Impressions after a week with my Model 3

[focher]

If you want to "hypermile", then just turn off all HVAC. Use one pedal driving. Drive as slow as reasonably possible (allowed). And be bored.

I had a Volt. That was a fun game. I now have a 3 Performance. I am vastly more entertained by accelerating from 70 to 95 in a mere second to overtake the person to the left who is "blocking" me from the HOV lane.

Do what brings you joy. None of it is stinky.

 

[Kiwiadventure]

[QUOTE
What could be better:

• Those door handles. Cool as a demo, but not practical at all.
• The doors (including trunk) have to be closed much harder than every other car I’ve owned. I’m (and it’s not just me) always not closing it properly, so I have to do it multiple times frequently. And when you combine that with the door handles, it can be even more frustrating from the outside.
• The navigation UI on the center display. This one is a bit baffling. The display is so huge, but one of the most import pieces of information is so tiny I can barely read it. It’s the module that shows you upcoming intersections, distances to next turn, ETA, etc. It’s tiny. Minuscule. Compare it to the equivalent in CarPlay, which from an information hierarchy point of view, is much more appropriate in scale.
• It’s not as quiet as I had expected. Not sure if there’s not enough insulation or if all that glass makes it much harder to insulate, but there’s significantly more road and wind noise at higher speeds than some other cars I’ve had.
• The range is never the reality. If I have to travel 20 miles, by the end of the journey my battery range is reduced by 30-50 miles.
  
• Sentry mode is really cool, but clips need much better organization, intelligence (ie - which clips are more important for me to review - there’s far too many to review them all) and you should be able to view them on the center display.
• I know it’ll never happen, but I actually just want CarPlay. I got used to having much better integration with my phone with Siri, calling or dictating texts to people, Apple Music and Apple Maps. Losing all that is hard, because the Tesla equivalents aren’t as good (imo).
• Speaking of the center display, there are some functions that aren’t easy to access while you’re trying to keep your eyes on the road. Things like turning on fog lights, adjusting climate control, wiper speed, changing the brightness of the display, all take either multiple steps, or careful tapping or swiping of small targets.
  
• I’d love to be able to customize the scroll wheel on the right side of the steering wheel. I would assign it to air temperature, which I adjust frequently.
• The cup holders are too big for most cups. I got some inserts, but they aren’t perfect either. This one is a bit odd because it seems like a solved problem in many other cars.

Anyway, these are my first impressions. Like I said, there’s more quibbles than positives, but the positives still outweigh them by a huge margin. Overall, I love the car and look forward to driving it every day.[/QUOTE]

We know all this and you should have as well before you purchased.
BMW i3 is 2011 old and I believe BMW is lost as plugin hybrids are over but still BMW is bring more of these vehicles out. This is good for Tesla as it moves even more ahead of BMW.

 

[Accentcreate]

I’ll start with the good, (which far outweighs the bad, even if there may be more items in the bad).

What I love:

• The instant torque. Wow. I got the stealth / sleeper and it is something else. I previously had a BMW i3, which I loved. The Model 3 takes that effortless power experience even further.
• It’s battery powered. Kind of goes without saying, but after going back to an ICE for a year and a half after my last i3, it is so nice to drive an electric car again. Never having to go to the gas station, charging at work, the lack of engine noise. The environmental benefits. Love it.
• The fit and finish. Both inside and out, the car is lovely. The seats are comfortable, the surfaces feel nice, it’s just a really nice vehicle.
• Software updates. This is a game changer and a huge advantage you get when you buy a Tesla. I’ve already had one in the week I’ve had the car. Being able to schedule it was great too.
• The app. I love that the app is the car key. Walking away from the car to lock it is awesome. The functionality of the app is great. I do wish the lock/unlock/open/close charging port button was up leveled out of the main list, like locking/unlocking the car, but that’s minor.
• Being able to watch Netflix etc while you’re charging, with great sound, is really cool.

