S to 3

[Sir Guacamolaf]

I think changing over to the new chemistry higher density 2170 cells with its higher capacity to charge faster like the 3 along with all the other improvements from the 3 will be a decent improvement.

Faster charging times no doubt is a worthwhile improvement. I feel it'll bring S at par with filling gas in an ICE car.
However that too is an example of an innovation going from 3 to S (low to high).
You may see something like a HUD etc. Spaceship thing that Elon tweeted of a long time ago.

 

[nvx1977]

I think I'll drive a few non Tesla EVs before making the final decision, especially since today there is more choice than there was 4 years ago.

If you do test drive some of the competition, please share your insights here. My personal observations of other non-Tesla EVs haven't gotten me excited to even test drive anything. But I'm definitely open to try something worthwhile.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

Allrighty, I'll post my updates here as I test drive other vehicles. My "set of vehicles" will be limited to EVs or PHEVs.

Today I tried out Kia Niro PHEV and EV.
What you lose vs. Tesla -

• no AP,
• Tesla has mad acceleration and handling.
• Tesla has better safety ratings.
• If you go pure EV, Tesla's at home charging times are slightly shorter, and the supercharging network is a must have.
• Looks are subjective, but S is the nicest looking consumer grade car. 3 is okay. X is an ugly toad.

What you gain -

• The interior noise and ride comfort is vastly better, even better than S. A universe better than 3.
• The interior material quality is a lot better
• The tech (outside of AP) is better, for instance very good integration with Google assistant or Alexa. You can say google charge my car or set volume to xxx or climate to yyy .. etc.
• It's a SUV'ish car, so the interior space is a lot nicer and lot more usable - I'd say equal to S, far better than 3.
• Apple carplay/Android auto - big deal to me, maybe not to you.
• Wireless charging for your phone
• 110 v socket
• Audio system is better
• Heated/cooled seats, heated steering wheel (3 does not have this).
• It's a PHEV so 110v is enough, but I already have 240V in the garage so immaterial to me.
• Rear window has a wiper, which if you've ever had one, you know how nice that is.
• It's a normal car, i.e. repair costs aren't astronomical, you aren't beholden to one vendor's overloaded service centers to fix trifling issues.
• Warranty is better than Tesla's.
• You get what you pay for, none of this "Will be enabled by software at an unknown time"

Many things to compare in the cars, and a lot to bicker/split hairs about. But at a higher level this is what you get.

 

[SMAlset]

Any owners who went from an S to 3? I have an S and considering getting a 3 and selling the S.
Beyond the obvious (size etc.), how is the interior noise level, ride quality? Thanks!

75D MS is my husband's car, had it since 3/2017. Great car. Got my LR AWD Model 3 this past September and have driven it almost every day. Love it too, easier to park and longer range than our 75D are the two biggest plusses I'd say.

We just came back from a 400mi road trip this past weekend and we debated which car to take. The 75D was the last minute choice. I have to say however, within maybe the 1st hour, commenting to my husband how I had fallen in love all over again with our 75D. Don't know how much it matters but we have SAS instead of coils; the ride was so noticeably smoother than my Model 3. Felt like I was riding above the road almost as opposed to being in constant contact with it. I'm careful where I drive my Model 3 avoiding potholes etc, but our Calif roads are not in great shape and I do feel uneven pavement (from broken and sinking slabs of highway roadway) as well as going over manhole covers in my Model 3. So the ride was the first thing I couldn't help but notice.

Second the 75D's drive was as smooth as butter. Smooth ride and at speed with no effort. I decided to drive the car and not use AP like my husband was doing. I'm not a lead foot by any means and generally will stay within 10mph above of the posted limit, but as I was smoothly sailing down 101 glanced down and saw I was at 89mph (65-70mph section). That was startling. The MS is a very powerful car. If I was in my Model 3 sure I would have caught myself way before then. We never experienced any wind noise issues with our MS and I also felt the ride (road noise/wind noise) was much quieter than my Model 3. Over the last 9 months I had gotten use to my Model 3, and it wasn't until this long weekend trip that I realized how different both cars felt driving now.

Pretty much everyone has pointed out the interior/exterior differences between the two models. True the AC isn't as robust in the MS, but if you had to drive through wildfire areas that were affected by the smoke, you would find the MS's bioDefense mode is far superior--on a previous vacation drove past several fires down 101 and to accomodations in Santa Ynez where the Whittier fire had just broken out and could never detect smoke inside the cabin with it on until we opened the door at our destination.

In my Model 3 I could still detect the smoke in my car from the Paradise fire some 200 miles away early on, and then for several days later it was really thick and horrible to be out in at all. Would not have wanted to have to drive my Model 3 in that and sure it would have been worse closer to it. Now not everyone experiences wildfires but if you live or vacation in areas these occur, whether or not you have allergies/asthma you will want bioDefense. From what I understand the wider dash of the S/X enables the car to have the higher level of filtration, not possible on the Model 3. As it's such a big point for Tesla I don't see this changing in any refresh coming down the road. We also were lucky enought to have bought when the ventilated seats were available and with many still asking for them I think they will bring them back at some point and likely only go into the S/X lines as their premiere vehicles. Same with over 400mi of range battery.

Well those would be my most immediate impactful observations on the differences in our two cars.

 

[SMAlset]

If you live in Calif or a high car break in area of the country, its nice to just leave your parcel shelf down in the MS as opposed to keeping your Model 3 rear seats down.

 

[alexGS]

Many people have mentioned the more pleasant ride of the Model S. I wish it were possible to have that in a smaller car. I test-drove the S and it was simply too large for our urban conditions.

I also felt the character of the car didn’t fit with me but I wanted to like it, kind of like when you meet someone at a dinner party and realise that you have nothing in common, but manage to have polite conversation for the rest of the evening, as no-one else is talking to them

-Alex