Deciding on Trim level when purchasing - a general thought exercise

HuntingPudel

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EV Wonder

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We ordered a ‘25 Premium AWD extended range battery. Panoramic glass roof, molten magenta exterior and light gray interior.

Honestly had some trouble deciding between the GT and Premium. GT gets the MagnaRide suspension upgrade and performance better than our Model Y LR dual motor. But also adds a good bit to the price. While the interior is a dark gray, it’s not black so it’s better, IMO. Seats are supposedly nicer in the GT, but I didn’t have the opportunity to assess that. Not interested in the Rally trim overall. Looks fun, but this is my wife’s daily driver. I would really like to have those fog lights though…

Premium gets the ventilated seats, which I really appreciate on long drives in CO, NM, AZ in the summer. Along with the light gray interior option that I much prefer over the black or even the darker gray of the GT. Performance is still very good even though it’s not as quick as our Model Y, but only slower 0-60 by about 0.4s. Like I said, it’s my wife’s daily driver and she really enjoyed the ‘24 Premium she test drove.

So based on all that, the Premium won out due to the ventilated seats and lower price. Lighter interior/seat color is a small bonus. We chose the glass roof as we really like it in our Model Y and previous Tesla.

I’m not partial to red cars at all. My wife usually isn’t either, but she’s been kinda drawn to red this time around, mostly would prefer a darker red or something not as typical. The Molten Magenta color seems to fit that bill so she picked that color. We both really like Vapor Blue, but it’s almost identical to the Azure Gray on my Lightning and she didn’t want to have something that was almost the same color. We almost bought a ’24 Premium we test drove, configured the same way. And we both liked the Glacier Gray color. But running some numbers and knowing the ‘25’s get the ventilated seats on the Premium and all models get the heat pump we decided to order. Even with all the special year-end deals at the time, we’re still paying less for the ‘25, after some special pricing there, than we would have for the ‘24…

Anyway, that’s our thought process on why we picked what we did.
I'm a current Tesla Model Y LR AWD owner (I have a '22 and '23). I''m also a government employee and have a tough time driving the Tesla to work and parking it in a federal parking lot with what's currently going on with Elon Musk. Therefore, I am actively shopping for a new EV. I think the 2025 Mach E Premium checks all my boxes. I'm most curious about the ride quality and sound dampening for the MME vs. MY. Any thoughts? Feel free to offer up any other suggestions/comments, as appropriate. Thanks!
 

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I'm a current Tesla Model Y LR AWD owner (I have a '22 and '23). I''m also a government employee and have a tough time driving the Tesla to work and parking it in a federal parking lot with what's currently going on with Elon Musk. Therefore, I am actively shopping for a new EV. I think the 2025 Mach E Premium checks all my boxes. I'm most curious about the ride quality and sound dampening for the MME vs. MY. Any thoughts? Feel free to offer up any other suggestions/comments, as appropriate. Thanks!
I know that Tesla made suspension improvements to the Model Y in '22. They were minor, but apparently noticeable. I don't have experience myself with a '22 or newer Y. Ours is a 2020 Long Range Dual Motor and it rides like crap. Seriously, the ride is horrible. It's a bit better on 18" wheels vs the 20". We have test-driven a '24 Mach-E Premium extensively and it is a far better ride, while still being stiff and sports-car oriented. I did get the chance to drive a '23 Mach-E GT recently since ordering our '25 Premium. The MagnaRide suspension in the GT is once again still stiff and sporty / track-oriented. But better than on the Premium. For me, I'm still happy with the Premium order as we've placed it. The -'25s apparently have a couple new suspension upgrades again. Not sure what it actually changes, but there's different part numbers for the rear shocks and springs for the '25 Premium vs '24.

The interior of the Mach-E is nice and quiet for a car of this form factor and price/quality range. Definitely quieter than the Model Y in terms of road noise. I did solve some of the outside noise issues on the Y by adding aftermarket door seals, that helped a lot. But still the Mach-E seemed quieter. The sound system in the Y is definitely better and the integrated software is better. But I don't mind CarPlay in my Lightning at all and prefer CarPlay's handling of messages, calendar, etc.. Apple Maps navigation as well as Google Navigation if you run Android Auto are on par with the navigation in Tesla -- Tesla is just Google Maps anyway and does have some advantages of being native in their infotainment system.

