Hi TMC, I own a 2018 MX and waiting on my new refreshed 2022 MX (Ordered it in August 2021, expected delivery in Dec. '21 or Jan. '22, then got pushed to Apr. '22, then July '22, now Nov - Feb...ugh). Does anyone who owned the pre-refresh MX now own the refreshed MX? Differences in handling? Exterior noise? Fit/finish? Ultimately wondering if it is worth the wait or if I should look for alternate options? (My BMW iX just arrived to the dealership).
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MX pre-refresh vs. Refresh...any initial reports?
- Thread starter Driver618
- Start date
The short answer is it is well worth the wait. Plus I think with an Aug-2021 order, they will pull your order out of the holding pen soon. I wouldn’t expect you will have to wait to Nov-Feb.
My order was in June-2021, and I traded-in a 2018 X 100D. I took delivery a week ago, now in the wrap shop. But the difference is positively amazing. The refresh is MUCH quieter, feels fantastic on the road with the adjustable suspension. Fit and finish was superb on mine. I couldn’t be happier. It is an entirely different vehicle, far better.
Thanks DCGOO--appreciate your response. Glad to hear the adjustable suspension makes a difference.
FirstInTown
Member
Ordered a Blue LR 2021 back in 1-3-2021, right after factory shutdown. Got the Red one, a 2020 LR+ Raven, in signature in May 2021 used with 8K miles as was impatient. Good thing as had it for 13 months MORE until blue one came in 6-20-2022.
All the price increases occurred (I was originally locked in at $84K, but had a single $8k increase we had to take or walk in Feb 2021) Finally 1 week ago we picked up the 2021. Honestly, we were going to keep both and see if we could handle the yoke and stalkless and maybe sell the new one if not lots better. Not looking to 'flip' as that is against Tesla terms, but try for a month. But Tesla gave us $$$$$$$$$ for the 2020 on trade. So much we got a new car AND a check from them. I told wife, we are getting paid to take the stupid yoke and we left the 2020 at the Service center (where it needed service because the AC fan stopped so no cooling unless at highways speeds. Not our problem as Tesla now owns the car.)
Between the 2, the new one IS a better car.(will get to the yoke in abit) Outside looks the same really except for lack of chrome. A little disappointing really that they couldn't even change the headlights and taillight design in a refresh. The old headlights (and new I guess as they are the same) were ok on LOW but lacking on HIGH for the level car this is suppose to be. Not at BMW or Mercedes level. Maybe the alleged new Matrix lights will fix that as said to be coming but I didn't get that. You might if wait a little longer.
The chassis seems way stiffer in a good way. As in there was more twist in the 2020 entering driveways and the like at an angle. Always though because of the FWD, but the new seems not to twist like the old chassis. The new suspension is tuned way different also. We had an air suspension on the 2020, not sure if the 2018 did. The old one was more underdamped even on SPORT setting and wallowed in corners like a minivan (that is kind of is). The new one is more planted and doesn't wallow. It isn't as underdamped on the flats. Wife likes it better but her summer car is a Mustang GT 5.0 6pd manual convertible, so she is a bit of a speed demon on corners.
The interior is quieter when it comes to wind noise. Noticeably, quieter, but the old one was a loud car for wind noise. More than my Chevy Volt actually. The new one matches the Volt for wind noise and the Volt is pretty quiet. On the new, there is however tire noise than there should be (about same as old one) and the Adaptive noise canceling doesn't seem to get rid of it.
Old one stereo sounded better. People say the new one is SO good, but I don't get it. The sound stage of the old one was amazing, best in any car we have. The new one might get louder, but doesn't have the openness across the dash the old one had. Miss that a bit.
Fit and finish on both was ok. Interior good, lined up good. Pain good, no drips or horrors. No real complaints. Sure the FWD don't line up EXACTLY, but they don't rub and open quickly. It IS a Tesla, so the trim lining up expectations are low.
The old one had bad passenger HVAC. Wife always complained that the thing had no air flow on the passenger side. New one has much better airflow, out the vents. Cooled seats are also a plus and work well.
