P7 and Model 3: Which one offers a higher cost-performance ratio from multiple perspectives?

The time period for the content in this article is the end of 2020 to early 2021, and all thoughts and ideas are based on that time period. Please do not examine this article from the perspective of the current new energy vehicle market.

The complete car purchase plan was described in detail in my earliest car pick-up article, which will not be mentioned here. If interested, please refer to the link.

In the previous post about the driving assistance experience, I briefly explained the differences between the Model 3 and P7 from the perspective of driving assistance. In this post, we will talk in detail about my thoughts on these two vehicles.

Getting to know Tesla and XPeng

The first time I heard about Tesla was from my friend, who as a person that failed to secure a Shanghai license plate from 2017 to 2020, reluctantly chose Tesla. Based on his driving scenario, commuting from Pudong to Fengxian for work, a round trip of nearly 100 km per day, which is probably beyond 90% of the people’s commuting distance. However, since he was one of the first owners of the domestically-produced long-endurance version of Model 3 (the version that was later discontinued) and had installed a home charging pile, the range anxiety caused by purely electric driving was nonexistent. My familiarity with Tesla began from the moment I sat in that car. Looking back at myself in May 2020, I was still a “pure electric vehicle cynic”. Apart from skepticism, all I did was nitpick about the Tesla’s shortcomings, such as the simple interior, whether the range was enough in usual times, whether the battery would shrink significantly in winter, whether the workmanship was poor, and whether it took a long time to charge the battery, etc. Later, I found out that although some of the issues were real, they weren’t as exaggerated as I imagined. Instead, electric vehicles surprised me in many ways, such as having no power delay, providing power response immediately, and having acceleration capabilities that only million-dollar sports cars used to have, as well as having highly practical advanced driver assistance systems, etc. Gradually, I developed a liking for pure electric vehicles.

As for XPeng, although I had seen XPeng’s mall experience store at the entrance of Wujiaochang Heshenghui a long time ago, I only looked from a distance and didn’t even know what kind of store it was. Later, when I learned about electric cars with NEDC ranges over 500 km in the price range of RMB200,000 to RMB300,000, I gradually learned about the BYD Han and XPeng P7.

Subsequently, by watching 42 Number Garage videos, I gained a better understanding of the intelligence and advanced driver assistance systems of new energy vehicles. The full-scene voice control of XPeng and the excellent advanced driver assistance system that was almost on par with Tesla left a deep impression on me, and at the same time, I directly eliminated the BYD Han from consideration. So, the seed of buying a XPeng was planted and having come this far, it is time to go check out the car in the store.On January 1st, 2021, I visited the XPeng He Shenghui Experience Store and was received by the sales director. After viewing the actual vehicle, I was quite satisfied with the appearance, interior, and trunk space of the car. In addition, in this hot market situation, XPeng even allowed on-site test drives, while Tesla and BYD at that time required advanced reservations for test drives.

The car I test drove that day was the top-level rear-wheel drive version of the P7. Although the test drive time was short, I had a good impression of the vehicle’s power performance and auxiliary driving. I further test drove the car twice during the New Year holiday, including one time with a four-wheel drive version. Even when going through an S-shaped turn at 60 kilometers per hour, the car demonstrated excellent stability, leaving a deep impression on me.

At that time, Tesla Model 3’s updated 2021 model was just released in China, and Model 3 Performance and Model Y began sales. On the strong recommendation of my friend, I went to see the new Tesla models again, which were only a few hundred meters away from XPeng’s store. Compared to the 2020 model, the 2021 Model 3 has made many improvements to the interior, including the position of the wood grain decorative panel, seat filling materials, and electric tailgate as standard. However, the battery has been changed to lithium iron phosphate battery (3P for ternary lithium battery). Model Y and 3P are the same price, with naturally larger internal space for SUVs suitable for family users. However, as an unmarried person, I still prefer the handling experience of sedans. As mentioned earlier, Tesla test drives require advanced reservations, so I did not try the dynamic parts that day, but directly signed an official purchase contract at the XPeng store. Next, I will discuss why I decided to officially buy XPeng P7 in less than three days, and also talk about the differences I experienced between XPeng P7 and Tesla Model 3.

Appearance

In terms of appearance, I would give P7 and Model 3 a similar rating. I find the rear of the P7 more pleasing to the eye, so I give it a slightly higher score.From the standpoint of vehicle posture, P7 is indeed closer to Model S rather than Model 3 as stated by the sales staff. Its coupe-like exterior and low profile are truly impressive. The through-type daytime running light (DRL), together with the sayHi function lighting language, can be set to automatically release when the brake pedal is deeply pressed to trigger the automatic parking brake. Whenever you wait at a red light, you will be the focus of attention on the road. The concealed door handle makes the side appearance look more concise. The tail still uses through-type tail lights, which can display lighting language synchronously with the front DRL. The two small turn signal side lights at the bottom are a matter of personal preference. I prefer them to be integrated into a through-type tail light like Porsche or current ET5, giving a more concise look.

