Impressions after a week with my Model 3

[CosmoDrive]

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.

 

[Hoopoe]

I generally agree. Amazing car and unparalleled performance and driving experience. Maps are ok and I like the ability to plan charging with integrated navigation but find that avoiding traffic isn’t great and navigation UI isn’t up to snuff with google/Apple Maps and CarPlay. iPhone integration is also poor and with it was easier to dictate messages rather than having to pause music and then loudly use “hey Siri” voice to my phone. I also have a lot of wind noise from front windshield when driving over 65 but am really pleased with road noise control. Best vehicle I’ve had but I plan to take it to service center and see if they can do anything about wind noise. Maybe better iPhone integration will come in the future.

 

[Runt8]

I agree with most of your points. A few things:

1. The door handles are something you get used to pretty quickly. It's been shown that having flush door handles does have a noticeable impact on efficiency, and given the cost of the Model 3 compared to the S or X and the cost to fix the mechanical door handles in the S, I'm perfectly ok with the Model 3 handles.
2. The door seals soften up over time and the doors get easier to close.
3. Short trips are the bane of efficiency for both EV's and ICE vehicles. You'll see better efficiency for longer trips (where it's more important).

 

[Dexterryu]

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.

This is a great feature request... well, two great feature requests.

 

[Rockster]

The doors will require less force after the seals are a bit broken in.
I'd like to customize the scroll wheels, too. They're customizable in the S. I use a scroll wheel in the S to tweak the temp up and down quite frequently while driving.

 

[insaneoctane]

I agree that the door handles are awkward. 18 months after I took delivery and they are still weird. Look cool and all, but not very functional in that I push the fat part of the handle to get to the lever and then pull the door open- that part isn't too awful, but the levers don't have enough meat for me to really "handle" the door, so after pulling the door open, I invariably grab elsewhere on the door to manipulate it which always results in my very shiny Tesla getting smudged. I don't hate the handles, but I think there are far better flush solutions waiting to be discovered IMO.

The center display GUI is something that you get used to. I can't stand all the buttons anymore. I went to the LA Auto show this month and couldn't believe how obnoxious all the damn buttons everywhere was. So dated!

 

[RayK]

• Door handles: I know what you mean. Trying to push in the wider section with your thumb and then grab the extended handle with your other four fingers doesn't really feel like a natural movement. Try this tip I learned about here: push in the wider section of the handle with your 1st and 2nd fingers, push the fingers downward and grab the inside edge of the door and pull the door outward. This works with either hand when you're on the "opposite" side of the car from the hand you are using; e.g. driver side of the car using your right hand to open the door.
  
• Quietness: In my case I attribute the high road noise to the tires on the car (factory Michelin MXM4s), and to a greater extent, the surface of the road you're driving on. Driving on grooved highways around here has a noticeable droning sound, especially when transitioning to (concrete) overpasses where the noise disappears. I've not really heard much wind noise but with old age comes a drop in sensitivity to the higher sound frequencies which could explain it for me. That, and keeping the radio at 70%.
• Range: You will find out that the range estimation provided by the car depends on many factors. How heavy you are with the right foot, the nature of the drive (city vs. highway), the elevation change and even the temperature (cold is worse). I think it's more apparent then driving an ICE when the "gas gauge" is displayed in digital mileage, instead of some analog E-->F scale. If it's bothering you, try changing the battery display to percentage.
• Center display: Agree with most points so that's why I keep my fog lights on almost all the time, climate control to blow only on the windshield at 69 degrees, fan speed 3, with recirculation off, display brightness to automatic, wipers on automatic. Manual temperature control can be adjusted by tapping on the arrows next to the temperate at the bottom of the screen (without needing to launch the full-sized climate menu). If you need to change the wiper settings, push slightly on the button at the end of the left stalk and that will wipe the window AND launch the wiper menu. Yes, you still have to look over at the screen to adjust the wiper setting but it's one less glance/tap of the screen.
• Cup holders: Use bigger cups! I find them great for two venti double chocolate chip frappuccinos.

 

[p1l0t3]

1 month in and I'm accustomed to the door handles.
I confirm that trunk and doors close better after this period.

However what I like the less is water flow management, especially around the trunk. Ice (and water) can get in pretty easily. If you have things that are water sensitive, not a good idea.
The defroster of the back doesn't defrost the thrid rear red light (middle one), so you hace to deice it manually.

 

[Zcd1]

• 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...

By contrast, I have the temp set at 68 degrees and basically never touch the other climate controls. As a matter of fact, I'd say that I mess around less with the climate controls in the 3 than in any car I've previously owned. (shrug)

 

[Zcd1]

• Cup holders: Use bigger cups! I find them great for two venti double chocolate chip frappuccinos.

LOL - gobigergohome!