You should go test drive a Mach-E and see for yourself. There were some killer deals on the '24s at the end of last year, but it seems like that's not the case right now. '25s are slow arriving, I don't think we've seen a confirmed landing of the first one at a dealership yet. So inventory is pretty constrained. The '25s have a lower base MSRP and add the heat pump and ventilated seats on Premium. So current discounts on the '24s aren't making them a better buy than a '25 unless you just have to have it today. Oh, there is 0% financing on the '24s at the moment, so that helps too...
 
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HuntingPudel

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I'm a current Tesla Model Y LR AWD owner (I have a '22 and '23). I''m also a government employee and have a tough time driving the Tesla to work and parking it in a federal parking lot with what's currently going on with Elon Musk. Therefore, I am actively shopping for a new EV. I think the 2025 Mach E Premium checks all my boxes. I'm most curious about the ride quality and sound dampening for the MME vs. MY. Any thoughts? Feel free to offer up any other suggestions/comments, as appropriate. Thanks!
Ford has made a number of improvements in ride over the car’s first 4 years. Reports are that some of the older cars suffered from under-damped rebound oscillations in the rear suspension that made the cars “bouncy.” Most 2024 owners have said that they don’t feel this. For 2025, Ford has reportedly again made some tuning adjustments. I believe that @azerik is contemplating purchasing a newer set of shocks to test those out on his 2021. ??

The Mach-E (to my admittedly poor ears) is quieter than the Model Y. There is some road noise however. Some of our members on the forum have pulled out their entire interiors to add sound deadening. Since my ears are not good, I have not. ??
 

azerik

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So current discounts on the '24s aren't making them a better buy than a '25 unless you just have to have it today. Oh, there is 0% financing on the '24s at the moment, so that helps too...
And they're 'a year old' already.

I believe that @azerik is contemplating purchasing a newer set of shocks to test those out on his 2021. ??
Yes. But it'd be on a car with Eibach GT springs. It's more of a test to see if they pan out better at all against the Konis. I figure they'd go up for sale locally after a month or 2. I think Ford will have updated the springs for the 25's as well so the 25's shocks alone won't make a world of difference.
 


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I'm a current Tesla Model Y LR AWD owner (I have a '22 and '23). I''m also a government employee and have a tough time driving the Tesla to work and parking it in a federal parking lot with what's currently going on with Elon Musk. Therefore, I am actively shopping for a new EV. I think the 2025 Mach E Premium checks all my boxes. I'm most curious about the ride quality and sound dampening for the MME vs. MY. Any thoughts? Feel free to offer up any other suggestions/comments, as appropriate. Thanks!
I think you'll like driving the Mach-E more than the model Y. If you want the better suspension, get the GT or Rally since it has MagneRide standard for 24 and 25. 25 models added a heat pump and on the Premium, it added ventilated seats.

Don't forget Tesla owners get a $1000 rebate.
 

EV Wonder

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I know that Tesla made suspension improvements to the Model Y in '22. They were minor, but apparently noticeable. I don't have experience myself with a '22 or newer Y. Ours is a 2020 Long Range Dual Motor and it rides like crap. Seriously, the ride is horrible. It's a bit better on 18" wheels vs the 20". We have test-driven a '24 Mach-E Premium extensively and it is a far better ride, while still being stiff and sports-car oriented. I did get the chance to drive a '23 Mach-E GT recently since ordering our '25 Premium. The MagnaRide suspension in the GT is once again still stiff and sporty / track-oriented. But better than on the Premium. For me, I'm still happy with the Premium order as we've placed it. The -'25s apparently have a couple new suspension upgrades again. Not sure what it actually changes, but there's different part numbers for the rear shocks and springs for the '25 Premium vs '24.

