1 week review (M3LR).

I wanted to give a brief review of my 1 week experience.

for context, i have come from driving audis exclusively for ~20 years and i tend to keep them for a long time.
2000 audi s4 2.7L twin turbo (retired after 180k)
2010 audi q5 s-line premium plus 3.2L (retired after 180k)
2012 audi q5 s-line prestige 3.2L (retired after 190k)

i had also never been in a tesla nor driven one before picking mine up. all of my decision making was from watching youtube and friends with similar past cars and their current experience with teslas.

1. buying experience
overall, great. the only part that was on the annoying side was the ever changing EDDs. i ended up with delivery close to the original EDD (ended up being about 10 days sooner). picking up the car from the dealership was painless. we just recently picked up a 2022 audi q3 for my wife and the contrast between the 2 experiences was substantial (mainly the paperwork aspect).

2. car
coming from audi and having set very low expectations for the fit and finish of the model 3, i was pleasantly surprised. yes, the fit and finish is not where german cars at the same price point are -- but i have no major complaints. i do love the minimalist interior. i purchased a few accessories to make the internal space more usable (main console, armrest). i had no major issues with panel gaps, creaks, whistles etc.

im a bit of an audiophile and not being able to play lossless directly off my phone and having to partition a separate drive for sentry/audio is my biggest complaint.

3. drivability
ridiculously smooth was my first thoughts pulling out of the dealership. acceleration is addicting. quiet. just did a ~200 mile trip using autopilot quite frequently with no major hiccups.

my wife loves her q3 but after driving home with me from the dealership was wondering if she should have got a Y...

 

[thill444]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience. So much of the Tesla expense is the batteries, but as battery cost comes down I think they will be able to continue to improve their quality and materials. My neighbor just bought a Model Y performance and it's tempting to have a Model 3 and Model Y in the garage (as gas prices are going to go way up due to the unrest in Europe), but I am not ready yet to put all my eggs in one basket (Tesla) as my wife has a PHEV and I want to give Telsa some time to prove to me that they can be reliable.

The lack of Carplay is definitely a frustration for me.

 

[refusedmd]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience. So much of the Tesla expense is the batteries, but as battery cost comes down I think they will be able to continue to improve their quality and materials. My neighbor just bought a Model Y performance and it's tempting to have a Model 3 and Model Y in the garage (as gas prices are going to go way up due to the unrest in Europe), but I am not ready yet to put all my eggs in one basket (Tesla) as my wife has a PHEV and I want to give Telsa some time to prove to me that they can be reliable.

The lack of Carplay is definitely a frustration for me.

this is exactly the main reason we didn't get the Y actually -- not fully ready to be EV exclusive yet.

 

[Birdsfan]

wanted to give a brief review of my 1 week experience.

for context, i have come from driving audis exclusively for ~20 years and i tend to keep them for a long time.
2000 audi s4 2.7L twin turbo (retired after 180k)
2010 audi q5 s-line premium plus 3.2L (retired after 180k)
2012 audi q5 s-line prestige 3.2L (retired after 190k)

i had also never been in a tesla nor driven one before picking mine up. all of my decision making was from watching youtube and friends with similar past cars and their current experience with teslas.

1. buying experience
overall, great. the only part that was on the annoying side was the ever changing EDDs. i ended up with delivery close to the original EDD (ended up being about 10 days sooner). picking up the car from the dealership was painless. we just recently picked up a 2022 audi q3 for my wife and the contrast between the 2 experiences was substantial (mainly the paperwork aspect).

2. car
coming from audi and having set very low expectations for the fit and finish of the model 3, i was pleasantly surprised. yes, the fit and finish is not where german cars at the same price point are -- but i have no major complaints. i do love the minimalist interior. i purchased a few accessories to make the internal space more usable (main console, armrest). i had no major issues with panel gaps, creaks, whistles etc.

im a bit of an audiophile and not being able to play lossless directly off my phone and having to partition a separate drive for sentry/audio is my biggest complaint.

3. drivability
ridiculously smooth was my first thoughts pulling out of the dealership. acceleration is addicting. quiet. just did a ~200 mile trip using autopilot quite frequently with no major hiccups.

my wife loves her q3 but after driving home with me from the dealership was wondering if she should have got a Y...

