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Switching from a Model 3 Performance to a Model X Plaid, anyone done it?

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Sold my model 3 performance for model x long range. Seat space in the back was cramped and needed more room for the trunk. Pickup in August Canadian order. Also the range was horrible in my non heatpump model 3 and barely heated the car in the winter.
 
MYP wasn't even on my radar, neither was the X Plaid to be honest.

Story time.

Back in the day it was the hippy wife that kinda started all this. We were looking for a 3rd row SUV and looked at the Highlander Hybrid that was new at the time but the 3rd row tightness got vetoed by the in-laws since the car seats (at the time) would have to be on the 2nd row.

Flirted with an X but I vetoed the price at the time (oh how future me would change his tune!). So we just got a '16 Accord Hybrid sedan for her and called it a day.

P3D was announced and I mid life crisis ordered one to replace my MK7 R. I'm a sucker for quick off the line AWD cars.

Tried to get the wife back on the X wagon after we had the 3 for awhile but she has road trip range anxiety and the added inconvenience of having to plan in stops and the added time got the X vetoed again.

Plaid S comes out and dear gravy do I want one. How they utterly and completely decimate cars in the 1/4 and on highway rolls is just nucking futs. Plus they just keep pulling. I love my 3 but I've gotten used to the performance and a bit bummed how quickly it dies up top, yes I'm spoiled. So I knew if I was gonna upgrade to something it was gonna have to be a pretty revolutionary step, not just a small incremental one. I then started selling myself on all the other niceties of the S, the heat pump, air suspension, height adjustable, vented seats, more room in the rear for the soon to be teenagers, the refreshed look so it'll look like my 3 but better, etc.

I put the S plaid on the back burner though, wife was very displeased with the price. As luck would have it the Tulsa showroom was getting a S Plaid to demo thru March and it was EXACTLY how I'd want to order it. I'm super excited again thinking about the Plaid, am I really gonna do this?

So now the S train starts up again. I've worn down the wife by this point with my constant babbling about all it's specs. She agrees to shut me up by going and looking at it. I was really really hoping the back seat would be much larger than my 3 as that was gonna be key decision but nope, it wasn't a game changer in the regard.

So we leave the showroom and I'm dejected. Wife isn't a "cars are life" kinda gear head so she wasn't impressed with it at all, more dejection. But then she says "what about the X?". I was like, "sure, if it's your car, I don't want a land barge". She reverts back to the "we need at least one ICE for any road trips we might take". But, she sorta green lights the X purchase. Woot?

I sleep on it. The more I think about it though the more I get into it. We can finally have that 3rd row so we can stuff our children back there on the few times it'd be nice to take just one car instead of two with the in-laws. The MYP was a non starter since it wasn't Plaid. I had to have something faster than my current 3.

I do more unhealthy YouTube and internet searches and I pretty much sell myself that the Plaid X is right for me for my current situation in life:

+While not the top dog compared to the S, it'll still destroy 99% of whats on the road today in a straight line.
+Active noise cancelation plus double pane glass plus air ride should really make our commutes an even greater pleasure than the 3.
+3rd row for taking in-laws Xmas light viewing? Lol kinda a stretch. We'll see how often we carry 5 or 6 people.
+Height adjustable so I can look cool in low or bump to high for snow clearance the few times it snows a year around here.
+Lots more room for backpacks and sports equipment and our growing kids that I chauffeur around.

So yeah, I finally talked myself into it and had yet another mid life crisis purchase. I can't really fathom that I'm purchasing a 6 figure car. Oh well, yolo? Might as well smoke em if you got em, right?

TL;DR I wanted something faster than my Model 3 Performance, so that's why I didn't look at the Model Y Performance.
Great story Mike Hawk! We have 2 teens 15/13 who play competitive soccer around 5x a week each lol. Rear space and comfort is a huge factor for our family. We’ve been S and brief X owners from 2016-2021 and had our share of the good, the so-so and the ‘fxxk what did we do’ lol.

Have you test driven an X prior to purchasing it ? Or compared it in handling to a Y? I’m also a speed freak but there is quite a huge difference in heaviness feel between the X and the Y.

Our story:
So we had a late 2017 100D blue/white/22” turbines for a brief 6 months stint in between S’s as the wife wanted a higher seating position and 6 passengers. At the time kids were 10/8 and we were filled with soccer, swimming and Tae kwon do. Plus school drop offs and pick ups. The S was fantastic but we wanted at least 6 for the in-laws on occasion. (We did one short trip with them in the entire 6 months).

