New here - looking for advice on what to order

[West1134]

Hey everyone, new here and looking for some advise.

So, I've been driving a 2009 Toyota Corolla for the last 4 years as an economical commuter (approx 60 mile round trip), with the plans to one day buy myself a fun car to replace it with. I've been saving up side hustle money for a few years now and have $10k to put down, and I was initially looking at a 2018-19 C7 Corvette, but the fact that I have two young kids (3 & 5) in car seats, the massive premium those are going for again on the used market, fuel costs etc. the wife has veto'd that plan. In researching other options, I kept coming across the MME, and was able to find a base model to sit in and test drive the other day, and I'm sold. Not only will it save us on gas, have size/seats for the kids, but the looks and performance of an EV in general, but especially a GT model will "scratch that itch" for a sports car, until one day I can get a (hopefully then a C8) Corvette as its still my dream car.

With all of that said, I plan to put in an order next month when the 2023 models open up, and here is what I'm struggling with and would love some advice. Premium vs GT???

I want the GT for the obvious performance numbers since again this is my "sports car." I also love the color match fenders, faux grill, light up pony, bolstered seats, wider tires, lower stance, and the grabber blue with the red brake calipers looks beautiful. Hate the GT wheels, and wish I could get the GTPE ones instead but I'll probably put aftermarket ones on anyways, add a dark tint and call it a day. (see attached pic of wheels I found - its a Premium model though I think)

However, the GT is definitely pushing my budget, and finding out that the GT doesn't come with the 360 pano camera system, glass roof or driver assist tech etc without upgrades, I feel like I could get a Premium model with all the bells and whistles and be just as happy, especially coming from a Corolla haha.

Since the website won't let you configure anything right now I'm struggling to understand the price points once you add the features, hence this post.

So if I were to go Premium route (base: $49k rounded up) what does the price come out to with the glass roof, 360 pano cameras, front sensors, and driver assist? How much more is the GT to add those features? I honestly am not sure I even want the glass roof, but I thought I read it is packaged with the technology package for driver assist. What other features would you suggest is a must?

My monthly payment budget is $1k/mo (what we are currently budgeted for/paying for our existing vehicle which will be paid off in a couple months - however, the payment is only $587/mo the rest goes to paying it off faster / having funds for tires, repairs etc.) so I need to stay within that amount and of course, ideally I don't max it out so I can have a little buffer room for things like tires, and repairs. Although one could argue gas savings, fewer moving parts for maintenance costs, and a warranty would "cover" most of that concern. I will likely be able to come up with another $5-7K in the time I'll wait for the order to be built to add to the down payment as well, but of course there's also tax, title, license to account for. I guess I'm just struggling to pay close to $70k ish out the door for any car.

So with all of that said, what do you all think? Thanks in advance!

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[Ghost Ryder]

Rule #1. NEVER EVER stretch you budget for any luxury goods.
The AWD is plenty fast in daily driving and off the line speed. If you're not used to electric cars already, it will feel faster than its rated 0-60 time.

 

[back_at_it_19]

Love my premium the last 16 months and 28k miles. It’s a grabber blue first edition with the red calipers btw . Unless you’re drag racing vs a GT you’d probably not feel the difference much imho daily commuting. I also have a 60 mile round trip. Premiums come loaded and ‘22s are about $59k without markup. (Tinted the front windows since this photo.)

 

[West1134]

I thought the grabber blue was a GT model only? If that is not the case, then Premium is looking even better!

 

[back_at_it_19]

I thought the grabber blue was a GT model only? If that is not the case, then Premium is looking even better!

Unfortunately it was originally only available on the first edition model. Now I think only GT.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

GB was 1st edition and GT only for '21, but now available to all models.

 

[West1134]

Sweet! I wish I could mess around in a configuration tool to learn this on my own and not bug you all. Thanks for that info. So I assume the red calibers are part of that color package? or is that standard on the premium? From a "base" premium, what add ons are people typically doing?

 

[back_at_it_19]

The red calipers may be only on the GT now. I honestly don’t know but they were not an option for premium my22.

 

[West1134]

I suppose an easy enough DIY project if I really wanted them. The GT front end with lower difuser and "grill" as well as the color matched fender flares def catch the eye though. It probably is better to stick with the Premium though. I guess I'll spec them both out once 23 orders open up and see how close the price points come to one another. I'm kind of the mindest that if its within $5k or less I'd go GT, but I don't think it'll be that close. Again not understanding how many "add ons" from the Premium base price I would be adding - if any.

