Go for the 2022 RWD, it’s the best value Tesla by a mile IMO.

It has numerous recent upgrades and the range has improved and efficiency is great.

Recent updates:

Double glazed front and rear windows
Heated steering wheel and rear seats
New Ryzen processor (makes the entertainment screen way faster)
New battery tech (charge daily to 100%)
New hardware to improve range.

Add to that, second hand values are stupid. The sound system is more than adequate, I’ve tried both.

Brand new warranty too.

 

As I understand it, the LR comes with a brand new warranty also.

 

In the UK the battery and drivetrain warranty is 4 years / 120k miles on a AWD, and 4 years /100k miles on a RWD.

Having had a LR for 2 months now, it's an amazing machine, and dont forget for $1200 you can give it a power boost so 0-60mph is 3.7 seconds , down from standard 4.5 seconds.

LR also will do 145mph, RWD only 120mph.

 

LR also will do 145mph, RWD only 120mph.

That is indeed "tip over" comment / advice for the OP while the max speed in his country is 75 mph

 

the new RWD is quite well equipped with
laminated window,
heated steering
heated rear seat
and I would say even the standard RWD isnt slow

It depend if you need or want the extra range, extra performance, and better sound system
I am using my own money to buy the EV, the RWD have everything I need/want, the extra range and performance on LR are nice to have, but it is not "7k worth" for me, not to mention the extra weight and I am not a fan of AWD interms of driving dynamic

I was having a hard time choosing between LR and SR when I book my test drive, as I want heated steering and heated rear seats. Then they become standard on the basic range and with the new LFP. I found it suit all my need, and the "extra" on LR are something "nice to have" but not "must have" and certain not worth "my 7k"

Only you know how your finance situation, the SR is inside my budget and LR would be a slightly stretch.

 

I've been trying to figure out the differences for the past couple of days too. It seems to be very hard to find actual info among the noise of most forums. Obviously Tesla have a very different setup to any other brand, but it does seem overly difficult to find any accurate info about what's actually in each version of the car.

A couple of people here have mentioned the RWD comes with the new LFP battery now. Does the LR also have it?

 

Thanks for all the replies!

The Tesla will be the most expensive car i have ever purchased and i will be buying it with my own money, so its not a company car or lease in any way.
Indeed some extra range would be nice and a better sound system is also nice to have, however i would say that the regular M3 is already almost over my comfort zone on what i would be willing to pay for a car thats used as a A-B car, ofc a "fancy" one but still..
But at the same time the price diffrence between the M3 and LR is not huge and the purchase is anyway going to be expensive, so what im trying to figure out is if I'm stupid if i would go for a M3 before a LR and miss out on the extra equipment, 4wd, faster acceleration and should just fork out the extra 7k...


The LR does not have the new LFP.
This also makes a quite good comparison because the LFP should be charged to 100% weekly to make the BMS happy.
But the LR's battery should only be charged to 90% unless your going on longer trips and it is also supposed to degrade more, which basically could make it have almost the same range as the regular M3 on a every day basis, 100% LFP small degradation vs 90% LR with bigger degradation.
So after a year the regular M3 can actually have close to equivalent range as the LR.

 

AWD, bigger battery, faster and better Hi-Fi made me choose the LR. Agree though that the SR is excellent value, but I wanted the full package. When fully charged for long journeys the range is stupendous. Daily though the SR would be fine for range, as was the 2015 Zoe before.

 

Unless you need the range/faster recharge speeds, I'd go SR. I've no regrets with mine*. I've had to rapid charge 3 times in 10 months. Averaging over 4.5miles/kWh after ~8k miles.

*It's getting traded in for a MY though, I'd prefer a hatchback boot.

 

What spec is your model 3?

 

differences mainly range, sound system, acceleration, and AWD/RWD.

RWD is a great value option and likely more than enough for most people. I ordered a RWD a few weeks ago but just changed it to a LR. I don’t care about performance or AWD really, it was the range.

RWD has 305 WLTP which is great, and a nice bump with the new battery being bigger. But for a few of my trips I was alittle unsure how it’d work - still obviously would be fine but there are edge cases which I’ll explain.

To me, there are three types of journey - and many youtube videos/reviews mainly only cover the long road trips.

1) short trips/city driving. Both cars will do this perfectly and probably you only have to charge once a week maybe.

2) Long trips - big miles/kms. Again, both cars are great at this because of superchargers. You do a couple hours driving, stop for 15-20 minutes to top up, and carry on. The stops can fit around natural pee/meal stops and you keep going. the RWD is barely any slower than the AWD for this - see eg Bjorn Tesla’s 1000km challenges - 1000km non stop and the RWD/LR are about 25 minutes apart after 10 hours..

3) (this was the one that pushed me to a LR) - longish single legs. Between short and very long. So maybe 120-150 miles each way. Each way out/back is short enough that you don’t need or want to stop, but you can’t easily charge when you get there. For me this would be picking my son up from university, or visiting my parents. The overall round trip (plus small usage at the halfway point eg sentry mode) is at the edge of the RWD especially in winter, so I would factor in at least a short stop. This isn’t a hardship, but its a thing to factor in and sometimes you just don’t want to be thinking about it. LR would do all my ‘normal longish’ trips even in winter and that tipped me over the edge.

 

also fyi in the UK anyone looking to buy a RWD - if you want it ealrier than may and can afford the difference, change the paint colour or go for 19” wheels and you’ll get it in March

 

Indeed. On the app, my battery and motor warranty are showing as 8 years. No mileage limit is specified, although I think there is a 120k miles one on my LR.

 

Similar situation here. I'm trying to figure out what the best option would be for me, RWD with the LFP battery charged up to 100% every day, or a LR charged up to 80-90%.
What is the official position from Tesla for the LR? Do they consider acceptable to charge it every day to 90% or they only recommend 80%?

 

From my understanding 80% was on older cars, possibly older softwares. I test drove a 2021 from my local Tesla dealer some weeks ago and it had a 90% charge setting as standard, also what i read about new vehicles it seems like 90% is the way to go.