So… Highland is out…

[Badger54]

I like the look of this refresh but my concerns are the way you put the vehicle in gear.
Would rather have a physical switch or lever to put the car into drive/neutral/reverse etc.
If the screen goes tits up then what’s the contingency?

Also, living close to Swindon, the town of roundabouts I’m going to need double jointed wrists to change indicator direction.

 

[FastLaneJB]

I like the look of this refresh but my concerns are the way you put the vehicle in gear.
Would rather have a physical switch or lever to put the car into drive/neutral/reverse etc.
If the screen goes tits up then what’s the contingency?

Also, living close to Swindon, the town of roundabouts I’m going to need double jointed wrists to change indicator direction.

I don’t think the gear selecting will be a major issue. You’ll get used to it and frankly if the main screen fails the car is undrivable anyway, cannot see how fast you are going, etc.

It’s the indicators that’s the real issue. I guess if you owned one over time you’d either get used to it and pull it off or just join the BMW club.

 

[EVMeister]

2nd video from Carwow now out:

TLDW:

- You should watch.
- Steering wheel button haptic feedback is good, makes it "feel like a [physical] button".
- It is noticeably quieter, wind and road noise reduced. Noticed early on by him and passenger, also recorded as a few dB lower,
- It is more comfortable, you feel bumps less. Less vibration over bumpy road surface.
- Drive still feels "sporty", sharp handling.
- The bass from the sound system is "intense".
- 4.57 miles per kwH on his test drive = "pretty bloomin' good". Much better than the German EVs he has driven recently. Calculated as ~81% of claimed range.
- Slightly prefers rear seats compared to before, but leg position not ideal for him.
- Ride comfort and noise better in the rear than before. Now "up there with the Germans".
- You should go right ahead and buy the new Model 3.

 

[atuk]

One simple and cost effective help to make life with indicator buttons easier would be a small sticker with a symbol - I am thinking one dot for right, a dash for left ... similar to the "f" and "j" keys on a keyboard ... or braille writing.

I know it won't solve the problem, but it may make finding the actual position of the left and right button easier without looking as the hand should be there anyway.

Also, although they are capacitive buttons, they give haptic feedback (Mat Watson from Carwow actually said it feels like actual buttons) ... so you do have to press them to trigger the action. Therefore, sliding the finger to find the dot or the dash before pressing them is possible.

Personally, I'm all for it. Bring changes, innovate. Sure, we will have to get used to new things ... but "if you do what you always did, you get what you always got". I like the looks, the interior and the fact that is still an EV that's lightyears ahead of anything else. It's just simple and easy to live with, and cheap (running it) compared to any other car I owned in the past.

 

[browellm]

innovate

"Innovate" to save Tesla some money on the parts bin? pfft.

No driver benefit whatsoever.

 

[Type2]

the fact that is still an EV that's lightyears ahead of anything else.

Really???

 

[pdk42]

330d doesn't have a heavy battery pack. The i4 would be a more realistic comparison and that weighs 2,050kg. Assumijg battery weight, motors and such might be similar in weight, Tesla's shaved quite a bit of weight compared to a BMW.

Probably. But the claim was that the weight of the car contributed to the cabin noise. This comparison shows that’s not true.

 

[PITA]

2nd video from Carwow now out:

TLDW:

- You should watch.
- Steering wheel button haptic feedback is good, makes it "feel like a [physical] button".
- It is noticeably quieter, wind and road noise reduced. Noticed early on by him and passenger, also recorded as a few dB lower,
- It is more comfortable, you feel bumps less. Less vibration over bumpy road surface.
- Drive still feels "sporty", sharp handling.
- The bass from the sound system is "intense".
- 4.57 miles per kwH on his test drive = "pretty bloomin' good". Much better than the German EVs he has driven recently. Calculated as ~81% of claimed range.
- Slightly prefers rear seats compared to before, but leg position not ideal for him.
- Ride comfort and noise better in the rear than before. Now "up there with the Germans".
- You should go right ahead and buy the new Model 3.

They've had to adjust the suspension to cope with depreciation.

 

[PITA]

Really???

Agreed.

Where Tesla is way ahead of everybody else, is in mass manufacturing, it's software App integration and home storage integration.

Driving around in my Wife's Skoda Enyaq VRS Coupe, makes the Tesla feel very very basic... in just about every way.

Except Fart Mode, Santa Mode, Epilepsy Mode, Dog Mode, Camp Mode (actually it does have a Crystal Light Grille)... and important stuff like that.

 

[Leytonstone]

Personally, I'm all for it. Bring changes, innovate.

