Lots of stress went into my final configuration. When I ordered my car in April of 2017, my wife was pregnant with twins and we were moving into a new place (eventually). Lots was “up in the air.”
I wanted to go with the 100D, but as Nicole made the great point that with twin babies, we were going to be stopping every two hours on road trips for the foreseeable future. From doing tests using various routing apps (https://abetterrouteplanner.com), the biggest advantage of the 100D is that first part of your leg. You can skip a supercharger or two. After that, duration is about the same but the 100D will charge faster in that fatty middle part of the charge.
I also really wanted the white leather(pretend) seats, but I took a peek around the Tesla dealership. Owners with white seats didn’t clean them and they looked awful. There are lots of people that keep their white seats perfect, and they look gorgeous, but I knew with twins I wasn’t going to have time to be fussy with them. Any dirt, crumbs, whatever, is just so obvious with white seats.
So I went with the ‘default’ seats! I went with the 75D. I did go with he Premium Upgrade Package which was pricy at the time (it comes with more ‘stuff’ now). I did not upgraded the stereo. But I do have the self-presenting doors, biodefense mode, etc.. I paid extra for the sub-zero package (it’s now included in the premium package). Went with regular tires, because—range. Upgraded to the red colour. This is so subjective, I won’t even go into it.
A year in, what do I think of my choices?
Default Seats
My best and easiest decision, the ‘default seats.’ These seats are identical in shape, size, and fit as the upgraded seats. They’re incredibly comfortable. I’m not worried about wear-and-tear. They’re actually quite terrific! Not uprading to the premium seats saves you a ton of money, and I prefer the cloth over the premium black seats in both look and comfort. Unless you want a non-black interior, this seems to be the best option of the bunch.
I went with the six-seat configuration. There's no one perfect configuration, and this is so subjective, I couldn't possibly make any recommendations. For us it made sense because the third row meant someone could sit behind the babies on long-trips. I would have loved to have the added storage of the 5 seat config. I don't have the need for 7 seats. The centre console wasn't an option when I ordered, but I love having all that extra space between the second-row seats. The 6 row config looks best, and has the most flexibility. Your results will vary.
75D battery in day-to-day driving.
For normal day-to-day driving this battery size is perfect. For me, it was non-issue for 363 out of 365 days. However, there were a couple of days where I was filled with range anxiety. In the winter, expect to get 2/3rds your normal range. This winter was especially cold where I live. Around the holidays, we had plenty of family to visit. Had the nearby supercharger not been off-line (due it issues with the cold), we’d have been fine. It was out, though, and I had range anxiety for two days straight because we stayed overnight at a relatives house and had no easy way to charge. I would have been in trouble with a 100D battery as well, but there’s definitely more wiggle room.
I do think, though, that this was early adopter range anxiety. We had limited charging locations in Toronto in the early winter days of 2017. Already, today, there are a lot more superchargers in the area. I would not have had any range anxiety issues with the current Supercharger map. So yes, some growing pains during exceptional times, but I don't expect to hit those again.
MX75D battery for long-distance trips.
For ever four-hours of driving, the 75D battery costs you about 30 minutes extra vs the 100D in charging time. I’ve done trips without kids, and this is the biggest adjustment from my previous ICE cars where I'd only stop when I needed gas. What people say are true, though. It takes you longer to get places, but you arrive relaxed, and refreshed. I do a specific drive a few times a year that took 10 hours in my old ICE car (which included a stop for lunch). It's an 11 hour drive in a MX100D (according to abetterouteplanner), and a 12 hour drive in a MX75D. I feel better after 12 hours of driving because of the rest stops and autopilot taking a lot of the work out of it, but when I want to go home and get home quickly, it's frustrating.
Things take longer. If you don’t leave your trip at 100% charge, this is especially brutal. I did one trip where I stayed on a farm, got almost no milage with a regular 110v plug (it was winter), and limped to the first supercharger just to charge for an hour. It would have been brutal with a 100D, but less-so. Otherwise, though, it’s great. For 300 mile distance trips where you need to make one stop anyway, it’s almost of no consequence. It’s the longer trips that get you.
People that buy Tesla’s tend to drive more (that’s where the costs savings come into play), so for many, the 100D is probably the better choice. For the average driver, though, 75D is perfectly fine. To put differently, if I’d have come into a ton more money tomorrow, I’d keep my 75D. By comparison, the MX 100D added range isn’t significantly more than the 75D. It's 55 more miles. In the winter-time, that's more like 30 miles. Don't get me wrong, it's something, but this is where you need to know yourself. I'm fairly chill. I used to fly planes, and calculate fuel remaining mid-air, and I'd do cross-country flights where running out of fuel meant you crashed the plane. By comparison, driving a 75D in the winter on road trips is easy-peasy.