The interior of the Mach-E is nice and quiet for a car of this form factor and price/quality range. Definitely quieter than the Model Y in terms of road noise. I did solve some of the outside noise issues on the Y by adding aftermarket door seals, that helped a lot. But still the Mach-E seemed quieter. The sound system in the Y is definitely better and the integrated software is better. But I don't mind CarPlay in my Lightning at all and prefer CarPlay's handling of messages, calendar, etc.. Apple Maps navigation as well as Google Navigation if you run Android Auto are on par with the navigation in Tesla -- Tesla is just Google Maps anyway and does have some advantages of being native in their infotainment system.

You should go test drive a Mach-E and see for yourself. There were some killer deals on the '24s at the end of last year, but it seems like that's not the case right now. '25s are slow arriving, I don't think we've seen a confirmed landing of the first one at a dealership yet. So inventory is pretty constrained. The '25s have a lower base MSRP and add the heat pump and ventilated seats on Premium. So current discounts on the '24s aren't making them a better buy than a '25 unless you just have to have it today. Oh, there is 0% financing on the '24s at the moment, so that helps too...
Yeah; definitely going to go with a 25 due to the heat pump and ventilated seats (which Tesla didn't bother adding to the 3 or Y). The Y I'm selling has 21" wheels and the ride has always been HORRIBLE. The Y also has FSD, which I will miss (although it's on the '23 Y I'm holding on to). Hoping BC 1.5 at least partially competes in that area on the highway. Oh...one other thing - how does it compare on road trips as far as charging time per stop?
 
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StevenC56

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We were going to order a 25 Premium because of the improvements, mainly the ventilated seats. But them my wife drove a 24 GT, and we decided the MagnaRide and performance seats beat out the ventilated seats. So we are looking into ordering a 25 GT.
 

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@B177y check insurance premiums. My son turns 16 next month. Wife has 2024 MME, I have 2021 F150, son will be primary on a 2017 Wrangler. Current monthly insurance payment is $207/month for all three cars. New premium will be $817/month when he gets his license. Little cheaper actually as we always pay 6 months at a time. We have no driving citations or accidents. Crazy rate hike for kids.
I don’t know. $600 pays for a lot of uber rides
 

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Ford has made a number of improvements in ride over the car’s first 4 years. Reports are that some of the older cars suffered from under-damped rebound oscillations in the rear suspension that made the cars “bouncy.” Most 2024 owners have said that they don’t feel this. For 2025, Ford has reportedly again made some tuning adjustments. I believe that @azerik is contemplating purchasing a newer set of shocks to test those out on his 2021. ??

The Mach-E (to my admittedly poor ears) is quieter than the Model Y. There is some road noise however. Some of our members on the forum have pulled out their entire interiors to add sound deadening. Since my ears are not good, I have not. ??
So you’re saying that mark should have just invested in $2 ear plugs and saved some time and materials? ?
 

HuntingPudel

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So you’re saying that mark should have just invested in $2 ear plugs and saved some time and materials? ?
Mark likes listening to his stereo. The sound deadening increases his listening experience. Not sure that my bad ears would benefit as much. ?‍♂?
 

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In line with title - I am turning in my 2022 CA RT1 RWD at options end.

At 80% we get roughly 220 miles. My wife’s 2024 premium ext AWD gets 200 miles.

I always thought the loss in range was due to 18” vs 19” wheels. Is the AWD vs RWD range loss negligible?
 

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In line with title - I am turning in my 2022 CA RT1 RWD at options end.

At 80% we get roughly 220 miles. My wife’s 2024 premium ext AWD gets 200 miles.

I always thought the loss in range was due to 18” vs 19” wheels. Is the AWD vs RWD range loss negligible?
AWD definitely uses more power. The current rated range is 320 for ext RWD vs 300 for ext AWD I believe.

So 20 mile difference is pretty much what you’re seeing
 
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mccdeuce

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AWD definitely uses more power. The current rated range is 320 for ext RWD vs 300 for ext AWD I believe.

So 20 mile difference is pretty much what you’re seeing
Interesting. I guess that makes sense on dropping the CA RT1 line as it really didn’t cost range then.

Thanks!
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