Please note that all of the comments below are my subjective opinion based on the first several hundred miles of ownership. My 2018 Model 3 VIN is 39xx. I’m located in San Diego. My other cars are a 2016 refreshed Model S 75D with AP1 and a 2016 Volt. I’m on the list for a second Model 3. The Volt and the Model S will go.
Overall first reaction: this is the best car I’ve ever owned including Tesla Model S (2), BMW 3-series (3), Audi, Porsche (3), Jaguar E-type (3), Lexus, Volt, Fiat 500E, Mini Cooper S, Miata, etc. Overall, as others have said, it feels like living in the future – and that future is good!
Fit and Finish: Generally good and better than the two Model S’s I’ve owned. The biggest flaw I’ve noticed is that the hood is not quite flush with the fenders about half-way up toward the windshield; it is flush at the front of the car and back toward the windshield. (For perspective, my 2016 S had loose weather stripping in multiple places, a loose door panel, etc. My 2013 S has some poor panel alignments and a few rattles.)
Handling: more taut, more nimble, and way more fun than my model S 75D. More like an older 3 series BMW with sport suspension. It is responsive without being ‘fidgety’ on the freeway like my mini cooper S or my miata.
Ride: firm but rarely harsh. Again, more like a sports sedan with a sport suspension. Lowering the air pressure from 49 psi (as delivered) to 45 psi (recommended on the driver’s door pillar) did not make a noticeable difference. Have not tried anything lower. If you want a more comfortable ride, you may need an S with air suspension.
Performance: Feels quick and about the same as my S 75D. After several years of driving electric cars, I still appreciate the fun of instant torque. See above for handling.
Interior: airy, minimalistic, comfortable and mostly more functional. Feels almost as spacious as my S with panoramic sunroof. The 3 is more functional given placement of cup holders, coat hooks, usb ports, door storage, lighted vanity mirrors, etc. I really like the ability to control the airflow. The cloth (non-Alcantra) headliner seems nice enough, but I much prefer the black Alcantra material I have in my S; this will likely appear in a future year’s upgrade package. One negative is the piano black finish on the console. It catches dust and fingerprints and will scratch easily. (I will be wrapping mine when I figure out what finish to choose.) Tesla should switch console materials asap.
Exterior J-shaped door handles are cool looking but awkward. For smooth one-hand operation, you have to approach the handle from the correct side using the correct hand. (I cannot believe I am writing this. It reminds me of Apple telling users they were holding their iPhone incorrectly!) For the Driver’s side, use your left hand standing to the rear side of the handle. Push with your thumb and grab the handle that extends out with your fingers. For the Passenger side, use your right thumb and fingers standing to the rear side of the handle. You will get used to it, but your new passengers will not. It will make them feel stupid, which is not good.
Interior push-button door release is elegant, but your passengers are more likely to use the manual release, which does not automatically lower the window. It will make you and your passenger feel stupid when you tell them how to open the door correctly. Again – cool but not good.
Audio: To my untrained ear, the sound system in the Model 3 is as good or better than the premium system in my S 75D.
Noise: the drive train much quieter than my S 75D, as there is no continuous varying motor whine that Tesla service told me was “normal.” At speed, the interior feels about as quiet as my S, which is okay but far from state-of-the-art. In my opinion, there is still too much road and wind noise. Tesla should consider offering a “quiet” package results in the quietest interior in the industry. Starting with a quiet drive train is a huge competitive advantage that Tesla does not completely take advantage of.
Controls and interface: even knowing how an S operates, there is a significant learning curve. Some (perhaps many) interface issues can be improved with software. My current top requests include:
Lane departure warning is totally irritating on winding roads, as it will not allow you to cross the apex of a turn without getting the vibrating lane departure warning. I had to turn it off. (Note that this may be no different than on the S, but it was more noticeable to me.) I’d like an option to have lane departure warning active when on freeways and off otherwise.
Phone as a key. With one potentially big exception, it has worked well for me. Note that I turned off “unlock as you walk up” because you will continually be unlocking your model 3 if you work in your garage. If your garage is close to your house, it may continually unlock the car as you walk around inside with your phone. With “auto-lock as you walk up” turned off, you unlock by touching a door handle or by opening the exterior trunk release button. What you cannot do is open the front trunk (the frunk) without the huge hassle of getting out your phone, finding the Tesla app, waiting for it to find your car, clicking on controls, and finally clicking on open frunk. Those that want to actively use their frunk need to lobby Tesla to make an optional fob.
Delivery process. (Warning: this is even more anecdotal than the discussion about the car.) Our delivery specialist was pleasant enough and patient, but it was not a high-end experience:
In closing. I re-read this and it sounds more negative than I feel about the car overall. As I said at the beginning of this post, this is the best car I’ve owned and I’ve owned a lot of interesting cars. Mostly, I want readers of this forum to hear yet another perspective on the pros and cons of Model 3. After reading a lot of perspectives, one really begins to figure out what to expect.
I also want Tesla to succeed. They’ve designed and built another amazing car, but if and when the auto industry gets serious about competing, there will be other choices. The faster Tesla addresses these mostly minor shortcomings, the faster Tesla will become a viable long term (and perhaps even dominant) player in the auto industry.
Thanks for reading this rather long post!
Overall first reaction: this is the best car I’ve ever owned including Tesla Model S (2), BMW 3-series (3), Audi, Porsche (3), Jaguar E-type (3), Lexus, Volt, Fiat 500E, Mini Cooper S, Miata, etc. Overall, as others have said, it feels like living in the future – and that future is good!
