Hi everyone, I just took delivery of my Model 3 AWD, Pearl White, no-EAP this afternoon at the Fremont Delivery center and all I can say is WOW! According to the DS, I was the first to take delivery of the AWD option as they just rolled off the lot last night and straight to the delivery center and onto the front lot. See Pic. To provide a bit of context:
I am a Model X 100D 22' Turbines, PUP, w/EAP Owner since March '18
Day 1 in-store reservation 3/31/2016 in Palo Alto store on El Camino Real for Model 3
Ordered 7/12/2018, Non-P AWD, Pear White, 18" Aero
Delivery scheduled for 7/31 Tue Afternoon. So all in all, it took 19 days from ordering to delivery, now that is what I call fast!!!
First things first: No "Dual Motor" badge in the rear. They said that I can have it installed at the local tesla service center which for me is on El Camino Real in PA where I ordered it two+ years ago. Not a big deal but would be great to have the badge installed from the factory to start. The only semblance of dual motor is when you tap the T on the center dash screen where it was indeed confirmed. See Pic.
Build Quality: Compared to my Model X, I would have to say that the Model 3 is at a whole new level. I understand that the M3 is much simpler car compared to the MX, but everything just felt SOLID. Everywhere I touched, there was no creak, rattle, or anything that would give me a sense of cheapness and I poked and prodded almost everywhere.
I initially had a failed delivery of my first MX in October of last year due to non-working A/C, dent in the FWD, defective parking sensor amongst other things. Then a successful delivery of my 100D MX this march, albeit with a non-working heated steering which I have yet to take in and fix. So believe me when I say, I touched and looked EVERYWHERE and TOUCHED almost EVERYTHING! But the last 6 months for me as a Tesla owner, I would have to say that Tesla has really grown and learned quite quickly as a company and as a car maker. In fact, the delivery experience itself was completely different all 3 times, with each time being more efficient than the last with mine being spaced 3-4 months apart from one another - Oct '17 -> March '18 -> July '18.
Steering Feel: The steering wheel in the M3 is slightly smaller than the MX and has more of a tear dropped feel to it when you grip it, as compared to a more rounded feel of the MX. It also feels more rigid and sporty, whereas the MX feels softer to the touch. Quite honestly, I prefer the steering wheel feel of the M3, it just feels more sporty and solid.
Handling: This is the part where I'm really impressed. The M3 handles like it's on rails and drives like a go-cart. I was initially going to upgrade to the 20" rims from evwheelsdirect and get the staggered 265 rears but I feel that at this point it's really not necessary unless you're going for looks. I have my MX with the 22' turbines, always set the air suspension to super low, and the M3 in its default form with 18" aero just puts it to shame. I'm not even joking about this, I now feel sad driving the MX knowing that it's 2X more expensive, has bigger rims, has air suspension and doesn't handle as well as the M3. Or should I just be extremely elated that the M3 handles so greatttt --- I can't decide! Ok ok, not quite sad because it's a different car with a different purpose, sits 7, bigger etc, but I wish it could now be better tuned!
For the MX, the part that bothers me the most about handling is actually the steering wheel weight while driving and cornering. I always have the steering wheel feel to "Sport" but the M3 "Sport" setting is more reminiscent of the heavy feeling that my BMW X5 had that I always wanted in my MX. The MX "Sport" is like the "Standard" of the M3. I much prefer the M3 "Sport" as it just makes the car feel extremely precise and gives me much more confidence while cornering at any speed.
15" Center Console: From a thought logic standpoint, you would think having a screen behind the steering wheel would be better but in practicality, you really don't need it, at least not for me. In fact, within 10 mins of driving the M3, I just realized that it wasn't really necessary and it just made me focus more on the road a ton more. Whereas before, I would always glance down and see my watt/mi usage, the tire pressure, the speed etc.. when in reality all you really need is the speed which is readily available at a glance to the right. The only time where I think it would be useful is if you're navigating with directions. On the M3, the list of directions is on the far right, the map is also on the right and if you were to have anything else open i.e. AC menu, the map becomes really small and difficult to use. Having a co-pilot to read the directions since it's right in front of them, and giving guidance would be much more useful and of course with autonomous driving, the screen behind the wheel really becomes archaic.
