Worth it to upgrade from LR RWD to P3D?

[tomas]

This is especially true if you’re on Autopilot every chance you get, like a lot of us are.

this i do not get. The type of person who drools over M3 and all those other superlatives does not seem like a person who would use autopilot at every chance. Plus, autopilot only good on highway, and the best spirited driving opportunities are back roads IMO.

 

[Posti101]

Not even close IMO. With a P3D, you have significantly faster acceleration, slightly better braking, and track mode for when you’re at the track. Interior is identical, exterior is identical (for the most part).

With an M3, it’s special walking up to it and drooling over the flared fenders, gaping air intake, quad tips, bulging hood, carbon fiber roof. It’s special when open the door, glowing M badges everywhere, sit inside, hands grabbing the wheel, seats grabbing hold of your body. It’s special when you start it up, loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood. It’s special when you shift into gear, step on the gas and hear the exhaust growl louder, even if you’re just cruising around at 5mph. It’s special when you slam on the brakes from 80mph for a 270-degree freeway interchange, turn the wheel and feel how insane the grip is and how finely tuned the suspension is. You get none of this in a base 3 series, or even the M340i for that matter.

The P3D is an amazing car and an amazing value, but under normal day-to-day, it’s nothing special over even an SR+. This is especially true if you’re on Autopilot every chance you get, like a lot of us are.

Not trying to downplay the value of the P3D over the 3LR and definitely not comparing the BMW to the P3D. Just countering your comparison to “BMW 3-Series vs BMW M3.”

You have backward thinking, just because Bmw separates its m3 from all its lineup doesn’t mean Tesla has to. All Tesla cars are special to get in, instant torque with higher models being faster and more stable with better handling (track mode and torque vectoring). Not our fault Bmw gimps the lower models when Tesla doesn’t have to.

 

[holmgang]

bmw interior is extremely outdated, nowhere near the interior quality of a tesla

i found the guy who hogged all the kool aid

 

[Okninja]

i found the guy who hogged all the kool aid

K

 

[Darmie]

My dilemma is which performance to order.
Which P will it Be? P100D or M3P

If this was a new purchase, I would always recommend the performance. It's not so much of having a faster car as it is more of leaving so much more on the table when you walk away. Not that you would ever feel the need of a faster uh quicker car, but walking away from a purchase potentially walking away from having so much more for just a little more. You may not be a racer however we may see more being offered by Tesla considering that the Model 3 is their special car and more may come to the performance.

We would all be perfectly fine and get around with a corolla if we had to . The only reason you would need any more power than a RWD is if you like to street race and take it to the track. Otherwise standard AWD or RWD is more than enough for anyone on public roads.

I don't understand. What quantifiable number are we to use to determine what is enough? What is more than enough? Are we as a society ok with living under these constraints? I would rather live under the freedom for the individual to choose.

 

[daniel]

Walking away leaving some features on the table, means walking away with more money in your pocket that you can then spend on something else. There's always an opportunity cost. Unless you're so rich that you have money to burn. So it really comes down to whether or not the features are worth the price.

As for how much acceleration is "enough," that, too, is a personal choice. I was entirely happy with my old Honda Civic. It was reliable and got me where I wanted to go. But sometimes I wanted to pass a slower car on a two-lane rural highway and could not because it took the Civic about half a minute to accelerate from 50 to 60. Being able to punch that pedal and shoot ahead like a bat out of hell is very nice. For me personally, the LR-RWD Model 3 has plenty of torque.

 

[remlemasi]

this i do not get. The type of person who drools over M3 and all those other superlatives does not seem like a person who would use autopilot at every chance. Plus, autopilot only good on highway, and the best spirited driving opportunities are back roads IMO.

Fair enough, I was using hyperbole for emphasis. And you're right, definitely not on Autopilot when I'm ripping it up on Angeles Crest.

You have backward thinking, just because Bmw separates its m3 from all its lineup doesn’t mean Tesla has to. All Tesla cars are special to get in, instant torque with higher models being faster and more stable with better handling (track mode and torque vectoring). Not our fault Bmw gimps the lower models when Tesla doesn’t have to.

