Thinking about trading X for S ... change my mind!

[Kandiru]

If you are fit MS for sure, if you let yourself down and have a potbelly, an MX like most of US drivers, King Corn made sure that breathing with knees flexed becomes a huge problem and risk for crashing falling asleep behind the wheel.

I have a 2017 S, and a couple times I got an x loaner while it was in service. I was always glad to get back into S And preferred driving it much More. I’ve hauled all kinds of things in the back of my S, including 500 pounds of 2 x 4 rectangular steel for iron gates, and (separately) a set of Arachnid wheels and tires, NOT mounted. Also, at 6‘2“, the gull wing doors were a pain. I was constantly bending over to avoid them when open and the moment I forgot what wind up knocking my head. So yes, I’d get the S!

You and I both bro, I carried 300lb of lava rock, a playground, bikes, four passengers and their luggage from an international flight, you name it. The MS is a monster performer on the highway, always under the radar.

The Model X is much more of a presence car, park and raise the wings, people will flock to it.

 

[Nick B]

Interesting to hear about folks that went from S, to X, and then back again to S. I love our Raven S but can't help imagining how much better an LR Raven X would be for trips. We took a recent trip to Yellowstone and admit taking my parents' RX 350 was the better choice than the S due to more storage in the RX. I figure an LR X would be the best of both worlds. Only thing holding me back are the existing problems I still see in the X forum about FWD and weak AC.

I was super impressed by how well the Raven X rides now, much much better than pre-Raven. Still undecided between 6 vs 7 seater and our local SC only has 5/6-seaters to test drive.

Im a little suprised you find the RX 350 has more storage than the S. I had a 350 before and find that the S has much more storage and is a lot more practical for road trips except for the comfort in the rear sets as well as ingress/egress.

 

[Uncle Paul]

S and X are basicly the same car, with the S being a 4 door hatch back design and the X being the taller SUV version.

S is better looking, better handling, and more efficient.
X has higher seating position for better visiblity, easier to get in and out of, can factory tow and offers greater ground clearance.

One is not necessarily better that the other, just different.

I loved the way the S looks, but it was difficult to get in and out of. That was my reason for choosing the X.

Believe people are lucky to own either one of them.

Notice that Elon normally prefers to drive an S, but when he arrives at an event, he most always shows up in a X. It makes a more dramatic presentation, stepping out of those Falcon Wing Doors. Astronauts as well chose the X when transportating over to their Falcon Rockets ") Find it clumbsy to get in and out of traditional back seats with their life support accessories.

 

[FatherTo1]

Im a little suprised you find the RX 350 has more storage than the S. I had a 350 before and find that the S has much more storage and is a lot more practical for road trips except for the comfort in the rear sets as well as ingress/egress.

No one was more surprised than me. I literally had both the S and RX in the driveway and compared which vehicle could take everything we needed and the RX easily won out (plus the RX has a spare tire). The 2007 RX also has a small hidden storage area beneath the cargo floor and that also helped. Now, if we had a RWD S with the humongous frunk then things might be different but I'd still be without a spare tire. I tried to cram things into every nook and cranny of the S, trying my best to make it work. Of course I would prefer to take the S but ultimately the RX was the better option for our particular trip. I'm not a big fan of SUVs but the experience started me wondering if an X would be the perfect compromise/balance.

 

[lowtek]

Done the deed! Sept 20th. Thanks, Tesla for the much higher than expected trade valuation!

 

[FatherTo1]

Done the deed! Sept 20th. Thanks, Tesla for the much higher than expected trade valuation!

That's amazing. My Tesla trade-in valuation came in over $10K less than estimated private sale and still at least $5K lower than Vroom.

 

[El joe]

What a nice conundrum. Here I am dreading driving my Bolt waiting for my Cybertruck and debating on whether or not to try and trade in for a long range M3 to scratch my Tesla itch in the meantime.

 

[serpico007]

What a nice conundrum. Here I am dreading driving my Bolt waiting for my Cybertruck and debating on whether or not to try and trade in for a long range M3 to scratch my Tesla itch in the meantime.

