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From BMW 340xi to Tesla Dual Motor Model 3 - Ask Me Questions

41K views 415 replies 57 participants last post by  SR22pilot 
#1 · (Edited)
My current BMW is a 340xi that I've leased for the past three years. In fact I extended the lease a month as I had not yet received the car I ordered to replace it.

Replacement car is a Tesla Dual Motor Model 3.



I put $1000 deposit on the Tesla back in April of 2016 after the "big reveal", the thought of an affordable electric vehicle with some performance chops was pretty exciting to me. I never would have thought it would take nearly 1,000 days for Tesla to deliver my car, but it did.

I finalized my order for the Tesla back in June. Right up until the month of June I was not convinced I wanted to own this car, I had read about Tesla's catching fire, shoddy quality of the vehicle assembly and I was worried about things like just one giant touchscreen for instrumentation.

I decided to rent a RWD Model 3 on Turo, to spend a day with it and figure out if it was for me. After the rental, which I was thrilled with, I committed my order.

After a few missteps from Tesla with moving my delivery date out, then pulling it back in I finally took delivery of my new car yesterday. I feel I'm in a good position to provide some direct feedback to those who might consider making the move to electric.

I've never considered myself much of an environmentalist... but I do recycle, I do have a 7,000 watt solar array on my house and now I have an electric car. Most of these decisions I make are driven by economics. In the case of the Tesla 3 it breaks down this way;

  • $49,000 Model 3 with LR battery and premium upgrades
  • $4,000 dual motor configuration
  • $5,000 Enhanced autopilot
  • $1,000 Deep Blue Metallic Paint
  • $1,500 premium white interior
  • $1,000 delivery
  • -$7,500 Federal Tax Credit
  • -$5,000 State Tax Credit

So, final cost on this car will be $49,000 + taxes and registration. That's a pretty good deal. I guess the fact that the car has zero emissions and is good for the environment is a bonus.

I picked my car up at Colorado's big Tesla service center. Tesla does not have traditional dealerships. They have stores and service centers. I picked up on a weekday and the lot was filled to overflowing with Tesla S/3/X (no Y yet) vehicles and there were a decent number of deliveries going on. Two carriers with more cars were showing up while I did my delivery.

I walked in, identified myself, paired my phone with my new car, and started looking it over. If I had been ready to drive off, it would have taken 10 minutes. Literally. 10 minutes. I was a cash buyer with no trade in... no matter how I slice it though, fastest new car purchase I've ever done. Since Tesla sells to everyone, even employees at the same price there is no negotiating. They have been known to give customers discounts or concessions if there is a major problem with their purchase.

The car was in better condition than I expected. Examining with a flashlight there was no evidence of any re-paint and the paint was in great condition. Panel alignment that Tesla has been rightly criticized for was very good... not QUITE on the level of German automakers but close enough most would not notice. There was one very small alignment issue with the rear driver's side door, but it's so minimal I don't know that I care enough to ask them to fix it. After driving off with the car I did discover the left turn signal is not working correctly. Tesla will correct this with a part swap soon with their mobile service (rangers!) which is pretty nice... beats a service center visit with a brand new car.

I drove off and proceeded to spend the next 24 hours when not working driving the car, putting over 100 miles on it.

I wanted to share my initial impressions.

Compared to my 340xi the handling on the Tesla is better. Noticeably quicker. It points and turns much faster and the forward seating position (there is no engine so the cabin is forward of where it is in traditional cars), low center of gravity and near 50/50 weight distribution make it a joy to drive spiritidly.

The one downside to the handling is the suspension, which is firmer than on the BMW. It soaks up bumps well enough but there is some extra springiness in the suspension I find a bit objectionable. Some of this could be due to the very high (45 PSI!!) tire pressure that Tesla recommends for optimal range. My car came with 18" rims (the standard "aero" wheels), I'm not sure if I could take driving it with 19"s and definitely not 20"s. As these will be my winter wheels I probably have some time to figure it out.

