Which to buy: 2023 Model 3 Long Range vs Performance

[awakesource]

I'm going to trade in my 2019 RWD for one of these 2023 model 3 - to get the tax credit and have the car count for this fiscal year. I need to have the car before May 2024 and am not counting on the highland being deliverable to me (in the US) by then, and don't want to lose thousands of dollars for nothing.

Do these cars have the same battery pack? I heard LG vs Panasonic? Do they have the same supercharger speed and expectation of cell degradation? (my wife and I will be moving to California from Connecticut in May and will drive across country so wondering about that trip).

Is the reduction in range of the performance basically due to the tires? Has anyone swapped to the 18" aeros on the performance for longer range?

Is the ride much rougher on the performance? My brother in law has the performance Y and his mother has the YLR, the LR is much more forgiving over bumps. I assume the P's tires will last less before worn due to being so thin?

Aside from the acceleration difference is there any benefit to the performance?

Thanks!

 

[awakesource]

I guess a final question is what will the stated 18 miles of range difference between 315 and 333 be in real world driving?

 

[oreobbq]

LR has better range, softer ride, and is less expensive. The Performance (from all model years) is more fun and looks 10x better in my opinion.

Even thinking about swapping ugly aero wheels onto a Performance should be a punishable offense.

 

[awakesource]

So after more research, the current difference in offered dealer price is 3.2k (44.1k vs 47.4k) but because the MSRP of the P is still over 50k I lose the CT tax credit which is another 2.25k. So that is 5.5k and not worth it to me. Especially since I have had thin rims before and bending rims is so annoying - I'll be in an urban environment with bad roads.

I'm sad about the downgrade of the 2023 LG battery in terms of charge time, capacity, etc.. It will probably also make acceleration boost less viable depending on SoC.

By the way I used to think the aero tires looked bad, but now I prefer them visually to all the other tires, beauty is in the eye of the beholder

 

[awakesource]

And just to be clear - after my trade in and tax credits the difference in what I will actually pay is 16k vs 21.5k

 

[E90alex]

Figure about 85% of the rated range for real world on both.

LR has LG pack and P has Panasonic pack.

Keep in mind the Performance comes with summer performance tires so you will need winter wheels and tires for CT. CA would be fine year round on summers unless you go into the mountains.

The 18” aero wheels won’t fit without modifications to the rear brake caliper and spacers due to an extra lip on the performance wheel hub.

 

[JCtx]

I'm on that boat now, so very interested on this. So the P has a Panasonic pack; is that considered better than the LG? I thought bot had the 82KWh pack now. My ex-21 M3LR had a 78.1 LG, I think. I also think the P has better brakes, no? Although I hardly ever used them anyway, with the more aggressive non-adjustable regen starting in '21. I thought the ride of the LR was perfect: firm, but compliant. But I like a sporty ride, so hope the P rides good enough. The wheels look awesome IMO, especially compared to the ugly as sin aeros I had before. The only issue is I'd have to get the Pilot A/S4 tires, so a $2K 'upgrade'. Hopefully now with double-pane windows in front the ride will be a bit quieter, but maybe the summer tires will add more road noise, so we'll see. Ha ha.

Finally, the P is at basically the same price as the LR, for some reason (both around $46,790, at least the ones showing on the inventory). And I think the limit for the $7,500 rebate is an MSRP of $55K, right? So it should qualify, at $52K. Need to go try to drive one, before making my decision. But if the Panasonic pack is better than the LG, it'd be a no-brainer to get the P this time, I think. By the way, inventory doesn't say year, but I assume they're '23s.

 

[3sr+buyer]

So the P has a Panasonic pack; is that considered better than the LG? I thought bot had the 82KWh pack now.

The Panasonic NCA pack in the Performance modrl has slightly more capacity but probably faster degradation, compared to the LG NMC pack in the LR model. However, the worse efficiency of the Performance model means that its range is lower than the LR model, despite having a higher capacity pack.

Note that it is only recently in the US that the LR model got the LG NMC pack. Previously (through 2022 and maybe the early part of the 2023 model year), it had the Panasonic NCA pack.

 

[SpicyPaneer]

LR has better range, softer ride, and is less expensive. The Performance (from all model years) is more fun and looks 10x better in my opinion.

Even thinking about swapping ugly aero wheels onto a Performance should be a punishable offense.


View attachment 991485

I think it’s also lowered suspension in all P models by 1 inch also, not enough in my opinion. There is still significant Wheel gap.

 

[Ritz]

I have had my M3P for about 4 years now. In that time, I have enjoyed the hell out of it and it has been practically maintenance free other than normal wear items (tires/wipers/etc). I would buy another one in a heartbeat. I think it's worth the premium for the increased acceleration and the better brakes.

I am going to order a new M3P, but not until the highland refresh is available. Frustrating that it is available in other markets, but not here in the US.

Best,

 

[MP3Mike]

I am going to order a new M3P, but not until the highland refresh is available.

Well, that didn't work out did it? Just like in China the Model 3 Performance is no longer available now that the Highland variant is shipping. (Unless you mean you are going to wait until thy release a new Performance variant, assuming that they do at all.)

 

[Ritz]

Well, that didn't work out did it? Just like in China the Model 3 Performance is no longer available now that the Highland variant is shipping. (Unless you mean you are going to wait until thy release a new Performance variant, assuming that they do at all.)

No way I'd buy a non-performance version of the 3. So I guess I'll keep waiting.

Best,

 

[Rodney!]

Even thinking about swapping ugly aero wheels onto a Performance should be a punishable offense.


View attachment 991485

Guess I am going to jail...

 

[E90alex]

Wait are those aftermarket wheels that fit the OEM aero covers?

 

[Rodney!]

Wait are those aftermarket wheels that fit the OEM aero covers?

Correct.