Anyone else daily driving a Tesla Model 3 Performance?

[GetawayDriving]

I also have a Model 3 Performance as a daily. Didn't drive it for roughly 2 weeks, only drove my Crafter and my MX-5 and I was shocked when I put the pedal down for the first time after two weeks. It's really super quick. However the 160 hp MX-5 is way more fun to drive 🤷🏻‍♂️ The Emira will be quite a bit slower than the Tesla for sure, but I don't think that this will be an issue.

🙌

I’ve also owned a Model 3 Performance alongside a Miata (ND club) and honestly had a hard time deciding which I wanted to bring to the track.

To add to everyone’s anecdotes:

The thing I loved about the M3P was I could bring it to autocross, the drag strip, open track days, and it was competitive and fun out of the box everywhere. I even camped in it at the track. It’s an incredibly impressive car that I miss quite a bit.

The thing that doesn’t get talked about much as it relates to the model 3 is the fidelity of control with the accelerator. Obviously the instant speed gets a lot of attention, but combine that effortless acceleration with aggressive regen and you can very quickly gain AND scrub speed by modulating the one pedal and not fussing with brakes. Every gap in traffic is yours. It feels like a scalpel in this way and I’ve never driven another car with the same sensation (EVs included).

 

[lynchy73]

I daily drive a ModelS P. It's even more power than the Model3 Performance, on a straight line, even my friend's lambos or mclarens feel laggy.. But heck I find i enjoy driving ICE cars alot more even if they are far slower. Electric is nice to drive, but lacks interaction, and soul of the drive. It's not all about the instant power.

I am definitely looking forward to enjoying the emira over my ModelS P.


Although I think you should ask yourself what you are looking for in a car? A good comfy daily drive? Or a engaging fun drive?

If I was looking for a comfy daily driver I would stick with the Model 3 and get a new suspension setup as it’s a bit stiff on the bumpy roads in the city where I live. Other than that it’s a nice daily with a good turn of speed when you need it and descent enough handling for what it is. The Model s is not available here for some time already and not sure when the new version will come. Was pondering an S Plaid, but after some time with the M3P, I don’t think that level of warp speed acceleration is really necessary. Most of my daily driving is done in the city and the M3P is already more than enough for that. Would consider an MYP if they upgraded to air suspension, but otherwise will stick with what I have for now.

I want a sports car for fun and just to have a cool, good looking car for a bit of fun. I want the Emira, as I feel it’s the most special car I can get in the market where I now live for a price that’s not totally ridiculous (a 992 carrerra 2s OTR with a couple of options is circa 250kGBP or 300kUSD equivalent here). The Emira I4 is half that. Coming from the UK, it seemed like a good move to get the Lotus. Whilst we could stretch for a 911 if we really wanted to, but the price just seems a bit OTT and I’d be scared to leave it anywhere. We’re doing ok, but that’s too much to drop on a car IMO (unless it’s likely to hold its value or appreciate).

I’ll be keeping the Tesla for my daily when the Emira comes and the wife uses our old C7 Audi A6 on the few occasions she needs her own car. Wouldn’t want to use my pride and join for every day. Too many crap drivers and inconsiderate people that will bang or scratch your car as many/most can’t drive for shit.

 

[lynchy73]

🙌

I’ve also owned a Model 3 Performance alongside a Miata (ND club) and honestly had a hard time deciding which I wanted to bring to the track.

To add to everyone’s anecdotes:

The thing I loved about the M3P was I could bring it to autocross, the drag strip, open track days, and it was competitive and fun out of the box everywhere. I even camped in it at the track. It’s an incredibly impressive car that I miss quite a bit.

The thing that doesn’t get talked about much as it relates to the model 3 is the fidelity of control with the accelerator. Obviously the instant speed gets a lot of attention, but combine that effortless acceleration with aggressive regen and you can very quickly gain AND scrub speed by modulating the one pedal and not fussing with brakes. Every gap in traffic is yours. It feels like a scalpel in this way and I’ve never driven another car with the same sensation (EVs included).

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You have an Emira on order too, I’m assuming? Like me, you seem like you can appreciate what the M3P has to offer but can also see the appeal in an ICE Sports/Sporty car.

A nice ICE car with a good engine is great. However, most are not daily driving in such cars. Given the choice between a basic daily with an ICE or an EV, personally I’d have the EV (assuming you have a place to charge and don’t do lots of long journeys on a regular basis, like myself).

I’ve put down my deposit on an Emira as my fun car/treat for myself. For a fun car I’d pick/have chosen an ICE.