The button on the touch screen to pick P, R, N, D by sliding, is not a problem. Might be in the winter with gloves, but will see then. For now, it's ok.
The right steering wheel button 1 or 2 press for Cruise/AP is also fine. Don't miss the stalk at all for this. (Set in the settings for 2 button AP or don't have cruise only, as defaults to 1 press = AP, and skips cruise mode)
Then there is the yoke. I guess it looks different. But what a dangerous ergonomic mistake. I don't know how one would handle the car in a 4 wheel slide on snow that will inevitably happen 6 months from now. I have 38 years of experience handling that with a WHEEL and hand-over-hand driving that is impossible in this implementation. Will probably have to spend $1k+ aftermarket and replace with a REAL wheel before the snow comes to make the thing safe to drive. (But we DID get paid to take the yoke, remember.)
Turn signal 'buttons' are also a mistake as have a moving target to hit if start to do a turn and then try to signal. And the HIGH BEAM button, also a mistake, have to hold it in for highs. (If AUTO lights worked better wouldn't be a problem, but assuming the 2020 and 2022 have the same control, it is bad.) Overall the yoke/controls are an unforced error on Tesla's part. (I put in a service request for a 'wheel' saying the car is unsafe to drive in current condition. Heard nothing back. But I'm on the record as not wanting this P.O.S. control) And the argument that the view of the road is so much better, what a crock of poop. Unless you are 4ft 10in, you look down and the wheel is NOT blocking any of the view of the road. Look at it in your existing car. Wheel won't block the road either.
And then there is Full Self Driving. Old one had it, new one NO. Not missing it at all. Wife likes car SO much better without, we should have opted out of the beta long ago. Her complaints: Always Binging for no reason, Always slamming on the brake for no reason, Always swerving for no reason. Basically it was a BAD 15 year old student driver. Now I have to drive and she likes it MUCH better.
Overall I like the new one more than I though I would. Not missing the old one, other than the true wheel and we can fix that with some $$$ and aftermarket solutions.
Don't know compared to the BMW. That will be a sweet car I'm sure. For us, the Tesla Super Charger network is the only game around, so to be electric, it has to be Tesla. Hoping that changes in the next few years, as Tesla could use some competition. (The Tesla delivery experience is crap. Not allowed to sit in the car before sign and pay for it???? Key FOBs not synced to car and sales people too busy to help. We needed to get plate off my old car, they handed me a screwdriver so I could do it. NOT luxury car service level, hell not Chevy dealer level. I've never had to take my own plate off and they have ALWAYS had time to go though new things in the car with us.)
Not going to say "I love the car". It's a car. I love my wife and kids. This is a car.
P.S. Power wise this thing is scary fast for being the 'slow, LR' model. I did a verified 3.80 second 0-60 with a Draggy with a 64% charge. I think it could be better with Cheeta mode and a full battery. As is, it's 0.1 sec slower than a Hellcat, so I get my Hellcat in 5 passenger SUV form I guess. And the best I did on the 2020 4.4 sec rated was 4.61 seconds, so this has noticeably more power. Like the old one was slow, HA. It wasn't, but it wasn't Hellcat fast either!
All the price increases occurred (I was originally locked in at $84K, but had a single $8k increase we had to take or walk in Feb 2021) Finally 1 week ago we picked up the 2021. Honestly, we were going to keep both and see if we could handle the yoke and stalkless and maybe sell the new one if not lots better. Not looking to 'flip' as that is against Tesla terms, but try for a month. But Tesla gave us $$$$$$$$$ for the 2020 on trade. So much we got a new car AND a check from them. I told wife, we are getting paid to take the stupid yoke and we left the 2020 at the Service center (where it needed service because the AC fan stopped so no cooling unless at highways speeds. Not our problem as Tesla now owns the car.)
Between the 2, the new one IS a better car.(will get to the yoke in abit) Outside looks the same really except for lack of chrome. A little disappointing really that they couldn't even change the headlights and taillight design in a refresh. The old headlights (and new I guess as they are the same) were ok on LOW but lacking on HIGH for the level car this is suppose to be. Not at BMW or Mercedes level. Maybe the alleged new Matrix lights will fix that as said to be coming but I didn't get that. You might if wait a little longer.