X review. No disrespect to any X owners out there who are enjoying their vehicle immensely. We just had a diff experience.

In the short time we owned it, we found out a few things about the oh so cool wing doors…fashion over function lol. 6 months ownership precisely because of the following:

For one, the doors take some time to open and close vs simply opening and running in or out. The delay for entering/exiting was actually starting to get annoying to the kids who were often just making it on time for pravtices, events, school etc. and to the cars behind us in line while on a drop off/pick up lane. No end of honks as well as a few ‘buddy get the f on with it!’ Quite embarrassing and often too showy for our taste. The doors screamed ‘hey look at us! We’re in a spaceship!’ We found understated elegance was definitely not this car. Second, the rear drivers door stopped and malfunctioned about 50% of the time only opening half way and making my youngest squeeze under. We had the sensors replaced 4x at the SC and it never got better. So after half a year of this, we decided it was enough and returned to a 2018 S.

Other factors:

- we found compared to the S, the Y felt…boatish, slower and handling was..well it’s much heavier. And with the 22” set I expected better handling. It drives and feels like a SUV no matter what you do. We also found wind noise and road noise to be higher in the S which was already louder then most ice cars. My wife would comment ‘is there like any sound stuff between the road and the floor? It sounds like the road is literally at my feet and I can hear the tires!’ The leaking of exterior sounds into the cabin was quite as bit more than the S. Ie. Standing at a traffic light we could hear more engine noise from the car beside and we could hear cars passing by in front driving perpendicular on their green light. It was again as if there was hardly any insulation. Rainy days? You would wonder if the rain or slush is coming up right into the side of the door sill or into the cabin it was that loud. Not the windows (single or double)…the actual sound proofing around and through the floor and front dash.
- the sun would glare into the front windshield and the small ish visors would not cover it at times. We had to re-adjust the visor a lot. The tinted glass at the top of windshield wasnt enough.
- the windshield wipers would clean the glass in front but leave quite a bit of residual water on the top glass above so would make cleaning the top area a constant thing. Half the glass would look clean and the whole top a mess.
- 6 seats. So this is where it was a positive and negative. Positive in that the kids could sit in the rear when any parents would come along. But that was rare. Negative in that the second row had no storage between the seats nor any magazine or book holders behind the front seats. If back seats were folded down (as they were 98% for any usable trunk space, any groceries/bags or even soccer gear in the back at times would move forward upon braking and a few times came all the way through that centre portion into where the kids sat. Kind of a safety risk actually. There was no ‘net’ or cover option to prevent this from occurring. Add the fact that the second row seats in the 6 pass cannot fold flat, and we actually ended up with less usable space than the S which was a full fold down hatchback design. On retrospect, a 7 Passenger option with middle bench was the way to go.
- not an issue anymore since S discontinued this in late 2018, but we had the full pano sunroof in the S and found ourselves missing the fresh open air and sun. Moot point now.
- the acceleration shudder was there as well anytime suspension was out of ‘set to low always’. This defect permeated S and X so we were used to this.

We got back into the S and my first reaction was ‘now THIS is how a tesla should feel! A rocket with some handling, not a boat where I can hear the waves from outside at all times.

Fast forward into late 2021 and the end of our S period. Kids now 15/13 and we noticed the low rear seat height position of the S was becoming quite uncomfortable for the kids. Knees way too high and legs too close to abdomen. (15 is 5’7 girl and 13 is 5’6 boy. Both have longer legs). Myself I’m 6’ and I can’t sit comfortably in an S rear for longer than 10 min. The inches from floor to seat is just too shallow.

So we opted to check out the Y as it has higher seating, full auto fold down seats, reclining seats (this is awesome for them). All 4 of us were able to goto the SC and try it out. Kids loved the open glass, the reclining seats were a game changer and both kids were ‘thank for this has normal doors..we can just go!’ The X didn’t hit our radar again for the various reasons above (as the kids now enter exit even faster than before) and we tested the MYP and found it’s drive was much lighter in feel and handled more like a car than an SUV with gobs of power. I love straight line but I didn’t like the bobbing boat feel of the X on turns and switching lanes quicker at any higher speeds. Was not planted enough for me. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Not worth the trade off imo. The MYP with an upcoming single cast frame and 4680 battery is what I’m waiting for. Even the 2170 as is would work.