Personally, I’d be reluctant at this stage to drop big money on an EV sports car as the technology is changing quite quickly. The battery tech in say the Porsche Taycan will likely be superseded quite quickly. Not to mention, whilst Porsche make a great car, but their general EV tech is not at the stage of those that came early to the game.

 

[GetawayDriving]

You have an Emira on order too, I’m assuming? Like me, you seem like you can appreciate what the M3P has to offer but can also see the appeal in an ICE Sports/Sporty car.

A nice ICE car with a good engine is great. However, most are not daily driving in such cars. Given the choice between a basic daily with an ICE or an EV, personally I’d have the EV (assuming you have a place to charge and don’t do lots of long journeys on a regular basis, like myself).

I’ve put down my deposit on an Emira as my fun car/treat for myself. For a fun car I’d pick/have chosen an ICE.

Personally, I’d be reluctant at this stage to drop big money on an EV sports car as the technology is changing quite quickly. The battery tech in say the Porsche Taycan will likely be superseded quite quickly. Not to mention, whilst Porsche make a great car, but their general EV tech is not at the stage of those that came early to the game.

I love cars mostly, and EV is just a different flavor. I’ve owned a BMW i3, Tesla Model 3 LR RWD, Tesla Model 3 Performance and Jeep Wrangler 4XE. I have a reservation for a Rivian R1T and yes, an Emira order placed. I also created EV.Guide to help others buy EV, but a key piece of that is determining if and which electrified vehicle fits one’s own unique set of circumstances.

I’m incredibly excited about Lotus’ electric future, and may be in the minority there amongst Lotus loyalists. If the Model 3 could benefit from anything it’s added lightness. The Emira is my forever car, in my view the pinnacle of driver engagement (🤞) to sit in the garage alongside a rotating cast of electrics.

Regarding my former pairing, the M3P was the polar opposite of the Miata. Heavy, digital, lots of assists (doing a great job) it was fun because it was a rocket ship on the straights and a hilarious white knuckle through the turns. The Miata obviously is light, analog, no assists and can carry much more speed through the bends. Literal opposites, but both very joyful.

 

[krist]

The model 3 performance is such a weapon with that instant power, good power levels and the ability to put down that power effortlessly even in the wet. Whilst I’m loving the looks of the Emira and with it being relatively exotic for a not so crazy price, but I can’t help but be concerned that the power and response of the Emira is going to be a bit underwhelming once I finally get behind the wheel of the Emira after daily driving the M3P.

Anyone else in the same or similar boat?

where I come from, TM3P used to be a real exotic, maybe not so much now. I sort of forgotten I even am waiting for the Emira, I chose the I4 for the low end torque boost.

 

[FlyNavy01]

The Model 3 is still the king daily driver in my opinion. Endless torque, low maintenance, silent, and dirt cheap to run. ICE sports cars like the Emira will be niche toys for me, reserved for a sunny sunday or weekend drive.

I reserved my M3P day one on March 31, 2016 when I was 25 (I'm now 31), took delivery July 2018, and been daily-ing it ever since (almost 50k miles now). Despite people always bringing up build quality issues, mine has been completely fine. I've done a dozen or so track days in it and have around ~$15k of suspension, brake, wheel, and tire upgrades to make it better both on the street and track. It's kind of an OEM+ build for me. The Emira will be the opposite: lightweight, analog, manual, noise, 2 doors, etc.

Here's a quick lap I did in my Tesla a few years ago. Despite it being heavy, still a ton of fun on the track.

 

[jagseven]

Interesting thread - like most on here I have an Emira on order (not expected to arrive for at least another 12 months) and I have just ordered a Kia EV6 GT with 580hp to go alongside it (also a 12+? month wait). It does seem ironic that the family car will easily out accelerate the sports car but as others have said they offer very different driving experiences. It will be interesting to see which car arrives first and which I prefer overall.

 

[lynchy73]

I love cars mostly, and EV is just a different flavor. I’ve owned a BMW i3, Tesla Model 3 LR RWD, Tesla Model 3 Performance and Jeep Wrangler 4XE. I have a reservation for a Rivian R1T and yes, an Emira order placed. I also created EV.Guide to help others buy EV, but a key piece of that is determining if and which electrified vehicle fits one’s own unique set of circumstances.

I’m incredibly excited about Lotus’ electric future, and may be in the minority there amongst Lotus loyalists. If the Model 3 could benefit from anything it’s added lightness. The Emira is my forever car, in my view the pinnacle of driver engagement (🤞) to sit in the garage alongside a rotating cast of electrics.

Regarding my former pairing, the M3P was the polar opposite of the Miata. Heavy, digital, lots of assists (doing a great job) it was fun because it was a rocket ship on the straights and a hilarious white knuckle through the turns. The Miata obviously is light, analog, no assists and can carry much more speed through the bends. Literal opposites, but both very joyful.