Very similar story except insert BMW for Audi and I replaced my car every couple years or so. 3's, 4's and a 5 series including an M and I'm never going back. The cost to repair is brutal and you can almost set your watch to certain repairs with them. I actually became quite disenchanted with the BMW interior, felt like I was surrounded by plastic. I do miss the way the M seats cradled you when you cornered and I would argue the mid teens 3's and 4 coupes were some of the sexiest cars. In saying that the M3P for me is an amazing car and as a DD I absolutely love it.

 

[epictetusguy]

Great overview. Given that I have always driven non-luxury cars like VW Jettas and my last car was a Subaru Legacy. I feel I'm in for a treat. It's the first new car I've ever purchased and I'm approaching 40

 

[EVRocks]

I wanted to give a brief review of my 1 week experience.

for context, i have come from driving audis exclusively for ~20 years and i tend to keep them for a long time.
2000 audi s4 2.7L twin turbo (retired after 180k)
2010 audi q5 s-line premium plus 3.2L (retired after 180k)
2012 audi q5 s-line prestige 3.2L (retired after 190k)

i had also never been in a tesla nor driven one before picking mine up. all of my decision making was from watching youtube and friends with similar past cars and their current experience with teslas.

View attachment 772613

1. buying experience
overall, great. the only part that was on the annoying side was the ever changing EDDs. i ended up with delivery close to the original EDD (ended up being about 10 days sooner). picking up the car from the dealership was painless. we just recently picked up a 2022 audi q3 for my wife and the contrast between the 2 experiences was substantial (mainly the paperwork aspect).

2. car
coming from audi and having set very low expectations for the fit and finish of the model 3, i was pleasantly surprised. yes, the fit and finish is not where german cars at the same price point are -- but i have no major complaints. i do love the minimalist interior. i purchased a few accessories to make the internal space more usable (main console, armrest). i had no major issues with panel gaps, creaks, whistles etc.

im a bit of an audiophile and not being able to play lossless directly off my phone and having to partition a separate drive for sentry/audio is my biggest complaint.

3. drivability
ridiculously smooth was my first thoughts pulling out of the dealership. acceleration is addicting. quiet. just did a ~200 mile trip using autopilot quite frequently with no major hiccups.

my wife loves her q3 but after driving home with me from the dealership was wondering if she should have got a Y...

Thank you for posting this. This past Saturday I placed an order for the model 3. Like you, I have had great experiences with German brands. However, after driving a friends 2018 model 3 I was extremely impressed. So far my interactions with the Telsa team has been so professional and positive. I can not wait to take delivery of mine in May or June.

 

[T4M3]

I wanted to give a brief review of my 1 week experience.

for context, i have come from driving audis exclusively for ~20 years and i tend to keep them for a long time.
2000 audi s4 2.7L twin turbo (retired after 180k)
2010 audi q5 s-line premium plus 3.2L (retired after 180k)
2012 audi q5 s-line prestige 3.2L (retired after 190k)

i had also never been in a tesla nor driven one before picking mine up. all of my decision making was from watching youtube and friends with similar past cars and their current experience with teslas.

View attachment 772613

1. buying experience
overall, great. the only part that was on the annoying side was the ever changing EDDs. i ended up with delivery close to the original EDD (ended up being about 10 days sooner). picking up the car from the dealership was painless. we just recently picked up a 2022 audi q3 for my wife and the contrast between the 2 experiences was substantial (mainly the paperwork aspect).

2. car
coming from audi and having set very low expectations for the fit and finish of the model 3, i was pleasantly surprised. yes, the fit and finish is not where german cars at the same price point are -- but i have no major complaints. i do love the minimalist interior. i purchased a few accessories to make the internal space more usable (main console, armrest). i had no major issues with panel gaps, creaks, whistles etc.

im a bit of an audiophile and not being able to play lossless directly off my phone and having to partition a separate drive for sentry/audio is my biggest complaint.

3. drivability
ridiculously smooth was my first thoughts pulling out of the dealership. acceleration is addicting. quiet. just did a ~200 mile trip using autopilot quite frequently with no major hiccups.

my wife loves her q3 but after driving home with me from the dealership was wondering if she should have got a Y...

