SR+ with paint and rims or plain jane Mid-Range?

[Big-T]

In all the news there's one thing that I didn't notice until just a few minutes ago (thanks to another thread here) - the mid range version seems to have dropped in price as well....so now you can get either of these configurations for $43k

Black Mid-Range w/ 18" wheels and Auto Pilot
Blue/Grey SR+ w/ 19" wheels and Auto Pilot

Really the 43k is the most I'm comfortable spending so it's one or the other.

Here's my concerns/questions about the SR+
- The "Standard" maps and navigation, so no traffic routing? I live in Seattle, I've got Waze up all the time, it's borderline necessary these days. Will I be able to port my waze onto the screen, will the "standard" navigation at least start calculating the route with traffic in mind, even if i can't see the traffic on the map?

- Lack of garage door opener? This is more minor, but are they saying I'll need to keep an old school garage door opener clipped to my visor, or that there is one but it just won't auto open when I get to the house?

- How good/bad will the stereo sound - I tried out the premium sound at the store, and it was fine but didn't blow me away, how's it going to be when they strip out the sub and half the speakers?

Here's my concerns/questions about the Mid-Range:
- The black paint, I'm concerned about keeping this looking ok vs Blue or Grey....I've had a black car before I know it'll look dirtier faster, but I haven't had crazy issues with swirling, scratches, etc more than any other car. From the posts here though, if I take it to my Costco car wash I'm basically ruining the paint, and if I don't pay an extra 5k for paint protection the black is going to look like trash before the end of the year? I'm hoping this is overblown, but man, I take my wife's 2018 CRV to the costco car wash regularly and it looks fine, how thin is the paint on these? Will another color hold up better?

Maybe these questions can be answered until someone picks up their SR+ and does a youtube video, but maybe some folks with a mid range and/or black car can chime in with their thoughts?

 

[Thomas Edison]

I’d always choose range over others options. You can always get wheels later. You can also ceramic coat the black it will be much easier to keep clean.

 

[Zoomit]

At highway speeds, the 19" Sport wheels/tires reduce efficiency by about 10% verses the 18" Aero wheels with covers. So you should also consider the difference in range between 216 and 264 miles, which may matter a lot to you depending on the trips you plan to take.

 

[pipestem]

MR all the way. See mine right there, where the paint is fine. The SATview, traffic, subwoofers, and homelink are enough even without the range.

 

[Big-T]

MR all the way. See mine right there, where the paint is fine. The SATview, traffic, subwoofers, and homelink are enough even without the range.

Ah yes I see you've got black with the regular 18" wheels - you don't have any any paint protection, etc on that paint? How long have you had the car?

 

[OCR1]

We have a black M3. We did a ceramic coat with paint correction for about $600. It's only been two months so it's too soon to know how well it will hold up, but so far the ceramic seems to be working well. However, no more $5 car washes at this point. So you do have to either hand wash the car or go to a high end car wash place.

 

[pipestem]

yep. 3 months. We like black cars, the family is now 3 black and 1 red Honestly looking at the colors side by side, which I get to do a lot where I work, I don't see significant differences. Always remember black is easy to scratch.

In the OP scenario, I just don't see color as the thing that should be the discriminator.