I'm not sure it's fair to say BMW gimps the interior of their lower models. The new 330i interior is a very nice place to be. Different philosophy from Tesla, but nice nonetheless. The BMW M3 interior is far nicer (compared to old 3-series), but in reality it's the same layout, just slightly better materials and a much more supportive seat. The key takeaway is that they ADD to the M3, not the other way around.

On the flip side, it's also misleading to say that Tesla did anything special for the P3D, and then decided to bring it "down market" to the lowly SR+. Simply not true. At least in some part due to cost reasons, they designed a single interior (which is awesome in its own right) and applied it to all variants.

Again, NOT trying to compare BMW vs Tesla, 330i vs SR+, M340i xDrive vs LR AWD, or M3 vs P3D. I'm just stating a fact that when you pay more money for an M3 over a 330i, you get MUCH more than *just* higher performance. You get something really special.

And yes, I agree: every Tesla is special. Seriously. Best product of the decade in ANY category IMO. As disruptive as the iPhone was in 2007. But the thing is I get the same special feeling and joy walking up to and sitting my sister's white SR+ as I do walking up to and sitting in my LR RWD. Same goes for the (stealth) P3D. And as long as I'm not mashing the go pedal, they drive pretty much identically too. Is the P3D significantly faster? Absolutely. Would I rather have a P3D over my LR RWD? Absolutely. This thread has prompted me to get a trade-in quote just for kicks. Only $32,600


One more thing just to be funny...

320i vs M3

SR+ vs P3D-

 

[ElectricIAC]

Fair enough, I was using hyperbole for emphasis. And you're right, definitely not on Autopilot when I'm ripping it up on Angeles Crest.



I'm not sure it's fair to say BMW gimps the interior of their lower models. The new 330i interior is a very nice place to be. Different philosophy from Tesla, but nice nonetheless. The BMW M3 interior is far nicer (compared to old 3-series), but in reality it's the same layout, just slightly better materials and a much more supportive seat. The key takeaway is that they ADD to the M3, not the other way around.

On the flip side, it's also misleading to say that Tesla did anything special for the P3D, and then decided to bring it "down market" to the lowly SR+. Simply not true. At least in some part due to cost reasons, they designed a single interior (which is awesome in its own right) and applied it to all variants.

Again, NOT trying to compare BMW vs Tesla, 330i vs SR+, M340i xDrive vs LR AWD, or M3 vs P3D. I'm just stating a fact that when you pay more money for an M3 over a 330i, you get MUCH more than *just* higher performance. You get something really special.

And yes, I agree: every Tesla is special. Seriously. Best product of the decade in ANY category IMO. As disruptive as the iPhone was in 2007. But the thing is I get the same special feeling and joy walking up to and sitting my sister's white SR+ as I do walking up to and sitting in my LR RWD. Same goes for the (stealth) P3D. And as long as I'm not mashing the go pedal, they drive pretty much identically too. Is the P3D significantly faster? Absolutely. Would I rather have a P3D over my LR RWD? Absolutely. This thread has prompted me to get a trade-in quote just for kicks. Only $32,600


One more thing just to be funny...

320i vs M3
View attachment 520972

SR+ vs P3D-
View attachment 520973

It must be a geographical thing because tesla quotes on trade-in seem to vary wildly.

 

[Knightshade]

Walking away leaving some features on the table, means walking away with more money in your pocket that you can then spend on something else. There's always an opportunity cost. Unless you're so rich that you have money to burn. So it really comes down to whether or not the features are worth the price.

Yup... and the way Tesla has bounced pricing around even the same decision might be a good or bad one for a person depending what day you ask them about it.

When I bought my LR AWD it was $11,000 to go from that to a P3D- (and $16,000 for a P3D+) and at the time the P3D- adding nothing except 1 second quicker 0-60 for that 11k... (and the additional 5k added nothing on top of that but wheels I really really didn't want and brakes of no value on the street)

Cut to a year later and, if you were buying new THEN and didn't mind a narrow selection on color/wheels, you could potentially go from LR AWD to P3D- for only 2k, a much much easier pill to swallow plus you got track mode.

On the other hand the guy who saved 11k in 2018? For 2k he was able to buy boost and end up... just about as quick as the P3D- was back in 2018 before the two 5% bumps...so he made out ok too.