I was initially concerned that the giant center display would be a turn off... but it's not. I can always see the speed out of my peripheral vision, the screen is enormous and incredibly responsive. It does not have CarPlay but neither does my current BMW. Bluetooth works well with my iPhone X... it does contacts, music, and of course my phone acts as a key (works perfectly so far). Backup key is a plastic credit card that has an RFID chip. You hold it up to the B pillar to unlock the car and you tap it to the center console to enable drive. The phone as a key is more convenient.

Power/speed wise there is no comparison between the 340xi and the Model 3 with dual motors. Both cars show similar 0-60 and 1/4 mile times (4.5 seconds and 12.7 seconds approximately). However, with the BMW you only achieve these times with sport+ mode enabled and in more or less perfect conditions. With the Tesla you squeeze the accelerator and the car simply takes off like a rocket... instantaneously. Turbo lag isn't "almost" nonexistent. It is nonexistent. The feeling of thrust is similar to what you feel in a very large 400+ horsepower V8 car like a Corvette but the responsiveness just doesn't have any comparison in the world of gas burning cars.

One of my biggest gripes with my 340xi and the 328xi it replaced is that slight delay and hesitation when something happens and you need to react quickly with SPEED. You press firmly on the accelerator and it takes the car a moment to figure out you want to MOVE like NOW. This happens even in Sport mode. The Tesla has none of this. Response for all purposes is instantaneous. Pretty incredible really.

Additionally, the car isn't making any noise other than a very faint whine when it is doing this. The feeling of extremely rapid acceleration coupled with no drama is kind of addictive. Scratch that, it is highly addictive.

Let off the accelerator and the car starts to immediately slow with the regenerative brakes... recapturing momentum and putting it in the batteries.

I didn't test drive the Performance version that is even faster with 3.5 0-60 and 11.6 1/4 mile times. The one I bought is fast enough. Never thought I'd say that but it's true. Plus, I saved $10,000 buying the "slow" dual motor one. Go me.

Interior wise the car is nice, but it's not on the level of a BMW/Merc/Audi. It just doesn't have that "bespoke" feel, but it is quite a lovely airy modern cabin. The lack of gauges and buttons and stuff feels weird at first but you quickly get used to it. Interior storage is fairly useful (much more so than S or X) but not on level with BMW. I still can't find a good place to store my sunglasses in this thing. :)

What are the strengths of the BMW comparatively?

Cosmetically the BMW looks higher end. The M body kit, the angel eye headlights, the aggressive "get the hell out of my way" stance, all scream "German Autobahn machine". The Tesla looks good but it's softer. Biggest problem with the looks are the pouty fish mouth. Still not in love with it. It's worth noting that other than a carbon fiber spoiler on the highest end Performance+ version, bigger painted calipers and different rims, there is zero cosmetic differentiation between Tesla versions right now.... oh, I forgot one, the white seats are only available on all wheel drive variants, at least for now.

The suspension is tuned a bit better for a more compliant ride on the Beemer... trade off though is it handles nothing like the Tesla.

The BMW has a higher end feeling cockpit with more materials and the materials feel a bit more premium. The Tesla doesn't feel cheap, just spartan. The sport seats on the BMW have better adjustments, they are much firmer. The Tesla seats were still surprisingly comfortable... probably best next to Volvo I've sat in from a pure "comfort" perspective.

BMW has some features I will miss. I will miss the kick to open tailgate. I will miss the 360 surround view parking (In fairness though the Tesla has a better backup camera and it is displayed on a massive screen compared to the BMW)...

BMW has CarPlay, which the Tesla does not have. The Tesla does have a much better sounding stereo than the HK in the BMW.

The BMW might have just slightly less wind noise than the Tesla. The Tesla also exhibits a tiny bit of buzzing/vibration sounds from the cockpit when going over really grooved concrete, but I've experienced this to varying degrees with all cars I've owned.