Fit and Finish: Generally good and better than the two Model S’s I’ve owned. The biggest flaw I’ve noticed is that the hood is not quite flush with the fenders about half-way up toward the windshield; it is flush at the front of the car and back toward the windshield. (For perspective, my 2016 S had loose weather stripping in multiple places, a loose door panel, etc. My 2013 S has some poor panel alignments and a few rattles.)
Handling: more taut, more nimble, and way more fun than my model S 75D. More like an older 3 series BMW with sport suspension. It is responsive without being ‘fidgety’ on the freeway like my mini cooper S or my miata.
Ride: firm but rarely harsh. Again, more like a sports sedan with a sport suspension. Lowering the air pressure from 49 psi (as delivered) to 45 psi (recommended on the driver’s door pillar) did not make a noticeable difference. Have not tried anything lower. If you want a more comfortable ride, you may need an S with air suspension.
Performance: Feels quick and about the same as my S 75D. After several years of driving electric cars, I still appreciate the fun of instant torque. See above for handling.
Interior: airy, minimalistic, comfortable and mostly more functional. Feels almost as spacious as my S with panoramic sunroof. The 3 is more functional given placement of cup holders, coat hooks, usb ports, door storage, lighted vanity mirrors, etc. I really like the ability to control the airflow. The cloth (non-Alcantra) headliner seems nice enough, but I much prefer the black Alcantra material I have in my S; this will likely appear in a future year’s upgrade package. One negative is the piano black finish on the console. It catches dust and fingerprints and will scratch easily. (I will be wrapping mine when I figure out what finish to choose.) Tesla should switch console materials asap.
Exterior J-shaped door handles are cool looking but awkward. For smooth one-hand operation, you have to approach the handle from the correct side using the correct hand. (I cannot believe I am writing this. It reminds me of Apple telling users they were holding their iPhone incorrectly!) For the Driver’s side, use your left hand standing to the rear side of the handle. Push with your thumb and grab the handle that extends out with your fingers. For the Passenger side, use your right thumb and fingers standing to the rear side of the handle. You will get used to it, but your new passengers will not. It will make them feel stupid, which is not good.
Interior push-button door release is elegant, but your passengers are more likely to use the manual release, which does not automatically lower the window. It will make you and your passenger feel stupid when you tell them how to open the door correctly. Again – cool but not good.
Audio: To my untrained ear, the sound system in the Model 3 is as good or better than the premium system in my S 75D.
Noise: the drive train much quieter than my S 75D, as there is no continuous varying motor whine that Tesla service told me was “normal.” At speed, the interior feels about as quiet as my S, which is okay but far from state-of-the-art. In my opinion, there is still too much road and wind noise. Tesla should consider offering a “quiet” package results in the quietest interior in the industry. Starting with a quiet drive train is a huge competitive advantage that Tesla does not completely take advantage of.
Controls and interface: even knowing how an S operates, there is a significant learning curve. Some (perhaps many) interface issues can be improved with software. My current top requests include:
- Control AP speed from the steering wheel. I use the stalk on my S frequently to adjust the AP speed.
- Control wipers from the steering wheel.
- Option to move navigation’s list of distances and turns to left hand side of navigation display (from the current far right-hand side)
- Improve quality of view from backup camera (to make it similar to model S).
- Add option to see energy graphs (similar to model S software)
Lane departure warning is totally irritating on winding roads, as it will not allow you to cross the apex of a turn without getting the vibrating lane departure warning. I had to turn it off. (Note that this may be no different than on the S, but it was more noticeable to me.) I’d like an option to have lane departure warning active when on freeways and off otherwise.
Phone as a key. With one potentially big exception, it has worked well for me. Note that I turned off “unlock as you walk up” because you will continually be unlocking your model 3 if you work in your garage. If your garage is close to your house, it may continually unlock the car as you walk around inside with your phone. With “auto-lock as you walk up” turned off, you unlock by touching a door handle or by opening the exterior trunk release button. What you cannot do is open the front trunk (the frunk) without the huge hassle of getting out your phone, finding the Tesla app, waiting for it to find your car, clicking on controls, and finally clicking on open frunk. Those that want to actively use their frunk need to lobby Tesla to make an optional fob.
Delivery process. (Warning: this is even more anecdotal than the discussion about the car.) Our delivery specialist was pleasant enough and patient, but it was not a high-end experience:
- the car was not properly prepared. It had to been sent back to buff out fine scratches on the hood. They left polishing compound around the door handles and between some panels. The windshield still has something on it that needs to be removed with something stronger than glass cleaner. The latter is especially irritating.
- they would not swap usb connectors – we wanted two lighting cable for iPhone. I know it is only $14, but this is a no cost thing to address at delivery. Each delivery center should have a big box of each type and ask the new owner what they want.
- no swag of any kind (e.g., they should consider providing a holder for the credit/valet card)
- discouraged us from getting lug nut covers and center caps to covert the alloy wheels under the aero caps. They say we wouldn’t be able to remount the aero covers without removing the wheels, which apparently is not true. A conversion kit should be included with each car ordered with Aero wheels.
- they didn’t even have bottled water in the waiting area refrigerator (we had a 10:30 am appointment). I know, this seems trivial but everything counts when trying to impress a new customer.
In closing. I re-read this and it sounds more negative than I feel about the car overall. As I said at the beginning of this post, this is the best car I’ve owned and I’ve owned a lot of interesting cars. Mostly, I want readers of this forum to hear yet another perspective on the pros and cons of Model 3. After reading a lot of perspectives, one really begins to figure out what to expect.
I also want Tesla to succeed. They’ve designed and built another amazing car, but if and when the auto industry gets serious about competing, there will be other choices. The faster Tesla addresses these mostly minor shortcomings, the faster Tesla will become a viable long term (and perhaps even dominant) player in the auto industry.
Thanks for reading this rather long post!