If I'm traveling for work or fun without the kids, the M3 Long-Distance is the true sweet spot in the Tesla range. It is the only Tesla that will drive similar to ICE cars in long-distance halls. Yes, the range is similar to a Model S 100D, but the charge times are faster because of the smaller battery and efficiency gained from it being a lighter car. Anything short of the M3 LD, you’ll have some delays.
Premium Upgrade Package.
The self-presenting door is the dumbest, funnest, coolest, and most convenient feature of the car (beyond self-driving). The number of times I walk up to the car with coffees in both hands, and the doors open for me seamlessly, is unreal. Is it worth thousands of dollars? No. This was definitely an exuberant spend on my part because the premium package offered so little back in April of 2017. Today, though, the decision is easy because the Premium Upgrade Package includes the better stereo and the cold-weather package, in addition to biodefense mode (which I have used) and the self-presenting door.
My only regret—I wish I had purchased the upgraded speaker package. I didn’t spend any time on this decision, and read comments that the default package is great. I don’t think it is. To each their own, but for my purposes, I’m missing the better beats. Thankfully, if you’re buying a MX today, you don’t need to make that decision. Just get the premium package!
That’s it! It’s a terrific car. I’ve had absolutely no problems with it, never needed to go to the dealership, and I’ve put on about 12,000 miles / 19000km on it so far! No fit-finish issues, no weird 12v battery issue, no issues with the falcon-wing doors. *
* Wait. That's not entirely true. Falcon-wing doors are fantastic with kids. You can get up on the car, and make adjustments to the car seat. They make getting kids in and out so much easier. However, let's be honest, minivan doors are the most convenient doors. You need to pick a parking spot that works with the doors. It's not about cars, though. It's about overhanging trees, and bushes, and street-side garbages, and things like that. A tiny inconvenience, certainly, but worth mentioning. I've never had issues opening the doors inside indoor garages (I park in many of these!), no matter how low the garage seemed. I've never had issues with a car being parked too close where the doors wouldn't open.
Anyway, that's it! You can see some more of my 'stuff' on my YouTube channel I'm slowly growing (again, twins, ahhhh so little time). Happy to answer any questions.
I wanted to go with the 100D, but as Nicole made the great point that with twin babies, we were going to be stopping every two hours on road trips for the foreseeable future. From doing tests using various routing apps (https://abetterrouteplanner.com), the biggest advantage of the 100D is that first part of your leg. You can skip a supercharger or two. After that, duration is about the same but the 100D will charge faster in that fatty middle part of the charge.
I also really wanted the white leather(pretend) seats, but I took a peek around the Tesla dealership. Owners with white seats didn’t clean them and they looked awful. There are lots of people that keep their white seats perfect, and they look gorgeous, but I knew with twins I wasn’t going to have time to be fussy with them. Any dirt, crumbs, whatever, is just so obvious with white seats.
So I went with the ‘default’ seats! I went with the 75D. I did go with he Premium Upgrade Package which was pricy at the time (it comes with more ‘stuff’ now). I did not upgraded the stereo. But I do have the self-presenting doors, biodefense mode, etc.. I paid extra for the sub-zero package (it’s now included in the premium package). Went with regular tires, because—range. Upgraded to the red colour. This is so subjective, I won’t even go into it.
A year in, what do I think of my choices?
Default Seats
My best and easiest decision, the ‘default seats.’ These seats are identical in shape, size, and fit as the upgraded seats. They’re incredibly comfortable. I’m not worried about wear-and-tear. They’re actually quite terrific! Not uprading to the premium seats saves you a ton of money, and I prefer the cloth over the premium black seats in both look and comfort. Unless you want a non-black interior, this seems to be the best option of the bunch.
I went with the six-seat configuration. There's no one perfect configuration, and this is so subjective, I couldn't possibly make any recommendations. For us it made sense because the third row meant someone could sit behind the babies on long-trips. I would have loved to have the added storage of the 5 seat config. I don't have the need for 7 seats. The centre console wasn't an option when I ordered, but I love having all that extra space between the second-row seats. The 6 row config looks best, and has the most flexibility. Your results will vary.
75D battery in day-to-day driving.
