Took delay very of my Model 3 Performance today. It’s outfitted with the 18” Aeros and without the performance upgrade package. I’ve owned a 2015 Model S 85D for the past 3 years. These are my initial impressions of the model 3 Performance and how I feel it compares with my S Oddly, I was expecting the Performance 3 to feel a lot faster than my S. It does not. I drove them back to back. The S feels just as punchy off the line and from low speeds. Both are startlingly quick. The 3 might pull a little harder but honestly it’s very close. Somewhat of a disappointment for me. I’d be curious to drive a standard dual motor and compare it with my performance. Other than that, the 3 outperformans my S in almost every other way. It definitely feels a lot lighter and more nimble with a more responsive steering feel. The 3 almost feels like driving a go Kart. It just goes where you tell it to, and feels very neutral in all aspects of handling. The tires on the 18” wheels are not spectacularly grippy but I expected that. The fit and finish of the 3 is, in my opinion, better than my 2015 S. Better aligned door panels, less road and wind noise. Also fewer squeaks and rattles. Touchscreen is more responsive, almost instantaneous. HVAC vastly improved. Seats in my opinion are more comfortable than my next gen seats in the S. Interior room feels about the same but with more headroom in the 3 and better visibility. I’m not at all bothered by the position of the screen or lack of dashboard instrument cluster. The sound system is vastly superior in the 3. It should be noted that the existing cell phone dock will not accommodate phones with modest cases but this can be solved by installing a wireless Qi charger aftermarket. All in all, I love the 3 but I am a little disappointed in the acceleration feel. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Out of curiousity, not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but does anyone think there is any possibility that they could have delivered a performance model without whatever necessary software upgrade is required to get the extra performance out of the dual motor? How would one know? It’s otherwise indistinguishable from the other 3’s in every way. There’s nothing on the car that would indicate it’s a performance model. As they are currently delivered, there is not even bashing on the rear and nothing on the screen that I can see when I hit the T icon on the screen that would tell me its a performance. Just a paranoid thought, don’t assault me for it please.
Interesting General feeling seems to be Performance 3 could have done with a bit more power Elon really missed a trick here, he could have really stuck it to BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc with a 600bhp sub 3 sec Model 3 Performance is a bit meh I have to say
What was the state of charge when you tried it? Performance at a lower charge state may be significantly lower - it sure was in my P85D. I am sure you were not in chill mode - but just doublechecking. Thank you for posting your initial impressions - come back with more!
Very helpful. I’ve been contemplating a used S85d vs new 3 to replace my second car. Same prices. It comes down to the hatchback as the biggest benefit to the S. Saw a couple at a supercharger yesterday who were camping in the back of the 3 across the country. Very impressed. Back seat cushions were removed for a flat bed.
A 2015 85D officially does 0-60 in what, 4.4? Seems like googling it leads to threads talking about people getting high 3's real world. That would make it pretty similar to the P3D which someone just posted some on-ramp runs in the 3.5x range. I'm going back and forth AWD vs P. My confirmed order is for the P, but these "underwhelming" threads have me wondering if I'm better off just saving the 11k. Doesn't help that my current lease is setting me up for disappointment no matter which way I go with regards to power....
People had high expectations, but the first P models with high-performance tires are getting delivered soon so hopefully we'll have a better picture of the potential 0-60 in 3.53 on all-season tires on a slight incline isn't bad at all, considering the fact that a Giulia Quadrifoglio does it in 3.6 on P-Zero Corsas with a ~200lbs weight advantage.
Great pickup. Yes, mine appears the same way with annunderlined dual motor. Guess I’m convinced. Thanks!
Yeah, I guess I was expecting the 3.5 0-60 to be a sandbagged number like most of the other stated times. So, at the end of the day, it seems you’re right. I’m probably trying to discern between 4.0 and 3.5 which might be essentially negligeable from a seat of the pants perspective.
Elon did tweet that they ‘might’ be able to squeeze out some extra performance... don’t think he’d say it if he wasn’t planning on it... fingers crossed.
When you see veteran car journalists gush about the car as we’ve seen with the P3D you have to believe that the performance is special. If you aren’t sure you can always hold off until you get a test drive. It’s a big purchase and it’s reasonable to want to be sure.
Can it be the tires? If Elon said 3.3sec. is possible with better tires than the those on the 20 " rims it's also possible to see a difference with the 18" with all seasons
Tesla is saving the sub-3-sec Model 3 for after Porshce releases their 3.5sec car, so they can kick it to the curb then.
The performance specs are very close... within the normal margin of errror Model S 85D - 3.75 Seconds 0-60 mph Tesla Model S - Wikipedia Model 3 Perf - 3.5 Seconds 0-60 mph Tesla Model 3 - Wikipedia
Heh. Yup. My car now, a 2010 Infiniti G37xS sedan with full bolt-on mods and suspension is fast as heck to me. It runs about 4.3-4.5. Another second less than my future P3D will be so awesome.
I think another discussion suggests that the P85D has more punch but shorter, while the P3D has less punch but can hold it for longer. That would explain your feeling. How about at highway speed, do you feel anything different accelerating at higher speed?