That's about it for now. I've posted some additional pictures below. The Tesla looks quite good in person but is very hard to photograph this color with a smart phone. I'm debating having the aluminum trim wrapped in black and getting a light tint on the windows.

I'm here to answer any questions you have, so fire away and I'll respond the best I can.






 
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#2 ·
My car came with 18" rims (the standard "aero" wheels),
First, thank you for the well written review and the excellent photos voip-ninja. :thumbup:

Question: What happened to the aero wheel covers? I think they're standard on Model 3 with 18" wheels. Did Tesla forget to install them on your new car?

Here's a photo of the wheel cover:
 
#3 ·
Tesla makes a kit if you want to remove the aero covers. What you see in my photos is the aero covers removed and the ***8220;center cap kit and lug nut cover***8221; kit installed. I can put the aero covers back on if doing a road trip and wanting maximum range.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the review voip-ninja, appreciate you taking the time to do so from a long time BMW person.
 
#8 ·
I guess the fact that the car has zero emissions and is good for the environment is a bonus.

I'm here to answer any questions you have, so fire away and I'll respond the best I can.
Okay, I've got a question.

You really think the process(es) used to generate the electricity that charges up your new car is "zero emissions and good for the environment"?

If so, there's a lovely old bridge near Lower Manhattan that I can get you a great price on. ;)
 
#9 · (Edited)
Okay, I***8217;ve got a question.

You really think the process(es) used to generate the electricity that charges up your new car is ***8220;zero emissions and good for the environment***8221;?

If so, there***8217;s a lovely old bridge near Lower Manhattan that I can get you a great price on. ;)
If I***8217;m charging the car during the day the power is coming from the 33 solar panels on my roof. Shouldn***8217;t you be out playing in traffic or something?

What you seem to fail to understand is that I***8217;m in it for the performance aspect, any tree hugging hippie action is a side ***8220;benefit***8221;.

And yes, the performance of electric is better between these two excellent cars.
 
#11 ·
[*]-$7,500 Federal Tax Credit
[*]-$5,000 State Tax Credit
Getting other people to contribute $12,500 toward your new vehicle purchase: priceless!
 
#23 ·
ha ..... well the petty bickering actually had some cleverness embedded ....... y***8217;all are putting some effort into it ......
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
One question for Voip: Do you find yourself missing the sound as you wound out that lovely inline 6? While I think the EV's silence could be great while commuting, I think I'd miss the aural bliss of wringing our 340 out on a 2 lane twisty.
 
#26 ·
I do miss the sound. The sound of the B58 engine, even with the stock exhaust is simply phenomenal. That startup sound, revving it. Sounds like a baby Ferrari. The Tesla whooshes around like a giant go-kart. Also satisfying but in a different sort of way.
 
#29 ·
Good review (and defense)! Please keep all of us updated with your experience. I once had what I believe at the time, prostate irritation from heavy hybrid use; it completely dissapeared after selling. My research showed some health issues from a few others that thought their ev had caused (headaches or nausea) - so please keep tabs on that. My hope is the shielding has improved, as I would love to haul some ass in what handles, as you say, better than a 3 series, and fills up overnight. How is it over 100?

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
#30 ·
I was really hoping this thread would not turn into what some seem to be trying to turn it into. I am interested in hearing a long time BMW persons experiences with the car, from living with it and driving it etc, from that perspective. Voip has been around here a long time (not so active recently) but was one of the people whose posts I used to look for "back in the day" to see his position on BMW stuff.

So, Voip, your take on this is very interesting to me, and hopefully you can ignore the people who attempt to be taking this in the tax / environmental direction as you stated that is not the primary reason you got the car. I also have solar on my house, and am also a net producer (I have 37 panels on my home actually), but did not do any of that for environmental reasons. It was strictly because it was cheaper for me, and I was in the top tier of electricity usage prior to solar every month anyway.