Yes, it would be interesting to see what Lotus come up with in the way of an Electric Sports Car. It’s an area that is pretty thin on the ground. I had a test drive in a Taycan Turbo, it was nice but I do recall feeling I felt the weight of it under braking.

Regards the Eletre, it does seem quite Chinese in it’s Styling. I saw 1 in the flesh and I can’t say it blew me away TBH (not a big fan of SUVs in general). The interior was nice but not that big inside for such a big vehicle.

Saying that, the Urus doesn’t blow me away either, but there is an Aston Martin DBX (I believe) SUV in my complex and for an SUV I think it looks great. However, the AM and Lambo are silly money here, don’t have that kind of money to throw away on a fancy SUV.

 

[BaseM139Waiter]

Yes, I definitely love this car. I rented a model 3P on Turo for a road trip last month. The power, steering, chassis, and the weight balance are so satisfying. The things I don’t like are the brake feel(stopping power isn’t strong enough and fade quite quickly), big screens (which you have to control everything in the screen, even the side mirrors! WTF!), and most importantly the enforced Regenerative braking (you can disable this on older teslas).

Overall it’s still a great package in spite of those hated things, it is the car on my list that I wish to own in the near future, but definitely not been placed as high up as the Emira.

 

[lynchy73]

Yes, I definitely love this car. I rented a model 3P on Turo for a road trip last month. The power, steering, chassis, and the weight balance are so satisfying. The things I don’t like are the brake feel(stopping power isn’t strong enough and fade quite quickly), big screens (which you have to control everything in the screen, even the side mirrors! WTF!), and most importantly the enforced Regenerative braking (you can disable this on older teslas).

Overall it’s still a great package in spite of those hated things, it is the car on my list that I wish to own in the near future, but definitely not has not been placed as high up as the Emira.

Agreed regards the brakes. It doesn’t feel it’s weight until you need to stop in a hurry (definitely doesn’t feel it’s weight when accelerating). There is definitely room for improvement. Would be curious to see what updated pads, braided lines and updated brake fluid could do for the brakes.

Regards the regen. To me, I feel you get used to it, but it takes some adjusting. Instead of light braking, or coasting in an ICE car, instead you learn to modulate the throttle in order to dial in the level of regen braking or even coasting you need (once dialed into it, I personally do like the control it offers).

Problem is, that then throws you out when you are switching between an ICE and the Tesla, as that is just not how an ICE car is driven (the ICE car feels like it is running away from you when you first jump into after the Tesla).

Agreed the regen could/should be adjustable and they should offer the option to set it as you want. It would be a simple thing to add via a software update. The Tesla Model controls Regen only Via the throttle input, the brake pedal only control the actual pads to disk braking so far as I understand it.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Yes, I definitely love this car. I rented a model 3P on Turo for a road trip last month. The power, steering, chassis, and the weight balance are so satisfying. The things I don’t like are the brake feel(stopping power isn’t strong enough and fade quite quickly), big screens (which you have to control everything in the screen, even the side mirrors! WTF!), and most importantly the enforced Regenerative braking (you can disable this on older teslas).

Overall it’s still a great package in spite of those hated things, it is the car on my list that I wish to own in the near future, but definitely not has not been placed as high up as the Emira.

I realize I’m in the minority but I love the big screen*

* Assuming the car has excellent software, accurate voice control and automates the most basic functions like wipers, HVAC and mirror movement (reversing etc).

 

[BaseM139Waiter]

I realize I’m in the minority but I love the big screen*

* Assuming the car has excellent software, accurate voice control and automates the most basic functions like wipers, HVAC and mirror movement (reversing etc).

Yeah, I am okay with the big screen, but never a fan of controlling everything in a single screen. It took me a while (that I literally had to do a short research online) to locate how to adjust the side mirrors on my rented 3P.

 

[YsoBlue21]

The thing I like about controls being in the screen is they can make changes/improvements to features with software updates. If the controls are tied to a physical button that is pretty much what you’ll get for that feature.

 

[lynchy73]

I realize I’m in the minority but I love the big screen*

* Assuming the car has excellent software, accurate voice control and automates the most basic functions like wipers, HVAC and mirror movement (reversing etc).

I personally don’t mind the screen at all. in fact I like it. Even the speedo off to the side is something you get used to and isn’t a problem for me. Would be nice if it had CarPlay, the built in Navigation in the Chinese Teslas doesn’t have English maps. voice commands are in English but searching a location is best done in Chinese. I Should really make use of the voice controls, it’s something I’ve hardly used.