Some people say that Model 3’s front end looks like a Porsche, but I don’t have that feeling. In my opinion, Tesla is a brand that can be recognized at a glance, not to be confused with other cars. The separate headlights look like a pair of bright eyes. Sometimes they are so bright that they are mistaken for the high beam by electronic police (ouch).

The side also features a concealed door handle, but the door opening mode is not the same as that of P7. The rear end is not very satisfying to me. I do not see any attractive part of it. The turn signal has only one small bulb, but I prefer a flowing turn signal instead.

Furthermore, XPeng P7 had three free paintjobs at that time, silver, black, and white. Grey and red required an additional 3,000 yuan. I chose silver. On the other hand, Model 3 only had black for free. White, grey, blue, and red required an additional 8,000 yuan. Tesla’s profit margin seems to be a bit high compared to changing the color film yourself after buying a black one.

The front trunk of P7 is unlocked through a switch on the driver’s left foot, double pulled to unlock. The space is smaller than that of Model 3 and unable to fit a 20-inch aviation box, while Model 3 can.

To close the front trunk of P7, you need to manually press down and lock the two latch hooks on both sides of the front cover, which is not very convenient for me because the switch is located at the front of the vehicle. On the other hand, Model 3 allows you to open the front trunk with a touch on the center console screen and close it by pressing down once, which is a bit more convenient than P7. As for the rear trunk, P7 does not come with an automatic tailgate when it is shipped from the factory. Without aftermarket installation, it can only be opened by using the custom key on the steering wheel, the touch or voice control on the center console, or the app. There is no switch outside the trunk. After the automatic tailgate is installed, you can also open it with a foot kick. The 2020 Model 3 does not have an automatic tailgate, but it has a switch outside the trunk and can be unlocked from the center console screen. The 2021 model comes with an automatic tailgate.

In terms of interior design, both cars follow a minimalist style, but it seems that Model 3 has gone too far, even removing the instrument panel. Personally, I think that the instrument panel is an important window for real-time monitoring of the vehicle status, which is an essential part of the driving experience. Although Model 3 puts this information on the left half of the center console tablet, it’s still uncomfortable to look down at the screen during the driving process, compared to turning your head slightly to the right to glance at the instrument panel, isn’t it?

The P7 uses a dual-screen design, with a horizontally placed center console screen, which is friendly for watching videos. Some car enthusiasts even place a suction cup phone holder in the leftover space between the two screens to form a “three-screen display”. If there is any downside, it’s that applying a protective film on the screen is less user-friendly on P7 than on Model 3, as I found out on Taobao that the tempered glass screen protectors for P7 are designed to be applied on both screens, and there are no separate ones for the center console screen only. The price ranges from ¥100 to ¥200.

As for the steering wheel, P7 uses a less common two-spoke design, while Model 3 has a conventional three-spoke steering wheel. The advantage of a two-spoke design is that you can lightly rest your hand on the position below the center of the steering wheel when lane keeping is activated, which is extremely comfortable for people with OCD. P7 has made as many deletions as possible to the steering wheel buttons.

Only a few common keys are retained. On the left side are arrow keys, confirm key，voice key and custom keys. On the right side are volume plus/minus, previous song/next song, confirm key, return key and mute key. The Model 3 is even simpler with only two pressable four-way scroll wheels. In my opinion, if you master the instinctive operation of buttons, the button indication of XPeng will be easier to use.

As for the steering wheel adjustment, XPeng is mechanically four-way adjusted, and Tesla is electrically adjusted with memory and supports automatic opening and closing of doors, which is obviously better and more technologically advanced. The function of the steering column lever of the two cars can almost be said to be from the same school. The left lever is the conventional up and down lever for turning signals, the long forward push opens the high beam, the back pull temporarily turns on the high beam, release the lever and the high beam will turn off and the lever will return to its original position. The lever also has a windshield wiper button for spraying windshield wiper fluid. The only difference is that the Model 3 only opens the automatic wiper through a button, while the top version of the P7 does not have automatic wipers and instead is controlled by a rotary knob at the top of the lever to control the speed of the wipers for different gears. I believe P7’s design is more reasonable.

My friend once encountered a situation where the wipers did not work automatically while driving, so he had to adjust them on the center console screen, which is obviously very unsafe.