What could be better:

• Those door handles. Cool as a demo, but not practical at all.
• The doors (including trunk) have to be closed much harder than every other car I’ve owned. I’m (and it’s not just me) always not closing it properly, so I have to do it multiple times frequently. And when you combine that with the door handles, it can be even more frustrating from the outside.
• The navigation UI on the center display. This one is a bit baffling. The display is so huge, but one of the most import pieces of information is so tiny I can barely read it. It’s the module that shows you upcoming intersections, distances to next turn, ETA, etc. It’s tiny. Minuscule. Compare it to the equivalent in CarPlay, which from an information hierarchy point of view, is much more appropriate in scale.
• It’s not as quiet as I had expected. Not sure if there’s not enough insulation or if all that glass makes it much harder to insulate, but there’s significantly more road and wind noise at higher speeds than some other cars I’ve had.
• The range is never the reality. If I have to travel 20 miles, by the end of the journey my battery range is reduced by 30-50 miles.
  
• Sentry mode is really cool, but clips need much better organization, intelligence (ie - which clips are more important for me to review - there’s far too many to review them all) and you should be able to view them on the center display.
• I know it’ll never happen, but I actually just want CarPlay. I got used to having much better integration with my phone with Siri, calling or dictating texts to people, Apple Music and Apple Maps. Losing all that is hard, because the Tesla equivalents aren’t as good (imo).
• Speaking of the center display, there are some functions that aren’t easy to access while you’re trying to keep your eyes on the road. Things like turning on fog lights, adjusting climate control, wiper speed, changing the brightness of the display, all take either multiple steps, or careful tapping or swiping of small targets.
  
• I’d love to be able to customize the scroll wheel on the right side of the steering wheel. I would assign it to air temperature, which I adjust frequently.
• The cup holders are too big for most cups. I got some inserts, but they aren’t perfect either. This one is a bit odd because it seems like a solved problem in many other cars.

Anyway, these are my first impressions. Like I said, there’s more quibbles than positives, but the positives still outweigh them by a huge margin. Overall, I love the car and look forward to driving it every day.

Generally agree, but love the door handles. Sort of an impromptu intelligence test for first timers.
I do wish there were more voice commands or scroll wheel options so I could keep my eyes on the road at all times. With analog controls I very quickly learned to find the knobs by feel without having to look.
I love the fact that I'm no longer pouring pollution into the air or funding despicable oil-producing regimes.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

The doors (including trunk) have to be closed much harder than every other car I’ve owned. I’m (and it’s not just me) always not closing it properly, so I have to do it multiple times frequently.

Door strikers can be easily adjusted with a T45 bit, if that is the issue. Use painters tape to mark original position on both axes, loosen bolts slightly, and make very small movements towards outside of car. Tighten and retest. Strikers should also not be significantly “lifting” the door.

 

[rdskill]

In my case I attribute the high road noise to the tires on the car (factory Michelin MXM4s),

Those tires have a foam strip on the inside of the tire to reduce road noise. I have the 18" MXM4s.

But some road surfaces still create a lot of noise. Buy tires without the foam and the road noise will be much worse.

 

[WilliamG]

As to the trunk being hard to close, I think this varies from car to car. A friend of mine - her Model 3 has a tough trunk to close. Requires quite a bit of force compared to mine. She even had Mobile service come out and replace the rear struts and that made zero difference.

My car the trunk is SUPER easy to close. I pull down the trunk with barely noticeable resistance and once it gets past a certain point it literally closes by itself without having to slam it or anything. It just closes fully. It’s fabulous.

 

[Msjulie]

I must have monkey hands; door handle adaptation didn't take long but every once in a while, I take someone new in my car and am reminded of how non intuitive it is on first glance.. but I like them

Totally agree sentry mode videos should be viewable on that gigantic screen in the car I mean why not right??

 

[Highway Star]

Ferrari tune-up = $5,000.00, Tesla tune-up = $0

 

[SMAlset]

After watching how to open the door handles, I have to say something clicked for me and when I got my car it was just second nature. Hopefully it will feel more normal and not give you pause.

The door seals do relax over some period of time and closing the door completely won't take as much effort. A common issue for many. Make sure you hear the beep if on Walk Away to indicate the doors closed and are locked. When you get out of the car glance over to the center screen and see if you can still see your car image--if so will show the door/s open. After my seals got broken in it took my husband longer to realize he didn't need to shut the door so hard any more. Would drive me crazy.

 

[ICUDoc]

You can’t say the same with a ferrari, even if it is slow.

My favourite thing I've read today- plaintive, innocent, true, damning...

 

[Ivan Abundance]

Apologies if it was mentioned (I can only read so much before my lips bruise), but the latest update now allows voice control of the temperature setting. That's a cool enough feature. But having it "installed" over-the-air..... just wow.

We are truly entering a different world.