The other 3 series vs tesla threads are basically unreadable for me, as they devolved into something I am not interested in reading. Its interesting to me to hear your take on the lack of engine noise, because I feel like that would bother me a lot. I have ridden around in a model S of a co worker, and the interior does not seem to rise to the level of the cost of the car. Havent been in a model 3 yet, but there are a few at work (not people I eat lunch with at work though). What you describe as spartan, felt "cheap" to me, at least at the price point of the car.

I am also wary of the tesla build quailty reports, so interesting to see that yours was good. Curious what you would have done when you went to pick it up, if you had found fitment issues on doors or such that you really couldnt live with? Not sure how that would work on a tesla since its not like they can just easily slot you back in line to build another, etc.

Would you have considered the tesla if you were looking at it as your main vehicle? in my case, my wife and I have 1 car each, and it would replace one of our cars, not be "added to a stable of cars". I think that makes a difference, but curious to hear what your thoughts would have been if your BMW was your only car. Would you be happy with the tesla as your only vehicle or your primary one (with any other vehicle belonging to someone else in your household and only occasionally driven by you?
 
#32 · (Edited)
Long time BMW (~20 years) enthusiast here. Registered just to throw my two cents on this thread (I am active on n54tech & bimmerpost but only lurked here), . I currently have an E36 325i with track suspension setup and a E82 135i with Performance Suspension upgrade and many M3 suspension part upgrades. The 135i is tuned and is a beast especially with the upgraded suspension setup.

I was in the market for a new car and cross shopped between the M2 Competition and either latest or upcoming M3 and the Performance Model 3. Well, I test drove the Performance Model 3 and was just blown away. The hyper-low center of gravity and low polar moment of inertia (just a frunk where a heavy engine would be) and insanely quick, smooth and silent acceleration just threw a curve-ball to everything I knew about sport sedans & performance cars. The car is simply a beast and absolutely out performs anything BMW has to offer today. After a few days of taking it up my favorite mountain twisty roads with very spirited driving I'm absolutely convinced of this. I would most likely need to go to a Porsche Cayman to beat the handling aspects of this car but even that wouldn't have the instantaneous power & torque of this car.

It was hard to leave the BMW family and enter the unknown of Tesla startup and build quality issues, but frankly the product is just too good and wouldn't leave my mind and eventually I decided I had to have it.

Order was placed and now having lived with it for a couple of weeks I'm more impressed than ever. I can say I was very hesitant on the ultra minimalist interior but now I absolutely love it. For me this is very much an iPhone moment - when a new product suddenly makes everything else seem outdated and old.

I have a lot of BMW enthusiasts in my social circle, go to BMW CCA events. I give out demo rides to anyone that asks. One of my friends who is as long of a BMW enthusiast as me (a driving instructor for our local BMW CCA) was so impressed he ended up ordering a Performance Model 3 and now selling his M3.

My 2011 135i which I absolutely love (esp. with suspension work) will be going up for sale soon. I'll be keeping my E36 325i (for now) when I feel like driving a stick shift but I have a feeling it may not end up getting much use.

Tesla has a ways to go in the customer service, delivery, and production parts of their company. Especially right now, they are having major growing pains. But I can say, the car is phenomenal and so far has been worth the hassle of the current delivery process and the bit of risk I'm taking with service and potential issues of a new car model.
 
#78 · (Edited)
The car is simply a beast and absolutely out performs anything BMW has to offer today. After a few days of taking it up my favorite mountain twisty roads with very spirited driving I'm absolutely convinced of this. I would most likely need to go to a Porsche Cayman to beat the handling aspects of this car but even that wouldn't have the instantaneous power & torque of this car.
I drive my Cayman regularly for training on public roads. I tend to keep the pace at no more than 5/10ths on public roads which I define with "no yaw movement + no tire noise" - which can be, in some spots, at more than twice the speed limit during cornering. Just so you have a reference point.