The chassis seems way stiffer in a good way. As in there was more twist in the 2020 entering driveways and the like at an angle. Always though because of the FWD, but the new seems not to twist like the old chassis. The new suspension is tuned way different also. We had an air suspension on the 2020, not sure if the 2018 did. The old one was more underdamped even on SPORT setting and wallowed in corners like a minivan (that is kind of is). The new one is more planted and doesn't wallow. It isn't as underdamped on the flats. Wife likes it better but her summer car is a Mustang GT 5.0 6pd manual convertible, so she is a bit of a speed demon on corners.
The interior is quieter when it comes to wind noise. Noticeably, quieter, but the old one was a loud car for wind noise. More than my Chevy Volt actually. The new one matches the Volt for wind noise and the Volt is pretty quiet. On the new, there is however tire noise than there should be (about same as old one) and the Adaptive noise canceling doesn't seem to get rid of it.
Old one stereo sounded better. People say the new one is SO good, but I don't get it. The sound stage of the old one was amazing, best in any car we have. The new one might get louder, but doesn't have the openness across the dash the old one had. Miss that a bit.
Fit and finish on both was ok. Interior good, lined up good. Pain good, no drips or horrors. No real complaints. Sure the FWD don't line up EXACTLY, but they don't rub and open quickly. It IS a Tesla, so the trim lining up expectations are low.
The old one had bad passenger HVAC. Wife always complained that the thing had no air flow on the passenger side. New one has much better airflow, out the vents. Cooled seats are also a plus and work well.
The button on the touch screen to pick P, R, N, D by sliding, is not a problem. Might be in the winter with gloves, but will see then. For now, it's ok.
The right steering wheel button 1 or 2 press for Cruise/AP is also fine. Don't miss the stalk at all for this. (Set in the settings for 2 button AP or don't have cruise only, as defaults to 1 press = AP, and skips cruise mode)
Then there is the yoke. I guess it looks different. But what a dangerous ergonomic mistake. I don't know how one would handle the car in a 4 wheel slide on snow that will inevitably happen 6 months from now. I have 38 years of experience handling that with a WHEEL and hand-over-hand driving that is impossible in this implementation. Will probably have to spend $1k+ aftermarket and replace with a REAL wheel before the snow comes to make the thing safe to drive. (But we DID get paid to take the yoke, remember.)
Turn signal 'buttons' are also a mistake as have a moving target to hit if start to do a turn and then try to signal. And the HIGH BEAM button, also a mistake, have to hold it in for highs. (If AUTO lights worked better wouldn't be a problem, but assuming the 2020 and 2022 have the same control, it is bad.) Overall the yoke/controls are an unforced error on Tesla's part. (I put in a service request for a 'wheel' saying the car is unsafe to drive in current condition. Heard nothing back. But I'm on the record as not wanting this P.O.S. control) And the argument that the view of the road is so much better, what a crock of poop. Unless you are 4ft 10in, you look down and the wheel is NOT blocking any of the view of the road. Look at it in your existing car. Wheel won't block the road either.
And then there is Full Self Driving. Old one had it, new one NO. Not missing it at all. Wife likes car SO much better without, we should have opted out of the beta long ago. Her complaints: Always Binging for no reason, Always slamming on the brake for no reason, Always swerving for no reason. Basically it was a BAD 15 year old student driver. Now I have to drive and she likes it MUCH better.
Overall I like the new one more than I though I would. Not missing the old one, other than the true wheel and we can fix that with some $$$ and aftermarket solutions.
Don't know compared to the BMW. That will be a sweet car I'm sure. For us, the Tesla Super Charger network is the only game around, so to be electric, it has to be Tesla. Hoping that changes in the next few years, as Tesla could use some competition. (The Tesla delivery experience is crap. Not allowed to sit in the car before sign and pay for it???? Key FOBs not synced to car and sales people too busy to help. We needed to get plate off my old car, they handed me a screwdriver so I could do it. NOT luxury car service level, hell not Chevy dealer level. I've never had to take my own plate off and they have ALWAYS had time to go though new things in the car with us.)
