Canceled my Tesla Model 3. Got the Mk7 TDI instead.

Very happy about the decision. Love the Mk7 GSW!

Nice! I'm not gonna bag on the hybrids or EVs. They do their job quite well but for me there's more to driving than strictly mpgs. I want to feel something as well. I like the sounds and smells of the internal combustion engine.

I did likewise...and added in similar comments.

About four years ago, I rented (getaround.app) a Tesla Model S for an afternoon, and it was fun as hell to drive, but the seats were atrocious. Getting back into my mk4 (granted, with Recaro seats), I was so much more comfortable.

And that was on the $90K car; you know the $35K (after rebates - always important to remember...how long are those going to last?) version is going to get the stripped/base level of everything, and upgrading to "nice" is going to be at least another $10K.

Not to knock you're choice. As for the TDI being 20K, you should have tossed a giant astrict on that.

Heck you could have said you bought an ALH with stage 3 tune and prefer it over

These are unicorns and going to be unobtainium in 1-2 months.

No gauges in front of the driver would be a deal-breaker for me too.
Does it have any gauges? If not in front of the driver, then where the heck else would they put them? In the back seat?

I think you just get the big (but smaller than in Model S) ipad-like touchscreen in the centre console.

Nuje said:

I did likewise...and added in similar comments.

About four years ago, I rented (getaround.app) a Tesla Model S for an afternoon, and it was fun as hell to drive, but the seats were atrocious. Getting back into my mk4 (granted, with Recaro seats), I was so much more comfortable.

And that was on the $90K car; you know the $35K (after rebates - always important to remember...how long are those going to last?) version is going to get the stripped/base level of everything, and upgrading to "nice" is going to be at least another $10K.

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I think I heard the other day that the expected avg selling price would be ~$45k after subsidies

Good move. Besides, the GSW exists. At this time, the Model 3 is vapor.

I did not know my GSW had unlimited range! Hot damn!! Where is the button for that, or is it a VCDS setting? I keep going low on fuel at the 600 mile mark. I want unlimited range!

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

I did not know my GSW had unlimited range! Hot damn!! Where is the button for that, or is it a VCDS setting? I keep going low on fuel at the 600 mile mark. I want unlimited range!

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You do have unlimited range. Just need 120 second breaks every 600 miles but for all intents and purposes it's unlimited.

740GLE said:

Not to knock you're choice. As for the TDI being 20K, you should have tossed a giant astrict on that.

Heck you could have said you bought an ALH with stage 3 tune and prefer it over

These are unicorns and going to be unobtainium in 1-2 months.

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I think it's reasonable to compare a new GSW TDI with a Model 3 due to be released later this year. I don't know what the production numbers are but I'm guessing my '02 ALH Wagon was built in much fewer numbers than the '15 GSW although I could be wrong. When I bought my '02 Wagon new there was a $5k OVER MSRP markup on it. Although I got it for invoice the dealer was telling me he could have gotten over MSRP if I didn't use my VW Vendor discount. The '15 GSW's on the other hand-- every dealer seems to have had quite a few. So the unicorn-ness of the '15 might be subdued.

davidch said:

I think I heard the other day that the expected avg selling price would be ~$45k after subsidies

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The only reason I even got in line on the day the model 3 was open to reservation was that there's a statistically small chance the full $7500 federal and $2500 state rebates would still be available so a $35k car would become a $25k car. But that assumes there are no delays in production. I did the math and only the very first few owners will get that $10k discount before it runs out (there's a cap on EV credits for a given manufacturer across all models).

But yeah I presume with a few options the price could head north of $40k although $45k seems a bit high for an average. But maybe there will be large premiums on the biggest battery (IIRC 60 KWH).

I posted this same comment at Tesla Motor Club of which I've been a member since 2013. You guys should go see the reaction... the Tesla Fan boys are beside themselves and going berserk.

We are the last of the TDI die-hards. We are not as vocal or as fanatical as these johnny come lately Tesla fan boys.

I'm guessing my future grand children will see me and my diesels as some kind of strange anachronism but that's fine. They can take my 3 diesels from my cold dead hands.

We're members of an electric coop that publishes a magazine, and recently had an article on a couple in Montana that had a Tesla that they just loved. It would go 250 miles on the highway without needing to be recharged and could get an 80% charge in 20 minutes. Even with topping up the tank on our sadly gone '13 Jetta TDI I could fill the tank in less than 10 minutes, and drive easily 550 miles at 75 mph without a fill up. Electric cars are going to have to get a whole lot better with a whole lot better range before I'd even consider one.