The right lever is completely identical. Stepping on the brake and moving the lever up and down switches gears, and pulling it down activates the ACC adaptive cruise control. Pulling it down twice in a row activates the lane-keeping system or the navigation-assisted driving. Finally, the feel of the Model 3’s lever is better than that of the P7.

As for the seats, both cars have racing seats, and the driver’s seat supports eight-way electric adjustment, door-opening welcoming mode, lumbar support four-way adjustment, and seat heating. But the P7’s surface is perforated leather and has seat ventilation, while the Model 3 does not support seat ventilation. The driver’s seat of the P7 is slightly better than that of the Model 3, but the other seats are completely inferior. The P7’s front passenger seat only supports eight-way seat adjustment and seat heating, with no lumbar support or seat ventilation, while even the rear seats of the Model 3 have seat heating, which is very friendly in winter. Although the P7 is nearly 4.9 meters long and the wheelbase is close to 3 meters, both of which are longer than the Model 3, the front of the P7 is much longer than that of the Model 3 due to its coupe stance, and the trunk is also deeper, resulting in a relatively small backseat space, at most the level of an A+ class car, and there is even a small bump in the middle of the rear seat. In comparison, the rear seat space of the Model 3 is slightly larger and more comfortable to ride in, and there are storage pockets for small books behind the front seats.

In terms of storage, the storage space of P7 is not large when combined. It is similar to Model 3 in terms of storage space on the door panels. The central armrest box and glove box are both smaller than Model 3. In addition, the wireless charging pad position of P7 is not reasonable, there is only one wireless charging position in front of the cup holder and below the central control screen, which cannot be seen during driving. Is this actually an advantage? Sometimes the device is not charged despite being casually placed, and only suddenly shows up as charging wirelessly after jolting during driving. This indicates how poor the location is.

In contrast, Model 3 has two wireless charging positions, one for the driver and one for the passenger, and the positions are relatively friendly. Although the poor car navigation of Model 3 often makes the driver’s phone placed on the phone holder as a navigation tool. Tesla Model 3/Y owners must have experienced this.

As previously mentioned, P7 has a deeper trunk, and both cars support folding the rear seats in a 4/6 ratio, which can occasionally accommodate longer items. There is a lot of vacant space on the center console of P7, and I have covered both sides with silicone mats to store some items. In addition, the back of the central control screen is made of plastic and can also store items that are not wide or high without blocking the driver’s line of sight. I have placed the ETC and parking permit in this position. Also, the glove box of Model 3 does not have an external switch and can only be opened from the central control screen, which is not friendly at all. In this regard, it is similar to P7’s trunk.

Other than that, the unlocking and opening of the P7 is done by pulling a hidden handle on the door panel to unlock the car door, and then pulling again to open the door, which is a more traditional solution. However, the Model 3 adds an unlocking button on the door handle, and pressing it once will push the door open. This design is actually more intuitive and efficient than the traditional way of opening the door. Additionally, the P7’s doors are much heavier than those of the Model 3, and there is a multifunctional button next to the four-door windows, which I have set up as a wake-up assistant voice command, so that any passenger can directly control certain vehicle functions from any position. The P7 has ambient lighting on the doors and below the center console, supporting single-color or fixed dual-color displays, while the Model 3 does not have ambient lighting.

I am not satisfied with the reading light of the P7 as it is very dim. If I need to do something in the car at night, I have to rely on my phone’s flashlight for lighting. The P7 does not have a recording function and needs to be installed separately. There is a reserved voltage reduction line interface at the reading light and a board is reserved behind the passenger-side sun visor for storing the power cord, which is quite thoughtful.

The Model 3 has a built-in recording function, and in order to facilitate the installation of a phone holder for the driver, the side of the center console on the driver’s seat can be removed, with a reserved interface for charging the phone. If the phone holder is mounted on the left side of the steering wheel, a charging cord can be pulled directly from that position, whether the phone is powered directly or charged on a wireless phone holder. Both cars have rear air outlets, with the P7 offering two USB-A ports while the Model 3 has two USB-C ports. Both cars support automatic door opening and turning on of the reading light.

Advanced Driving Assistance SystemI was originally going to talk about my driving experience with the cars, but I’ve hardly driven a Model 3, so I can’t really explain much about the driving experience. At most, I can mention that the steering on the P7 is a bit lighter, and when I first started using it with standard power assist, I inadvertently turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction when changing lanes due to looking at the rearview mirror, causing the car in the next lane to honk nervously. Later on, as my driving skills improved and I switched to sport power assist, it became just right. In comparison, the steering on the Model 3 is a bit heavy, even if it’s adjusted to comfortable power assist, it’s still slightly heavier than the sport power assist on the P7, maybe because American cars have heavy steering wheels?

