Who has driven LR and P or D?

[tomas]

I've got a P85S and a 3LR. Have another 3LR on order - had an aborted delivery attempt in July and now planning to take delivery in late September.

As I've read the various P3D reviews that are being published... I find it hard to tell how much of the euphoria is from the P part or just from the excellence of the 3 in general. And, of course, there's the question of where the D slots in there. I'm very impressed with the driving dynamics of the 3LR that I have now. How much better are the others?

So... if you have a 3LR and have also driven a P3D and/or a 3D, please weigh in. If I change my order, I know it costs $, probably lose free connectivity (no big deal), but maybe lose half of tax credit (big deal). It's gotta be worth it, and I'm finding that a very difficult decision absent access for test drive (none here in Chicago yet, unless some generous person responds, plz!).

I know there are many threads, but I'm having difficulty ferreting out a clear A/B comparison.

 

[rrollens]

Have rented for total of two weeks over the past year a RWD. Have on order a AWD (Sept-Nov Delivery with 4/1/16 reservation) . Today at Noon (PST) will be test driving Performance. Will let you know my thoughts in comparisons.

 

[chickensworth]

I was pretty certain i wanted the P since the 3 was announced back in 2016... but when my configurator opened for the 3LR, i decided to rent one on Turo to see if i wanted to jump the gun. At the time, no details were released on the P, so the decision was 3LR now, or wait an unspecified amount of time and spend an unspecified amount of money for an unspecified level of upgraded car.

My time with the 3LR was great...I loved it... i'm sure you agree that it's a fantastic car with a next-gen driving experience... but i'm very happy i waited.

The P is everything that is great about the LR, but just faster and tighter. In fact it feels almost exactly the same as a LR when being driven like a normal person on normal roads. Only when pushed on a straight or thrown into a corner does it really separate itself from the rear wheel drive version. For most people and most situations, it may not be worth the extra coin, but if you value having that kind of power and performance at your disposal, it's worth the money. I certainly never felt the LR was under powered... but I've always enjoyed faster sports cars and value the extra go, stop and turn the P provides.

 

[Jedi2155]

I've got a P85S and a 3LR. Have another 3LR on order - had an aborted delivery attempt in July and now planning to take delivery in late September.

As I've read the various P3D reviews that are being published... I find it hard to tell how much of the euphoria is from the P part or just from the excellence of the 3 in general. And, of course, there's the question of where the D slots in there. I'm very impressed with the driving dynamics of the 3LR that I have now. How much better are the others?

So... if you have a 3LR and have also driven a P3D and/or a 3D, please weigh in. If I change my order, I know it costs $, probably lose free connectivity (no big deal), but maybe lose half of tax credit (big deal). It's gotta be worth it, and I'm finding that a very difficult decision absent access for test drive (none here in Chicago yet, unless some generous person responds, plz!).

I know there are many threads, but I'm having difficulty ferreting out a clear A/B comparison.

1 - Changing your order will not lose the premium connectivity.

2 - Deuce24 is the only I know whose reported on a AWD and a RWD model.
Performance vs AWD 0-60 Side-By-Side Video

I've only driven a P-AWD and was super impressed.

3 - I've summarized the Pro's and Cons of the RWD vs AWD here to the best of my current knowledge:
Performance vs AWD 0-60 Side-By-Side Video

For the P-AWD additional details
- Stronger Rear Motor
- Faster obv.
- Track Mode
- Free Supercharging with referral
- Premium Upgrade package option.

 

[Gavyne]

Ben Sullins made a video comparing Performance vs RWD Long Range on the track. In case you want to see just how big of a difference it is in terms of raw power.

 

[Ejl80]

Ben Sullins made a video comparing Performance vs RWD Long Range on the track. In case you want to see just how big of a difference it is in terms of raw power.

This guy has no idea about drag racing lol.

 

[Gavyne]

Agreed, sadly he is one of the first to put a P3D next to a RWD LR and race them. Since OP wanted to see some differences between these models, he can at least get a visual for just how much faster P3D is. It's one thing to read the specs, it's quite another to see a live comparison.

