Tesla Plaid-1 year review

[PorscheGAL]

The Plaid is significantly quicker.

The Model 3 has heated seats, the Plaid has heated and Cooled seats (a must in SC in the summer)

The Plaid has adjustable Air suspension that saves the location so if I raise it once in that location, it always lifts there.

Because there is a good size difference, the storage in the plaid is better but the Model 3 is better at handling curves.

[DonDavis]

Excellent review, thanks!

I drive from Mesa to Yuma a few times a year for work, 3 hours each way.

Gila Bend in a small town roughly halfway and there are several fuel stations.

Pilot, Love's, huge Circle K, Chevron, etc.

A few years ago a Tesla charging station was installed. Probably 20 or so hookups.

I don't always stop in Gila Bend, but when I do, the gas staitons are always packed, but I've never seen the Tesla chargers full.

And I've timed my stops. If I fill up, take a bio break and/or grab a snack, it's easily 15 min.

Waiting another 15-20 for a charge would mean nothing to me.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by PorscheGAL

I have never had to wait for a charger. The GPS will not direct me to a station that is full. It will send me to an alternate station. As far as sitting, it gives me a chance to have a bathroom break and grab a snack if needed, so it doesn't bother me.

The coldest I have driven in is probably about 30F. I do lose a little range at that temp mostly as it is sitting in a parking lot. I'd say about 20 miles.

I drive almost all highway and the mileage I give in my description is based on that.

Thanks. I bought a Panamera Turbo ST as my "last" V8 gas car. Next up will be a Taycan ST/CT. Just waiting for Gen2 of the Taycan as they have some bugs to work out and catching up w/ Tesla.
I owned 1 PHEV vehicle (Volvo T8 XC90) and found the hybrid to be kind of silly/pointless for my type of driving. I think full EV or full gas is the way. Hybrid didn't seem to be good for me. As you know the infrastructure for EV has a LONG way to go. I do have concerns that the number of EVs will multiply faster than our ability to make electricity to power them. It seems like we're not making any strides on the electricity supply side to support EVs in the USA.

[PorscheGAL]

Another thing I want to mention about charging:

The car will tell me how many minutes of charging needed to continue trip. It can be as low as 5 min of charge. You can stop charging then or fully charge.

I can enter as many addresses in the GPS as I want so if I make multiple stops it will put a charger in the mix. I always add home last so it will calculate that into the distance.

[Evans, Marv]

My wife loves her Model Y. I like the fact there is less than minimal maintenance. We chose the Model Y because of the extra room in the back. I commented in another thread, we paid $288 this past year for power for the (all electric) house and the car. That's with our 7.75 kW solar array.
The only complaint I have is with the ride. It's OK on good road but a bit harsh on rough road. We had to get new tires a couple of thousand miles ago (she has about 30K on the car now - bought in Nov., 2020), because she ran over something that punctured through the tread and sidewall on a back tire. The tires we got at Costco (specail order) made a positive difference in the ride over the tires that came on the car.
Range wise, we have it set to charge at 260 miles to supposedly help the battery life. It can be increased if you want to for a trip. That mileage is pretty accurate. Like I've said before, the car fits our situation perfectly and is a pleasure to drive.

[pwd72s]

Stephanie, I'm glad you're enjoying the ride.

[jorian]

My wife has the 3 and loves it too. I think the Model S might be my next car. Interesting you say the 3 handles better. I may have to try before I buy the S.

[island911]

Great write up - very objective on so many aspects. Thanks

The "smells like feet" had me LOL. (AC systems, they do that.)

Interesting about the key proximity/location.

With Norm's concerns in mind I can't help but think that you need one of these...



None of us really should be limited by 1g of down-force these days.

[sc_rufctr]

Thanks for the review Stephanie.

[MMARSH]

Great review. Sums up our experience as well.
I have a performance model S and my wife has a Standard range model 3.

I have slightly over 92K on my car and my wife has 48K on her model 3. I've had zero issues with my S. The only money I've spent on the car besides charging has been for tires. Ive driven the car several times from LA up to the bay area. It was painless and quite enjoyable, because i have free supercharging for the life of the car, it was also free. The overall range on my car has decreased from new by about 5 percent. It feels and runs as good as the day I bought it. With OTA updates, it's actually better then when I bought it.

My wife's car has had a persistent wind noise issue on the drivers side since new. It's been back to Tesla and the mobile service have been to the house a couple of times, but its still there. I dont drive or ride in her car very often, but when I do it drives me nuts. I think my S is more comfortable and it's obviously much quieter inside. Her car is a 2021, that she picked up in December 2020. Around the end of 2021, She had a major problem with her car, where it would not take a charge. Tesla ended up replaceing the battery. Car was down for a about a week while they waited for the replacement battery. Car has performed fine since that time.

The Tesla car ownership experience has been very pleasant overall, when you have to deal with the dealer, not so much......

Despite the issues with my wifes Model 3, she loves the car and is thinking of trading her car in and getting a new M3P. which I think would be great. She thinks the Model S is too big for her. Since I retired in July, I really don't drive mine that much anymore. I've driven it maybe a half dozen times, so I've contemplated selling it, but I probably wont. I still really enjoy the car. When the price of the GTS Sport Turismo goes down and the range goes up, I think that would be a great replacement.

I