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Car and Driver Model 3 Test - Not Great
- Thread starter igotzzoom
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Tesla is also deeply involved with the battery chemistry that goes into the cells and are related to the specific performance characteristics needed for the Tesla pack and car.
It is shocking to me how little discussion there is about the weight, space and efficiency of the Model 3 vs other EVs.
The 3 is clearly superior to the S on these metrics. And least we forget, there isn’t a single non-Tesla car on the market that can match the specs from a 2012 Model S.
These are the same reviewers who criticized the iPhone for the very same reason. We have heard this before.
Every person who has bought the car has been saying the same thing: it's not an issue!!!!
It's all relative. Relative to a Ford Fiesta I guess you are right it looks good. Relative to a car in its price range it doesn't look good at all.
I always loved the peace and quiet floating of a nice v6 Merc on the highway...and now the first comparable ev in that price range is actually louder and obviously has vastly inferior dampening? Meh....
I have read that in several reviews already but always hoped that would turn out to just be a quality issue in a few early production units. And what was that about 5.1 seconds 0-60 for the LR.....wasn`t that thing supposed to do that in 4.1?
Together with the dramatic range loss in cold weather...well, let`s just say I´m not regretting that I didn`t preorder. Maybe things will get better until ~late 2019 when the M3 shows up in Europe....or the competition is faster.
I have read that in several reviews already but always hoped that would turn out to just be a quality issue in a few early production units. And what was that about 5.1 seconds 0-60 for the LR.....wasn`t that thing supposed to do that in 4.1?
Together with the dramatic range loss in cold weather...well, let`s just say I´m not regretting that I didn`t preorder. Maybe things will get better until ~late 2019 when the M3 shows up in Europe....or the competition is faster.
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hacer
Active Member
There is also quite a bit of technology in the Tesla battery packs.
Sure looks to me like they build the packs themselves:
And "little to no experience"? Their "Project i" started around 10 years ago. They made batteries for the Mini E back then and later for the i3/i8, and they are also mass producing smaller batteries for their plugin hybrids such as the 330e. They also continue to invest significant amounts of money into battery and power train research:
BMW invest $240 million to bring electric car range to 430 miles with new battery cell center
I'm sure it's no different for many of the other car makers. For example, here's an article about Mercedes adding battery assembly to one of their plants:
Mercedes adds battery pack production to another factory as part of electric car transition
Just because the big car makers don't constantly publicize selected details from their production processes like Tesla does doesn't mean nothing is happening ...
According to motortrend it is 119 feet for 60 to 0 with the 19 inch sport wheels which is pretty good
T34ME
Active Member
Exactly. The C&D "reviewers" failed to do their homework by familiarizing themselves with the UI and the concept for future development. It does take a few minutes to understand how the UI works, but they made a rush to judgement. As Xavier says, those who own a model 3 and use the UI on a daily basis, say it is not an issue. And refinements to the UI are coming out via OTA on a regular basis. C&D got their feelings hurt because Elon would not give them a model 3 to do a hit piece, I mean review, of the car and they just made themselves look foolish.
I am three weeks into the Modrl 3 after 1 1/2 years in the Model X. The Model 3 UI is excellent. The transition from a the Model X to the Model 3 is seamless. The Model 3 is a home run.
I have a hunch that if C&D were allowed to test a Model 3 in 2017 before other outlets, that the article would be entirely different. It's not the first time a mag got their panties in a twist by not being allowed to test a pre-release car, much less one that has been in production.
GM allowed them (and many others) to test the Bolt EV well before the public release, and it received a good review. Coincidence? Don't bet on it. Editors are humans.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
That is simply not true... While the majority seem happy with the touchscreen there have been plenty of comments about the challenges of using a purely touchscreen interface. Do you want me to go and dig quotes up from 20+ owners who have commented that using the screen while driving is more difficult than physical controls, or UI suggestions to make the various controls larger and easier to select while the vehicle is underway? Virtually everyone who owns one has complained that, as just one example, adjusting following distance and speed in auto-pilot is more difficult than it needs to be since the Model S, which uses the stalk to do this had more or less perfected it.
Operating an iPhone compared to a Blackberry when you are sitting idle is quite different than operating a blackberry or iPhone when you are jogging. In the case of jogging the Blackberry would still be easier to type on.
Similarly, until a true haptic system arrives for touchscreens that comes close to approximating physical buttons it is going to be easier to operate physical controls in a car that is underway than to hunt and peck at a touch screen.
why would they need the sub brand for their EVs when their MAIN line will have EVs? Thats what this is about
Cars aren't phones. Touchscreens improved phones because they enabled far more functions to fit on a tiny surface area. Cars don't have the surface area limitation that phones do. If you have the space for buttons, buttons are better than touchscreens as control surfaces, especially in moving vehicles where you're bouncing around because you have to touch the screen at just the right spot, and take your eyes off the road to do it.
Thinking "touchscreens improved phones therefore they improve everything" is a massive and flawed logical leap. If they were better for everything, laptop keyboards would be touchscreens. TV remotes would be touchscreens. The model 3 window controls would be on the touchscreens. But sometimes (especially in cars) it's better to be able to control something without looking at it.
Yes putting all the controls on a touchscreen LOOKS cool, because it's simplistic and because it's something "NEW!" and "FUTURISTIC!", but ergonomically and functionally, it's a step down from physical buttons that can be located and activated without looking, which is important in a moving vehicle.
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Swampgator
Active Member
I don't think BMW plans of making a full BEV conversion of their brand anytime in my lifetime.
They have teased an all electric 3 series for....wait for it......2020
They have teased an all electric 3 series for....wait for it......2020
hacer
Active Member
I stand corrected. I was working from the post I was replying to that said that BWM buys packs. I should have done some research.
Those "cells" BMW starts with in the video could be battery packs comprised of many parallel pouch cells or just really huge prismatic cells. Building a battery pack from large prismatic cells is much simpler than building a pack from the many cylindrical cells that Tesla uses. I don't think any other car maker is using cylindrical cells, but I believe that we will see in the future that Tesla made the right decision while others chose the easy path that will be much more costly in the long run (not just in terms of dollars). Time will tell.
In what way will it be much more costly? The Chevy Bolt seems to do pretty well with pouch cells. It weighs about the same as the short-range version of the Model 3 will and has a similar price, but has higher battery capacity and slightly more range.
EV-lutioin
Active Member
I'm not exactly sure why CD tried so hard to find problems with the Model 3 when almost every other review was glowing (see link below). My guess is it had to do with getting clicks. If they had just published another positive review, it wouldn't get much attention, but by making it a critical review everyone is clicking on it and talking about it (like us). They are in the business of getting people to click on their articles after all.
Forbes: The Positive Reviews Keep Coming In
Tesla Week: Model 3 Positive Reviews Roll In, Worst Critic Gives Nod To Model S
Forbes: The Positive Reviews Keep Coming In
Tesla Week: Model 3 Positive Reviews Roll In, Worst Critic Gives Nod To Model S
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