For normal day-to-day driving this battery size is perfect. For me, it was non-issue for 363 out of 365 days. However, there were a couple of days where I was filled with range anxiety. In the winter, expect to get 2/3rds your normal range. This winter was especially cold where I live. Around the holidays, we had plenty of family to visit. Had the nearby supercharger not been off-line (due it issues with the cold), we’d have been fine. It was out, though, and I had range anxiety for two days straight because we stayed overnight at a relatives house and had no easy way to charge. I would have been in trouble with a 100D battery as well, but there’s definitely more wiggle room.
I do think, though, that this was early adopter range anxiety. We had limited charging locations in Toronto in the early winter days of 2017. Already, today, there are a lot more superchargers in the area. I would not have had any range anxiety issues with the current Supercharger map. So yes, some growing pains during exceptional times, but I don't expect to hit those again.
MX75D battery for long-distance trips.
For ever four-hours of driving, the 75D battery costs you about 30 minutes extra vs the 100D in charging time. I’ve done trips without kids, and this is the biggest adjustment from my previous ICE cars where I'd only stop when I needed gas. What people say are true, though. It takes you longer to get places, but you arrive relaxed, and refreshed. I do a specific drive a few times a year that took 10 hours in my old ICE car (which included a stop for lunch). It's an 11 hour drive in a MX100D (according to abetterouteplanner), and a 12 hour drive in a MX75D. I feel better after 12 hours of driving because of the rest stops and autopilot taking a lot of the work out of it, but when I want to go home and get home quickly, it's frustrating.
Things take longer. If you don’t leave your trip at 100% charge, this is especially brutal. I did one trip where I stayed on a farm, got almost no milage with a regular 110v plug (it was winter), and limped to the first supercharger just to charge for an hour. It would have been brutal with a 100D, but less-so. Otherwise, though, it’s great. For 300 mile distance trips where you need to make one stop anyway, it’s almost of no consequence. It’s the longer trips that get you.
People that buy Tesla’s tend to drive more (that’s where the costs savings come into play), so for many, the 100D is probably the better choice. For the average driver, though, 75D is perfectly fine. To put differently, if I’d have come into a ton more money tomorrow, I’d keep my 75D. By comparison, the MX 100D added range isn’t significantly more than the 75D. It's 55 more miles. In the winter-time, that's more like 30 miles. Don't get me wrong, it's something, but this is where you need to know yourself. I'm fairly chill. I used to fly planes, and calculate fuel remaining mid-air, and I'd do cross-country flights where running out of fuel meant you crashed the plane. By comparison, driving a 75D in the winter on road trips is easy-peasy.
If I'm traveling for work or fun without the kids, the M3 Long-Distance is the true sweet spot in the Tesla range. It is the only Tesla that will drive similar to ICE cars in long-distance halls. Yes, the range is similar to a Model S 100D, but the charge times are faster because of the smaller battery and efficiency gained from it being a lighter car. Anything short of the M3 LD, you’ll have some delays.
Premium Upgrade Package.
The self-presenting door is the dumbest, funnest, coolest, and most convenient feature of the car (beyond self-driving). The number of times I walk up to the car with coffees in both hands, and the doors open for me seamlessly, is unreal. Is it worth thousands of dollars? No. This was definitely an exuberant spend on my part because the premium package offered so little back in April of 2017. Today, though, the decision is easy because the Premium Upgrade Package includes the better stereo and the cold-weather package, in addition to biodefense mode (which I have used) and the self-presenting door.
My only regret—I wish I had purchased the upgraded speaker package. I didn’t spend any time on this decision, and read comments that the default package is great. I don’t think it is. To each their own, but for my purposes, I’m missing the better beats. Thankfully, if you’re buying a MX today, you don’t need to make that decision. Just get the premium package!
That’s it! It’s a terrific car. I’ve had absolutely no problems with it, never needed to go to the dealership, and I’ve put on about 12,000 miles / 19000km on it so far! No fit-finish issues, no weird 12v battery issue, no issues with the falcon-wing doors. *
* Wait. That's not entirely true. Falcon-wing doors are fantastic with kids. You can get up on the car, and make adjustments to the car seat. They make getting kids in and out so much easier. However, let's be honest, minivan doors are the most convenient doors. You need to pick a parking spot that works with the doors. It's not about cars, though. It's about overhanging trees, and bushes, and street-side garbages, and things like that. A tiny inconvenience, certainly, but worth mentioning. I've never had issues opening the doors inside indoor garages (I park in many of these!), no matter how low the garage seemed. I've never had issues with a car being parked too close where the doors wouldn't open.
Anyway, that's it! You can see some more of my 'stuff' on my YouTube channel I'm slowly growing (again, twins, ahhhh so little time). Happy to answer any questions.
