A small whack on the door, and some silicone solution (gumni pfledge) fixed those 2 issues for me.

A round trip to Bromont took about 80% of my battery in -20C conditions with Sentry mode on (7 hours).
The center seat is uncomfortable for 1 grown man, especially with 1 seat down for my snowboard equipment (he had very little space in the middle)

2000km cost me approx 34-35$ from what I estimated with 10c/kWh

If you need more info, let me know.

I wasn't expecting that big of a loss in range! Please do send over the excel sheet, that would help a lot cause I have no idea how much would cost to charge it up. My building hasn't installed anything yet for electric cars in the garage, so I have to charge it up somewhere for a while...
I cannot wrap my head around the idea of paying $10K more and lose $5000 Fed incentive to get the LR AWD. Even though I really enjoyed it, and I guess it's a safer choice. (long range, AWD, resale value) :\
 
My first car as a teen many years ago was RWD, and since I didn't know any different I was unbiased about its behaviour. I never had any issues in the winter with all-season tires (this was before the big push for winter tires and hey I was a teen so I was invincible). And other than a wimpy engine this car had no traction control/ABS/power steering/power brakes.

Ever since that car all my vehicles have been FWD, so the first time I was caught in some heavy snow with the LR RWD I was nervous (forgetting the lessons all those years ago, and alarmed by the power I was wielding). I was also used to a manual transmission which allows a lot of control in slippery weather.

Nonetheless I have not had any issues with the Tesla. At the first opportunity I took the car into an empty parking lot to test its reaction and stability, and you have nothing to worry about. I suppose compared to a AWD you might not be able to climb a hill as steep or whip around the corners/take off as fast. But in general I have no issues with normal driving.

The traction control allows you to "floor it" taking off at a stop and it stays nice and straight in snow, although you will accelerate faster if you moderate the power to avoid slipping the tires and causing traction control to take over.
Agree... I used to drive manual and RWD for years... and now even though we don't get as much snow, we are so used to the AWDs...

Thanks for you input, I guess we only need the AWD for few weeks in winter, other than that it's not really important.