 

[Nemy]

If you've never driven an EV, you'll fall in love with driving even a non-awd MME. If you want sportier/faster then it's only $2500 more.

But one thing to keep in mind is that your kids will probably love a pano roof way more than any added acceleration of a GT. Grabber Blue isn't exclusive anymore, you can cover up the grille, paint the calipers, and your wife will probably be happier on the amount of money that you're saving. Then you can apply those "savings" to your wheels and other toys.

 

[West1134]

Good points!

If you've never driven an EV, you'll fall in love with driving even a non-awd MME. If you want sportier/faster than it's only $2500 more.

But one thing to keep in mind is that your kids will probably love a pano roof way more than any added acceleration of a GT. Grabber Blue isn't exclusive anymore, you can cover up the grille, paint the calipers, and your wife will probably be happier on the amount of money that your saving. Then you can apply those "savings" to your wheels and other toys.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

Note that the Premium comes with all the stuff you listed as standard for being a Premium. Basically with the Premium you’re deciding mostly on the battery. The GT is missing a lot of those features and you’re getting only about one second faster on the Premium’s already fast 4.5 second 0-60. Given the givens, I think you’d be much better off with the Premium and very happy with it. That one second difference isn’t worth the additional payments, especially once you add back all the extras that come standard with Premium.

 

[West1134]

This is exactly what I needed to hear...and frankly understand better. I was of the assumption (again because I can't configure one online) that the Premium started with "x" package, then you added features to it, like any other car. Which ultimately if I added all the features I wanted, it would be close to the cost of the GT anyways.

However, its sounding like the Premium is pretty much loaded, and your only "add on" is the extended range battery and second motor. If that is the case, then you are all 100% the Premium is a better fit for my needs, especially since the GT has to have all those added back plus the price hike. I personally won't know the difference in 0-60 times, especially coming from this Corolla.

I can do aftermarket wheels to get the wider stance/larger rim, and add vinyl on the fenders and faux grill (I've seen some cool examples of users here on the forum doing this for pretty cheap).

Thanks for the clarity!

Note that the Premium comes with all the stuff you listed as standard for being a Premium. Basically with the Premium you’re deciding mostly on the battery. The GT is missing a lot of those features and you’re getting only about one second faster on the Premium’s already fast 4.5 second 0-60. Given the givens, I think you’d be much better off with the Premium and very happy with it. That one second difference isn’t worth the additional payments, especially once you add back all the extras that come standard with Premium.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

This is exactly what I needed to hear...and frankly understand better. I was of the assumption (again because I can't configure one online) that the Premium started with "x" package, then you added features to it, like any other car. Which ultimately if I added all the features I wanted, it would be close to the cost of the GT anyways.

However, its sounding like the Premium is pretty much loaded, and your only "add on" is the extended range battery and second motor. If that is the case, then you are all 100% the Premium is a better fit for my needs, especially since the GT has to have all those added back plus the price hike. I personally won't know the difference in 0-60 times, especially coming from this Corolla.

I can do aftermarket wheels to get the wider stance/larger rim, and add vinyl on the fenders and faux grill (I've seen some cool examples of users here on the forum doing this for pretty cheap).

Thanks for the clarity!

Yup, that’s the case. If I remember correctly it’s RWD or AWD, and Standard or Extended battery. AWD + Extended Battery gets you the fastest Premium 0-60 time and is a hell of a lot of fun to drive, but honestly you can’t go wrong in any of these cases because most of the grunt is right off the line, so it’s a smile-maker in any configuration really. I’ve got one of the last Infinite Blues to roll off the line when the color was discontinued halfway through the first model year, and I absolutely love it. Plus my commuting costs were slashed to basically noise on my electric bill vs. taking out a second mortgage for gasoline right now.

(Note: Edited my post as Rick pointed out I’d said FWD instead of RWD. Thanks, Rick!)

 

[Glen Boise]

There is a configuration tool at the Ford website. Just start an order to see what you can get for what kind of money. You might even consider a base Select. You still get a great car at less cost. You can go from 50 to 80 in just a couple car lengths. You will still get questions when you park. Mostly curious and friendly, and some obnoxious.

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