I posted in another thread a week or so back that my Macan Turbo was going and replacing with a Tesla Model 3, so thought I'd post a bit about the experience here.
I see there was interest in the switching topic here Electric car (choice of) too.
So why did I switch? Well Otto2 was 4.5 years old and only 16,900 miles - the pandemic put a stop to longer road trips and most of my journeys were short (8-15 miles), so not exactly getting the most out of it. Good second-hand market prices, high spec and low mileage made it a good time to sell.
An EV fits the usage profile very well. Also, I've access to business leasing so 1%BiK. I've always bought my cars outright, so the thought of 'borrowing' a car via some finance deal was a little strange, but makes sense in a number of ways.
Cutting a long story short, I decided on an EV mid November. Decided on a Model 3 or Y at end of November, and took delivery of a brand new Model 3 Long Range on 10th December.
Compared to lead times on Porsche, this was very very fast!
So why Tesla Model 3 over the Y or other EVs?
- The Model 3 is big enough and the 3LR has suitable range
- The Model Y was still too new (in the UK) and I wouldn't be able to test one. It's also down on range and performance over the 3 and there were scary stories about ride quality.
- I don't have range anxiety, but I do have "where am I going to charge?" anxiety. Can't charge at home (at least not for six months or so) so charging network is very important. Tesla just wins hands down on that. I also have 12 superchargers just 1 mile away from home, so altogether happy.
- Tesla has a refreshing take on the future of the car. It's not pretending to be something from the 20th Century.
I went to CarWow, WeBuyAnyCar and got reasonable quotes within 24h, but I then called my local dealer who quoted me a slightly better price, already had my full history, and could "collect it tomorrow" so I did that. All very stress free.
Model 3 arrived 2 days later on the back of a transporter. Again, all very seamless and stress free.
So what's the Model 3 like then?
No build quality issues, no crazy panel gaps, no squeaks or rattles, no snagging, everything's just fine.
It's a 2021 (Chinese built) model so quality good compared to earlier Model 3s and most other Teslas before this.
It's comfortable. 14-way seats, heated, electrically adjustable steering wheel, heated. Very good climate control. Heat pump for efficiency. Full glass roof. Double-glazed windows. Airy and spacious. Less claustrophobic than a typical Porsche cabin.
Ride is not so bad. Not up to Macan on air suspension standard, but certainly ok. I've gone for standard 19" wheels.
Fun? Well, it's not the Performance model, but it is still very fast. All wheel drive, 440hp from two motors and I think 4.1s to 100km/h and you don't need to muck about launch control. Turns well. Steering feel is adjustable. Very low front and all the weight being low down between the axles, gives it a feel not dissimilar to my old R8. Time will tell when I show it some twisty roads, but I'm not expecting it to be a sports car. It is lighter than the Macan.
Living with it?
I've had it 3 weeks now and charged it twice, both times at Tesla Superchargers. Very easy and in both cases, where I needed to be anyway (shopping centres).
I did try to charge at Sainsbury's carpark but failed. BP Pulse. I had the app. I had the account set up in advance. But it didn't work. I needed a 5 digit code to type in from the charge point, but none of the three I tried had one. Some did, but they had cars charging at them already. At this point you start to attract a jeering crowd, so gave up. Turns out you can get a NFC card to use them so I ordered one for next time. Also you have to use your own cable, which is a faff.
I knew non-Tesla charging wouldn't be smooth for me, and first impressions here would agree.
Vampire drain? I'd heard of this. This is the charge you lose when the car is just parked up but without being plugged in (as it is at my home).
I did some not-very-scientific tests, and it looks like I lose about 1% after 5 days. Outside temp during that time was 7-8ºC. I pre-warmed (to 20º) on the last day so generally very good.
Updates.
Like an iPhone, when it arrived, it needed a software update, and yesterday, I did a OS v11 update - apparently, Christmas is a time for Tesla to do bigger software updates. lots of things rearranged, but it gained a cool feature from the Kia/Hyundai - shows blind-spot cameras on screen when indicating.
Autopilot.
All Model 3s have full FSD hardware, though only "basic autopilot" enabled with what I paid. It drives and steers itself. Does it very well. It did take about 25 miles of "calibration" before any autopilot feature was available, including cruise control, so I get to experience actually driving it. One-pedal driving is great.
Personalisation.
So my second Macan had £20k of options and went through 11 different specification codes, over 2 months before I finally locked down my order. As many of you here know, this can be both fun and frustrating. Especially having to spank big £££ for something that should be standard.
The Model 3 is a stock Long Range model with "midnight silver" paint being the only option. I guess this helps with order/delivery times, but I don't really miss the personalisation. So much of what Porsche considers an option is standard on a Tesla.
Going from owning to leasing means (in my mind anyway) that it's not mine, so who cares about personal touches.
I was a bit emotional about letting the Macan go though. It was by far the best car I've ever owned.