For us also, for the 2x a year we would ever need 6/7 passengers, we found it would have been easier and cheaper to simply rent a large suv or minivan for the day or the short trip. Buy a car for what you use 99.9% was our thought.

I know Plaid is a totally diff animal with the tri motor, but as long as it’s still heavy, the doors still a fashionista model plus the other issues we had…not for us. Also the suspension on the latest S seems to be not as smooth as the older design on numerous threads here leading me to believe the same for the X. I’ve driven my friends 22’ S and confirm this. My 2018 air susp felt better. New is adaptive but really zero diff between soft and sport…just always sport and not as smooth 🤷🏽‍♂️. And we just didn’t want to go back to the shudder nonsense! We now have a 22’ M3LR boost for wife’s daily until they MYP comes along. The 22’ M3/MY are so much more refined than the earlier versions. Oddly the kids seating in the 3 is even more comfortable than the S given the higher ride height and seat to floor inches. Found that interesting. MYO will likely switch to 20” forged for lightness and also shaves .2-.3 sec off the 0-60 3.5.

(For the 3/Y I’ve decided to invest in the auto present door handles for $450 per car, and a front screen (with CarPlay/android auto) for $450 each. $900 added to each car and voila.
Best of both…some S like features and solves the wife ‘broken nail risk opening the manual handles’ issue and also screen for keeping eyes on the road more+ CarPlay.)

I hope you have a totally positive experience with the X, the yoke, the doors, the cabin dB, the weight and the usable storage. Many have differing views and that’s fine! Being an owner of any of the SEXY line up is fantastic :)

Ok ..Kevlar vest is on for any X owners wanting to take their shots! 🙄

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Have you test driven an X prior to purchasing it ? Or compared it in handling to a Y?
I sat in an older X for about 2 minutes, lol. Never sat/drove the 3 before I got it. Haven't sat in a Y either.

I am a bit concerned about the time it takes for the FWD to open/close for car line. I'm a car line efficiency snob and I get REALLY triggered when people take their time. Tuck and roll people! Tuck and roll! Let's go! So yeah, I'm gonna master opening/closing the doors from the center screen and while moving. What could go wrong? :)

We've also rented/borrowed a van for when we need seating for 6, so I'm really disillusioning myself that the 6 seats is gonna be a huge pro. Who knows I might change my tune. We go to my wife's sisters quite a bit and the grandparents are on the way so it'd be nice to pick them all up and show up at once / leave at once.

I just want that 0-60 ~2.3 and the sub 10 sec 1/4 mile. Fastest I've ever gone at the track was a 12.398s in my MK7. I like nimble and small cars so getting a boat is gonna be a bummer but I don't carve corners much anymore. Tulsa is 99% a boring street grid of north/south east/west and 90 degree turns so the only fun I'll have is the occasional highway cloverleaf.

Complete Street Performance / Unplugged sold me on the X Plaid. He also has a S Plaid but wanted more room.
 
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I sat in an older X for about 2 minutes, lol. Never sat/drove the 3 before I got it. Haven't sat in a Y either.

I am a bit concerned about the time it takes for the FWD to open/close for car line. I'm a car line efficiency snob and I get REALLY triggered when people take their time. Tuck and roll people! Tuck and roll! Let's go! So yeah, I'm gonna master opening/closing the doors from the center screen and while moving. What could go wrong? :)

We've also rented/borrowed a van for when we need seating for 6, so I'm really disillusioning myself that the 6 seats is gonna be a huge pro. Who knows I might change my tune. We go to my wife's sisters quite a bit and the grandparents are on the way so it'd be nice to pick them all up and show up at once / leave at once.

I just want that 0-60 ~2.3 and the sub 10 sec 1/4 mile. Fastest I've ever gone at the track was a 12.398s in my MK7. I like nimble and small cars so getting a boat is gonna be a bummer but I don't carve corners much anymore. Tulsa is 99% a boring street grid of north/south east/west and 90 degree turns so the only fun I'll have is the occasional highway cloverleaf.

Complete Street Performance / Unplugged sold me on the X Plaid. He also has a S Plaid but wanted more room.

FWD is slow and can be finicky depending on the surroundings. I have issues when the car has been in direct sunlight, or there are nearby obstacles (like, far overhead branches).