I can tell with certainty that Nissan Leaf has no issues keeping that pace. I have no doubt Model 3 has, either.

What many keep forgetting is that rented Chevy Malibu will outrun both Leaf and Model 3 when driven hard. Yes, you will leave it behind for miles. For the first 70 miles. After that, you will wait for a flatbed when Chevy Malibu blasts past you. And all of that assumes, one more time, you have no issues with overheating the system with constant demand of peak current to run hard.

What did I want to say with all this? Do not buy EV for a wrong purpose. They are so far superior vehicles when you need a grocery getter. Sports car application? Hmmm ... not for me, your mileage may vary. Quite literally. :)

In our love of the sound is Pavlovian conditioning. Given the way I feel about my Performance Model 3 I now LOVE the sound of the motor whine spooling up as I accelerate. So smooth and with no breaks caused by shifting. It's just so futuristic.

More and more I'm viewing the sound of my Bimmers to be an anachronism.. it's starting to lose the appeal.
They both have advantages. Hearing the tires roll in a Leaf at good pace is a very surprising and positive experience. You can actually hear the full progression from silent roll, through whisper, normal talk all the way to complaint - which you certainly cannot in my Cayman at 5,000+ rpm with Sport Exhaust bypass.

That said, I would say that the sound that flat 6 makes between 7,000 rpm to 7,600 rpm fuel cutoff with bypass is everything you want it to be but anachronistic. I know that, for me, it is a siren song. First time I just couldn't lift until I heard that song completely I had time to break before trooper could clock me. The second time Sheriff deputy did clock me, but I got off with a warning. No matter that, I still can't lift once I get in that rpm range - just have to hear that song. That is certainly NOT what I would do with Leaf whine. Again, to each their own.

Peace out, brothers.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Power/speed wise there is no comparison between the 340xi and the Model 3 with dual motors. Both cars show similar 0-60 and 1/4 mile times (4.5 seconds and 12.7 seconds approximately). However, with the BMW you only achieve these times with sport+ mode enabled and in more or less perfect conditions. With the Tesla you squeeze the accelerator and the car simply takes off like a rocket... instantaneously. Turbo lag isn't "almost" nonexistent. It is nonexistent. The feeling of thrust is similar to what you feel in a very large 400+ horsepower V8 car like a Corvette but the responsiveness just doesn't have any comparison in the world of gas burning cars.
And there it is.

Most folks want to be environmentally responsible, shucks they want to be alotta things. But like J.P. Morgan said: "People do things for a reason. And the real reason."

Dude....you ID'd the heart of it....

.
 
#37 ·
I am also wary of the tesla build quailty reports, so interesting to see that yours was good. Curious what you would have done when you went to pick it up, if you had found fitment issues on doors or such that you really couldnt live with? Not sure how that would work on a tesla since its not like they can just easily slot you .
I would have made a snap judgement on getting them to issue me a due bill for repairs before taking delivery or I would have asked for a new VIN. It would have taken pretty serious issues for me to request a new vin.

Would you have considered the tesla if you were looking at it as your main vehicle? in my case, my wife and I have 1 car each, and it would replace one of our cars, not be "added to a stable of cars". I think that makes a difference, but curious to hear what your thoughts would have been if your BMW was your only car. Would you be happy with the tesla as your only vehicle or your primary one (with any other vehicle belonging to someone else in your household and only occasionally driven by you?
I would be fine with the Tesla as my primary driver. It has all wheel drive and should do great in the snow. It just got a 5 star rating in every category and subcategory of crash testing so I know it is safe for my family.

I would prefer to have at least one gas burner in the garage as I think in a major disaster scenario gas will be easier to get than electricity.

I would not consider a Tesla as my sole or main transport if I lived hours from a service center as Tesla is terrible about letting third parties repair their cars.
 