Trade now and get the most you can. I know many people who are waiting for the Cybertruck, including myself, who picked up a 3. I went with the S because I needed a bigger vehicle. I may keep it when the truck arrives or trade it in. I have time to think about it.

 

[r1200gs4ok]

Trade now and get the most you can. I know many people who are waiting for the Cybertruck, including myself, who picked up a 3. I went with the S because I needed a bigger vehicle. I may keep it when the truck arrives or trade it in. I have time to think about it.

me too...I want to give my wife the "S" and trade her "3" for the truck....but oooh no.......she won't have any part of that...SHe loves the "3"

 

[El joe]

Trade now and get the most you can. I know many people who are waiting for the Cybertruck, including myself, who picked up a 3. I went with the S because I needed a bigger vehicle. I may keep it when the truck arrives or trade it in. I have time to think about it.

I’m leaning that way. Especially the way Teslas are almost retaining their value when attempting to re-sell them. Getting one now and holding on to it for 2-3 years till the CT gets here makes a lot of sense.

 

[luvacoustic]

We had an S with the rear facing jump seats for three years. With 3 small kids, it was the perfect daily driver and road trip car (we moved from a smaller Audi A4) - and yes, we took many week long trips in it. As the kids grew, they started to outgrow the rear facing seats and we moved to a 6 seater Model X this spring and it's a world of a difference. I've gotten used to more room, the ability for the kids to have their own space and all be in one compartment (not in the trunk) and tons of luggage between the larger frunk and the deep trunk. The second row captain chairs are as comfortable for adults as the front seats are, which I never heard those comments in my S. For taller and larger folks, they prefer the X rear seats hands down.

We've taken a few week long road trips in the X with 5 bikes and it's been much more enjoyable than the S - just due to more space in the back. I had a loaner Model S while upgrading the MCU on the X and the kids were initially excited to see me pullup, but then after hopping in they asked if we can take the minivan instead. That was a sad parenting fail for me. I do miss a few features of the S - handling dynamics from the lower center of gravity and walking up to such a beautiful car. I've come to find the beauty in the X from certain angles, but the MS is a gorgeous design all around.

I think it depends on how many people you drive with on a regular basis. If I didn't have 3 kids in the car every day, I'd probably go with an S. I'm not a fan of the 3. I also like how MS and MX drivers still wave at each other where as 3 drivers rarely acknowledge another Tesla. I guess they've never lived in a world of Tesla scarcity and you were excited to see the other Tesla in town once a week.

 

[FatherTo1]

We had an S with the rear facing jump seats for three years. With 3 small kids, it was the perfect daily driver and road trip car (we moved from a smaller Audi A4) - and yes, we took many week long trips in it. As the kids grew, they started to outgrow the rear facing seats and we moved to a 6 seater Model X this spring and it's a world of a difference. I've gotten used to more room, the ability for the kids to have their own space and all be in one compartment (not in the trunk) and tons of luggage between the larger frunk and the deep trunk. The second row captain chairs are as comfortable for adults as the front seats are, which I never heard those comments in my S. For taller and larger folks, they prefer the X rear seats hands down.

We've taken a few week long road trips in the X with 5 bikes and it's been much more enjoyable than the S - just due to more space in the back. I had a loaner Model S while upgrading the MCU on the X and the kids were initially excited to see me pullup, but then after hopping in they asked if we can take the minivan instead. That was a sad parenting fail for me. I do miss a few features of the S - handling dynamics from the lower center of gravity and walking up to such a beautiful car. I've come to find the beauty in the X from certain angles, but the MS is a gorgeous design all around.

I think it depends on how many people you drive with on a regular basis. If I didn't have 3 kids in the car every day, I'd probably go with an S. I'm not a fan of the 3. I also like how MS and MX drivers still wave at each other where as 3 drivers rarely acknowledge another Tesla. I guess they've never lived in a world of Tesla scarcity and you were excited to see the other Tesla in town once a week.

@luvacoustic, how did you carry the 5 bikes? Bike rack connected to the tow hitch? We are a family of three, total, and that's one area I envy on the X -- built-in tow hitch. I have to borrow my parents' truck or SUV when we go bike riding. I know a stealth hitch is available on the S but I don't want to cut a hole into the underbody cover. Plus, I've had tow hitches on two previous Lexus LS and there isn't enough ground clearance (even with a riser) and I end up scraping the ground on big dips and bumps.