Not going to say "I love the car". It's a car. I love my wife and kids. This is a car.
P.S. Power wise this thing is scary fast for being the 'slow, LR' model. I did a verified 3.80 second 0-60 with a Draggy with a 64% charge. I think it could be better with Cheeta mode and a full battery. As is, it's 0.1 sec slower than a Hellcat, so I get my Hellcat in 5 passenger SUV form I guess. And the best I did on the 2020 4.4 sec rated was 4.61 seconds, so this has noticeably more power. Like the old one was slow, HA. It wasn't, but it wasn't Hellcat fast either!
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FirstInTown
Member
Oh and the AMD processor is so much faster. The 2020 never had a working browser or Netflix or Hulu. All work fine now so can get AccuWeather while driving and see rain driving into as Tesla won't give weather on the map. Do miss the Energy chart as the binacle doesn't have adjustable side displays and main screen is missing Energy Graph. An other miss by Tesla. PLEASE BRING BACK THE ENERGY CHART AND LET ME CUSTOMIZE THE BINACLE AGAIN.
So helpful...thanks @FirstInTown! I really appreciate the side-by-side comparison. With the delivery times being pushed out, I may have to live with my 2018 MX for 6-8 more months. Also considered selling it or trading it in for the iX BMW and then if I don't like it, I can take my new MX when it finally arrives. Thanks again!
I had a 2018 X 75 and now a 2022 X LR.
Differences in Handling - It is still a big car, but the new one feels more solid and crisp and less floaty. The downside is it is harsher over things like parking lot speed bumps.
Exterior noise - assuming you mean how much wind or traffic noise do you hear; it is much improved. I don't know if this is due to better side glass, insulation or what, but the difference is immediately noticeable.
Fit/Finish - an improvement, but still not up to top standards. The FWDs on one side has a minor (1/8" or so) misalignment with the main body lines. I might adjust them or just leave it. Paint is perfect, which is important with a dark colored metallic car. There is a rattle, like a loose cable in the driver side door. Only occurs in a left turn on bumpy roads. Taking it in for this in a few weeks. Interior is still more solid than my last BMW, where I had to fix a lot of rattles myself, because the dealership did not want to deal with it, said "Oh, those take a long time ...".
The switch to Horizontal screen is great. Also, the new display computer is much faster than the MCU2 in my 2018 X 75.
Yoke steering wheel. Hated it when I saw it but adapted quickly. However, I wish it was variable rate based on speed. Perhaps in a future iteration. Buttons are not a big deal, but as a pilot I am used to have a lot of controls (mic, trim, A/P, display controls, etc.) on the yoke. I still would prefer a stock for turn signals.
Drive controls. Not a huge fan of the slide up for forward, back for reverse. But it did not take too long to adjust, and now when I drive our 3 with lever I have to look.
Performance. This thing is really fast, especially compared to the X 75. On the highway, you have to watch it when accelerating to pass or merge. It goes from 50 to 80 in the blink of an eye. Also, I am pretty sure the listed 0-60 in 3.9 is high. Probably closer to 3.5 with normal stop light to stop light launches to get in front the car on the left or right.
I am very interested that you ordered a BMW iX. I thought about doing that, but not sure I would like it. I am worried that you still have use the center console control dial too much. In my last BMWs (X3 and X5) you had to use that thing way to often (enter address, etc.) and it was a pain. I hope BMW went to more touch screens and voice like Tesla.
In the end I am not sure you can go wrong with either vehicle.
I have thoughts as well, and realized everyones feelings about the new refresh may vary. Sorry in advance for being too wordy. But here goes (comments below)
My headlights in my Plaid X are surprisingly way brighter than my 2018 100D. There is no comparison. It feels when those lights hit some foliage or whatever at night, that the refection is so bright its almost blinding. I thought people would flash me for having my brights on. So far that has not been the case. I don't care about the matrix at this point, these headlights rock, at least for me.
