I was going to wait until the 1 year mark of ownership to give my experience and thoughts of my 23LR but I feel there's enough to talk about now and thought it was fitting to do an end of year review so far. I have owned the car for just over 7 months and almost 12k kms. Apologies in advance for the length so feel free to click 'back' on your browser. 
TL;DR
Driving an EV has its own driving experience and I am loving it. It's not perfect (no such thing as a perfect car) and a bit plain but there are so many relatively inexpensive aftermarket things that can fill in a lot of the gaps to make it better. With all of the price drops and discounts this year, it really is a good value as an EV. It's not for everyone though but suits my lifestyle and driving needs. If you can do overnight home charging at home and your daily commute is less than 200-250 kms, you shouldn't have any worries about range. If you do a lot of road trips then be prepared for trips taking a bit longer depending on your driving habits.
Background:
My previous 2 vehicles were a 2012 VW Golf R and 2021 Ford F-150. I really loved each of those vehicles in their own way. The Golf was zippy, fast, fun hot hatch. I do have a thing for German cars. I tend to like cars that are on the sportier side. The F-150 was great for comfort and was so nice not worrying about rough roads, potholes, etc. It was a bit of an impulse during Covid when I got a really good deal on a lease.
I'm a big fan of hatchbacks/wagons. If the M3 had a hatch instead of trunk, I probably would have opted for it instead. So I placed an order for a MYP. After reading countless posts, I justified the extra cost over the LR because I wanted the extra power, sportier ride (even though I hadn't been able to test drive a MYP), track mode (not that I was going to track the car but I do like to push the car on corners and have fun in the snow), overall look with braker covers and spoiler (a little less common). I really dislike the Gemini wheels so they would have been replaced or used for winter duty. I would have also replaced the 21" wheels with an aftermarket 20" set up because I didn't want to deal with such a low profile tire and the cost of replacement tires in those sizes. And hopefully recover some range. I figure if I could at least break even on the price of selling the 21's and getting a new 20's I would be fine with it. I would also have to forgo the white interior if I got the MYP to keep the price within budget. But then with another price drop, the LR qualified for Canada's federal rebate of $5k but the MYP didn't. So I couldn't justify the price difference anymore so I switched my order to a LR with white interior.
Performance and Handling
- LR is still very capable and fast. I ended up adding acceleration boost through referral credits. I did some 0-100kms runs with the Teslogic display before and after and shaved 0.5s off the times. Since the car is still newish to me and hadn't fully gotten used to the stock power the increase in power probably isn't as noticeable for me. But it's still very welcomed.
- I do miss driving manual transmission cars but feel I have gotten quite good with the one pedal driving. Switching between EV and ICE cars has been no issue for me
- overall handling is pretty good for such a big and heavy car. 50/50 weight distribution and low center of gravity helps a lot. I like cars on the sportier side so the suspension firmness does not bother me. I quite like it in fact but I will still consider upgrading suspension in the future and maybe slightly lower it. Around town, I feel the car is quite stable allowing me to have a bit of fun on off/on ramps and such. I took the car on some twisty back country road and was quite impressed on how well it handled.
- it's no fun in the snow - after a good snowfall, I took my car to an empty parking lot to push the car around to see if I can drift and do donuts. All of the driving nannies did a good job keeping the car stable. This is where I think I miss the track mode of the MYP. I have a S3XY knob and buttons on order and their recent update adds a drift mode so that address this for me.
Tech and Features
- I keep telling people that Tesla is a tech company first that is just wrapped in car parts. The tech and battery is really ahead of everyone at the moment. So it does fall short in many things as a car. I love how Tesla continues to push software updates to the car. Some better than others but I feel it keeps the car fresh
- I do wish there were a few more knobs and buttons. I'm hoping to recitify some of that with S3XY knob and buttons
- Interior is a bit too plain for my liking. But I love the white interior. Will see if I feel the same to see how well it wears
- I installed Teslogic and am using an old iphone as my instrument cluster that stays in the car. Works very well.
- the phone app works quite well. I've had a few hiccups where the car wouldn't unlock immediately. But I like what I can control through the app and it seems to get better with each update. Being able to pre-warm / cool the car beforehand is great.
- no 360 camera and USS: Before anyone says "learn to park", I am a very capable driver, thank you very much. But it's good tech that seemingly easy enough to implement. If it saves you just that one time hitting something, then I feel it's good value. Hopefully Park Vision continues to improve.