When the company's idiosyncratic meddling with every familiar feature affords no measurable gain, and the features you want added or fixed are routinely omitted or overlooked, the level-headed among us have to stop and ask, why am I putting myself through this?

One of the more instructive episodes of recent years was watching Tesla fangirls earnestly defend that stupid yoke. It made you realise that the company is not as nearly as silly as everyone likes to make out. Its customers are.

 

[WannabeOwner]

if you are broken down on the hard shoulder and you have the bonnet or boot open, the hazard lights must remain visibile.

Or, I guess, if you drive with the boot ajar and your latest pride-and-joy Ikea purchase jutting out the back - suitably restrained with a worn out bungy cord!

I mean, you're not going to get asphyxiated like in an ICE so it must be ok

 

[garycat]

It looks like the "S3XY buttons" people already have an aftermarket stalks solution.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1697663908268351900

 

[kelvin 660]

I don't know if you can turn off the internal lights but I don't like the reflection in the windscreen...

 

[EVMeister]

I don't know if you can turn off the internal lights but I don't like the reflection in the windscreen...
View attachment 970433

You can (not sure of original source for this video, screengrab taken from somebody talking through various Highland videos). What would be neat is if you could just cut off the front bit and have the sides illuminated.

 

[Mark89052]

Ah yeah that's where they get those numbers. Interesting the 18" wheels seem to make much more of a difference this time around. Comparing apples to apples Highland is a 4.5% range increase over the previous model with 19" wheels on, but somehow an 8% increase with 18" wheels! I wonder if the 18" wheels are significantly lighter this time around and/or the 19" heavier, or if the 18" 'estimated' range figures are just not to be trusted?

From The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989

View attachment 970407

The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989

www.legislation.gov.uk

View attachment 970408

I wonder how Audi got round this?, Some of there models used to have lights fully attached to tailgate, they then had fixed red lights inside that come on when opened but no indicators (unless of course they flash when hazards are on?), Highland has 2 fixed red lights in bumper that illuminate when boot lid is open

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I may have spotted the UK (and I think European issue). When the boot it open, there are no rear light so a car stopped with hazards on and the boot open isn't correctly illuminated at night - screenshot taken from a video.

The BMW iX has the same issue, so they put more lights that you can see once the boot is open

I'm guessing this is a regulation, and either way, for a company priding itself on safety, I kind of think hazards should still be visible when the boot open, unless they've achieved this some other way?

I think someone has also suggested there's no rear fog light, but no idea if thats true

 

[EVMeister]

I may have spotted the UK (and I think European issue). When the boot it open, there are no rear light so a car stopped with hazards on and the boot open isn't correctly illuminated at night - screenshot taken from a video.


View attachment 970478

The BMW iX has the same issue, so they put more lights that you can see once the boot is open

View attachment 970479

I'm guessing this is a regulation, and either way, for a company priding itself on safety, I kind of think hazards should still be visible when the boot open, unless they've achieved this some other way?

I think someone has also suggested there's no rear fog light, but no idea if thats true

There are additional fixed lights at the rear - Project Highland (Investor impact etc.). Not sure how they behave and whether they can be used as "hazard warning lights", specifically.

 

[page3]

Yes it’s less than the SR+ but it’s the same as the recent outgoing model. 0-60 mph is 5.8 s = 0-62 mph (100 km/h) of 6.1 s.

You’re right of course, I forgot about those pesky foreign kilometres.

 

[FastLaneJB]

Probably. But the claim was that the weight of the car contributed to the cabin noise. This comparison shows that’s not true.

Well it is true but in the opposite way. It needs to be heavier for more sound insulation to reduce cabin noise. It has more noise because they've skimped on that to make it lighter and more efficient. A comparison between an ICE and an EV isn’t Apples to Apples because of the sheer weight of the battery. Compare the 3 to many other EV’s of a similar size and it’s generally far lighter than all of them.

I think on Highland they've saved some weight from things like Gigacasting, structural battery pack and whatever else they might have done but then used some of those savings to increase the sound insulation as the customer does prefer a more quiet cabin. Along with anything else that they’ve added in which then increases the weight.

 

[Mark89052]

I may have spotted the UK (and I think European issue). When the boot it open, there are no rear light so a car stopped with hazards on and the boot open isn't correctly illuminated at night - screenshot taken from a video.


View attachment 970478

The BMW iX has the same issue, so they put more lights that you can see once the boot is open

View attachment 970479

I'm guessing this is a regulation, and either way, for a company priding itself on safety, I kind of think hazards should still be visible when the boot open, unless they've achieved this some other way?

I think someone has also suggested there's no rear fog light, but no idea if thats true

If they are the same as the Audi A1 we had the extra lights only came on when the lights we turned on, no point them illuminating every time boot is opened during the day