NEW Model 3 Highland review!

[Heckraiser]

Don't you control regen/braking via the pedal? How is that different than controlling braking speed with the brake pedal?

A RWD model 3 only applies regen braking force to the rear wheels. Friction brakes apply to all 4 wheels with a front-wheel bias. Applying braking force to the rear wheels will absolutely upset the vehicle in a limited-traction environment. Just try pulling the parking brake while driving in a traditional car!

I don't know how it works in a dual motor model 3, but I would assume regen braking still does not have the same traditional front-wheel bias that friction brakes have. That front bias is a very important part of maintaining vehicle stability and overall stopping power under heavy deceleration. That's why best practice is to set regen braking to low and use the friction brakes in winter driving.

 

[Maki22]

A RWD model 3 only applies regen braking force to the rear wheels. Friction brakes apply to all 4 wheels with a front-wheel bias. Applying braking force to the rear wheels will absolutely upset the vehicle in a limited-traction environment. Just try pulling the parking brake while driving in a traditional car!

I don't know how it works in a dual motor model 3, but I would assume regen braking still does not have the same traditional front-wheel bias that friction brakes have. That front bias is a very important part of maintaining vehicle stability and overall stopping power under heavy deceleration.

I was about the post the exact same thing.

 

[GOATMaster]

Does anyone know which MCU it has and how much memory?

Just wonder if it will run Steam like the S and X...

If so, I may replace my S with a new 3 vs an X like I planned.

 

[Maki22]

No Steam on Highland

 

[Macb00kemdanno]

Here is the first pic that confirmed that I like the NON-highland better. Of course the NON- highland could have used some different rear lights.....however....

From afar the Highland could very well have been made by genesis.

View attachment 988254

I think I like this one the best (below).

Oh wait - thats mine!!! lol.

View attachment 988257

Phew, there is A LOT going on visually in that bottom pic

 

[gtgarner]

Phew, there is A LOT going on visually in that bottom pic

Indeed. And I love it.

 

[enemji]

Be Curious. Not Judgemental.

Truly applies to fashion and styling.

 

[SQ97]

I agree. I replaced one of our Model S with an Audi.

Which Audi? How do you like it?

 

[whitex]

Which Audi? How do you like it?

Q8 Etron. Love it. As with everything there are some things which Tesla does better, some which Audi does better. Overall prefer the Audi over current offering of Model S or X (I actually think the older S/X were more aligned with what my wife and I like to drive).

 

[nate704]

 

[whitex]

Seems consistent with our experience. Q8 etron does the 1000km same or faster than Model X LR Raven which is the same size (see below from the video you showed, same time for 1000km, though Model X was in warmer weather). From experience, Audi estimated range is vey close to what we get, Tesla was always showing unattainable rated range (I have a decade of driving Model S'es, never once managed to get rated range for the full charge duration, not even in the summer).

That said, if you are looking for a mile muncher, an EV which will get you long distanced the fastest, I'd suggest Lucid Air GT or Audi eTron GT, Bjorn managed 9:35 in the Audi for 1000km in it in relatively cool weather (couldn't find Bjorn 1000hm challenge with Lucid):

For our household, my wife uses the Q8 etron for daily driving. For long trips we use my Taycan CT, which is the same platform as the eTron GT, and per Bjorn faster (over 1000km) than any Tesla other than M3 LR 82KWh, which is a significantly smaller car, much less luxurious and much, much, much lesser equipped (no torque vectoring, active chassis leveling/control, air suspension, HUD, night vision, 18 way sport seats to hold you in place during spirited drives, etc).

For a long time Tesla had the edge, no surprise competition is catching up, no longer the fastest, no longer the longest range, no longer the fastest road tripping either. What Tesla still has is most practical utilitarian car for the money, and smoothest OTA updates. I still recommend 3/Y as most practical EV for the money. S/X were rather overpriced, especially since they dropped their interior to 3/Y level, but since the price cuts they are somewhat more attractive, offering a larger vehicle with air-suspension and more power than 3/Y.

 

[Zcd1]

Seems consistent with our experience. Q8 etron does the 1000km same or faster than Model X LR Raven which is the same size…

For a long time Tesla had the edge, no surprise competition is catching up, no longer the fastest, no longer the longest range, no longer the fastest road tripping either.

He hasn’t tested the latest/refreshed version of the Model S or X, which are both more efficient AND charge faster than the Raven versions, but you can bet they’d be at or near the top of those results.

Interesting comment you made about their interiors too. The conventional wisdom is that the refreshed versions’ interiors are FAR nicer than the original, and I certainly share that opinion. To me the interiors seem price-appropriate now - not as nice as the Germans, but still nice.

Glad you like the Q8 - the newer version is at least closer to state of the art than the original was, and it looks good inside and out.

 

[3sr+buyer]

Seems consistent with our experience. Q8 etron does the 1000km same or faster than Model X LR Raven which is the same size (see below from the video you showed, same time for 1000km, though Model X was in warmer weather).

Of course, in Norway, the charging networks are likely much more reliable than the non-Tesla charging networks are in the US.

 

[nate704]

Seems consistent with our experience. Q8 etron does the 1000km same or faster than Model X LR Raven which is the same size (see below from the video you showed, same time for 1000km, though Model X was in warmer weather). From experience, Audi estimated range is vey close to what we get, Tesla was always showing unattainable rated range (I have a decade of driving Model S'es, never once managed to get rated range for the full charge duration, not even in the summer).