Or is it because the Model 3 is positioned as a sports sedan? Who knows.

The biggest advantage of light steering is that the P7 doesn’t feel like a nearly 4.9-meter-long car at all when driving, and it changes lanes very quickly and flexibly, leaving a very good impression.

Now let’s talk about the advanced driving assistance hardware of the two cars. The advanced driving assistance hardware of different versions of the P7 is not the same, currently distinguished by four models: P, E, N, and G. The top of the line model of the P7 ends with E, while the top of the line model of the P5 equipped with a LIDAR sensor ends with P; whereas for Model 3, all versions of the advanced driving assistance hardware are the same.

We’ll briefly discuss the differences in basic advanced driving assistance experience for the two cars in a few scenarios. The specific advanced driving assistance experience of the P7 can be found by clicking on my profile and looking for my delivery report.

The lane-keeping assist for both cars is not much different in the experience of regular straight driving, and both work very stably. The main difference is in following and stopping in congested road segments. The follow-stop distance of the P7 is less than 3 meters, while that of the Model 3 is up to 5 meters. However, the P7 accelerates more slowly, so both cars are easily cut off in congested road segments.

In the case of curved driving scenarios, the Model 3 is the dominant car. It can handle all the curves without any pressure, whereas the P7 can only pass through large-radius curves at a slow speed, and even alert the driver to take over at times, so except for high-speed curves, it is not recommended to use advanced driving assistance for other curve scenarios.

In terms of changing lanes with turn signals, the P7 tends to be conservative, while the Model 3 tends to be more aggressive, giving some people the feeling of being thrown into the adjacent lane. The P7 will retreat to the original lane if a car accelerates and comes up in the middle of the lane change. In terms of operation, after using the turn signal to change lanes, the P7 requires manual shifting of the turn signal lever back, whereas the Model 3 will automatically return the lever to its original position when the turn signal is activated.Please translate the Chinese Markdown text below into English Markdown text, with professional language and keeping HTML tags in Markdown, and only output corrections and improvements without explanations.

Finally, note that the lane keeping function of P7 can only be continuously activated for 30 minutes, with a reminder function activated at 15 minutes, to prevent driver fatigue, while Model 3 has no time limit; both cars have torque steering wheels and need to be occasionally turned to confirm, P7 has enabled steering wheel camera detection after updating to the latest system.

The number of times to turn the steering wheel has been greatly reduced, and the experience is much better. I did not purchase the navigation-assisted driving function, so please refer to the conclusions of 42Mark’s video for the difference between the navigation-assisted driving of the two cars.

In summary, the basic assisted driving of both cars is currently the top level of mass-produced cars, which can greatly reduce driver fatigue in elevated and high-speed scenarios. Model 3 excels in bend scenarios, while P7 has a better cost-performance ratio, and the turn signal change lane and automatic parking functions that need to be purchased separately for Model 3 are standard equipment for P7.

Intelligent In-car systems

The in-car systems of both cars have adopted very modern UI interfaces, with operating experience comparable to that of smartphones / tablets / PCs, and smoother and more convenient functions than ordinary fuel vehicles. Recently, Tesla updated the Christmas version car machine UI. I roughly checked it out. Overall, there are pros and cons compared to the previous version. For specific introductions, you can check the following link video:

In comparison, I think P7’s operating interface is simpler and has relatively fewer settings. In addition, P7 has a big killer, the full-scene voice, which only needs to say the wake-up word, press the steering wheel voice button, or click on the small logo of the XPeng at the top left of the screen to start using voice directly to control vehicle functions.

Currently, most common operations are included, and I use them more often to open/close the windows, turn on/off/adjust the air conditioner, set navigation, and open the charging port / trunk. In addition, almost all central control screen operations can be done by voice recognition. In addition, when waking up by voice, the corresponding microphone can detect the wake-up position and will not be interfered by voices from other positions during driving.As a professional translator in the automobile industry, I am responsible for English translation, spelling check and wording modification. I will provide a more elegant and concise English translation with the same meaning. Only the corrections and improvements will be listed here without explanation.

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As I did not take my hands off the steering wheel throughout the entire driving process, it greatly reduces potential safety hazards, which is a very important feature for me. In contrast, the voice function of the Model 3 is not as intelligent as one might hope. You can only control some basic functions by pressing and holding the steering wheel scroll button. As far as I saw, my friends only used it to set navigation and save dashcam videos. It is clear how unusable this voice function can be.

