I have seen the model 3 in person twice now... The first experience squashed my enthusiasm for the model3 a bit, the second experience made me excited again.
First Experience
The First time I saw the Model 3 was when yuyu came to town on his road trip with his white car. I was excited to finally get a look. I have been driving an used i3 ever since I got excited about the model 3 and didn't want to wait to drive electric. When I showed up to see the Model 3 at the supercharger it was packed with people, and Yu yu was busy managing people and trying to fit everything in. I got to sit in the front seat for a split second, but It felt really impersonal getting to see the car, with people lined up behind you waiting, and all of somebody else's road-trip items all over the car; so it was super rushed. I was surprised how low to the ground it was. The car also had some aftermarket wheels that to some extent changed the appearance of the car that I was expecting. I was so rushed, caught off guard, and there were so many people there that I couldn't wait 2 hours for a test drive, so I kindof just slunk away back to my i3 (which has a really spacious cabin and comfortable seating position that is almost CUV like ) and wondered... is it really worth waiting? (For reference; I own a model X as the family/wife car) I didn't cancel my reservation or anything... but in many ways I lost a bit of enthusiasm.
Second Experience
Fast forward to last week.. I had received my invite, but deferred waiting for AWD specs. Then a local owner held a small get-together for Tesla owners in the state to come check out his Model 3. His car was exactly my color that I want (Midnight Silver) so I had to go. The guy had the car in showroom condition, and it was beautiful. This time I wasn't surprised by anything since I had already seen it in person, I had plenty of leisure to check out the cabin, adjust the seats, and get a real feel for the car. I started to really be able to envision myself driving it. My takeaways were:
A) I was blown away by the sound system that I was able to test. Premium sound was incredible, better than my X with Premium sound.
B)(niche use case, but the armrest is large and perfect for use with a mouse, if you spend time sitting in your car using a laptop)
C)The car at least this unit seemed really well built; the seams were perfect to my eye (my X has some fairly severe gap issues) and I've heard some doors don't shut unlesss you use a lot of force. This one did not have that problem at all.
D) I was able to drive the car around the parking lot a few times, and while the acceleration didn't feel as strong as my X100D, it was still very punchy, but the absolute best thing about it was the nimbleness while steering the thing around. I had a 2011 Mazdaspeed 3, and I feel like the model 3 has similar handling characteristics.. (mazda makes great handling cars) They really nailed the steering and suspension.
E) The car is gorgeous... seeing it in perfect condition in the color I will be getting made my week, although I still haven't seen the aero wheels in person. (Pretty sure I'll be getting the aero wheels)
So yeah, I was having second thoughts about the 3, but seeing and driving it in a relaxed environment really renewed my excitement....In a weird way; I was so impressed with the car, Its almost down-selling me; making me think "This thing is so nice I don't even need any of the upgrades, just get the 35,000 version instead of the LR/Dual/Premium and you'll still be super happy." That said, I know I don't want to wait any longer, (I'm done letting my wife have all the fun in the X) and will get the first Dual motor version Tesla drops (I live in a snowy state on one of the steepest hills in the county.) Tesla needs to drop the dual motor specifications so we know what we are waiting for.... seriously. But I'm excited again after getting to drive this thing.