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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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