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Why does Tesla suspension suck so bad?

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yes. I agree. It's unbelievable that the suspension on a 10 year old minivan so handily beats my 1 ½ year old $70k Tesla.

Maybe I should compare it to the Audi A4 I had. (loses)
Or a Subaru Forester. (loses)
Or an Audi Q5.(loses)
Or a Toyota Camry. (loses)
The Model Y loses every time.
Comparing to my previous cars:
2018 Honda CRV-EX-L - Wins
2017 BMW 320i xDrive - Wins BIG
2012 Lexus IS 250 - Neutral
2012 Honda Civic LX - Wins
 
My guess is Tesla simply can't make the changes to their assembly line to allow for an air suspension upgrade. Why should they? They are sold out for over 6 months.

For what it's worth I would have paid $5000+ more for a better suspension, it's the only real sticking point (other than snow performance)
 
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A heavy car with soft suspension sounds like a terrible driving experience. It's a necessary trade off for a mass produced model, get over it or go back to driving your ICE cars or pony up for a model with air suspension.

You're guys are gonna be in for a shock when they start casting the both front and back with the structural pack. 😮
...and yet other EV's that weigh just as much (including the Model S and Model X) manage to have a much better suspension. Do they have a terrible driving experience, too? Keep looking for a better excuse.
 
I just drove home from dinner with kids in the back and there were really weird creaks coming from the back. Took me a minute to figure out but the bumps were causing the straws in there sodas to squeak up and down. LOL 😄 Yeah - great ride.
As a small child, one of my jobs was to crawl around the back of our family's International Travelall (the first suv along with the Suburban) tracking down creeks that dove my old man crazy. Needless to say, there were a lot back in 1968.
 
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yes. I agree. It's unbelievable that the suspension on a 10 year old minivan so handily beats my 1 ½ year old $70k Tesla.

Maybe I should compare it to the Audi A4 I had. (loses)
Or a Subaru Forester. (loses)
Or an Audi Q5.(loses)
Or a Toyota Camry. (loses)
The Model Y loses every time.
Interesting. I have a q5 as well.

I drove to the SC with my Q5 and test drove the MYP before ordering and was able to fully understand the degree of stiffness considering weight from the batteries. I still ordered one because besides the suspension, the q5 loses in basically every other aspect imo, the Tesla’s handling, responsiveness and overall drive was far superior to my q5.

Did you do a thorough test drive before ordering it? Surely you would have immediately identified the difference in suspension between the two the moment you left the tesla lot.
 
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Interesting. I have a q5 as well.

I drove to the SC with my Q5 and test drove the MYP before ordering and was able to fully understand the degree of stiffness considering weight from the batteries. I still ordered one because besides the suspension, the q5 loses in basically every other aspect imo, the Tesla’s handling, responsiveness and overall drive was far superior to my q5.

Did you do a thorough test drive before ordering it? Surely you would have immediately identified the difference in suspension between the two the moment you left the tesla lot.
No - I did take a short ride in a model 3 and a friend's model S, but I ordered my MY before they were shipping so a test ride wasn't an option. I took a risk ordering before they were shipping but time constraints meant I couldn't wait.

I'll also say that on a reasonably smooth road (like most interstates) I have not complaints. On smaller county roads that aren't in as good of shape it becomes glaringly obvious. Minnesota winters with frost heave at cracks in the asphalt make things significantly worse. I'm not expecting a Rolls Royce level ride but like I said, the ride of my MY is the worst of any car I've owned and bad enough that my 17 year old complained about it, and the fact that the ride is so harsh that I can't drink my coffee for half of my drive to work speaks to how bad it is.
 
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Sleepdoc: You've made your perspective very clear. Serious question: why do you still own the car?

The suspension you abhor is NOT going to change, no matter how hard and long we discuss it. Sell it for a profit and move on. ;)
Amen. Life is WAY too short to be that miserable about a silly mode of transportation. As even he has mentioned there are plenty of other better cars. You can get what you paid, buy a car you feel is better and move on down the road. It is only a car for lords sake.
 
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Sleepdoc: You've made your perspective very clear. Serious question: why do you still own the car?

The suspension you abhor is NOT going to change, no matter how hard and long we discuss it. Sell it for a profit and move on. ;)
Because currently buying another car is not a viable option. Sure I can sell my car for a good price, but I still need something to drive. Other EVs are a comparable price, have $15k dealer markups and may not be available anyway. The other option is to go back to an ICE car which I would prefer not to do. Those are in short supply, too. (A friend was looking at getting a pickup truck from a local Ford dealer. They had several on the lot but they all required a "qualifying trade in." Essentially, the dealer would only sell you a new truck if you had a used truck that they could replace it with. Crazy.)

I'm considering getting the UPP/MPP coil overs to see if they help, but spending $2500+ to make the suspension reasonable on a $65k car is maddening to say the least. It also baffles me how many people bend over backwards to make excuses for Tesla just because they're Tesla. They've been pioneers and done amazing things for the EV market, but they shouldn't get a free pass because of it. As @Benq said above, though, the EV market is chaining rapidly. I suspect in a few years there will be many more good options and Tesla will have significant competition.

Despite my complaints, there are many things I love about my model Y and in most respects it fits my needs very well. The new interface and the suspension are significant downers, though. Right now, Tesla is still probably the best EV on the market, even with the flaws and taking it all into account my best option is probably to bite the bullet and get the coil overs.
 
I can't imagine that the Y will ride any harsher than my old Challenger ScatPack on 20's. It was pretty comfortable by my standards, but it would get a bit jittery over expansion gaps on the freeway. Either way, looking forward to it, and if its no good, I'll get the UPP suspension kit and possibly the sway bar
 
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sleepydoc: You're making it worse. Your inconvenience isn't anyone's problem except yours. It isn't Tesla's "fault" that they've sold a gazillion MYs that a few/some/several/many/all owners (take your pick...I'll choose "a few") are uncomfortable with.

If you're stuck with your MY, because of your own circumstances, and if you can tolerate the expense, swallow hard and buy the MPP coilovers, and maybe your next tires upsize to a 50 aspect ratio tire. The MPPs are quite impressive, with a major improvement in overall control, and some muting of road surface harshness. I am pleased with the (YES, it's EXPENSIVE...we get it...) upgrade.

I still am annoyed by large concrete imperfections, but seriously, it's not significantly more harsh than our ("Buick"-tuned) 2019 Avalon Hybrid Limited (on 45 aspect ratio tires, as well...to be changed to 50s)
 
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