Base Features Required to Seal the Deal on the Model 3

[ummgood]

So why not go with the Bolt, which is likely to have all the features you listed, except the Tesla emblem?

Uhh I said I wanted a sedan because I already own the minivan so we don't need two cars. I was trying to state above (probably not very clearly) that it isn't that far fetched for a sedan to be a family car. I see families in Toyota Corollas and the like every day. If sedans were horrible family cars you would see more families in fits and Kia Souls instead. Americans like sedans. The tide might be changing but there are a lot of cool hatches in Europe that I wouldn't mind having but it seems like all the hatches that make it over here except for a few are very utilitarian and lack any sporty nature.

About the bolt... Everyone has an opinion but mine is that the Bolt looks hideous. Maybe if it looked like a Focus RS I might be more drawn to it but in its current state it looks like a GM version of a Prius which I never have liked.

 

[diamond.g]

Uhh I said I wanted a sedan because I already own the minivan so we don't need two cars. I was trying to state above (probably not very clearly) that it isn't that far fetched for a sedan to be a family car. I see families in Toyota Corollas and the like every day. If sedans were horrible family cars you would see more families in fits and Kia Souls instead. Americans like sedans. The tide might be changing but there are a lot of cool hatches in Europe that I wouldn't mind having but it seems like all the hatches that make it over here except for a few are very utilitarian and lack any sporty nature.

About the bolt... Everyone has an opinion but mine is that the Bolt looks hideous. Maybe if it looked like a Focus RS I might be more drawn to it but in its current state it looks like a GM version of a Prius which I never have liked.

my bad, I snipped the beginning of your post, then more or less forgot what I was going for so it made no sense. Looking purely at MSRP of a Acura or an Infiniti, it appears one has to choose the tech package to get the same safety measures that the Tesla would come with. While that isn't bad, it does skew things a bit (especially for the Acura). I didn't look at Lexus so I am not sure what they do.

I think Tesla is having the Honda, etc problem. They said car for the masses so everyone is thinking Honda (etc) instead of Acura (etc). Which isn't bad, but is going to set a lot of folks up for dissapointment.

Which is why I pointed to the Bolt, it is in the Chevy line (though I think it should have been a Buick for the price) so one expects them the be cheaper (versus the BMW/Mercedes/Audi).

 

[alseTrick]

An A/C compressor that doesn't sound like a jet engine is pretty important to me. I don't want my EV to be the loudest car on my street.

 

[EaglesPDX]

So why not go with the Bolt, which is likely to have all the features you listed, except the Tesla emblem?

Same question to you, why not get the Bolt, or wait for the Model Y?

Because I'm not a family of five. My make or break is getting two pairs of skis in the trunk. I was told that Musk says a 7' surfboard will fit so I guess he has me covered.

 

[Mark C]

The only features that I require before I'll go from reservation to purchaser of the car should all be standard. Air Conditioning, Automatic Trans {non-issue on any mass market EV}, Power Steering, ABS Power Brakes, Keyless Entry and the notification from Tesla so I know my time has come to configure my new 3.

I do hope the price of a bright color metallic paint isn't too much. Other added features will depend on likelihood of tax credit. I don't want/need an upgraded wheel/tire package, I want the least amount of a glass roof that is possible to buy, I want cloth seats and I hope that Auto Pilot is built into the car, but not activated so I can avoid it. Happy with a trunk instead of a hatchback. I want my stuff hidden out of site, and nearly impossible to be a projectile in case of a collision. When I need to tow our trailer or carry bulky items, I'll use our Silverado.

 

[alseTrick]

Why does Tesla have the turning signal-like stick to engage parking, reverse, drive, etc and not the center console stick?

 

[Garlan Garner]

Why does Tesla have the turning signal-like stick to engage parking, reverse, drive, etc and not the center console stick?

Its a design preference. I love it because the stick just wastes space in my opinion.

 

[JeffK]

Why does Tesla have the turning signal-like stick to engage parking, reverse, drive, etc and not the center console stick?

Many older cars had this same design and everyone managed just fine.

 

[alseTrick]

Many older cars had this same design and everyone managed just fine.

Didn't actually address my question but thanks, I guess?

I could understand cheaper or lighter. It took up less space before Tesla added the center console back due to customer demand but now it doesn't really save much space. I was wondering if it was inherently "better" somehow.

 

[JeffK]

Didn't actually address my question but thanks, I guess?

I could understand cheaper or lighter. It took up less space before Tesla added the center console back due to customer demand but now it doesn't really save much space. I was wondering if it was inherently "better" somehow.