*80% charge in 20 min is only available at Tesla installed DC super chargers, try calling up your utility to upgrade your service to install a DC charger at your house.

Not many people know what "demand charge" is but Tesla sure does.

I wonder how many superchargers there are in Montana. And as noted in a recent issue of Car & Driver, most people prefer to refuel where they choose to eat, not eat where they have to refuel.

One thing I really appreciated about the TDIs range was when I used to travel with my dog I could stop at rest areas, not service areas. He liked the ability to walk where there weren't a bunch of trucks idling and making noise. Taking a day long road trip without having to refuel is a great benefit.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I wonder how many superchargers there are in Montana. And as noted in a recent issue of Car & Driver, most people prefer to refuel where they choose to eat, not eat where they have to refuel.

One thing I really appreciated about the TDIs range was when I used to travel with my dog I could stop at rest areas, not service areas. He liked the ability to walk where there weren't a bunch of trucks idling and making noise. Taking a day long road trip without having to refuel is a great benefit.

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Amen to that! Another benefit is being able to traverse areas with high prices without fueling up... like Canada. I am road tripping through New England then Montreal, Toronto, and Niagara Falls in August. I intend to fuel in Burlington VT before doing the 525 mile leg from there to Montreal and Toronto and then refuel again in Niagara Falls NY.

Stop by NH the prices are a a good 5-8 cents cheaper/gal due to our crappier roads and lack of taxes!

I do all I can not to fill up in Maine, even at 400 miles a round trip a 10 cent difference adds up weekend after weekend.

Blue_Hen_TDI said:

Amen to that! Another benefit is being able to traverse areas with high prices without fueling up... like Canada.

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You got that right. Especially in the Vancouver area with all our carbon taxes, car-hating taxes, go-ride-a-bicycle taxes, etc.

Fortunately, I'm 20 miles from Point Roberts, WA, USA, which happens to have a lot of parcel receiving services so Canadians can buy things that only ship to a US address.

So from time to time, I buy things online, have them shipped to Point Roberts, which usually saves some money, and while I'm there I can also save about $12 on a full tank of fuel.

Without a TDI, I'd have to do this way too often to be worth the hassle. Thanks to my 1000km range, I can usually wait until I need to order something online to give me an excuse to go down there.

I'm not sure how long this arrangement is going to last, as they're just beginning to construct a new toll bridge that will be between me and Point Roberts. It's kind of up in the air though, because in our recent provincial election it was basically a 50/50 split between the current government, which wants the bridge, and a new government that claims they won't build it. It is completely unclear who is going to prevail at this point.

(Online parts vendors may notice a lot of parts going to Point Roberts with different customers all shipping to a small group of addresses. This would be the parcel receiving companies used by Canadians. Ever notice that?)

They could do like our politicians did and sign a contract with a cancellation clause so expensive that we can't afford to back out. We get toll lanes that no one wants and sounds like no one will be able to afford for their daily commute, so they will never be used. Except for the uninformed tourist.

My imagination isn't large enough to see how these cars are remotely in the same market. I've had a reservation on a Model 3 since the first day it opened up. However, the TDI shines at long highway drives.
No current or soon to be production electric does that.
Love the TDI for all the things it does well.

I'm keeping my reservation in the hopes that I could benefit from a nice electric car, or possibly profit from a resale.

I think the gauges may use heads up display and the center stack but I haven't been keeping a close watch on the Model 3 developments.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I wonder how many superchargers there are in Montana.

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There are currently 8 Superchargers in Montana that cover I-90, the southern portion of I-15 and the West Yellowstone area.

There are also 11 Tesla destination chargers and numerous regular EV chargers throughout the state, although the northeastern portions are pretty barren.

Jason and I have a Model 3 reservation, although we're on the fence between getting it or a used Model S. As mentioned by someone else in this thread, the early Model S seats aren't great. The Model 3 will only provide information on the center screen. There is no instrument cluster or heads-up display. I'm fine with that, since the only things you really need to know are vehicle speed, battery state of charge and range. All of that information will be on the left side of the 17" landscape display, closest to the driver.

http://performancedrive.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Tesla-Model-3-launch-dash-1280x960.jpg
https://boygeniusreport.files.wordp...3-interior.jpg?quality=98&strip=all&strip=all

Also keep in mind, it is not cheap to install those super chargers, they require the same utility service as a good sized mall, 3 phase 500kVA xfrmr, and the monthly check they are cutting would make any 1%er cringe.

740GLE said:

Also keep in mind, it is not cheap to install those super chargers, they require the same utility service as a good sized mall, 3 phase 500kVA xfrmr, and the monthly check they are cutting would make any 1%er cringe.

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Can confirm..