[UK] ‘Highland’ order discussion

[GeorgeSymonds]

So from what I've picked up...

Battery and Motors are the same, any range improvement is from better aero.

Seats are ventilated

Interior looks similar but different - that may sound odd, but still 2 phone chargers in the same place, the centre console looks more similar to the existing one than the existing one does to the first gen console

No indicator stalks - could be marmite that to many

New wheel design

Exterior, the lightest of make overs, given it the MY arse (technical term)

Said to be improvements in suspension, sound, etc etc, but thats going to be subjective i Imagine.

Slight price increase.

RHD in Aus.

I'm not surprised any custom order or a new car has a 3-4 month waiting list for most, lets not forget just over a year ago we'd wait 6 months for a model thats been around for a while. And of course thats predictions, reality could be more or less, and it could depend on factory reramp speed.

Not convinced there is a front bumper camera, and if there is, it wil only be for parking and something others have done for absolute ages..

Overall I think they've played it slightly safe, the indicator stalks being the only contentious bit, and overall the quality appears to have gone up slightly, not down which is good.

 

[Durzel]

One thing I have found weird is the "T E S L A" badge on the back. That's replicating what the S/X has always had (as far as I know), but it doesn't mesh as well as on those cars because the logo is on a separate part, rather than just stuck to the boot like a normal badge - if that makes sense.

As silly as it sounds but that just amplifies the fact that it's a cheaper car.

Front bumper camera is in the vent area at the bottom - which surely means it's at high risk of catching a stone.

 

[Zilla91]

surely means it's at high risk of catching a stone

Not to mention it'll stay clean for approximately 0.25 seconds in winter

 

[randompixel]

Not to mention it'll stay clean for approximately 0.25 seconds in winter

https://twitter.com/x/status/1697435642597425644

Maybe there will be some sort of retractable cover that opens at lower speeds?

 

[FastLaneJB]

But they like flashing their lights though.

No need in a Tesla. They are already shipped out of the factory to blind other road users even on low beams.

Just think once they implement Matrix headlights, they'll be able to much more accurately shine light right into the retinas of other road users

 

[Bandito]

When I first got my model 3 back in '21 I hadn't a ****ing clue what was going on as every second person on the road was flashing me. Eventually realised it was the lights and the search to find a wall against some flat ground began!. Madness that that they never did sort that

 

[FastLaneJB]

When I first got my model 3 back in '21 I hadn't a ****ing clue what was going on as every second person on the road was flashing me. Eventually realised it was the lights and the search to find a wall against some flat ground began!. Madness that that they never did sort that

Indeed. We've had a go on the service menu trying to fix my wife's the other day. Just need to take it out for a bit of a drive at night to see if it's sorted. I suspect now as we went low, thought couldn't see far enough and kept knocking it back up a tad. As it doesn't give you any numerical reference or such to know what it was on before, we don't quite know if we have lowered it in the end. Possible it's even higher

I assume the reason Australia is getting this in Q1 is because the UK has pulled the short straw as the location to ship all their last old design RHD models. Thanks Tesla.

Also did a bit of a look and cannot see any mention around a Performance coming later. Is it or have they killed it off? In terms of acceleration a AWD with performance boost wasn't far off, what if it's just software now and nothing else?

 

[JIBYC]

Put the car on a flat bit of road and go into light calibration and it'll sort out the level.

They get misaligned when you update the car on an incline.

 

[FastLaneJB]

Ah we fiddled with the levels a bit by rolling the wheels after it did that while it was pointed at the garage. Should be pretty level ground.

 

[tomorrowman]

This brings up an interesting point…

What good is gigacasting if it only makes manufacturing cheaper and/or easier? If it makes the car basically impossible to repair, then it’ll quickly become uninsurable, surely?

Apparently crash absorption rails can be cut off & replaced with a bolted part for collision repair. If the damage is more extensive than that then odds are the car would be a write-off regardless of the construction method. Apparently their is a feedback loop between Tesla insurance and the production teams to ensure Cars are easier to repair (and therefore insure). Get the impression this is still a work in progress.

 

[FastLaneJB]

Feels like cars are heading more towards disposable items once hit. Structural battery packs, gigacasting and so on. Maybe there’s a way you could repair it but probably is just going to be a write off almost every time.

By 2030 when Tesla has worked out how to save $5 per car by building in a structural windscreen, a stone chip will be a write off.

 

[Adopado]

By 2030 when Tesla has worked out how to save $5 per car by building in a structural windscreen, a stone chip will be a write off.

I know it spoils the joke… but all the glass other than the door windows is structural and always has been. Structural parts aren’t necessarily unreplaceable or unrepairable.

 

[qwickshot]

I really hope people understand that the parts that now make up the giga casting are not actually repairable as it stands now*?

They really are the core sections of the front and rear of the car. It makes little difference if they are a few smaller parts welded together or a single part. If you are hit hard enough in the rear to bend the boot floor, it’s a write off regardless.