#69 · (Edited)
First of all, excellent review on the 3 voip-ninja. This is much appreciated as I see myself at a crossroads in about 3 years. I have two 2011 e92 335xi Coupes that I just love. The engines are great. I've had almost zero trouble with them and I know how to do 95% of the routine and some of the more complex maint. For instance, I changed out my starter motors, water pump, put in a Vishnu Tune... I know these cars inside and out.

The sound when I floor them, the acceleration etc. is to me heavenly. But they are getting old - my favorite has 195,000 miles on it. The other has "only" 78,000 miles.

I would be hard pressed to leave the gasoline engine world of cars. But this thread has me thinking - Do I hang onto the vestiges of a doomed gas industry now? Eventually there will be no choice. At the same time as I see more and more EVs, I am also seeing a lot of car makers building faster gasoline cars with bigger engines - Hellcats, Demons, Trackhawks and the like. So the offerings by some manufacturers is making the direction of the industry kind of confusing. I know that EV will eventually win...

The main problem I see with EV is the range I need. I drive 35-45k miles per year, and I need a vehicle that will easily do 300+ miles on a single charge. Charging station convenience is an issue that is rapidly become less of a concern (for example, the other day I was at a Meijer in Green Bay - they have Tesla charging stations now). But there is no way I can take 30-90 minutes out of my working day to charge my car. They have to improve that somehow. I thought of a method by which they swap out the whole bottom panel, exchanging a fully charged bank for the depleted one. Now THAT makes sense. The weather is a concern too because we have long and cold winters here, which reduces range. I'm sure a lot of these things will get better in the next 3 years, just depends on how much better.

I just have questions on two of your replies:
...
I would prefer to have at least one gas burner in the garage as I think in a major disaster scenario gas will be easier to get than electricity...
Don't you have a solar array? If your utilities were knocked out, would that be enough to charge the Tesla?

... Tesla does not have hard drive storage, but it does support plugging in a flash drive for music. It also supports FM radio, streaming from your phone (over BT or USB) and has a built in Slacker Radio subscription that streams music over the car's LTE/4G/3G connection.
Is there an AUX jack for a 3.5mm plug?

Again, thanks for the review. And never mind the trolls.
 
#40 ·
Good write up. How long do you plan on keeping it? Interested to see how the quality holds up over the years.

Sent from my iPhone using Bimmerfest
Will depend on a number of factors. Ideally I would keep it for 6-7 years and allow the technology to continue to mature. I would greatly look forward to a re-designed model at that time that has full self driving, a slightly more compliant suspension and a 500 mile battery.

That some-day car might not even be a Tesla, I think the market is going to start to seriously heat up in about 18 months when actual competition to Tesla shows up.
 
#46 ·
I wanted to provide a bit more information around the fit/finish aspect.

This is the one fit & finish thing I've really been able to notice in my first couple of days with the car. The window trim on the rear driver's side door is not aligned to the trim in the C pillar the way it is on the passenger's side.

This is small stuff folks, I've absolutely owned German cars with similar tolerance issues. My 1st generation F30 for example had a few panel gap issues that most owners experienced in cars that were built in the first 1-2 years they were leaving the Munich factory.

3rd photo below shows how badly this car needs some light tint on the windows. I'm thinking perhaps going with a 30% tint and just not wrapping the window trim.



 
#80 ·
Maybe all Model 3's have this flaw. I was parked next to one for a while yesterday while waiting for my gf to arrive at a restaurant, it had this exact same flaw.

The owner was also sitting in it so I got a chance to admire the large center screen, and it was pretty cool when it silently reversed and left. Getting more and more tempted by these...
 
#48 ·
I drive 4-5K miles per year, also, and did a similar calculation to @Closem Joe. Tesla has a calculator on its build site that approximates how much gas $ you'll save per yer driving an E-car. I'd save around $750 a year. A loaded G30 costs $70K and a loaded Tesla S cost $105K. And I like the BMW interior much better!
 
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