View attachment 994336

That said, if you are looking for a mile muncher, an EV which will get you long distanced the fastest, I'd suggest Lucid Air GT or Audi eTron GT, Bjorn managed 9:35 in the Audi for 1000km in it in relatively cool weather (couldn't find Bjorn 1000hm challenge with Lucid):
View attachment 994340
For our household, my wife uses the Q8 etron for daily driving. For long trips we use my Taycan CT, which is the same platform as the eTron GT, and per Bjorn faster (over 1000km) than any Tesla other than M3 LR 82KWh, which is a significantly smaller car, much less luxurious and much, much, much lesser equipped (no torque vectoring, active chassis leveling/control, air suspension, HUD, night vision, 18 way sport seats to hold you in place during spirited drives, etc).

For a long time Tesla had the edge, no surprise competition is catching up, no longer the fastest, no longer the longest range, no longer the fastest road tripping either. What Tesla still has is most practical utilitarian car for the money, and smoothest OTA updates. I still recommend 3/Y as most practical EV for the money. S/X were rather overpriced, especially since they dropped their interior to 3/Y level, but since the price cuts they are somewhat more attractive, offering a larger vehicle with air-suspension and more power than 3/Y.

Try that in the US with non tesla charging network. the time will be at least tripled for non Tesla cars.

 

[nate704]

Goodbye Audi: Brand Just Killed Itself Using Chinese EV Platforms

 

[whitex]

Try that in the US with non tesla charging network. the time will be at least tripled for non Tesla cars.

I did, 3,500miles across the USA in the middle of winter. Winter weather and traffic were the big delaying factors, not charging. It actually charged significantly faster than my Model S even when chargers were limited to 150KW (so couldn't reach the full 250KW+). Granted, Model S was 2015, non-Tesla is 2023, not sure if current Model S will charge above 250KW.

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/cross-country-in-a-cross-turismo.15020/

This was one of the Model S trips:

And this was the recent non-Tesla trip.

 

[Heckraiser]

That's a really cool story. How have you found the reliability/availability working with EA stations? In considering a potential replacement for my M3, this is the first thing that comes to mind. I don't charge out on the road much at all, but it's nice knowing there's a tesla station exactly where I need it.

 

[whitex]

That's a really cool story. How have you found the reliability/availability working with EA stations? In considering a potential replacement for my M3, this is the first thing that comes to mind. I don't charge out on the road much at all, but it's nice knowing there's a tesla station exactly where I need it.

Generally I found there seem to be more supercharger plugs available, though technically if I look on PlugShare for example, total number of CCS locations is greater than total number of supercharger locations. That said, I've never been stranded, or had to plan special route detours (like I did with Tesla in 2013-2015) to find chargers. I've also yet to have to wait for a CCS charger, while I have for a superchargers in the past - there are more supercharger plugs but also way more Teslas using them. In the entire 29 charger trip I encountered a handful of broken charger plugs (they were working ones at the site though), only one which didn't tell me before I plugged in. I also encountered one charger which didn't start a session, but unplugging and plugging back in worked.

In my opinion CCS for travel is quite doable - I've been doing it. Planning your end-to-end route ahead is a good idea, more so than with Teslas which in many areas (like Bay Area) has so many locations you can skip planning, just look for a supercharger like for a gas station when SoC gets low. If I didn't have home charging though, perhaps Tesla would be better, but even a Tesla relying solely on DC charging would not be my first choice for a vehicle - there aren't enough fast (150KW+) superchargers out there yet to make it as seamless as an ICE car.

All that said, looking forward to Tesla deploying more magic docs. More available charging locations is always better. They will be more expensive I'm sure (as I mentioned in my trip report, I encountered a number of Teslas charging at EA CCS chargers even with many superchargers open in the same parking lot - when I asked, I was told it's because EA was significantly cheaper to charge than Tesla).

 

[stopcrazypp]

In my opinion CCS for travel is quite doable - I've been doing it. Planning your end-to-end route ahead is a good idea, more so than with Teslas which in many areas (like Bay Area) has so many locations you can skip planning, just look for a supercharger like for a gas station when SoC gets low. If I didn't have home charging though, perhaps Tesla would be better, but even a Tesla relying solely on DC charging would not be my first choice for a vehicle - there aren't enough fast (150KW+) superchargers out there yet to make it as seamless as an ICE car.

Yeah, I was just planning a trip recently for SF to LA (the original Tesla route) and the supercharger situation is completely different today than it was 10 years ago. It literally is like travelling with a gas car, given it is so packed, there is no worry even if you don't plan (just leave enough at the low end to reach between the two furthest stations in the middle area where they are spaced further apart).

I'm pretty sure you can't do that yet with a CCS car (you still need to plan).

 

[Apprunner]

Yeah, I was just planning a trip recently for SF to LA (the original Tesla route) and the supercharger situation is completely different today than it was 10 years ago. It literally is like travelling with a gas car, given it is so packed, there is no worry even if you don't plan (just leave enough at the low end to reach between the two furthest stations in the middle area where they are spaced further apart).

I'm pretty sure you can't do that yet with a CCS car (you still need to plan).

Yeah...not even close in certain areas. The more you are in a city center, the more broken the CCS network is. Garbage. I gave up up even using my EV6 for long trips. Just use the Model 3 for that now.