So Model 3 Highland is a luxury vehicle? And to that point luxury is a soft ride, not acceleration or tech or safety features.

 

I'm not a luxury buyer, but I know a few, and they wouldn't consider it to be luxury by any stretch of the imagination. Different people have different view points of what luxury is, for example one friend of mine skipped the Model 3 and leased a BMW i4 because it had better seats, options like leather and carbon fiber trim, and a HUD.

I've driven both the new Model 3 LR and Performance, and that are awesome cars, but not what I would consider luxury. If I wanted luxury, I would probably be looking at the i5

 

I'm thinking luxury cars start at $80k and up these days.

Maybe more. 🤓

 

Wow, nice discussion. Good points on both ends.

First, I had plans to drive a CT today but we are getting the remnants of the world's weirdest Hurricane so I skipped it. This storm came out of nowhere and apparently it's now flooding Atlanta, we aren't too far up.

A. @SW17LS I agree about the Model 3 even though I like the refresh and the car in general. It's a little too appliancey. They are stacked on the lots all the same color and it just looks kinda plain. I think them being that way, yet being able to smoke 98% on the road are things owners either love or don't care about. But again, I really like the update.

B. Some of you are forgetting that a really refined ICE car, the smoothness isn't just from the engine.... it's everything down to the volume ****. Yes, there is nothing like EV torque... but a car like an old Lexus LS460 AMZIRA brought up is so smooth you can do the glass of water trick on the engine. Add in the suspension and everything else that went into that car whose focus of life is to be buttery, and the match is much more legit. It's not even really a match, but then again you can compare anything.

C. "I don't care about 80% of cars that used to make me hard.." First that's hilarious, and couldn't be more accurate. I don't care about cars anymore and don't know offhand much about them in terms of power which is why I get corrected, Steve corrected me bc I had the year of an S-Class generation off.... that would NEVERRRRRR happen but now the S-Class is hybrid only, I've lost interest. (Can we please leave it at that? No offense to anyone or you....) Me having basically anything about an S-Class wrong? Years ago I would have slapped myself or deserve to have been slapped.

D. ​​​@FrankReynoldsCPA Big engines, ICE only will be back. I don't want to say much more bc that's been beaten to death. It's already happening. That's not a diss on EVs at all, it's the free market pushing back on all this fuel economy crap. People are gonna hold on to cars for longer than ever, they already are.

I really wan't trying to make that an EV vs ICE comparison at all, just some thoughts off my head. Smoothness doesn't just come from propulsion.

 

From what I've seen, people wrap their cars because they think it will improve the look.
I can't say for sure because it's more than 10 years now but yes I could start it from my app. Here is what I found on google... "The Lexus Enform Remote app allows you to remotely start your Lexus vehicle from anywhere in the world." I got so excited and even made one of my past avatars with the Start Icon. The point is that technology is not new and available everywhere now, nothing special about Tesla. BMW can either start from from app remotely or directly with fob. Mercedes can not do directly with fob but can be done with app remotely. And yes, it can be done from anywhere. Lol.

Now you're talking. I don't remember getting this sense from you for some reasons. As you see in this thread, there are more people that think MY is a luxurious car.

I don't recall having issue with mine and certainly not see complaint (at least not at your claimed rate) about this on 4GS but the point is not about how well it worked. The point is some brag about a technology that was available more than a decade ago. If you compare to similar aged cars, I don't think there's one that's not reliable. The only good thing about Tesla is... it's free. Speaking of reliability... I think people have more phone (as key) with Tesla than other brands. Many carry a card key because they're afraid the phone may not work.

 

I've said this numerous, numerous times. I believe it's an appliance, but purpose built for fun as well as being practical. I've never said different than this. And I know a s h i t load of Y owners, and none that I know think any different. Lex just may have a different interpretation of luxury than mine. For some it's leather seats, for some it's a quiet smooth ride. I knew someone who thought his Camry XLE was a luxury car because it was loaded, had sunroof, V6 and leather seats. To me the XLE is a nice, comfortable car, but it's not a luxury car, but that's just my interpretation

 

Come on, you can't run the engine when the car is in your garage or in an underground parking lot. So no you were not able to heat or cool your GS anywhere at any time.

 

You can run a car in a parking garage.... ?

 

I wouldn't run my car in my garage, but then I wouldn't need to...because my garage keeps the car from needing to be heated or cooled, but I wouldn't hesitate to run it in a parking garage. Again though, its not necessary as the car isnt hot or cold.

 

You mean with the garage door open?

It doesn't take long to get bad in a garage with it closed. Sometimes I leave mine closed to start up the SL and hear the German high torque starter and V8 exhaust even better. It gets bad fast lol.

 

Hope the storm didn't do any damage - I was in Knoxville area all last weekend for the Morgan Wallen concert and knew there was a big storm coming there this week; which then happened to tie itself to the hurricane. You guys got a lot of rain..

I believe this will be the first Tesla you have driven (correct me if wrong). And it might be the first EV you've driven (again, could be wrong). I am interested to hear your thoughts on the experience. I want to drive a CT because I want to feel the drive-by-wire experience, and I want my son to check it off his bucket list. I wonder how it would be to have that be the first Tesla driving experience for someone (mine was a Model S).

Having owned an LS 400, LS 430, and LS460L, I am definitely in the camp that no Tesla offers a luxury experience like that (or an S class, etc). I do believe there are EV's that offer this level of luxury, but I just haven't experienced those or even sat in them myself (yet).

Conversely, the ownership experience that I have had with any of those cars compared to the ownership experience of the Tesla is very different. I really love never having to worry about maintenance. Expensive luxury cars at some point require expensive repairs.

 

I mean like a parking garage, not my home garage. I wouldn’t run an engine in my home garage.

With an EV why would you need to precondition it in an inside garage anyways?

 

My usability was so bad I logged it for a few months so I could get a refund from Lexus corporate. I was in an office with full bars of service, the car sat outside in an open air parking lot with full bars of service. I loved the car but hated Enform. The original Model S came out in 2012. I'd wager that it out performed better than other cars at the time. Sure it's become commonplace now, but I've used it in my EVs more than my non-EVs

I carry a key card because phones die. Better to have it take up a slot in my wallet vs. trying to bum a charge off someone

 

I can start (pre condition/ pre heat) my Rav via app from anywhere at any time even in a closed garage because it defaults to EV mode on every startup.

 

This screenshot of my Tesla app was taken like 5 minutes ago (3:57p eastern). It's overcast and not overly hot by FL standards right now. My car is parked in my garage. Interior cabin is 91 degrees. This is why you'd use it...! I use the climate control portion of the app all the time - I never get in the car without it being at the temp I've either set on the app or done the "keep" feature.

With you living in MD, you get hot summers and cool/cold days and nights in the winter. Wouldn't you want to get into a car that's always at the exact temp you want? With heated (or cooled seats on the new 3, S, X) ready for you and your passengers? You can do that all from the app.