After tinkering with T470p, I can say that it is an awesome laptop. It definitely wins over the regular i5\\i7 T480 with an integrated graphics.   
Though it has only one battery and changing its keyboard may lead to "several dead and  broken" situation. Also its plastic shell degrades and becomes brittle...and bad+unsecure camera module....and a slower WiFi...SATA M.2 SSD......  
But the quality 2K IPS display, CPU thermal solution, normal power plug, three full USB, full size card reader, can handle 64 gigs of RAM. A perfect combination for the classic Thinkpad vibes.   
T470p feels and handles just like T400-T430. A vintage typewriter capable of being a blunt weapon. A nice, expensive tool from the grand-dads garage. A nice muscle car before the cheaplyfication. Something that you show to your kids with words "THIS IS A LAPTOP" in a hope that they will look at it just like you did when your dad showed an 8 track player.  
While T480 balances between the old and the new engineering. You can not feel the metal under the plastic shell, but it still has the enthusiast's core inside. The showcase of a new era without making it ultimately cheap.   
Corporate oriented Thinkpad-ish units from the later gens (T490-T14gen2) already feel and handle like a cheap squeaky toy.

T480 vs T470p battle. Which one has a better CPU performance?