Agreed. 2018 cornered in a flat way, but still heaved big in corners at speed. Plaid/refresh suspension is nicely planted. The weak spot on the refresh is not the suspension/weight, its the tires. They squeal like banshees, but only because you can gain so much prodigious speed, the tires can't keep up, though the suspension is right there, ready and willing. Very confidence inspiring in the corners. I also thought I felt the torque vectoring, when powering thru a corner-- it was like the car hunkered down as it headed midway thru a corner as I accellerated. So impressive.
Two panes of glass on the refresh plus a layer between make for a quieter cabin than my 2018 by far. And I've played lots with the noise cancelling, especially around 80mph where I spend a lot of my time listening to the Tidal downloaded hi fi files. The noise cancelling does work to tone down the road noise a bit, that I'm sure. It may not be much but it's there. It also feels as if the radio space has been 'cleared out' and I don't hear the wind noise and the stereo trying to play past said wind noise. Noise cancelling does work. It's subtle but its definitely there and makes for a better audio experience.
I thought this for the first 4 weeks of owning the Plaid. 2018 MX sounded more direct, more intimate, less '2 speakers in front comin out of the dash'. But you tweak and play with diff items in the car, then tweak again. In my 2018 I finally remembered that I had taken the balance button way into the back between the front and back seats on the balance display. Thinking that was silly, I never tried moving the balance that way on the refresh until last night. And sure enough that gorgeous intimacy showed up again in the Plaid when I repeated this. I needed to have the sound not come from the dash, which is where the normal standard setting puts it for me, but some where in the middle and around, both front back and middle of my head and ears. More of an immersive experience. Maybe it harks back to my days as a kid when guys upgraded their car stereos and finally got some good speakers in the back and you felt it from all sides. Maybe its listening so much to movie theatre 5.1 sound fields-- maybe its the latter. But now after adjusting the balance to my liking(I only give it a smidge of the immersion setting.) and moving that balance button way way back, "SR-71", my name for my Plaid, finally sounds better than my 2018 MX. As it should. I actually feel like I hear all of those speakers they put in once I did this.
Agreed. Fit and finish for mine is really good, just as my 2018 was too. I don't have any squeaks or rattles or those things folks mentioned. I do hear some fabric 'rubbing' here and there, but it is what I would expect and it's so low I don't notice unless I turn the radio off and sit for a bit.
Agreed. Made a Vegas run the other week and it was 109 degrees each day. Refresh handled it decently, and especially well after running for about an hour. And thats not easy for any car.
Yes. What I don't like is the shorter throw of the NOA buttons as well as the radio buttons. They are less sure and less comfy feeling compared to 2018.
I felt this the first week. Then I finally changed the steering setting to comfort, and it was a sea change for me and this magnificent yoke. It feels better now in all things, since its so much easier and especially, satisfying, to turn with the different and superior arm angles. Even in the parking garages where 1st weeks I thought it a sure mess, and now I realize the yoke is easier, and a quick flip or two handles whatever may come-- rather than the big round turn of the wheel with arms flailing and *sugar*. So cro magnon that wheel feels to me after using the yoke for a month. And the artful design of the yoke against the dash-- I'll never get tired of gazing on that beauty. It is what it is.
Those buttons are way closer than the stalk. I've gotten to the point where I don't have to look, and my hand stays closer to the wheel. Its quicker and easier. More efficient and effortless. But of course it takes getting used to. I don't find myself having to hit those signal buttons while the yoke is spinning. If I did, I waited to long to signal and its my bad.
I never, ever, have to hit the high beam button other than to signal to someone to turn their high beams off. And I used to ride the high beams in other cars. And I'm older and don't see as well at night like I used to. Auto high beams seem to work extremely well since I don't even think about em. So its not an issue for me.
You know how I feel about the yoke. It just takes some getting used to and adjusting settings. Only than, it becomes superior.
I'm 6'3. Yoke sits lower than a wheel, I'll grant you that. But that is only if you feel the wheel hand positioning is perfect. Arms up that high is an unnatural place for humans to me, after using the yoke. The yoke has showed me that a lower arm positioning is way more comfy. Especially above 130mph. MPH, posted speed limit, close up view of map, and NOA settings are right there in the binnacle with absolutely no obstruction at all, where there was before with peering around the wheel and all.