Thanks for the write up. I will be switching this Saturday from Audi's mother company, i.e., VW, to the Tesla M3LR and was wondering what the experience will be. My current VW has some good built quality, is fun to drive, and has little to none road noise.

 

[Maxw72]

Great review. As someone who is a big audiophile myself and coming from a Mini Countryman, who I believe minis finishes are very underrated, it is good to hear you are enjoying your M3! I have been eyeing an Audi for awhile for myself as a bit of a Motörhead, having two young kids pushed me away from an Audi, out of my Mini, and waiting on my MYP. I hope the time with your Tesla is as good with your first week.

 

[scoobybri]

In 2021, we sold two 2017 Chevy Bolts (1 private party, one was bought back by GM), a 2020 Hyundai Ionic hybrid, and a 2019 F-150 Supercrew and turned them into a 2021 M3LR (Sept) and a 2021 MYLR (Nov). Zero regrets... except phantom braking, but that been a subject already beaten to death. We've been driving EVs with the crutch of an ICE vehicle or two for awhile and we finally decided to ditch all of the ICE cars (and fire-prone EVs) and take the plunge into the world of EV only. Not Tesla fanbois, but they were the highest range EVs that we could buy that were subjectively) reasonably priced. Going to hold on to these two Teslas for 5 years and see what the EV market is in 2026. Hopefully flooded with reasonably priced high range EVs.

 

[refusedmd]

Great overview. Given that I have always driven non-luxury cars like VW Jettas and my last car was a Subaru Legacy. I feel I'm in for a treat. It's the first new car I've ever purchased and I'm approaching 40

i just turned 40 last year (yikes) and was lucky enough to be an only child with very generous parents. first car i owned was a new 1998 toyota 4runner that got totaled (other driver's fault) which led to the s4 (used) and my following audis were all used.

this is my first new car since the 4runner and given the used tesla market it just made sense to spend the extra money -- really glad i did!

 

[refusedmd]

In 2021, we sold two 2017 Chevy Bolts (1 private party, one was bought back by GM), a 2020 Hyundai Ionic hybrid, and a 2019 F-150 Supercrew and turned them into a 2021 M3LR (Sept) and a 2021 MYLR (Nov). Zero regrets... except phantom braking, but that been a subject already beaten to death. We've been driving EVs with the crutch of an ICE vehicle or two for awhile and we finally decided to ditch all of the ICE cars (and fire-prone EVs) and take the plunge into the world of EV only. Not Tesla fanbois, but they were the highest range EVs that we could buy that were subjectively) reasonably priced. Going to hold on to these two Teslas for 5 years and see what the EV market is in 2026. Hopefully flooded with reasonably priced high range EVs.

nice! i was never a tesla fanboy (in fact a bit of the opposite) and really thought i would own audis for a lifetime. audi's offerings were just underwhelming in the EV sector and i really wanted something that was more purpose built from the ground up as its own unique platform.

although i still love the overall design cues from audi (wife's q3 looks especially good) -- im really starting to enjoy the sleeker/smoother lines of the model 3.

i told myself i would wait to purchase an EV until my short list was met:
-"affordable"
-300+ mile range
-AWD (coming from quattro)

and here we are.

 

[Hbdiver3]

Wow it’s about all I can say. I put a thousand miles on my m3dual and I don’t think it is a sale car to drive. I turned on all of the autonomous features. Drive 50 milles to let it calibrate. The next day did a road trip to test it’s abilities, what a surprise!
When in adaptive cruise control it doesn’t want to pass a semi on the next lane. I was fearful that a driver brings me would ram more because of the abrupt slowing.
I didn’t know it would decided suddenly, like on a curve, to drop out off lane control. I don’t want my wife to drive it ominous any more other than cruise.
The features are not worth $10,000!

 

[focher]

Currently about 1/3 through a 2300 mile cross country trip. I can assure you AP can pass semis just fine. And often.

 

[holmgang]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience. So much of the Tesla expense is the batteries, but as battery cost comes down I think they will be able to continue to improve their quality and materials. My neighbor just bought a Model Y performance and it's tempting to have a Model 3 and Model Y in the garage (as gas prices are going to go way up due to the unrest in Europe), but I am not ready yet to put all my eggs in one basket (Tesla) as my wife has a PHEV and I want to give Telsa some time to prove to me that they can be reliable.