Having 6 seats is nice to move a few extra people without having to bring another vehicle. Honestly, I'm never back there so I don't really care. If somebody is so concerned about their comfort they can take their own vehicle :p

I don't think you'll be seeing the rated 0-60 unless you have launch mode and ideal conditions met. That being said, it's still fast. I think @Destiny1701 has made a great list of points, many of which I echo as well. The X is great, but it's far from perfect. For me, I think it's the perfect DD. But, I also acknowledge it's nothing more than a fast, in a straight line SUV.
 
Any ragrets?

I'm the "bus driver" for 2 kiddos, 60 miles round trip each day, mostly highway.
I love my 2018 Model 3 Performance but the back seats are starting to get cramped.
The adaptive suspension and ventilated seats are really calling my name, the insane acceleration is just a very VERY nice by product.

We looked at a refresh S Plaid in person but it doesn't really buy much in the way of interior space. The better half was all "what's the difference?" lol. So yeah the S got vetoed. However she's warming up to the 6 seater X. She'd like the option of being able to take her parents or friends with our kids along the ride so there's that.

So yeah, this would be my DD. I've always had lightish, smallish, and nimble cars (2 door Civic, MK7 Golf R, E36 M3, WRX/STi), never SUVs, big sedans, nor trucks. What makes me giggle the most is off the stop light smashing the go pedal. I know the X is a big beast and will feel like one but I'm hoping I can make the compromise since it has such insane acceleration and will be an upgrade from the straight line performance aspect compared to the 3.

Anyone regretted going to an X from a 3?
Absolutely not!!! I kept my Performance 3 as well as my newly refreshed X Plaid... Depending on my mood I will venture toward one or the other. The two best cars Tesla has ever made... Congrats, you will not regret... Especially, driving with that beautiful view from the driver's and passenger seats...
 
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Went from a 2019 M3P to a 2020 MXP.
I did order a Plaid X but couldnt wait a full year for it.
.1 sec difference in 0-60, the yoke, no staple wire fog lights - meh, i figured i could live without that and have an extra $25k in my pocket.

2 things i miss about the Model 3:
1. Driving/Handling it on curves.
2. Watching movies on the horizontal screen while im waiting for my kids to finish piano class.

Things i Love about the X:
1. EVERYTHING else! 😉
 

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Went from a 2019 M3P to a 2020 MXP.
I did order a Plaid X but couldnt wait a full year for it.
.1 sec difference in 0-60, the yoke, no staple wire fog lights - meh, i figured i could live without that and have an extra $25k in my pocket.

2 things i miss about the Model 3:
1. Driving/Handling it on curves.
2. Watching movies on the horizontal screen while im waiting for my kids to finish piano class.

Things i Love about the X:
1. EVERYTHING else! 😉
What are staple wire fog lights?

I ordered my MXP on January 1st and the first delivery attempt was 3/31, 90 days later. I rejected that but took the second car 5 days later. I didn't add FSD or any expensive options. Only option I added was the blue paint.

Not sure where the .1 second difference is coming from. The 2020 MX Performance is speced at 2.7 seconds but all the dragy's out there are in the 2.8 second range AFTER subtracting the 1 foot rollout while the MPX which is speced at 2.5 have all been getting 2.3s after subtracting the 1 foot rollout, so even though according to Tesla, the difference is 0.2 seconds (not 0.1), which is already a huge difference for 0,60, real world difference is 0.5 seconds. But as massive as that is, the REAL difference is acceleration from a roll since the MXP is limited by traction limits (physics) beyond a faster 0-60. It could have a million hp and it would not accelerate to 60 faster than it does now.

Also, do you have the acceleration shudder? As far as I know, ALL Performance Raven Model X's have this issue to some degree or another. So far no MXPs have reported having the issue...including mine.
 
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What are staple wire fog lights?
Look at his attachment, that's the pre-refresh front bumper with the "staple wire" looking fog lights.

And thanks for all the other data points about 0-60s, good to know. Isn't another huge plus with the refresh models the reworked battery cooling or what ever magic Tesla does so the cars don't fall on their face when punching at highway speed like they used to?

Would be interesting to see a 2020 X Performance vs a Refresh X and Refresh X Plaid at the drag strip.

Here's a pretty thorough breakdown on a Raven vs a Plaid, really blew me away how the refresh is just so so so much nicer on the interior. I never really gave the X much thought so never wasn't up to speed on the old interiors, I'm sorry but they are just... uh, yeah, not good :(
 
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Look at his attachment, that's the pre-refresh front bumper with the "staple wire" looking fog lights.