- autopilot is okay. I seem to trust it more than my other cars that had ACC. But it's annoying having to reset cruise control everything it disengages.
Comfort and convenience
- no passenger has complained about the seats. Everyone says they are comfortable
- I like the size and feel of the steering wheel. My wife's Q5 feels like I'm driving a bus
- love the storage of frunk and sub-trunk. I bought various storage trays and bins which make the space more versatile
- plan on adding a rear screen so passengers can control this own heated seats and such
Efficiency:
- Supercharging network is great. No fuss, no muss. I have taken two out of town trips and my SC experience were easy.
- I've been tracking my charging costs and figure that it's about 25-30% of what it would cost me in fuel. And that doesn't factor in savings from oil changes and other maintenance of ICE vehicles.
- I'm averaging around 210-220wh/km. Not great but not bad for my driving style.
- I think I would prefer taking ICE on longer trips. Only because I'm one that prefers to go longer stretches and drive at higher speeds. On my 2 out of city trips, the overall trip time was more than had I done it in an ICE vehicle. But if you're one that doesn't mind stopping every 2-3 hours then it is fine. I did not have range anxiety. The Tesla navigation is quite accurate.
Other:
- outward visibility is not very good. I find there are a lot of obstructed views with the pillars and small rear window. I'm still getting used to it.
- insurance costs are around $100 more a month for me than my previous vehicles so that's eating into the fuel cost savings. I'm a bit worried what the renewal will be as it seems like it's going up for everyone
- not a huge fan of its bubbly egg shaped look. The rear 3/4 view is the best angle in my opinion. But I plan on adding a spoiler and a few other things to make it a bit more unique. I have already put on matte black badges and tinted windows.
- there is such a huge selection of aftermarket accessories and upgrades. I am constantly looking at things to add to my car and there seems to be new stuff coming out all the time. I have purchased a bunch of accessories (I will list out in the next post)
- there are way too many Teslas on the road now. I am looking at different ways to make it slightly more unique yet tasteful (at least to me) without breaking the bank.
- I wish I had gotten the tow hitch just for convenience purposes. I can see the odd time of having to put a cargo or bike rack or even maybe tow the odd small trailer at times. But I can still do that after the fact. I am looking at aftermarket versions as well as I don't think I'll be that bothered of not having tow mode. This will be a springtime thing.
That's all for now. I'll continue to add to this thread as the mood arises. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far)
TL;DR
Driving an EV has its own driving experience and I am loving it. It's not perfect (no such thing as a perfect car) and a bit plain but there are so many relatively inexpensive aftermarket things that can fill in a lot of the gaps to make it better. With all of the price drops and discounts this year, it really is a good value as an EV. It's not for everyone though but suits my lifestyle and driving needs. If you can do overnight home charging at home and your daily commute is less than 200-250 kms, you shouldn't have any worries about range. If you do a lot of road trips then be prepared for trips taking a bit longer depending on your driving habits.
Background:
My previous 2 vehicles were a 2012 VW Golf R and 2021 Ford F-150. I really loved each of those vehicles in their own way. The Golf was zippy, fast, fun hot hatch. I do have a thing for German cars. I tend to like cars that are on the sportier side. The F-150 was great for comfort and was so nice not worrying about rough roads, potholes, etc. It was a bit of an impulse during Covid when I got a really good deal on a lease.
I'm a big fan of hatchbacks/wagons. If the M3 had a hatch instead of trunk, I probably would have opted for it instead. So I placed an order for a MYP. After reading countless posts, I justified the extra cost over the LR because I wanted the extra power, sportier ride (even though I hadn't been able to test drive a MYP), track mode (not that I was going to track the car but I do like to push the car on corners and have fun in the snow), overall look with braker covers and spoiler (a little less common). I really dislike the Gemini wheels so they would have been replaced or used for winter duty. I would have also replaced the 21" wheels with an aftermarket 20" set up because I didn't want to deal with such a low profile tire and the cost of replacement tires in those sizes. And hopefully recover some range. I figure if I could at least break even on the price of selling the 21's and getting a new 20's I would be fine with it. I would also have to forgo the white interior if I got the MYP to keep the price within budget. But then with another price drop, the LR qualified for Canada's federal rebate of $5k but the MYP didn't. So I couldn't justify the price difference anymore so I switched my order to a LR with white interior.