I guess to answer more succinctly it's a space thing. Putting in the center cuts into the sense of openness. There's no transmission so no reason at all to put it in the center.

 

[alseTrick]

But with the model s center console upgrades that opened is gone.

 

[JeffK]

But with the model s center console upgrades that opened is gone.

True, but why go back to the drawing board? There's still no reason to put it in the center (besides peoples' personal preferences).

On the steering column means it's easily accessible without your hands even leaving the wheel.

 

[alseTrick]

Not sure who is telling them to go back to the drawing board.

 

[ccutrer]

Why does Tesla have the turning signal-like stick to engage parking, reverse, drive, etc and not the center console stick?

Just depends on the vehicle. My '08 Chrysler Aspen has a gear select as a stick on the right side of the steering column, and I've driven several other vehicles that are similar, of varying ages. I think it's just a design preference. I've also driven a few vehicles that have it in the dashboard itself, since it's no longer a mechanical linkage to the transmission. Personally I like it on the steering column. Just seems more natural to have a driving control the place where your hands should be.

 

[EaglesPDX]

I was trying to state above (probably not very clearly) that it isn't that far fetched for a sedan to be a family car. I see families in Toyota Corollas and the like every day. If sedans were horrible family cars you would see more families in fits and Kia Souls instead.

Kelly Blue Book does a reasonable job of identifying the "best" family car. It's result is 6 sedans and 7 "SUV's" which are really what would have been called station wagons when station wagons were THE family car.

16 Best Family Cars of 2016 - Kelley Blue Book

They excluded mini-vans which are arguably even more THE family "car" today.

Tesla has been pretty emphatic that the Tesla 3 is the volkswagen, the people's car, of EV's. Making the Tesla 3 a hatchback with that extra carrying capacity would have allowed the Tesla 3 to more broadly cover the "family car" market.

The Tesla 3 trunk lid looks clever and, if as Musk has reportedly said, it can carry a 7' surfboard, it might provide much of the functionality of the hatchback and get away from the limitations of a trunk.

 

[FirstSea]

I think Tesla is having the Honda, etc problem. They said car for the masses so everyone is thinking Honda (etc) instead of Acura (etc). Which isn't bad, but is going to set a lot of folks up for dissapointment.

Actually, Tesla called it a "mass market" car, but terrible reporters interpreted that as "for the masses."

 

[EaglesPDX]

Actually, Tesla called it a "mass market" car, but terrible reporters interpreted that as "for the masses."

I believe the reporters got it right as Tesla founders went on at length that the Tesla 3 was the car they always intended to build, the Model T EV for the masses.

 

[22522]

I think an additional forward looking radar near the top of the windshield behind the mirror would seal the deal for me.

If the only radar is low, on the bumper, I believe the radar profile of semi truck trailers (the part that would intersect the top part of the windshield) is reduced. They become stealth like.

For this stealth warship, when viewed by radar from near the ocean surface, nothing reflects back to that radar receiver [read: the warship is invisible]:

The geometry of a bumper mounted radar looking at a vertical sided semi truck is the same. A radar beam originating at the bumper that hits the flat side of the semi truck will never be seen again by the sensors on the car. The strongest component of reflection is coming back too high. If you start high and sense returns with multiple sensors, some also high, you should be able to see any object perpendicular to the road that is low enough to take off the top of the car.

A additional eye level elevation radar element/sensor location would likely seal the deal for me.

 

[22522]

This description might be better.

http://jalopnik.com/does-teslas-semi-autonomous-driving-system-suffer-from-1782935594

 

[KublaConn]

Glass roof is also a security issue. Everything visible for thieves...........Wish Tesla had aimed more for a family wagon vs. a smaller model S.

Your statement that the glass roof is a security issue because thieves can possibly see your "stuff" makes me wonder if you consider all the other windows on the vehicle to also be a security issue. One would be hard-pressed to find a modern car that doesn't possess such a "security issue". People can look through your car's windows and see inside your vehicle, that's a normal, everyday "risk" that every car owner (other than those who own utility vans/panel trucks) must learn to deal with. As for the "just a smaller Model S" complaint that you keep bringing up, I have to admit that your stance confuses me a bit and I think you have it exactly backwards. You don't like the fact that the Model 3 doesn't have a lift/hatchback, but yet, the Model S does have a lift/hatchback, so if the Model 3 were "just a smaller Model S" wouldn't that mean it would have the same rear end? Seems to me, considering this feature and others that you have indicated a desire for, a smaller version of the Model S is exactly what you're looking for and that you're actually upset because the Model 3 ISN'T a smaller version of the Model S.