Exterior Lighting: The M3 lighting is much more even and has a wider beam than the MX. I'm not sure if this because i'm sitting lower to the ground or if it's the actual tech itself. I also have the PUP for the MX for comparison sake so that's what I'm comparing it against. While going into turns, the M3 also has a better cornering light, not quite as well done as the BMW's cornering light, but is a step above the MX.
I also have both cars set to auto high beam and what I've come to realize is that the M3 auto high-beam is instant on/off when it sees oncoming cars or decides when to turn it on and off. In comparison, the MX has a fade in while turning on and an instant off while turning off. Not sure why it's done this way, but the M3 handles it better and makes it a lot more clear when in fact high beams is on/off.
Acceleration: I did not get the chance to drive the RWD M3 so I'm giving my impression for my M3 AWD vs MX AWD. On paper the M3 LR AWD 0-60 is 4.5s and the MX 100D is 4.7s and this feels true in reality.
In fact, although I don't have numbers to back it up, I think the difference between the two might be greater. The M3 AWD just feels much faster off the boot either when accelerating from a stand-still, or when passing a neighboring car on the highway already going 80+. I know that cars feel faster when they sit lower so that should be taken into account but each time I punch it, it's just pure WOW! I can't imagine what the performance model would feel like or better yet, what the Roadster 2020 would be like **DROOOL***
All in all. I cannot be more happy with my M3 AWD LR. This is truly the mass market car that will make it for Tesla. From build quality to driving/handling dynamics, at 50K, it's got to be a bargain! I hope everyone who takes delivery of their M3 AWD will share your thoughts and for those who own a MX, how do I make it drive more like my M3! It's just way more FUN and I'm so glad I did not get EAP as it's much more of a driver's car! If I were BMW I'd be very afraid, the Model 3 really puts their 3-series to shame and is way more of an "ultimate driving machine."
I am a Model X 100D 22' Turbines, PUP, w/EAP Owner since March '18
Day 1 in-store reservation 3/31/2016 in Palo Alto store on El Camino Real for Model 3
Ordered 7/12/2018, Non-P AWD, Pear White, 18" Aero
Delivery scheduled for 7/31 Tue Afternoon. So all in all, it took 19 days from ordering to delivery, now that is what I call fast!!!
First things first: No "Dual Motor" badge in the rear. They said that I can have it installed at the local tesla service center which for me is on El Camino Real in PA where I ordered it two+ years ago. Not a big deal but would be great to have the badge installed from the factory to start. The only semblance of dual motor is when you tap the T on the center dash screen where it was indeed confirmed. See Pic.
Build Quality: Compared to my Model X, I would have to say that the Model 3 is at a whole new level. I understand that the M3 is much simpler car compared to the MX, but everything just felt SOLID. Everywhere I touched, there was no creak, rattle, or anything that would give me a sense of cheapness and I poked and prodded almost everywhere.
I initially had a failed delivery of my first MX in October of last year due to non-working A/C, dent in the FWD, defective parking sensor amongst other things. Then a successful delivery of my 100D MX this march, albeit with a non-working heated steering which I have yet to take in and fix. So believe me when I say, I touched and looked EVERYWHERE and TOUCHED almost EVERYTHING! But the last 6 months for me as a Tesla owner, I would have to say that Tesla has really grown and learned quite quickly as a company and as a car maker. In fact, the delivery experience itself was completely different all 3 times, with each time being more efficient than the last with mine being spaced 3-4 months apart from one another - Oct '17 -> March '18 -> July '18.