 

[tvad]

I agree completely with your observations and comments.

 

[Mcfly777]

Regarding the range indicator just change it to %. No more anxiety. The issue is that the range reported there is EPA range derived from % battery.... so unless your driving style is exactly the eMPG used in the EPA range, the range shown won't be right. To that add the fact that the efficiency of the car varies significantly in winter, so especially if you're in a cold area, this could be even more separated from your range based on the current efficiency.

For me, I changed it to %, and since I have so much more range than needed (my commute is 50 miles total), I usually charge it to 80% at night, and when I'm home i'm down to ~55%. I never bothered to check how many EPA miles are consumed, the metric that I look at is efficiency as shown in the trip detail to see how well the car is performing (and how efficient my driving style is)

 

[frankgrimes]

I've owned my M3 performance for 3 days now. I'm smitten. I saw a brand new Ferrari drive by this morning and thought - eh - I'd rather have this. I can't believe I find myself saying that as a lifelong "car guy" but its true. Feels like that would be going backward.

I can't believe anyone would cross shop a Tesla and then choose to buy a German sedan of equal or lesser value UNLESS you have to make long trips regularly. For daily driving to and from work, there's no choice but one. I think the only thing keeping more people from buying them is unfamiliarity. But where I live in Austin, they're EVERYWHERE.

 

[beto83]

Sounds like you're enjoying your car, which is great! Good to know that others have found it difficult to shut the trunk. Seems like that will change as the car gets used, so thats a plus. As for the person that sees a supercar and thinks eh no big deal, I would have called bs on this if I too hadn't experienced this myself. I feel like if you have to drive in traffic, this is definitely the car to get! I'm in DFW and couldn't be happier! Definitely a different feeling on my commute home compared to when I was driving a German sports car.

 

[mattack4000]

I M debating keeping my crappy ev, add a ferrari or i8 vs just getting a performance model 3. The model 3 is better in every comparison except there is something about owning something that is so different and unique like a ferrari. Model 3 are like camrys here, everyone has it. You can’t say the same with a ferrari, even if it is slow.

 

[nvx1977]

I'd be curious to know if you change your tune about the center screen issues with more time in the car. I found out fairly quickly that I rarely needed to rely on the screen for anything while driving. And I no longer care about android auto not being supported anymore. It makes more sense for other cars that don't have dynamically updating firmware from the manufacturer. Having owned mine since the really early days, I've seen the firmware improve SO much... And there's no signs of stopping.

 

[focher]

• Quietness: In my case I attribute the high road noise to the tires on the car (factory Michelin MXM4s), and to a greater extent, the surface of the road you're driving on. Driving on grooved highways around here has a noticeable droning sound, especially when transitioning to (concrete) overpasses where the noise disappears. I've not really heard much wind noise but with old age comes a drop in sensitivity to the higher sound frequencies which could explain it for me. That, and keeping the radio at 70%.

Exactly! I'm usually rocking out while on AP so I don't notice any noise.

 

[KingBozo]

Regarding the range indicator just change it to %. No more anxiety. The issue is that the range reported there is EPA range derived from % battery.... so unless your driving style is exactly the eMPG used in the EPA range, the range shown won't be right. To that add the fact that the efficiency of the car varies significantly in winter, so especially if you're in a cold area, this could be even more separated from your range based on the current efficiency.

Amen to that, For me, I changed it to %, and since I have so much more range than needed (my commute is 50 miles total), I usually charge it to 80% at night, and when I'm home i'm down to ~55%. I never bothered to check how many EPA miles are consumed, the metric that I look at is efficiency as shown in the trip detail to see how well the car is performing (and how efficient my driving style is)

Amen to that, I did the same and it changed my anxiety, I think all of us in the beginning were focused on the miles of range trying to get to that magic number 310, I've never seen 310 from the day I got it, but once again it's all of those variables that come into play. My daily run is about 50 miles or so, I charge to 80% usually home with about 50% or so, of course with the AWD+ that could change LOL plug it in and set it to leave at 7:15, it charges closer to the time you leave so that the batteries are warm, then I have it come in and do the dishes and make up the bed LOL, Go with %

 

[SO16]

I M debating keeping my crappy ev, add a ferrari or i8 vs just getting a performance model 3. The model 3 is better in every comparison except there is something about owning something that is so different and unique like a ferrari. Model 3 are like camrys here, everyone has it. You can’t say the same with a ferrari, even if it is slow.

I wouldn’t care if everyone on the planet had the exact same car as I do. I don’t care what others drive. I care what I drive and enjoy it. To hell what other people think. Seems silly to choose something worse just to be “different”.

 

[Cultgti]

Sounds crazy but use the seat heater and no HVAC makes a huge difference on the consumption of power. I have tried this the last 3 days and a huge difference.