SR+ vs LR AWD $13k price difference

[ODWms]

I grew up in Miami, but now reside in Central Florida. I‘m in South Florida a couple of times a year, and I can tell you they have more superchargers per square mile than many other areas on the country. I drive a Performance, big 20” wheels and all, and I never have range anxiety; especially in the city. Once I charge up overnight, at home, it is an extremely rare situation that I’d have to charge again that same day if not on a trip. But if I did there are so many choices for Supercharging it wouldn’t be an issue. Everybody has their own use cases, and I’m sure there are some for whom is a polar opposite of mine. Just have to buy what’s right for you.

 

[Two-rocks]

SR+ owner here...
I think age is an advantage (I'm 50). If I was younger I'd go for range (ICE, used, save coin).
Save coin is the key - we pay cash, but could have much, much more of it had I saved or 'borrowed' less in my youth. The car is not cheap, and you need to look at all carrying costs (our insurance almost doubled - no infractions in the last 25 years).

Another advantage with age is I take a piss when I need to. I stretch my legs when I need to. Leave earlier or make 'em wait.
With that said -any- road trip we have taken with the SR+, the charges are faster than my coffee need and need to remove said coffee shortly thereafter.

As a younger person, we would head off on a 1500 mile last second trip. We had the time, and if I had the money the trip would have been longer and more fun ;-) As a 1st car, where the math involves loans, I would NOT recommend any expensive car.

 

[SlimJim]

Road trips and skiing are mentioned.
I recommend a LR AWD or ICE.

 

[robl45]

I grew up in Miami, but now reside in Central Florida. I‘m in South Florida a couple of times a year, and I can tell you they have more superchargers per square mile than many other areas on the country. I drive a Performance, big 20” wheels and all, and I never have range anxiety; especially in the city. Once I charge up overnight, at home, it is an extremely rare situation that I’d have to charge again that same day if not on a trip. But if I did there are so many choices for Supercharging it wouldn’t be an issue. Everybody has their own use cases, and I’m sure there are some for whom is a polar opposite of mine. Just have to buy what’s right for you.

I don't know about that, being from South Florida, there are not all that many around there. Its certainly not like a gas station. Plus I wouldn't want to be supercharging too often as its pricey for what you get. The advantage of electric is charging at home. If you gonna be supercharging all the time, might as well just buy gas.

 

[Amped412]

Good video on the SR+ in the snow.

 

[robl45]

Good video on the SR+ in the snow.

I can honestly say after growing up in the snow and becoming aware of 4WD/AWD in the snow, there is no way I would move to a place with snow without AWD/4WD.

 

[Amped412]

I can honestly say after growing up in the snow and becoming aware of 4WD/AWD in the snow, there is no way I would move to a place with snow without AWD/4WD.

That's fair. Just providing another data point that AWD is not needed for a Tesla to drive safely in snow.

 

[robl45]

That's fair. Just providing another data point that AWD is not needed for a Tesla to drive safely in snow.

That is true to an extent especially if the roads are plowed. I wouldn't want to be purposely taking it into snow though.

 

[PizzaDispenser]

So even for the SR+ I would have to take out a loan. Maybe I will wait until I can pay nearly in cash to buy it (I will still take out a loan because it’s smarter than to pay in cash, but at least if *sugar* hit the fan I could buy it outright).

 

[PizzaDispenser]

K

SR+ owner here...
I think age is an advantage (I'm 50). If I was younger I'd go for range (ICE, used, save coin).
Save coin is the key - we pay cash, but could have much, much more of it had I saved or 'borrowed' less in my youth. The car is not cheap, and you need to look at all carrying costs (our insurance almost doubled - no infractions in the last 25 years).

Another advantage with age is I take a piss when I need to. I stretch my legs when I need to. Leave earlier or make 'em wait.
With that said -any- road trip we have taken with the SR+, the charges are faster than my coffee need and need to remove said coffee shortly thereafter.

As a younger person, we would head off on a 1500 mile last second trip. We had the time, and if I had the money the trip would have been longer and more fun ;-) As a 1st car, where the math involves loans, I would NOT recommend any expensive car.

any ICE cars you would suggest? I just really wanted a Tesla because of the acceleration, no ICE cars have instant torque. And I didn’t like the other EV offerings.

Or I might just keep driving my 2008 Nissan Sentra until it dies, rather than buy a car.

 

[stopcrazypp]

That is true to an extent especially if the roads are plowed. I wouldn't want to be purposely taking it into snow though.

I don't live in snow country, but every time I see people with experience, they say having a good set of winter tires is worth far more than AWD (especially when braking and cornering, where AWD doesn't really help). AWD typically gives people too much confidence and they don't even bother with winter tires.