 

[AndyW318]

This is me in the P3D vs an RWD LR on Friday night.

 

[Jedi2155]

A blue RWD ahhh looks so good. I'm currently hitting myself for taking a P-AWD test drive and not making more money in my career lol. I could afford the P-AWD but it was outside my comfort zone...nor did I want to ask the wife to help pay for it lol...

 

[deemo]

I have a Model 3 RWD and a Model S 75D uncorked. I test drove a P-AWD Model 3 and it is much much faster than the standard 3 RWD (and faster than the S 75D). The 3s both drive close to the same other than acceleration (the P didn't have track button) but didn't have the opportunity to do much cornering in the P-AWD. The white dash was different. The P-AWD is close to the Model X P-100D in feel for acceleration at half the cost and probably about as fast as your P85D.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I've driven both and as I've reported elsewhere, the RWD feels underwhelmingly slow to anyone who has had an EV before. It's not slow in absolute terms, just relatively. The P3D+ was awesome - the accel is noticeably different and lives up to expectations. I decided to go with AWD NonP in the hopes that it's feel is closer to P than RWD. Couldn't justify the extra $16K for the acceleration.

 

[brandonee916]

I've been following these forums since ordering my 3 a couple weeks ago... had to reply. I've been driving EVs for the last 6 years now, and I have to say comparing the RWD to a ICE car, sure it feels incredibly fast... however comparing it to another EV (say the BMW i3, Bolt EV, 500e)... it is quite lethargic and leaves you wanting more. I drove the P model directly after the RWD model and yelled out loud... the car is incredibly fast! If you don't need insane speed then get the AWD, however I couldn't recommend the RWD version at all.

 

[chickensworth]

I've been following these forums since ordering my 3 a couple weeks ago... had to reply. I've been driving EVs for the last 6 years now, and I have to say comparing the RWD to a ICE car, sure it feels incredibly fast... however comparing it to another EV (say the BMW i3, Bolt EV, 500e)... it is quite lethargic and leaves you wanting more. I drove the P model directly after the RWD model and yelled out loud... the car is incredibly fast! If you don't need insane speed then get the AWD, however I couldn't recommend the RWD version at all.

The 3LR is much faster than those other EV's you're comparing too... Obviously the P is faster, but the LR is more than enough for a majority of drivers. i wouldn't ever classify the LR as lethargic especially compared to a 500e or i3... that's just factually wrong.

 

[brandonee916]

It is lethargic in feeling compared to them... the weight has a large part of that. The i3 for example is almost 1000 pounds lighter... I'm only talking about the feeling of the car compared to other EVs. I'm talking about the mass of the car and feeling of the speed, it feels slow in the RWD versus the AWD/P models is all.

The 3LR is much faster than those other EV's you're comparing too... Obviously the P is faster, but the LR is more than enough for a majority of drivers. i wouldn't ever classify the LR as lethargic especially compared to a 500e or i3... that's just factually wrong.

 

[tomas]

It is lethargic in feeling compared to them... the weight has a large part of that. The i3 for example is almost 1000 pounds lighter... I'm only talking about the feeling of the car compared to other EVs. I'm talking about the mass of the car and feeling of the speed, it feels slow in the RWD versus the AWD/P models is all.

Now hold on a sec. I have a 3LR and have driven i3 and bolt. No comparison. 3LR more lively. The published numbers confirm this. Your subjective experience is unique. Maybe you drove the LR at a very low SOC?

 

[cab]

The real problem is the dang Model S has spoiled people to what acceleration can feel like. I test drove a Model 3 LR a couple of weeks ago and the acceleration was certainly nice enough, but it wasn't as quick as my 5 year old P85+ and didn't have a lot of that initial hit of the P85...just not as much wow factor. The more I drove it, however, the more I adapted to it and began to appreciate it for its differences. The lighter weight made it a bit easier to just hustle around. In some ways comparing the Model S to the Model 3 is a little like comparing a high torque V8 car to a more highly strung high performance 4 cylinder. The V8 might get the job done with brute force torque, while the 4-banger has to be revved out to achieve similar results.

