From a Tesla Model 3 Performance to an 2023 SE - A few thoughts

I thought I'd make a separate thread to make it easier to find, should someone else in the future consider swapping from a Model 3 Performance (M3P) to an SE. Of course, these are just my opinions, and my likes/dislikes, wants/needs, experience will be different to anyone else, so YMMV.

Firstly here is my timeline:
03/18: Ordered
04/21: Production number provided
04/29: Production begins
05/17: Exterior body assembly begins
05/17: In the paint booth
05/18: Assembly in progress
05/19: Awaiting carrier assignment
05/19: Dispatched from factory
05/20: At the port
05/27: In transit
06/14: At the port (Baltimore)
06/28: In transit (10:30am)
06/28: At the dealership (4:15pm)
06/30: Delivered

My SE: Sig+, BRG, White roof/mirrors/stripes, 17" roulette spoke wheels, Hankook ventus S1 evo 3 tires. I paid MSRP, no enforced add-ons.

The active shutter grills were solid (shoutout @GvilleGuy). The Drivetrain error was present on leaving the dealership, but after charging up to 100% as soon as I got home it disappeared, and hasn't returned. My MA said that due to the number of electric MINI's and BMW's that were going through their dealerships, they weren't allowed to charge past 80%. I let her know about the forum thread, and charging to at least 90% initially.

I left the dealership around 5pm, so the drive home wasn't very informative due to the rush hour traffic. My first impression was it's much quieter than my M3P - even after I added extra door seals. I also noticed on the brief interstate part of the 12 mile drive home that I was traveling quicker than I thought a few times.

Since that first drive, I've taken my daughter on a drive (that went longer than we planned), had two friends that used to own a 2005 MINI drive it (one of those drives ended up being 45 minutes long - her first drive of a fully electric car too), taken it on a drive over windy roads on Sunday morning, and today took out in the rain for some errands.

So, some impressions:

• As mentioned, much quieter than my M3P.
• Much better built than my M3P.
• I enjoy having a 'real' indicator stalk again.
• I never had any issue with the single center screen in the M3P, but do like having the dash module back again.
• The SE rides better, 17" Vs 20" probably has a lot to do with that.
• The SE has more body roll.
• I'm quite happy with the handling Vs ride compromise in the SE.
• Tellingly, I never took the M3P out for a Sunday morning windy road drive.
• The SE was good fun on the windy roads, though without engine noise and gears, you do have to keep an eye on the speedo for judging corner entry speeds.
• I haven't had too much trouble with torque steer so far, but have driven FWD cars previously, so possibly some muscle memory coming into play there.
• Obviously the SE isn't as ludicrously quick immediately off the line as the M3P, especially in the rain, but once going, gets along nicely.
• As I anticipated, on public roads, in traffic, the SE's instant torque is sufficient, I don't really find myself missing the M3P's warp speed acceleration potential.
• I’m happy to have CarPlay.
• I'm loving the SE, and it's living up to all my very high expectations.
• With the federal/state incentives, the SE is an excellent value proposition.
• Whenever I'm asked about the SE, I just say it's great.

The HK audio system sounds pretty good initially - I'll see how it breaks-in though. Something that's not widely discussed is the Model 3 premium audio system is very good. I do have FLAC files I ripped from a CD that was created specifically for testing out audio performance, and was used in competitions. It's not test tones, but songs, very carefully recorded for the best quality specifically for this CD. I can't seem to find the physical CD and the liner notes, but each track is designed to test one or more qualities of an audio system, like staging, imaging, volume, bass, etc. It's called "Car of the Century", published by Devine. I can't find any reference to it online anymore - so if anyone is interested, I'll upload the FLAC files to GoFile. I've used this CD to test numerous car and home audio systems over the years, and the HK system does a pretty good job, so far.

Sadly my Fitcamx (shoutout @drdunkyn) was DOA when I plugged it in - currently awaiting their response.

My mods are limited to Bimmercode changes and some minor cosmetics. I de-yellow-ed the outside, replacing the wheel center caps and using decals from an Etsy seller to alter the 'S' and plug badges to white - matching roof/mirrors/stripes. I also put a "Fire Missiles" button cover over the Start-Stop button - because, MINI

 

The M3P is AWD - which gives the traction control a lot more options when putting down all the power and torque it has: ~500hp, ~500 lb ft.

I forgot to mention I drive the SE exclusively in Sport, perhaps I just need a little more finesse off the line, which was unnecessary in the M3P

 

Yeah, I agree the steering is a bit numb, fairly direct though. I didn’t mention it, as on the other side of the garage we have a Porsche, so sort of spoiled on the steering side of things. The M3P steering wasn’t exactly communicative either, but best on its heaviest setting.

 

Forgot to add:

• As others have said, I wish the driver’s seat went a bit lower. I feel slightly like I’m sitting on it, not in it.

 

I hear that, electric seats with memory would be good - I’m a foot taller than my wife

 

I'm glad people are enjoying my post, I wanted to pay it forward, I got so much information, and so many tips and impressions/opinions from the forum while I was waiting for delivery. Thanks guys!

For me it was never a deal breaker. Nobody *needs* M3P levels of acceleration. However, any one who *wants* it, go for it I say! The novelty of it never wore off for me, though it did somewhat for my wife and daughter. My daughter likes that the SE is still zippy, but that her head doesn't get "squashed" against the headrest.

Yes, I used the road noise reduction kit and the wind noise reduction kit from RPMTesla. It helped a noticeable amount, the SE is still much quieter though.

To any Tesla fans, I'm not trying to crap on Tesla, we had no problems with ours, for the 2.5 years we had it. It wasn't perfect, the panel gaps on the rear passenger door were terrible, it almost looked like the door wasn't closed properly. But with that, wind/road noise and overall build quality, I looked at it this way, could I live with it as is, rather than the car cost another $30K or so - either built to a higher standard or by another manufacturer - and I always answered yes.

For the first time ever when getting a car, following opinions from some of my favorite reviewers, I looked at the Tesla as an appliance - which is why we leased it. At the time we ordered it, my daughter's daily school commute was 50 miles, so it was ideal for that. Since the end of March 2020, her school commute has been 0 miles.

I wanted to replace it with a non-appliance, and I don't have to explain to this audience why I choose the SE!

Sure, happy to, especially to someone from across the ditch: https://gofile.io/d/L8KBQR

 

I sent an email on Saturday, and although I haven't received a reply, I can see USPS are delivering a package today that's coming from 4PX Express Co, the same company the rear camera cable came from (it was missing originally), so I'm pretty sure that's the replacement.