phil

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I have to charge my Fusion every day after I leave work for an hour or more to make it home. Lack of being able to play games on my car’s screen is not an issue to me. I usually take a short walk then just listen to the radio.
o_O That sounds exceedingly inconvenient!
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HuntingPudel

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silverelan

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Maybe if the Model Y came out five years ago, the reviews would be different, but Tesla also has a level of competition in the EV market it did not when the last prior Tesla, the Model 3 rolled off the line in 2017, and I think maybe that has also rained a little bit on the Model Y’s parade.
The point about EV crossover competition especially is true in Europe where the Model Y is nowhere to be found. Here's a sampling of some EV crossover/SUVs available for buyers in Europe.
  • Mustang Mach-E
  • ID4 / GTX
  • Skoda Enyaq
  • Audi e-tron
  • Audi Q4 e-tron
  • Volvo X/C40 Recharge
  • BMW iX3
  • BMW iX
  • Xpeng G3
  • Nio ES8
  • Hyundai Ioniq 5
  • Kia EV6
Rumors are now that Tesla is going to start shipping Model Ys to Europe from China for delivery in Q3 to help stem the tide.
 


MachTee

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I rented a mach e SR RWD from turo as a test drive and took it to my brothers and did a back to back comparison with his model Y LR. I'm not trying to be biased, like I usually don't put any weight into reports of panel gaps, poor quality, etc. Ok every car can have some bad apples. But really I drove his new model Y down a brick road and the best way I can describe it is "rattly". Not that it literally rattled, but the whole car was louder, vibratey, and just didn't seem as well put together. We got into the mach e and went down the same road and it stayed quiet, the bumps were a muffled thump sound and not a high pitched rattly type of sound, and it just felt better across the board. It really makes the model Y feel like someone took a car and removed the interior to make it as light as possible. Like you get a sensation the mach e had thicker door panels, more sound damping, and so on. My brother did mention that when he picked it up they had him check all of the panels and gaps, etc., Which I know any car you buy you should be sure it's set right, but having your customers do that because they know the quality is that bad really tells you something.
I had a 3 for nearly 3yrs, so I know precisely what you mean - the car just felt hollow. The moment I test drove the MME I felt a dramatic difference.

My car was a 2018 and I had no panel gap issue. It did have some paint imperfection, looked like some areas were "burnt" from over polishing, straight from the factory. I left it alone as I didn't want any more work done to it. I did appreciate that there are more soft touch materials on the interior in the 3 than in the MME, such as the dash board behind the instrument cluster, lower part of the door and the glovebox. Apart from that, the MME is absolutely a much better built car.

Obviously an easy win on speed to model Y. That thing will put you in your seat no problem. It makes me excited to get my GT which should be almost half a second faster.
My 3 was a dual motor. I rarely got on the accelerator pedal but I will admit I miss having that power available in my MME. You'll be getting a GT so you won't have that problem ?

Another win to the model Y on tech. It really is foolish for any EV car company that has a 15" screen to not include things like games, Hulu, Netflix, etc. It just makes sense to have entertainment for the people in the car when you know they'll be waiting 30-45 minutes for a charge on a long trip. The model Y screen is smoother, but not to a point of apples to oranges. More like green apples to red apples maybe.
All the extra gimmicks in the Tesla I have never used nor cared for. In fact I'd rather not have all that extra clutter in the system. If I wanted to be entertained I'll use my phone. Yes the Tesla infotainment screen is smoother and more responsive.

As a tech person I always thought I'd like the techy style of the minimal Tesla where you just get in and hit the brake pedal and it's on, etc. But I actually really like having the buttons and switches like a normal car, but that's personal preference. I also didn't really like the roller selectors on the steering wheel. They felt kind of awkward to push left and right, like you're afraid as you push it to the side that you're going to roll it at the same time which made it a conscious effort to move it properly.

All in all I'm dying to get my GT, if this was one or two years ago I'd be all over a Tesla but now I'm just tired of seeing the same design on every corner I drive past.
I'm a tech person myself, but absolutely I much much prefer physical and tactile buttons. I very much appreciate having the power button and the volume knob in the MME. Yes I got used to everything being on the screen in the 3, but I didn't have to like it, and I didn't. Oh yeah that roller volume control on the steering wheel often bugged me, when I inadvertently turn the volume way up while parking when turning the steering wheel. There were so many little things that irritated me in that car it was unbelievable.

You absolutely made the right choice in going with a GT over a Y.
 

BillK

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The Model Y could have perfect gaps and be quiet as a mouse and I still wouldn't have one. I don't want people to think I'm one of those rude self-absorbed pontificating Tesla fans.
 

blue92lx

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I did appreciate that there are more soft touch materials on the interior in the 3 than in the MME, such as the dash board behind the instrument cluster, lower part of the door and the glovebox.
I actually thought it was weird that a car this price has less soft touch material than my 2013 Ford Fusion Titanium. The only time I actually 'saw' it was on my first test drive at a dealership and one of the first things I do is touch literally everything around me. It's just a habit now to see what's soft touch and what isn't the first time I get into a car. But after driving around in the Mach E for a day with my Turo rental I never even noticed it wasn't soft touch in areas like the dash. I could kind of care less if the cup holder area is soft touch since you literally never touch that area of the door, as long as it doesn't look cheap. Ford does do a really good job blending soft touch and hard plastic. On the doors of my Fusion there's a middle section that wraps around to the cup holder that is hard plastic and I literally never notice it because they position the soft touch in all areas that you'll feel, and the hard plastic always looks exactly the same as the soft touch.