Interestingly, the Chevy Bolt was quite a bit more disappointing to me that the Model 3. I knew the stats, and test drove it 3 times, but it was so soft off the line I was underwhelmed. This was especially true when combined with the front wheel drive and push through corners...I knew it wasn't a sports sedan, but I was hoping for hot hatch....didn't get that sensation at all. The Model 3 is CONSIDERABLY better driving.

The early BMW i3 I test drove for 3 days, conversely, definitely felt more like a super light hot hatch and was a hoot to drive (light and RWD helped), but it had too many compromises across the board. To make matters worse, it appears BMW neutered the off-the-line hit of those cars ( a number of broken motor mount bolts led to carnage) in later months/years.

Having said all of this, like many others I am hoping the dual motor cars bring back a bit more of that initial off the line hit. The one video I saw did not seem to indicate that (instead the delta seemed to be in the 20 mph plus area), but w/o numbers it is really difficult to tell. I am renting a LR 3 this weekend for a day to get a lot better feel for the car...we'll see.

 

[TurnFast]

When I drove the P3D, I came away a little disappointed because I was expecting this massive gut punch that pins me to my seat like the videos I'd seen online, but it wasn't as brutal as I was expecting.
It was kind of a smoother constant acceleration where the speed just creeps up on you to the point where you look at the speedo and you say "that can't be right, I'm not already doing 80 am I?"
It is wicked fast, but it doesn't jerk you as much and you don't have those audio cues so to me it didn't feel as fast as it was. Especially coming from a noisy manual gear box ICE.
But I only got to do like 2 0-60 launches on my test drive so take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt.

 

[Gavyne]

The real problem is the dang Model S has spoiled people to what acceleration can feel like. I test drove a Model 3 LR a couple of weeks ago and the acceleration was certainly nice enough, but it wasn't as quick as my 5 year old P85+ and didn't have a lot of that initial hit of the P85...just not as much wow factor. The more I drove it, however, the more I adapted to it and began to appreciate it for its differences. The lighter weight made it a bit easier to just hustle around. In some ways comparing the Model S to the Model 3 is a little like comparing a high torque V8 car to a more highly strung high performance 4 cylinder. The V8 might get the job done with brute force torque, while the 4-banger has to be revved out to achieve similar results.

If you want that initial g-force feel of your P85 you need to drive the Performance Model 3. Like you said it's a bit of apples to oranges if you are using the RWD LR model to compare. Don't forget the AWD though, to some people AWD non-P is a nice compromise between Performance and RWD. You get a bit more kick, better handling than RWD, for $10k cheaper than Performance.

 

[iamblinkin]

When I drove the P3D, I came away a little disappointed because I was expecting this massive gut punch that pins me to my seat like the videos I'd seen online, but it wasn't as brutal as I was expecting.
It was kind of a smoother constant acceleration where the speed just creeps up on you to the point where you look at the speedo and you say "that can't be right, I'm not already doing 80 am I?"
It is wicked fast, but it doesn't jerk you as much and you don't have those audio cues so to me it didn't feel as fast as it was. Especially coming from a noisy manual gear box ICE.
But I only got to do like 2 0-60 launches on my test drive so take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt.

Weird! I just test drove it yesterday and I have driven a P100D, 100D S over the past few years and my initial launch of the P3D reminded me of them. Not quite as instantaneously ludicrous as the P100D which is certainly still on it's own level but I felt the full stomach swing and vision go blur for a sec and suddenly I'm at 65-70. It was definitely what I would call a gut punch. Again, yes it's 0.5-1s slower than the P100D but my dude... I have found that my biggest limiting factor in my acceleration in these cars is I have a tendency to not push the pedal directly to the floor...could that hesitation have been present for you? I'm just surprised you didn't feel what I felt so clearly (and I expected to be disappointed!).

 

[TurnFast]

hmm you're making me want to go on another test drive not during rush hour to try it again.
At the time I did have some hesitancy to push an expensive test vehicle I wasn't familiar with too hard and due to the traffic there were very few opportunities to really go for it anyway.
I thought I floored it all the way on 1 on ramp, but you're making me doubt myself now.