New car, first impressions (coming from a Gen 3)

I picked up my 2021 AWD-e LE on Tuesday, and thought I'd record first impressions before I get used to everything and don't notice anything!

Coming from a 2012 Gen 3 (which I still own), the first thing is MPG: 15% more! My commute with my Gen 3 is mostly highway, 60-80mph for most of the journey and a little bit of city at the end... I used to get 44-45mpg in my Gen 3, and two journeys yesterday and this morning got me 52mpg in my new car. Actually, this morning was 53mpg. 15% improvement! That pleases me!

Audio: I have the standard 7" audio, and this is compared to the standard audio in my Gen 3 Level 2: sound is not as good; not as deep and not as around. Bass seems more hollow. I'll live with it - but just commenting.

Cabin noise: much quieter than my Gen 3 at low speeds, but seems a little noisier at highway speeds. Especially what I think is the battery module fan: it's quite loud!

Seats: not quite as comfortable, seem thinner and less padded than the Gen 3, but only marginally.

Instrumentation: much better. I have the split-screen showing MPG, and using the HV display I can keep an eye on whether I'm in ECO or Power or charge etc., plus see battery depletion. Much clearer, nicer, and I like it. Also, I like the each-trip display: I like having the A and B trip, but the "this journey" is very useful and much preferred!

Gizmos: the parallel park feature is fun, worked well; I'll not use it (I can park fine), but fun. The lane trace is OK, but not very solid - it doesn't like sharp turns, nor does it stay in lane that well unless it's a very slight turn. The radar cruise is EXCELLENT. It worked well from a cruise to stop-go traffic and gave my right foot much relief for parts of my commute; I also like the distance it keeps from the vehicle in front. BSM useful also.

Ride: good. Performance seems a little quicker than the Gen 3, and was quick up to 100mph. I do not drive at this speed usually, but I like to run a car up to it to see how it fares. This car got there quite quickly compared to the Gen 3, which huffs and puffs its way there... (note that I then quickly returned back to 70mph!!).

All in all, I'm pleased. I think it's a definitely noticeable and good improvement over the Gen 3 for functionality.

 

I will also change the oil myself after around 800 miles, for the same reason as stated - can't hurt, can only help. Also, even though I do get free oil changes, I'll do the other oil changes myself: I had free oil changes in my 2012, and the dealer managed to misplace the plastic access hatch [likely discarded it to make future oil changes easier], overtightened the crappy plastic oil filter housing, did not torque one of the lug nuts on the front-right wheel such that I lost a bolt... sigh.

So I'll just do it myself - I enjoy these things anyway and it's not very hard to do! And do much better, to boot!