And the main reason FWD is preferred for ICE is due to more weight on the wheels from the engine, but this is negated by an EV like a Tesla where weight distribution is much closer to 50/50 (in fact there is more weight on the rear).

 

[robl45]

K

any ICE cars you would suggest? I just really wanted a Tesla because of the acceleration, no ICE cars have instant torque. And I didn’t like the other EV offerings.

Or I might just keep driving my 2008 Nissan Sentra until it dies, rather than buy a car.

first as you said, you don't buy a car for cash, you are better investing that money and taking a loan because rates are usually low. I've had a lot of crap go wrong in my life. If things are going so wrong that you can't afford the car, you got much bigger issues than the car.

Finally, as far as acceleration goes, yes its true that its a bit different with electric as far as instant acceleration, but there are plenty of gas cars that are real quick. Even turbos are near instant now unlike years back. And in my honest opinion if you do decide to get one, you probably better going for a Y anyway especially if you going near snow. Only reason I have a 3 is because the Y is half second slower to 60

 

[PizzaDispenser]

first as you said, you don't buy a car for cash, you are better investing that money and taking a loan because rates are usually low. I've had a lot of crap go wrong in my life. If things are going so wrong that you can't afford the car, you got much bigger issues than the car.

Finally, as far as acceleration goes, yes its true that its a bit different with electric as far as instant acceleration, but there are plenty of gas cars that are real quick. Even turbos are near instant now unlike years back. And in my honest opinion if you do decide to get one, you probably better going for a Y anyway especially if you going near snow. Only reason I have a 3 is because the Y is half second slower to 60

I just decided to get the SR+. I love Tesla too much to get a different car and I can deal with the negatives. $16k is too big of a difference and even with a loan it’s a $200 a month difference to get the LR AWD. Plus I can’t justify spending nearly $60k on my first car.

Eventually I’ll upgrade to a better car. But I can’t pass up $37,990 for a M3. Nearly $40k after taxes. A LR AWD would cost me $55k and more speeding tickets xD. I’m so stoked.

 

[57nevets]

I just decided to get the SR+. I love Tesla too much to get a different car and I can deal with the negatives. $16k is too big of a difference and even with a loan it’s a $200 a month difference to get the LR AWD. Plus I can’t justify spending nearly $60k on my first car.

Eventually I’ll upgrade to a better car. But I can’t pass up $37,990 for a M3. Nearly $40k after taxes. A LR AWD would cost me $55k and more speeding tickets xD. I’m so stoked.

Good for you. I've been driving a SR+ and it's great. Most of the time I'm in town for which it's perfect but do take occasional trips and accept I need to charge a bit more.

 

[SlimJim]

That's fair. Just providing another data point that AWD is not needed for a Tesla to drive safely in snow.

It is like saying you can walk on hot desert bare feet and no hat. But we all agree if you have shoes and a hat it will be beneficial.

 

[XPsionic]

20 years of snow driving experience in northern Canada with most of it in RWD vehicles:

Winter driving is more nuanced than simply "x car with winter tires are fine". Without writing a whole paper about this, I'd say that a sr+ on stock eco tires will be barely acceptable on almost completely flat roads that see up to 2" of snow. With proper winter tires you could probably drive on up to 6" of fresh snow or 4"of slushy wet stuff, with ability to go up small inclines that's not very steep.

Whether that's good enough for you or not depends on where you live, if you need to go out on the snowiest days that ever the car's capability, if you have alternate transportation, if you could wait for roads to be plowed etc.

Personally speaking I've had no real issues driving rwd bmw 3 series in Alberta, as long as i don't try to go up long inclines that are not plowed or are extremely icy. Awd helps a lot for going up any kind of hill.

 

[metalblaze]

With recent M3 SR+ price increase, I suppose the argument goes more in favor of buying an M3 LR?

 

[Nine]

I have the LR and just added a SR+ too. You've explained that saving $'s is key at this point in your life, so get the SR+. If it doesn't fit your purpose after a year or so, sell it--you won't lose too much money with the SR+ -- at the price you're locked into you'll actually make money!!! In my mind, this is a no-brainer for you. I live in Scottsdale, and travel to Flagstaff which is in the mountains and cold (from 1300 ft to 7000 ft elevation). My LR goes from 100% battery to 30% on the drive (going about 85mph straight uphill). There is a Supercharger about halfway that I never stop at. With my SR+, I would stop for 15-min to top off the charge so I don't risk it. I probably will drive this route 8x a year in my Tesla..so say 24x over 3-years...that's like $500 per stop. The other trips would be stopping more, but sounds like that's only happening once every other year. The key is that you can always sell the SR+ if it becomes annoying.

Wow, I take a fairly similar route every couple weeks. Very glad I decided on an LR model.