All the extra gimmicks in the Tesla I have never used nor cared for. In fact I'd rather not have all that extra clutter in the system. If I wanted to be entertained I'll use my phone.
That's interesting too, I see what you mean though because at some point everything just gets convoluted and hard to find when there's too much available. That's a good count argument and really for me personally I'll only be needing fast charging maybe 3-4 times a year when I go to North Carolina, so it's not like it'll effect my real life experience in any major way.
 

blue92lx

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I actually thought it was weird that a car this price has less soft touch material than my 2013 Ford Fusion Titanium.
Just going to quote myself lol. I really think it's a shame Ford did away with the Fusion, it makes no sense to me. That car is amazing and I still LOVE my 2013 Hybrid Titanium. Purchased used off lease for only $20k and it still looks new. Super quiet, super comfortable, right in a price range sweet spot that a lot of people can afford when they're looking at a 4 door midrange car. Looks great on the outside. All motor, hybrid, or plug in hybrid. To me it was just a home run vehicle. This SUV revolution we're seeing is really sad to me for what it's doing to awesome cars. The only reason I looked at SUV's is because my wife is tired of me taking her Nissan Rogue to North Carolina so I can put my mountain bike in the back of it for the long trip LOL. So I told her I'd get an SUV finally, after all these years of being a car owner and sports car enthusiast. The Mach E GT hits all the right marks though.

I get an SUV: Wife +1

It's an EV: Me and the Wife +1

It's secretly a sports car that's as fast as my old 92 fox body with a lumpy cam and S trim Vortech blower on a 302 that would force your shoulders and head into the seat: Me HUGE +1 (She continues to question why anyone would need a car that fast, I stopped trying to explain it)
 

OlyPen

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Yeah if it works over android auto play that would be great, but another user said it doesn't. I think for me the main time I would use it is on a long trip with multiple stops. Yeah you'll stop and eat on maybe one of them during an 8 hour drive, but you don't need to do that on all 3 charging stops. When I'm using my current car I'm just stopping for gas and leaving and I usually stop for food one time.

It's just a thought, it seems like it's a cool convenience to have just in case so you don't need to bring an iPad for entertainment or anything else.
If the movie or game plays on my phone, why do I need it on the car screen again? Any unnecessary software is just one more thing to crash and for people to bitch about on a forum. (The movies don't work on Car Play using my iPhone 5S that I've dropped into a toilet, dried out in a vat of rice, and duct taped back together... Should I schedule service at my dealer?) Lol
 

blue92lx

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If the movie or game plays on my phone, why do I need it on the car screen again? Any unnecessary software is just one more thing to crash and for people to bitch about on a forum. (The movies don't work on Car Play using my iPhone 5S that I've dropped into a toilet, dried out in a vat of rice, and duct taped back together... Should I schedule service at my dealer?) Lol
It would just be easier on a bigger screen that I don't have to hold up or balance on something to watch it, plus you'd have the car speakers instead of your phone speakers.
 

OlyPen

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It would just be easier on a bigger screen that I don't have to hold up or balance on something to watch it, plus you'd have the car speakers instead of your phone speakers.
But the charging would take longer because the car would be on, diverting power from charging.....? It feels like a Kobiyashi Maru scenario. I'd much rather stretch my legs and continue eating my way through life at whatever gourmet burger place was near by.
 

Eric_C_Boston

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Interesting reading. Thanks for posting.

I bought a first year (2006) Fusion ICE in late 2005, and was a little upset that Ford made Fog Lights standard equipment a couple of months after I got mine. My brother is still driving it at 180K. I ventured into a 2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium and liked how it drove like my ICE Fusion. The Fusion is a great road trip car. Ford hit a Grand Slam with that model. I did not get the Energi as I needed the trunk space. Unfortunately the FFH got totalled and I was fortunate to adopt an orphan MME. Now I have plenty of space!

There are more glitches compared to the Fusions, but there are more features. It took a couple of years to use most features of the FFH. The MME has even more features! I like the 360 degree camera, which I think Tesla has as well. Now I can park straight between the lines!

I have not done any road trips yet, but I commute an hour to work each way and the MME is comfortable. The MME drives "heavier" that the Fusion, but not too bad. I like the additional quiet time when quickly accelerating to highway speed. I bought the MME as a long range SUV rather than a sports car, but do like that it is quicker than my FFH. The comments about the Model Y ride were interesting and would be a deal breaker for me as well.

DC Fast Charging is still a new thing, so I just sit and watch the car charging. 35 minutes is not really that long. There are free L2 chargers at work, so my costs are down and I can just leave it charging while working.

Even though there are differences in the cockpit layout between the FFH and MME, I like how they both have a familiar layout. The twist gear shift is new since I had the more trad gear lever before. I much prefer having traditional buttons and levers. The lack of a driver's display is a deal-breaker and it sounds like I would not like the controls the Model Y does have.

I get the impression that Ford Engineers put a lot of effort into making the FFH and MME drive like a regular Ford ICE car as much as possible. I drove my friend's Prius before I got the FFH, and did notice it drove differently than an ICE car. You can get used to it, but my friend recently switched to a Kia Niro EV. I also drove that before getting the MME and we both like that it drives like a ICE car. The MME is the same.

I am still trying out Android Auto and Waze, but it is amazing. It is too bad Waze does not have charging stations and no BEV routing. I would miss Waze in a Tesla as my phone display is too small.

The bottom line is I like trying new technology, but I also want a vehicle that has traditional elements as well. It is like the difference between those futuristic movies that have all new shiny buildings compared to the more realistic "Back to the Future" future that has a mixture of old and new.
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