Now that I have introduced both vehicles, I will explain why I ultimately chose the P7:

1. Reasonable price:

First and foremost is the most practical factor. Although the Model 3 standard range version and the P7 have the same price, the Chinese-standard Model 3’s range is only 400+ km, while the P7’s ultra-long-range can reach 670 km. In my opinion, vehicles with different ranges cannot be considered to be in the same category, even if their prices are the same. If we compare the same range version of vehicles, which in this case is the Model 3 performance version/Y long range version, they do not compete for the same price. I made a rough estimate, even if you don’t purchase EAP, the 3P/Y would cost approximately CNY 350,000, whereas I paid CNY 285,000 for the P7. I still have to pay an additional CNY 65,000 for the Model 3, which is quite expensive for me. It is also beyond my original budget of CNY 250,000-300,000. At that time, the P7 was the only model that could combine long range, intelligence and cost-effectiveness.

2. Satisfactory charging conditions:

As I cannot install home charging, the manufacturer-installed fast charging station became an important factor in my purchase decision. On purchase, the P7 comes with 3000kWh of free electricity per year, which is equivalent to approximately 15,000 km. After driving for 11 months, I have only driven less than 9,000 km and have about 1370 kWh of electricity left, which means that I have not spent a single penny on charging this year.

Who wouldn’t want a car that doesn’t cost any money to drive? There are two XPeng-branded charging stations within approximately 5 kilometers of my home, and I have been there many times without ever having to wait in line. There was only one occasion where the parking lock was not activated and two charging spaces were taken up by a Volkswagen ID.4. Charging also includes 2 hours of free parking, which is very comfortable for a casual walk in the nearby area. This benefit can be enjoyed not only at XPeng-owned charging stations but also at free charging stations shown on the App. In contrast, Tesla only offers 1,500 km of free Supercharging credits by scanning someone’s referral code, which runs out quickly. Furthermore, Tesla Supercharging stations used to be more expensive than other third-party fast charging stations, which would obviously increase the vehicle operating costs.

3. Excellent intelligent assisted driving:

Although there are still many issues with current assisted driving technology, it greatly reduces driver fatigue on enclosed roads, and is far from “completely unusable” as some video bloggers claim. Even without spending an additional 20,000 yuan on software, the XPeng P7 provides excellent basic assisted driving capabilities, which are so outstanding that every time I enter a closed road and merge onto the main road, I can’t wait to use it.

This experience cannot be provided by models without assisted driving or with poor assisted driving capabilities. The advanced automatic parking function is also excellent. It even allows you to park the car after you have left it, even if it is a bit flashy, it is still eye-catching. The exquisite system UI interface makes me feel like I’m using an electronic product every time. The full scene voice function completely changes the user habits of car occupants. You can command the vehicle to handle things simply by speaking, truly achieving more natural and subconscious human-machine interaction.

Before buying the car, I learned all of this from a 42Mark video, so I would like to thank all the editors who produced the video.

4. Good pre-sales service:

The XPeng salesperson who greeted me was the sales manager of the store. I spent three full days from January 1-3, during which she patiently answered various questions for me. Although some of the answers were not accurate, she still knew more than those salespeople who sell cars but don’t own them, which is much better. During that time, sales of new energy vehicles were surging, and the sales staff at the store were very busy. Many brands, including Tesla, just casually introduced their cars without trying to sell them. Sales services are still very important to customers’ willingness to buy. In addition, the salesperson also helped me sign up for a two-day event in Wuzhen. XPeng covered all the expenses for the event, where previous car owners shared their user experience, and I even won a vacuum cleaner in the lucky draw. Those two days were really enjoyable.

Criticism

After saying that XPeng’s pre-sales service was good, it’s time to criticize its after-sales service. Because the brake pads of my P7 were making a noise, the after-sales service offered to replace them for free, and also asked if I wanted to pay extra for an electric tailgate. I did both when I went in for my first maintenance. I dropped off my car at the service center in the morning, and when I picked it up at 7 pm that evening, I found out that the electric tailgate that was tested was not working properly. The technicians had already left for the day, so I had to go back the next day. They did fix it later, but two days later, when it rained, I heard the familiar sound of brake pads again. I knew that they had forgotten to replace the pads, the after-sales standard was quite new indeed. But to be fair, the free box lunch served at the after-sales center was quite tasty, although I heard it was from the BYD cafeteria next door.

Conclusion

The above are the advantages, disadvantages, and differences between the XPeng P7 and Tesla Model 3, as well as the reason why I ultimately chose the P7. I hope it helps you with your purchasing decision. If you have any questions, you can leave a comment below and I will answer them. Give me a like and I’ll see you in our next article!

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.