I haven't been given Beta back yet, but I will say that the refresh NOA feels entirely better in all ways. Especially little or no phantom braking, even emergency panic braking is even and smooth, using region rather than the old slam your brakes thing that happened on my 2018. All slowing down maneuvers of refresh are so much, well, refreshing, compared to 2018. I can't figure out if its software, or the new refresh that is now way better. I'm leaning towards refresh.
My delivery experience to my house was stellar. Tesla delivery guy gave me plenty of time to look thru the cars interior while he patiently waited and remarked on some things he saw too, to add to my list to get fixed. It was a very pleasant and the best delivery experience I've had in my 30+ years of driving and buying cars. All fobs and cards were already synced to the car. I forgot to take off my personalized plate and he volunteered to do it and did it very quickly. So not all experiences are the same.
I love my wife, and my fam, dearly. I also love this magnificent beast of a car. No car has every done so many things so well and so much superior than the rest.
I've taunted lots of hypercars, especially the SUV's like Lambos and BMW's. Not many takers in L.A. At least the BMW M bit, and even though I let him hit gas first, it looked like he wasn't even accelerating.
Another great review, @jboy210! Glad to hear the exterior noise issue is better...the BMW iX was noticeably much quieter than my MX and rode more like a luxury vehicle, especially over things like speed bumps. I also think I'd be able to get used to the horizontal screen and the yoke steering wheel. I checked out the iX I ordered yesterday and took it for a test drive, but I ended up declining the order and asking for my deposit. Lots of critics are complaining about the weird exterior, but I actually think the interior is the problem with the BMW iX--doesn't feel like the same level of luxury as the gas-powered BMWs.
Interesting the interior is less lux in the iX. I liked the interiors in the X3 and X5, as long as you ordered all those (expensive) packages. I tended to check every box on the BMWs. But I hated some of the UI items like that knob to enter in Nav addresses, change scales, etc. Telsa keyboard and tablet like pinch movements felt much more natural to me. But the BMW HUD and bird's-eye view when parking are things I really miss on Teslas and seem like something Tesla could pretty easily add.
The birds-eye view is great and there are some nice touches to the BMW iX, but it is not as luxurious as the X5. There is a big gap in the dashboard between the windshield and the dash which is really awkward and the space on the floorboard between the driver and passenger seats makes it feel like a minivan or a U-Haul truck. Reminds me of my 2016 Model S before Tesla built out the center console, but worse because there isn’t even a tray or place to put belongings. The controls are also too far back, closer to your forearm, so if you look down to see the controls you have to take your eyes off the road completely. Otherwise the ride is very smooth, it is fast, and quiet.
Seattle Tom
Member
@FirstInTown you can display the energy graph on the 2022 Model X by I believe using the voice control command “Open Energy Graph.”
FirstInTown
Member
Thanks for that. Only problem, it takes up the whole screen, and doesn't work if cell coverage is bad as no voice commands work if don't have connectivity.
Yes, that is all true. It is really a half baked implementation, terrible. But that is all we get at the present time. I am hoping improvements are coming with a do-over of the entire interface. But nothing so far.
Update—the Tesla gods must have been monitoring this post…on July 5th, I received a text message that my new MX would be ready for delivery between 7/6 and 7/9. Previously, they estimated a delivery window between October and February. So last night I picked up my new MX long range and it’s fantastic. A big upgrade to my 2018 and really awesome to drive. Thanks for all the great tips here!
Now for selling my 2018 MX…getting some good offers on Shift and KBB. I have low miles (22k) and the back seat has probably been used less than 10 times. I’ll check out this site for other tips on resale.
Now for selling my 2018 MX…getting some good offers on Shift and KBB. I have low miles (22k) and the back seat has probably been used less than 10 times. I’ll check out this site for other tips on resale.
An aside question - highway speeds seems to help the fan or the cooling, I suppose due to air being forced into the air intake at those speeds?
We’ve just noticed that in very hot afternoons (99+) after plenty of driving the AC seems to be fine at highway speeds, but sucks a lot of energy driving slower through BP city streets and the fan is running like crazy. I suppose cooling both the battery as well trying to keep up with climate control?
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