An insurance company isn’t going to be repairing that. It just doesn’t happen, not only because they can’t get it back to a factory state but the labour costs would be significant, ‘gigacasting’ or not, it’s a write off.

The same applies to the structural parts at the front of the car.

Rear quarter panels, wings, bumpers, crash bars etc are still getting repaired as they do now.

*insurance repairs paying proper labour rates and using factory parts. We are not talking dodgy backstreet with salvaged parts here.

 

[FastLaneJB]

I know it spoils the joke… but all the glass other than the door windows is structural and always has been. Structural parts aren’t necessarily unreplaceable or unrepairable.

Yeah I know. More that they'd find a way of saving some money by making it unreplacable. It would be fine though because they'd use their Cybertruck Armour Glass so you'll never need to replace it

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

I find the whole debate about manufacturing methods, single piece castings, Munro teardowns etc amusing. Few people have ever got excited about the thickness of the insulation on a wiring harness or whether the subframe comprised 1 or 2 parts. They have talked about measurements of structural rigidity and impact of handling, but you never hear that from Tesla owners. In other words, I don’t give a damn about single piece casting or structural battery if the car I buy costs the same and drives the same and is the same to insure and has the same efficiency… as a car without. So what is the benefit to us? Does it just help Tesla build a car to the same accuracy/standards other makes have made cars for years?

Highland in general feels good in the sense they appear to have changed direction and tried to make the car better and not cheaper which seems to have been the previous trend. That’s good news to me, I might now look ar one, steering wheel controls aside, whereas I was increasingly finding the cars less attractive.

 

[WannabeOwner]

They get misaligned when you update the car on an incline.

My driveway is pancake flat - this is East Anglia! Lights on earlier M3 and current MY have routinely gone out of whack after updates.

 

[FastLaneJB]

I find the whole debate about manufacturing methods, single piece castings, Munro teardowns etc amusing. Few people have ever got excited about the thickness of the insulation on a wiring harness or whether the subframe comprised 1 or 2 parts. They have talked about measurements of structural rigidity and impact of handling, but you never hear that from Tesla owners. In other words, I don’t give a damn about single piece casting or structural battery if the car I buy costs the same and drives the same and is the same to insure and has the same efficiency… as a car without. So what is the benefit to us? Does it just help Tesla build a car to the same accuracy/standards other makes have made cars for years?

Highland in general feels good in the sense they appear to have changed direction and tried to make the car better and not cheaper which seems to have been the previous trend. That’s good news to me, I might now look ar one, steering wheel controls aside, whereas I was increasingly finding the cars less attractive.

Generally I’d agree with you though they have made the car cheaper to make by a considerable margin if you believe the rumours. Hence it’s the same price now but they’ve created themselves more room to drop the price at some point which they might well do knowing Tesla.

Also the discussion on structural parts can be interesting as the car might cost you the same to buy, but not to insure. Tesla’s are already really expensive here and feels like they are not helping but hindering. Just an opinion, we shall have to see over time.

Agree though other than the stalks, I really like this and at least for me I’d learn to live without the stalks so it’s not a deal breaker. In fact if the comfort is improved and they do something interesting with the M3P then maybe I just save myself a nice chunk of cash vs a Lotus Eletre or their new GT.

Oh and has anyone noticed that while you can still custom order a Model 3 in the UK, it’s cash only now. The finance options have gone but 0% APR on in stock models. Not sure how this makes sense, the rumours suggest China converted completely to Highland production so if they wanted to make some more of the old design we’d have to be getting cars from the US again. Maybe that is indeed the case, they aren’t sure that the US can take their Freemont capacity as demand will wane while people wait for the new one. So the UK is going to help out and take some of their capacity as well. Just a thought. Still if it’s not a mistake and is cash only, they’ll sell hardly any.

 

[giorgosa]

I am giving back my M3 RWD next Friday as I am changing job.

I am getting a M3 LR AWD next Saturday - got £3.5k off and 0% APR.

Apart from the fact that I need a car ASAP and Highland is nowhere to be seen soon in the UK, if you watch carefully the Fully charged video, it is obvious that there are improvements here and there, but nothing really is game changer….

So I am really happy with my choice, I know depreciation will be higher, but 0% APR on almost £35k (instead of 8.9%) will surely make up for this and I really appreciate what Tesla offered us.

 

[FastLaneJB]

Think they are doing 4.9% on the Model Y but yes you’ve saved a lot regardless. Most makes are at the 8.9% or a bit higher unless it’s a model they are struggling to shift.

 

[Bouba]

The Highland refresh is available…but…it’s not for America, it’s not for the UK and it’s not for the Performance.
Tesla are fast at ramping things up once they get going…I would guess at sometime early next year for a RHD M3P..in the meantime keep an eye on Tesla offering discounts on existing stock…you could be persuaded