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Comment by rootusrootus | Hacker News Reader

I just rented a P3D a couple weeks ago for a weekend, and I agree with the review, it would spank an M3. Hell, it would even spank my Camaro. But it's not a driver's car. Steering is numb, handling is competent but it's a very heavy car, seats are disapointing as hell. I was impressed, but not enough to drop 60 grand. And to be honest, between an M3 and a P3D, I'd probably still choose the M3.

It really, really depends on what you want from a car. If you want to win stoplight races, almost nothing will hang with a P3D. And if you're not an enthusiast, then it's probably sportier than anything you're familiar with. Go for it.

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I strongly agree with you. I don’t care if it spanks the M3 in a straight line. The M3 would still be the car with the better mechanics, handling and overall driving pleasure and still fast as hell for everyday life driving.

Yes my opinion is subjective. But if you like cars you might know what I am talking about.

I'm only aware of Model S, 3, X and Y. What's P3D?

It's not an official designation, it is informal lingo for the Model 3 Performance. It's a riff on the P##D system that Tesla uses for the Model S.

P = performance 3 = model 3 D = dual motor (all wheel drive)

Model 3 (Performance Series (more HP) w. All-Wheel Drive)

I'm not surprised it would spank a Camaro, the Tesla is AWD while the Camaro is RWD. Shame to hear about the seats though, I'd think that Tesla would put in some Recaros at least to give it more of a sporty feel.

I mean I think it might even take my Camaro on a road course, and my car is no slouch at the track. In a straight line it's no contest. The handling on my Camaro is very sharp (it's a 1LE), definitely a step up on the Tesla, but the ability of the electric motor to put down full torque at any time is a pretty significant advantage.

Seats were by far my biggest gripe. Took a while just to find an adjustment that didn't make my lower legs go numb. They have almost no lateral support, and the bottom cushion is fairly short -- my legs were overhanging by a good six inches or so. That pressure point at the front edge is most likely why I was getting the tingling.

It's so easy to contract with Recaro for seats, but Tesla really wants to be vertically integrated. They've improved the seats already at least once on the Model 3, and a couple times on the Model S, so I'm hoping that the Model Y will be comfortable.

If I’m not mistaken, seat suppliers specifically were one of the third party suppliers that Tesla got burned on in the past, which was likely the primary driver to vertically integrate them.

If you're going to track it, you're not going to mind ripping out the seats and putting something more sporty in with a five point harness. The vehicle is heavier, but adjusting to it would be similar (IMHO) to adjusting to sports cars with a mid engine layout.

If you want a dedicated track car, a Model 3 is a pretty expensive way to get there, and I'm not entirely sure how you'd have a good track day with all the recharging you'd have to stop for.

If you want a street car that you can track, you might swap in Recaros (I've done it...) but you do give up an airbag or two. Five-point harnesses are bad news on a street car, I definitely recommend against that.

Nobody is expecting racing buckets but you shouldn't be disappointed in the stock seats in a 60k vehicle.

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