The lack of Carplay is definitely a frustration for me.

The 'unrest in Europe' has a n'th order effect on US fuel prices. It mostly impacts heating/electricity costs local to Europe due to the regional natural gas trade.

US fuel prices had trended up way before this, as a more direct effect of US fiscal/monetary policy (=driving inflation) and energy policy (=stimying oil development). Demonizing the oil industry and North American pipelines, drilling moratorium, etc, reduces crude supply, leading to more expensive liquid fuel. The Russian stuff is a red herring.

 

[Hbdiver3]

Currently about 1/3 through a 2300 mile cross country trip. I can assure you AP can pass semis just fine. And often.

That is good to know. I am happy to hear your t3 is working to your satisfaction. I have already had mine in the shop for a firmware update after only 1200 miles.

 

[Hbdiver3]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experience. So much of the Tesla expense is the batteries, but as battery cost comes down I think they will be able to continue to improve their quality and materials. My neighbor just bought a Model Y performance and it's tempting to have a Model 3 and Model Y in the garage (as gas prices are going to go way up due to the unrest in Europe), but I am not ready yet to put all my eggs in one basket (Tesla) as my wife has a PHEV and I want to give Telsa some time to prove to me that they can be reliable.

The lack of Carplay is definitely a frustration for me.

Don’t buy a Tesla just to save gas. It will take over 100,000 miles to even come close to the overall costs per mile that a gas vehicle has.

 

[focher]

Don’t buy a Tesla just to save gas. It will take over 100,000 miles to even come close to the overall costs per mile that a gas vehicle has.

Huh? That’s a ridiculous assertion with plenty of online data showing quite the opposite. Search “too model 3 vs ice”. Read away.

 

[KenC]

Wow it’s about all I can say. I put a thousand miles on my m3dual and I don’t think it is a sale car to drive. I turned on all of the autonomous features. Drive 50 milles to let it calibrate. The next day did a road trip to test it’s abilities, what a surprise!
When in adaptive cruise control it doesn’t want to pass a semi on the next lane. I was fearful that a driver brings me would ram more because of the abrupt slowing.
I didn’t know it would decided suddenly, like on a curve, to drop out off lane control. I don’t want my wife to drive it ominous any more other than cruise.
The features are not worth $10,000!

I've read one other time a person having issues with their car not passing vehicles in lanes next to them. I don't remember what was the fix, but I wonder if you look at your display when it happens, does it show anything odd, like the semi in your lane? Or, any red, orange or yellow semi-circles indicating the objects next to you are too close? Seems like the sensors are picking up something that isn't that, which means they need adjusting or replacing.

 

[Hbdiver3]

I've read one other time a person having issues with their car not passing vehicles in lanes next to them. I don't remember what was the fix, but I wonder if you look at your display when it happens, does it show anything odd, like the semi in your lane? Or, any red, orange or yellow semi-circles indicating the objects next to you are too close? Seems like the sensors are picking up something that isn't that, which means they need adjusting or replacing.

Thanks for the inquiry. I took the car in and they reset the firmware. It hasn’t happened since.
The screen did not show any thing but the trucks on the right.

 

[Cooksmaster1]

Very similar story except insert BMW for Audi and I replaced my car every couple years or so. 3's, 4's and a 5 series including an M and I'm never going back. The cost to repair is brutal and you can almost set your watch to certain repairs with them. I actually became quite disenchanted with the BMW interior, felt like I was surrounded by plastic. I do miss the way the M seats cradled you when you cornered and I would argue the mid teens 3's and 4 coupes were some of the sexiest cars. In saying that the M3P for me is an amazing car and as a DD I absolutely love it.

I am in the same boat. Bmw guy through out 1 series /3 series/5 series. Last few i ve had nothing but issues and servicing is getting more and more expensive day by day. Not to mention any out if warranty costs. And although i cannot fault thr interior quality and build of my 5 series. The 3 that i had(G20) was very plastic. Never owned a tesla before. My m3 is getting delivered in march. Looking forward to it. One thing that I will miss is the ambient lighting haha. But i ve seen a few in amazon for tesla. Might give that a go.