Steering Feel: The steering wheel in the M3 is slightly smaller than the MX and has more of a tear dropped feel to it when you grip it, as compared to a more rounded feel of the MX. It also feels more rigid and sporty, whereas the MX feels softer to the touch. Quite honestly, I prefer the steering wheel feel of the M3, it just feels more sporty and solid.
Handling: This is the part where I'm really impressed. The M3 handles like it's on rails and drives like a go-cart. I was initially going to upgrade to the 20" rims from evwheelsdirect and get the staggered 265 rears but I feel that at this point it's really not necessary unless you're going for looks. I have my MX with the 22' turbines, always set the air suspension to super low, and the M3 in its default form with 18" aero just puts it to shame. I'm not even joking about this, I now feel sad driving the MX knowing that it's 2X more expensive, has bigger rims, has air suspension and doesn't handle as well as the M3. Or should I just be extremely elated that the M3 handles so greatttt --- I can't decide! Ok ok, not quite sad because it's a different car with a different purpose, sits 7, bigger etc, but I wish it could now be better tuned!
For the MX, the part that bothers me the most about handling is actually the steering wheel weight while driving and cornering. I always have the steering wheel feel to "Sport" but the M3 "Sport" setting is more reminiscent of the heavy feeling that my BMW X5 had that I always wanted in my MX. The MX "Sport" is like the "Standard" of the M3. I much prefer the M3 "Sport" as it just makes the car feel extremely precise and gives me much more confidence while cornering at any speed.
15" Center Console: From a thought logic standpoint, you would think having a screen behind the steering wheel would be better but in practicality, you really don't need it, at least not for me. In fact, within 10 mins of driving the M3, I just realized that it wasn't really necessary and it just made me focus more on the road a ton more. Whereas before, I would always glance down and see my watt/mi usage, the tire pressure, the speed etc.. when in reality all you really need is the speed which is readily available at a glance to the right. The only time where I think it would be useful is if you're navigating with directions. On the M3, the list of directions is on the far right, the map is also on the right and if you were to have anything else open i.e. AC menu, the map becomes really small and difficult to use. Having a co-pilot to read the directions since it's right in front of them, and giving guidance would be much more useful and of course with autonomous driving, the screen behind the wheel really becomes archaic.
Exterior Lighting: The M3 lighting is much more even and has a wider beam than the MX. I'm not sure if this because i'm sitting lower to the ground or if it's the actual tech itself. I also have the PUP for the MX for comparison sake so that's what I'm comparing it against. While going into turns, the M3 also has a better cornering light, not quite as well done as the BMW's cornering light, but is a step above the MX.
I also have both cars set to auto high beam and what I've come to realize is that the M3 auto high-beam is instant on/off when it sees oncoming cars or decides when to turn it on and off. In comparison, the MX has a fade in while turning on and an instant off while turning off. Not sure why it's done this way, but the M3 handles it better and makes it a lot more clear when in fact high beams is on/off.
Acceleration: I did not get the chance to drive the RWD M3 so I'm giving my impression for my M3 AWD vs MX AWD. On paper the M3 LR AWD 0-60 is 4.5s and the MX 100D is 4.7s and this feels true in reality.
In fact, although I don't have numbers to back it up, I think the difference between the two might be greater. The M3 AWD just feels much faster off the boot either when accelerating from a stand-still, or when passing a neighboring car on the highway already going 80+. I know that cars feel faster when they sit lower so that should be taken into account but each time I punch it, it's just pure WOW! I can't imagine what the performance model would feel like or better yet, what the Roadster 2020 would be like **DROOOL***
All in all. I cannot be more happy with my M3 AWD LR. This is truly the mass market car that will make it for Tesla. From build quality to driving/handling dynamics, at 50K, it's got to be a bargain! I hope everyone who takes delivery of their M3 AWD will share your thoughts and for those who own a MX, how do I make it drive more like my M3! It's just way more FUN and I'm so glad I did not get EAP as it's much more of a driver's car! If I were BMW I'd be very afraid, the Model 3 really puts their 3-series to shame and is way more of an "ultimate driving machine."
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