Performance and Handling
- LR is still very capable and fast. I ended up adding acceleration boost through referral credits. I did some 0-100kms runs with the Teslogic display before and after and shaved 0.5s off the times. Since the car is still newish to me and hadn't fully gotten used to the stock power the increase in power probably isn't as noticeable for me. But it's still very welcomed.
- I do miss driving manual transmission cars but feel I have gotten quite good with the one pedal driving. Switching between EV and ICE cars has been no issue for me
- overall handling is pretty good for such a big and heavy car. 50/50 weight distribution and low center of gravity helps a lot. I like cars on the sportier side so the suspension firmness does not bother me. I quite like it in fact but I will still consider upgrading suspension in the future and maybe slightly lower it. Around town, I feel the car is quite stable allowing me to have a bit of fun on off/on ramps and such. I took the car on some twisty back country road and was quite impressed on how well it handled.
- it's no fun in the snow - after a good snowfall, I took my car to an empty parking lot to push the car around to see if I can drift and do donuts. All of the driving nannies did a good job keeping the car stable. This is where I think I miss the track mode of the MYP. I have a S3XY knob and buttons on order and their recent update adds a drift mode so that address this for me.
Tech and Features
- I keep telling people that Tesla is a tech company first that is just wrapped in car parts. The tech and battery is really ahead of everyone at the moment. So it does fall short in many things as a car. I love how Tesla continues to push software updates to the car. Some better than others but I feel it keeps the car fresh
- I do wish there were a few more knobs and buttons. I'm hoping to recitify some of that with S3XY knob and buttons
- Interior is a bit too plain for my liking. But I love the white interior. Will see if I feel the same to see how well it wears
- I installed Teslogic and am using an old iphone as my instrument cluster that stays in the car. Works very well.
- the phone app works quite well. I've had a few hiccups where the car wouldn't unlock immediately. But I like what I can control through the app and it seems to get better with each update. Being able to pre-warm / cool the car beforehand is great.
- no 360 camera and USS: Before anyone says "learn to park", I am a very capable driver, thank you very much. But it's good tech that seemingly easy enough to implement. If it saves you just that one time hitting something, then I feel it's good value. Hopefully Park Vision continues to improve.
- autopilot is okay. I seem to trust it more than my other cars that had ACC. But it's annoying having to reset cruise control everything it disengages.
Comfort and convenience
- no passenger has complained about the seats. Everyone says they are comfortable
- I like the size and feel of the steering wheel. My wife's Q5 feels like I'm driving a bus
- love the storage of frunk and sub-trunk. I bought various storage trays and bins which make the space more versatile
- plan on adding a rear screen so passengers can control this own heated seats and such
Efficiency:
- Supercharging network is great. No fuss, no muss. I have taken two out of town trips and my SC experience were easy.
- I've been tracking my charging costs and figure that it's about 25-30% of what it would cost me in fuel. And that doesn't factor in savings from oil changes and other maintenance of ICE vehicles.
- I'm averaging around 210-220wh/km. Not great but not bad for my driving style.
- I think I would prefer taking ICE on longer trips. Only because I'm one that prefers to go longer stretches and drive at higher speeds. On my 2 out of city trips, the overall trip time was more than had I done it in an ICE vehicle. But if you're one that doesn't mind stopping every 2-3 hours then it is fine. I did not have range anxiety. The Tesla navigation is quite accurate.
Other:
- outward visibility is not very good. I find there are a lot of obstructed views with the pillars and small rear window. I'm still getting used to it.
- insurance costs are around $100 more a month for me than my previous vehicles so that's eating into the fuel cost savings. I'm a bit worried what the renewal will be as it seems like it's going up for everyone
- not a huge fan of its bubbly egg shaped look. The rear 3/4 view is the best angle in my opinion. But I plan on adding a spoiler and a few other things to make it a bit more unique. I have already put on matte black badges and tinted windows.
- there is such a huge selection of aftermarket accessories and upgrades. I am constantly looking at things to add to my car and there seems to be new stuff coming out all the time. I have purchased a bunch of accessories (I will list out in the next post)
- there are way too many Teslas on the road now. I am looking at different ways to make it slightly more unique yet tasteful (at least to me) without breaking the bank.
- I wish I had gotten the tow hitch just for convenience purposes. I can see the odd time of having to put a cargo or bike rack or even maybe tow the odd small trailer at times. But I can still do that after the fact. I am looking at aftermarket versions as well as I don't think I'll be that bothered of not having tow mode. This will be a springtime thing.
That's all for now. I'll continue to add to this thread as the mood arises. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far
)Attachments
Last edited:
