Tesla Model 3 Performance "Highland"

[Torrid]

Is it weird as I watch more videos of the car that I keep seeing the Performance as more of a toy? I don’t mean that in a good way either, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. I mean in the sense that it actually makes the regular car more well rounded. I’m really surprised at how quick the brakes give up after a few hard stops. Reminds me of my old GTO. I have a feeling the roads here are going to wreck the wheels even though they’re forged.

The serious thought I have is that it does not have to be that fast, but it’s cool they allow it. I think it may have benefited by being a bit more limited for the sake of the thermals. Heck I’d prefer it to be just RWD personally. The biggest party trick I always fell for was getting my old muscle cars sideways. If only the traction control actually relaxed enough to play in the RWD I’d be happy. I’ve tried that with our car. It gets very upset quickly and kills the fun. It does not look like the Performance cuts you off this way in track mode.

 

[daves87rs]

I would, but part of the benefit of the Performance and selling the GTI is that it’s less overall costs than keeping the GTI and buying the long range.

Good back up in case you end up with power out for a while… or for more extreme weather cases.

Beater, backup, whatever works. If it’s paid for- it’s worth holding on to.

I’m actually looking at EVs for my next purchase - but I plan to keep a ICE just in case. Long trips, power outages, gasoline storage- whatever my need ;-)

 

[Torrid]

Good back up in case you end up with power out for a while… or for more extreme weather cases.

Beater, backup, whatever works. If it’s paid for- it’s worth holding on to.

I’m actually looking at EVs for my next purchase - but I plan to keep a ICE just in case. Long trips, power outages, gasoline storage- whatever my need ;-)

That I’m not concerned about. We’ve lived with one EV for awhile and having two wouldn’t be a problem that I can see. I’d have to have power out for days for the whole area for that to be a concern. I still have public charging nearby if it’s just my side of town without power.

Other than that I think my initial post is all for nothing in the end. I just can’t get myself to want to part with the GTI. It would be one thing as a paid for beater, but it’s an immaculate fully loaded 60k mile example. I like the Model 3 Performance, but with my 2 car garage setup and driveway that narrows to one vehicle I’d be constantly shuffling cars and leaving one outside all the time and none of them are ones I want to leave outside.

That’s not to say I won’t buy one in the future. I think the GTI has at least another 5 years of daily driving for me in it if I wanted to do so, so this is just shelved until I’m ready to for it to move on. It would be different if it hadn’t treated me so well all this time.

 

[JeffKeryk]

@Torrid IMO you made the right decision. To spend that much $$, there needs to be a compelling reason.
You like what you have and that's a good thing. Smart non-move.

 

[Ws6]

The size is what I don’t like. The proportions are bang on for the look, they nailed that.

Wait for the 2025 EV6 GT, or even the current GT would wreck a M3P Highland if you go to a real track. Streetlight, nah, but track yes.

 

[Torrid]

Wait for the 2025 EV6 GT, or even the current GT would wreck a M3P Highland if you go to a real track. Streetlight, nah, but track yes.

I don’t want a crossover and I’m not just trying to win a race. I don’t care if it has 8 million horsepower. If that’s what I wanted, wouldn’t have bought a GTI. Over the standard car I just wanted the upgraded seats, suspension, and stereo mostly. The Performance made it a bit more interesting overall too. If the LR RWD had most of that stuff and an adjustable track mode to play around a bit, I’d just buy it anyway.

 

[Ws6]

I don’t want a crossover and I’m not just trying to win a race. I don’t care if it has 8 million horsepower. If that’s what I wanted, wouldn’t have bought a GTI. Over the standard car I just wanted the upgraded seats, suspension, and stereo mostly. The Performance made it a bit more interesting overall too. If the LR RWD had most of that stuff and an adjustable track mode to play around a bit, I’d just buy it anyway.

I understand, but you're coming from a high quality, well assembled car, to a kit car. I know plenty of Scirocco owners, and part of what they enjoy are the high quality materials and the solid assembly. My concern is that the build quality and cheapness will get to you. I know it would me, and has on vehicles like my RAV4 Prime and C6 Z06, which admittedly are still worlds better than anything Tesla cobbles up. They are literally just kit cars. Elon was having people assemble them in firework sales tents a couple years ago for that matter. Look at this stuff:



It's one of many videos.

At first I thought it was internet hate or YTubers looking for clout or just plain old "Ah hate eee veee!" so I went and looked at multiple S, X, Y, 3's on lots. It's not hate. The quality is as portrayed.

 

[Torrid]

I’m fine with my experience with Tesla. That could be different if it’s my whole garage and I was truly living with one every time I got behind the wheel. The Model 3 Performance isn’t perfect in my eyes. They made some compromises that don’t make sense while not going far enough elsewhere. Yes I’ll say the GTI has a nicer interior with nicer materials.

I don’t understand going so far on the 0-60 while retaining range by not going a square setup on the wheel setup. It should be like the Model Y’s set up where the Performance has all seasons with a square setup. I think that’s where most of the straight line performance improvement came from. The problem the brakes and cooling system aren’t enough, yet they went so far on the wheels.

Am I likely to be inconvenienced by any of this beyond tire life since they can’t be rotated? Probably not, but it’s concerning to have that much power, but not enough brakes and cooling. You just don’t see this from German cars and it doesn’t seem most new American performance cars don’t have this issue.

As far as Teslas go, I love them. I just don’t think they take the performance models seriously enough beyond a 0-60 time. They handle well because the chassis is good, but they hobble it by not doing the right things to round it out. That’s why the Ioniq 5 N is so much more expensive. If I didn’t care about the performance touches at all I would have already bought the Model 3 LR RWD and sold the GTI to skip out on the expensive service costs. The reasonable part of me wants to do exactly that. I may still go that way eventually if all I wanted was cheap per mile driving. The Model 3 is a remarkable daily if all I wanted was an easy to live with A to B. I like the extra stuff way too much. I’ve done a lot of math and it would save me about $1,200 a year just in energy costs and basic maintenance. The GTI feels worth the extra $1,200 a year to keep at this point over buying a much more expensive performance EV. Realistically the 0-60 is similar to the M3LR RWD, but the similarities end there. That was my wife’s intention when she brought it up to me with the current pricing. She didn’t share my excitement for the Performance as the extra cost doesn’t translate to overall savings for the $12,000 higher price out the door. There’s not $12k extra there with the limitations it has performance wise.

 

[Ws6]

I’m fine with my experience with Tesla. That could be different if it’s my whole garage and I was truly living with one every time I got behind the wheel. The Model 3 Performance isn’t perfect in my eyes. They made some compromises that don’t make sense while not going far enough elsewhere. Yes I’ll say the GTI has a nicer interior with nicer materials.

I don’t understand going so far on the 0-60 while retaining range by not going a square setup on the wheel setup. It should be like the Model Y’s set up where the Performance has all seasons with a square setup. I think that’s where most of the straight line performance improvement came from. The problem the brakes and cooling system aren’t enough, yet they went so far on the wheels.

Am I likely to be inconvenienced by any of this beyond tire life since they can’t be rotated? Probably not, but it’s concerning to have that much power, but not enough brakes and cooling. You just don’t see this from German cars and it doesn’t seem most new American performance cars don’t have this issue.

As far as Teslas go, I love them. I just don’t think they take the performance models seriously enough beyond a 0-60 time. They handle well because the chassis is good, but they hobble it by not doing the right things to round it out. That’s why the Ioniq 5 N is so much more expensive. If I didn’t care about the performance touches at all I would have already bought the Model 3 LR RWD and sold the GTI to skip out on the expensive service costs. The reasonable part of me wants to do exactly that. I may still go that way eventually if all I wanted was cheap per mile driving. The Model 3 is a remarkable daily if all I wanted was an easy to live with A to B. I like the extra stuff way too much. I’ve done a lot of math and it would save me about $1,200 a year just in energy costs and basic maintenance. The GTI feels worth the extra $1,200 a year to keep at this point over buying a much more expensive performance EV. Realistically the 0-60 is similar to the M3LR RWD, but the similarities end there. That was my wife’s intention when she brought it up to me with the current pricing. She didn’t share my excitement for the Performance as the extra cost doesn’t translate to overall savings for the $12,000 higher price out the door. There’s not $12k extra there with the limitations it has performance wise.

I mean, that's fair.

 

[OVERKILL]

Not sure how close this is to you, but I'd suggest a test drive to at least compare to the Tesla before pulling the trigger:
https://www.bmwofmadison.com/new-Madison-2024-BMW-i4-M50-WBY33AW07RFS72409

 

[Torrid]

I mean, that's fair.

I may change my mind when Hyundai makes their next move. I'd stretch into the $60K range for an Ioniq 6 N. It's quirky and unique. They're doing it right in my opinion, they just don't make the right model for me yet.

Not sure how close this is to you, but I'd suggest a test drive to at least compare to the Tesla before pulling the trigger:
https://www.bmwofmadison.com/new-Madison-2024-BMW-i4-M50-WBY33AW07RFS72409

I'm about 30 minutes from this dealer, it's actually near my VW dealer. It's almost $30k more and I doubt I'm getting 1.9% financing to make up the difference in cost either. I know you really like these cars and I'm sure I'd love it too. If I was looking at a Model S this is a fair comparison cost wise. I don't see myself being a $70k and up buyer any time. I've never went north of $50k yet and the Model 3 Performance would have been the most expensive vehicle I'd ever bought at $47k after the tax credit. That's what I paid for the current Model 3 that we have which made the proposition attractive but realistically it's still cheaper to keep driving the GTI. Now if I was at the point of buying the Golf R that's a fair comparison price wise with the Model 3 Performance. The cheap financing made it an attractive proposition to buy earlier than I planned, but I'm just done with this vehicle yet.

 

[thastinger]

I'm so freaking close to pulling the trigger. I know I talked crap about the brakes and the battery heat issues flogging it, but lets face it I haven't made it to a track in years. It's far from how the car will be used other than the random blast for giggles. It's really how I use the GTI, some backroad blasts.

I did the math with the tax credit and this is the same money as a new VW Golf R and where else am I going to get this much power for the money? My wife is all for it too. Full green lights everywhere. I can't figure out why I'm hesitating.

@JeffKeryk any words of encouragement?

2013/2014 GT500, can even get them in convertible form....never worth less than you paid for it and you get to actually row gears.

 

[Torrid]

2013/2014 GT500, can even get them in convertible form....never worth less than you paid for it and you get to actually row gears.

It's a daily driver. That's not a reliable choice for my job unfortunately. I like the Model 3 Performance to be easy to live with in addition to fast. It's why I bought a DSG GTI. I spend a lot of time on the highway.

I love manuals, but my days of 2 door cramped back seats and sub par fuel economy is dead. At this point I just want to buy new, throw 200k miles on it over 10 years and move onto the next. I know that's boring to some, but I want something fun that meets that level of experience and a warranty. We definitely aren't going to do base Camrys though. I don't have space for additional cars and I don't want to have to source other space to have multiple cars to not drive it and pay for it. It's a killer suggestion for the right person. I'm driving this GTI until I go EV. With my current needs and charging setup it's the best fit for my use when it comes to cost and still plenty of power for fun.

 

[Nick1994]

I can't imagine the tires I'd go through on a M3P Highland.

Getting new rear tires on my Genesis tomorrow after 17k miles...

 

[Ws6]

I can't imagine the tires I'd go through on a M3P Highland.

Getting new rear tires on my Genesis tomorrow after 17k miles...

I've been using CC2's on my EV6 GT and they hold up very well. 10K miles and I'm at 8/32 still.

 

[Torrid]

I can't imagine the tires I'd go through on a M3P Highland.

Getting new rear tires on my Genesis tomorrow after 17k miles...

With the track mode oversteer setting I would have to occasionally get it sideways. It’s the whole reason why I was considering getting it over a lesser model. Yes it’s fast, but that’s secondary to me and I just want something playful to drive on a back road.

 

[Cujet]

I'm so freaking close to pulling the trigger. I know I talked crap about the brakes and the battery heat issues flogging it, but lets face it I haven't made it to a track in years. It's far from how the car will be used other than the random blast for giggles. It's really how I use the GTI, some backroad blasts.

I did the math with the tax credit and this is the same money as a new VW Golf R and where else am I going to get this much power for the money? My wife is all for it too. Full green lights everywhere. I can't figure out why I'm hesitating.

@JeffKeryk any words of encouragement?

Like you, I really, really like certain Tesla products. If I could afford it, I'd absolutely have a Plaid or M3p. The performance of the Plaid is intoxicating and I never get tired of it. I'm quite sure the M3p is similar.

However, I ended up purchasing a Jag F-Type V6-S convertible. Clearly the M3p is in a different league performance-wise in both 0-60 and 1/4 mile + trap speeds. And despite my tuning, there is no practical way to match the Tesla, performance is very important to me. Even so, I can put the top down and the 1.5 turns lock to lock steering is stupidly quick the transmission instant the engine's roar is intoxicating and it just does everything right. Not to mention it is flat out glorious, comfortable and fun on long trips with well more than 400 miles per tank at potentially expensive speeds. So for a fraction of the cost, I have an equally satisfying car.

 

[Torrid]

Like you, I really, really like certain Tesla products. If I could afford it, I'd absolutely have a Plaid or M3p. The performance of the Plaid is intoxicating and I never get tired of it. I'm quite sure the M3p is similar.

However, I ended up purchasing a Jag F-Type V6-S convertible. Clearly the M3p is in a different league performance-wise in both 0-60 and 1/4 mile + trap speeds. And despite my tuning, there is no practical way to match the Tesla, performance is very important to me. Even so, I can put the top down and the 1.5 turns lock to lock steering is stupidly quick the transmission instant the engine's roar is intoxicating and it just does everything right. Not to mention it is flat out glorious, comfortable and fun on long trips with well more than 400 miles per tank at potentially expensive speeds. So for a fraction of the cost, I have an equally satisfying car.

That's a good point. There are a lot of vehicles out there that will accomplish what I want for fun. I did think that getting a stupid fast version of a reasonable EV would be the thing to scratch that itch. I still think that it could be, but realistically it's a lot less money to keep my tuned GTI that still offers fun with less speed and more driver involvement. I really like our current Model 3 and it's wonderful tor drive, but I wanted that extra out of a great daily just as a GTI or Golf R is to a standard Golf.

Like you at this time I don't think it's the best value for money when it comes to that. I'd also say that if I was out buying new and I wanted either the M3P or a new similarly equipped Golf, either a GTI Autobahn or Golf R I'd have a slower vehicle for nearly the same cost. I'd call the M3P a bargain when buying new. I'd be sitting here anticipating the delivery of my new Tesla. I don't think I'm going to buy the Golf R like I originally planned, it's going to be a M3P when the time comes. The difference here is that the transition from a GTI to a Golf R is an easier choice. It's a lot closer in experience and doesn't require me to change my thought processes as much on driving it. Still, I don't think I can buy a Golf R when the M3P exists at this price point. I may still rather have the Audi RS3, but that would require me to source an additional $25k+ and I just don't see doing that on a car that I'm going to daily and really rack up the miles. I've had to replace nearly every component in the front of the GTI from a deer strike and just replaced the grill again yesterday from hitting a raccoon, so it's going to see some daily driver abuse. That's the fun of commuting through rural areas at all hours of the day and night.

Even that last part is a bit of cause for concern. I don't think Tesla is going to sell me the parts to swap the lower grill in my driveway when the next furry creature darts out in front of me.

 

[JHZR2]

Buy a set of winter wheels and tires. I will replace the P-Zero tires with something like the Michelin Pilot All Season tires.

Long Range AWD vs Performance? Dunno about you, but if I settled for the LR, I would always regret not getting the M3P.
I knew exactly what I wanted this time; there was no question.

What is the range penalty of the performance vs LR AWD?

A LR with FSD is compelling for a vehicle to just put a ton of highway miles on…. No not as high performance but sometimes that’s an advantage.

 

[JeffKeryk]

What is the range penalty of the performance vs LR AWD?

A LR with FSD is compelling for a vehicle to just put a ton of highway miles on…. No not as high performance but sometimes that’s an advantage.

All Teslas are gonna be fast. But the smart buy and best deal is the RWD LR and it qualifies for the tax benefit for those who qualify. MSRP $42,500 or $35,000 with credit. 5 sec 0-60 will take car of most needs. With the Highland upgrades, this is a really nice car.
Here's the website overview. 1.99 loans are free money...
The 2 motor AWD LR will be faster (4.2 sec, 341 EPA range) but is $5K more.

Of course there's no need to tell you to consider your charging requirements; you understand this better than most.

The other consideration is the Model Y; there will likely be more deals as they close out the current car making way for the Juniper. I would 100% wait for the new car. It's better all the way around, starting with the seats.