And thanks for all the other data points about 0-60s, good to know. Isn't another huge plus with the refresh models the reworked battery cooling or what ever magic Tesla does so the cars don't fall on their face when punching at highway speed like they used to?

Would be interesting to see a 2020 X Performance vs a Refresh X and Refresh X Plaid at the drag strip.

Yes, the thermal management is a quantum leap over pre-refresh. Very good point.
 
What are staple wire fog lights?

I ordered my MXP on January 1st and the first delivery attempt was 3/31, 90 days later. I rejected that but took the second car 5 days later. I didn't add FSD or any expensive options. Only option I added was the blue paint.

Not sure where the .1 second difference is coming from. The 2020 MX Performance is speced at 2.7 seconds but all the dragy's out there are in the 2.8 second range AFTER subtracting the 1 foot rollout while the MPX which is speced at 2.5 have all been getting 2.3s after subtracting the 1 foot rollout, so even though according to Tesla, the difference is 0.2 seconds (not 0.1), which is already a huge difference for 0,60, real world difference is 0.5 seconds. But as massive as that is, the REAL difference is acceleration from a roll since the MXP is limited by traction limits (physics) beyond a faster 0-60. It could have a million hp and it would not accelerate to 60 faster than it does now.

Also, do you have the acceleration shudder? As far as I know, ALL Performance Raven Model X's have this issue to some degree or another. So far no MXPs have reported having the issue...including mine.
Cool.
You feel better now?
 
Surprised to see the comments about speed of Falcon WIng Doors open/close. My last X took only 4.5 seconds to open/close. Hard to get all that much faster with standard doors. With the FWDs you do not need to worry about some car in the next lane smashing into them as they cycle much closer to the body, and do not swing out into the next lane.
 
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My advice: slow WAY down for turns and start braking WAY earlier than you think you need to. Otherwise I think it’s a pretty fun car to drive even in my slow boring spec.

We are a car person family. We have an E90M and an E63 AMG. We like V8’s and not tipping over in a corner. The X is *very* different from those cars, but it’s still good fun and a fantastic comfy family shuttlecraft
 
Yeah, I should probably get my butt in a Refresh on the local FB group to see if I'm immediately gonna hate the driving characteristics and higher seat position with the X.

Kinda weird how the X reviewers can go from OMG THIS HANDLES AMAZING!, ie Vehicle Virgins "Pretty impressive grip for such a heavy car. Limited body roll too, wow! I'm impressed with they way this handles!"
@ 11:59

To OMG THIS IS NOT SAFE!, ie Tesla Plaid Channel "Out here it feels unstable as hell" as he's doing a 1/8 mile drag pass.
@ 6:23

I'm hoping I'll be somewhere in the middle, ie Complete Street Performance who went from Plaid S to a Plaid X "It does not handle the same, the Model S Plaid feels like it's on rails compared to this thing, I mean, you're definitely driving a SUV, I don't know why I was expecting anything different, it's a SUV"
@ 5:40
 
If you ask a 5200lb car on a staggered wheel/tire setup with a lot of rear grip to do things it can't do, it will tell you and if you ignore it, it will understeer off the road

If you're enough of an imbecile to think a 9-second 5200lb car's factory brakes can handle more than a few hard yo-yos, you deserve what's coming

Youtube is nice, but it's also full of imbeciles
 
Oh I won't go full retard, you never go full retard. I have a few auto-x's under my belt and I for sure know that I ain't even getting anywhere remotely close to the limits with what I call my 'spirited' driving on street roads. However I might go semi retard taking a highway clover @ 40-50+ mph, and then the occasional emergency lane change on the highway. I know it'll sway more than my 3, the question is will it still be in my comfort / confidence zone.
 
My advice: slow WAY down for turns and start braking WAY earlier than you think you need to. Otherwise I think it’s a pretty fun car to drive even in my slow boring spec.

We are a car person family. We have an E90M and an E63 AMG. We like V8’s and not tipping over in a corner. The X is *very* different from those cars, but it’s still good fun and a fantastic comfy family shuttlecraft

That said, the Refresh, at least the Plaid (I'm assuming it's the same as refresh) is shockingly compliant in the twisties IF you goto very low and sport or advanced.