 

[voltaren]

I have had both the X and S. MS is the way to go. IMHO, the MS is a work of art and much better looking than the MX. Of course, that’s my opinion.

What’s not an opinion is reliability. The MS (especially facelift and newer) is much more reliable. The MX has “party trick” features, but they break... a lot. Way too many sensors. On the other hand, the MX is a better “deal” at ~$5k more than a similar MS. Tons of engineering and novelty for $5k (FW Doors, Seats, Glass, auto doors, etc).

All that said; at the end of the day, my opinion is that the MS drives better, looks better, and is more reliable.

 

[BlindPass]

I have had both the X and S. MS is the way to go. IMHO, the MS is a work of art and much better looking than the MX. Of course, that’s my opinion.

What’s not an opinion is reliability. The MS (especially facelift and newer) is much more reliable. The MX has “party trick” features, but they break... a lot. Way too many sensors. On the other hand, the MX is a better “deal” at ~$5k more than a similar MS. Tons of engineering and novelty for $5k (FW Doors, Seats, Glass, auto doors, etc).

All that said; at the end of the day, my opinion is that the MS drives better, looks better, and is more reliable.

View attachment 586020

Beautiful driveway.

The X appearance grew on me, but the S is the best looking car on the road imo.

 

[luvacoustic]

@luvacoustic, how did you carry the 5 bikes? Bike rack connected to the tow hitch? We are a family of three, total, and that's one area I envy on the X -- built-in tow hitch. I have to borrow my parents' truck or SUV when we go bike riding. I know a stealth hitch is available on the S but I don't want to cut a hole into the underbody cover. Plus, I've had tow hitches on two previous Lexus LS and there isn't enough ground clearance (even with a riser) and I end up scraping the ground on big dips and bumps.

We used to use our minivan and a hitch mounted rack when we had the MS - for the same reason as you, I didn't want to install a hitch mount. On the MX, we use a Yakima 5 bike holder and it works like a charm. I usually only have 4 bikes on the rack and a kids 20in bike in the trunk. I recommend a hanging rack and not a tray system for anything more than 2 bikes.

See a post here: Is a 4-bike rack for Model X doable?

Also, I completely agree that the MS is way better looking than an MX. If you have passengers in the back, they'll probably vote for the MX back seat (especially the 6 seat version) over the MS.

 

[FatherTo1]

We used to use our minivan and a hitch mounted rack when we had the MS - for the same reason as you, I didn't want to install a hitch mount. On the MX, we use a Yakima 5 bike holder and it works like a charm. I usually only have 4 bikes on the rack and a kids 20in bike in the trunk. I recommend a hanging rack and not a tray system for anything more than 2 bikes.

See a post here: Is a 4-bike rack for Model X doable?

Also, I completely agree that the MS is way better looking than an MX. If you have passengers in the back, they'll probably vote for the MX back seat (especially the 6 seat version) over the MS.

Thank you, @luvacoustic . I see you've tried both the tray-style and hanging bike racks. The hanging seems more compact but the tray style seems like less stress on the bike frame. What makes you prefer the hanging type?

 

[Raechris]

Love my S and it is sporty but does not carve or have the high speed transient response of the M3P or MYP. Nevertheless it defies its weight and size while handling. If I were you and considering you have the latest X, wait until battery day

 

[lowtek]

Love my S and it is sporty but does not carve or have the high speed transient response of the M3P or MYP. Nevertheless it defies its weight and size while handling. If I were you and considering you have the latest X, wait until battery day

It's a done deal, pick up on the 20th. They gave me way more than I expected on the trade (my expectations were pretty low).

Tesla is smart enough not to tank its own sales at the end of the year, nothing that comes out on battery day will be available immediately.

 

[Super_Popular]

Went from S to X will never consider going back

Ditto. Got tired of the cramped cabin and constantly having to look down and up at stop lights.

X forever!

 

[larmor]

Closing the drivers door with the brake pedal-- X for the win!