tldr: Not having stalks is horrible, everything else is awesome as expected.
Just took delivery today and figured I would do my part and give some feedback.
My first Tesla was a 2020 M3P Blue with White, loved the car to death and was sad when I had to return the lease but timing (kind of) worked out and I waited for this new model to come out to finally place an order. Placed it 1 min after the announcement and had to push back my delivery a few days but finally took it today.
Delivery experience was smooth like always, 10 mins to get into the car and out the lot.
So far the car is 10/10 build wise, not one gap or rattle that I can notice, paint is OK like usual (red is the best looking quality wise after seeing one in person) but I love this dark grey color after seeing it in person. One thing that surprised me is they added a little tab at the underside of each door that latches into the car, apparently making it safer.
First thing I did was obviously change it to insane mode to make sure it is only driven that way and was nice to have the FSD trial straight off the lot.
Now for the drive, first thing I immediately noticed was it was way smoother than the old M3P, just going at low speeds and the turning out of the lot felt a lot more solid, I think the steering wheel has a little more weight to it even on standard mode. Next thing was how damn quiet it was inside. This is the biggest improvement I think with the new models, and I have yet to try it on the highway which will be the true test but so far this is 5x better than the last M3P sound wise. Soundsystem is also better with them adding one more sub and more speakers, over all the interior is awesome including the ambient light, I didnt notice it reflecting on anything but havent tinted my windows yet.
Now, the seats. This was something I was most looking forward to and so far... I don't know how I feel. I've had other sports cars like an S4 with comfy bucket seats. I was pleasantly surprised when I went from bucket seats to non for the 2020 M3P but I ended up loving those seats. They were in my opinion, super comfortable and even more comfortable than these new bucket seats but will give it some time, only had 30 mins in the car so far. My main complaint is the higher bolster on the bottom of the seats makes getting in and out slightly more uncomfortable, before you could just slide into your seat, but now, you kind of have to climb in. I'm assuming the seats are something I'll quickly get used to and love because they do look great, but those are my initial impressions, just being as honest as possible in this (30 mins in) review.
After taking a quick right out of the lot I was presented with a long road with no traffic so of course had to give it some power (or all of it, battery was at 65% I think). Definitely a nice improvement from the last M3P and I actually noticed a tiny bit of wheel spin or loss of traction, almost like these tires couldn't handle all of the power but the biggest difference is in the top end. Just where you expect it to trail off it keeps going for another half second or so. So its not a huge difference in terms of speed when compared to the last M3P but it does feel more refined and sharper if that makes sense. Felt like I was driving a hot knife through butter, the last m3p had the speed but now I think it has the quickness in handling which makes it even more fun.
Now comes the part I hate, and yes, I am going to say
HATE. No stalks... I'll give it some time to see if I get used to it, but this is such a problem, that if I test drove this car, I honestly would have to have serious second thoughts about it. I always knew people talked about taking the stalks aways being a bad decision, but I didn't think it would be this bad...
I can't use my blinkers, at all. I am sure (or hoping) the muscle memory will get there, but just driving 10 miles home, I was having to straight up ignore using my signals because of how bad it was. Using a blinker is a split second decision, I had to think about what to do every time I wanted to use a blinker which was honestly just distracting, so for now I'll forgo using them (lol).
Even worse is removing the stalk to put the car in park/drive/reverse. I do 3 point turns and back into my spot every day, it was the easiest thing ever with my 2020 M3P with stalks. I just got home and tried with my new car and it was absolutely horrendous. Having to hold my hand near the screen and awkwardly flick my finger backwards and forwards, and then the worst part.. holding the screen to park... really tesla???
I am seriously in disbelief about this decision, and I hate to be a downer on this amazing car, but I would honestly like to know, do you just get used to it, or is it as bad as I think it is. I know there is an option to auto select drive, which I'm using, but that aint' it either. Maybe it is something they can improve, or hell, just let me select drive and reverse with my scroll wheel. Anything but the current solution. I'm all ears though on what other people think or how they deal with it.
So yeah, the car is great as expected, a big improvement over the last one over all. But removing the stalks takes this from a 10/10 to a 8/10 so far. Yes, its that bad.
I am going to tint my windows 20% all around and 50% windshield, I hope I don't regret going to dark on the windshield but want to try it. Also might lightly tint the headlights and taillights (unless that is stupid and will be unsafe) to get a more stealthy look.
Anyways, look forward to the good times with this car...roadster next?
