Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Model 3: Pros and Cons

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
That's just because the vegan leather doesn't breathe like real leather does. Nothing to worry about. It's actually better with the white interior, because it's softer and creases more than the black.
I've had 2 TM3 (so far), white is definitely nicer to the touch and from a comfort perspective.

Exactly what I figured. It's not breathing, and the ol' back o' the knee gets a wee bit more sweat. Not a huge deal, but I would prefer leather if given the option.
 
What a laundry list - rent one from Turo first.

That's exactly what I did for a Model 3 in 2018. Two days with a car (and time to Supercharge) gives the full Tesla experience. I was sold at first drive and really sold after two days. People can rent for a week+ if they want, but I think two days is the perfect rental period. It's also interesting to park at home to get a peek into the car as a daily driver.
 
yeah, don’t feel good about that one. That is a myth brought on by the PETA crowd. Vegan leather has not cut down on the number of cattle. It is more polluting to make the (plastic) vegan leather then use the real leather from already dead cows. Many ranchers now give away or throw away hides with the steaks headed to you local market. And even for those that do sell hide, Ranchers make more on the steric acid used to make tires and rubber hoses/gaskets/seals then on leather. Another fun fact, you can’t buy a vegan bike tire in the USA.
 
Well, I am by nature skeptical about "environmental" correctness as spouted by the usual scientifically handicapped tree hugger, BUT I'm not so sure about your confidence either. In general, I tend to assume as a first pass that whichever method cost more to do is going to be the more negatively impactful. In the case of leather seats, maybe doesn't contribute to more cows, but it IS more expensive and probably reflects the high cost and "dirty" processing that gets you from hide to something you'd want to sit on. As much as I hate plastics, it might win on this one and I'd certainly not assume otherwise without some real data!
 
Leather, vegan leather...am I alone in preferring FABRIC? Tesla offered a high end fabric in the Model S some time ago, and when I test drove a car with it, it felt great. If it had been available in the Model 3 I would be enjoying it today. Warm in winter, breathable in summer, easy to clean, looks great, lasts forever, what's not to like?
 
Leather, vegan leather...am I alone in preferring FABRIC? Tesla offered a high end fabric in the Model S some time ago, and when I test drove a car with it, it felt great. If it had been available in the Model 3 I would be enjoying it today. Warm in winter, breathable in summer, easy to clean, looks great, lasts forever, what's not to like?

Fabric can be great, for sure, but many people in the US think fabric only belongs in econoboxes (or real sports cars). Fabric as a choice would have likely had a very low "take rate" in the market that these cars are currently being sold in, which is people who can afford to buy a new car that costs at least 35k before any applicable taxes etc.

I would not be surprised at all if the rumored (by tesla) 25k EV they are supposedly working on had fabric as a choice, just as I would not end up being surprised at all if the new roadster also had fabric as a choice.
 
I think the Model S Plaid should have the option of plaid fabric seats, kinda like the option we see in some VW Golf cars. :D
Black TMS Plaid
upload_2020-12-3_9-34-44.png
 
Leather, vegan leather...am I alone in preferring FABRIC? Tesla offered a high end fabric in the Model S some time ago, and when I test drove a car with it, it felt great. If it had been available in the Model 3 I would be enjoying it today. Warm in winter, breathable in summer, easy to clean, looks great, lasts forever, what's not to like?

This.

Coming from a series of VW GTIs over the years, I always opted for their awesome fabric seats which were comfortable and durable.

hndxPpx.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: KenC
This.

Coming from a series of VW GTIs over the years, I always opted for their awesome fabric seats which were comfortable and durable.

hndxPpx.png

I've had those in leather, and they're great too.

And also these in leather, though would've happily taken the cloth.

megane-cup-s-049.jpg

0001101_renault-clio-197200-fabric.jpeg


the seat shaping and design is far more important than the finishing material
 
Leather, vegan leather...am I alone in preferring FABRIC?
Tesla offered a high end fabric in the Model S some time ago, and when I test drove a car with it, it felt great.
If it had been available in the Model 3 I would be enjoying it today.
Warm in winter, breathable in summer, easy to clean, looks great, lasts forever, what's not to like?
I don't like any kind of leather for the same reasons, I would prefer fabric too.
I was also worrying damaging the seats and noticed any scratches every time I would be seating...
So I put some neoprene covers which are very warm and provide additional softness.
 
1. The car needs to drive right-of-center in the lane when in autopilot (in the US, not England)...
2. When someone turns into traffic in front of me or across my lane, or there is a curve in the road, the car does an unreasonably fast break as if there will be an accident...
3. When traffic goes from one lane to 2 lanes wide, or there is a sudden left turn lane, the car gets confused sometimes...
8. Door locks often do not open fast enough...
13. The windshield wipers are not very good at gauging the rain conditions, and changing them on-screen is a hazard when taking a curve...
15. Garbage can tip..


1. I think it is more complex than that. I think ideally, I'd like it to drive on the opposite side of the lane if there is a large truck or vehicle on one side, or in the case of a divided highway, on the outer edge if you are in an outer lane. But i agree on an undivided highway in the center lane it would be nice if it stayed more towards the outside of the road. I also have issues that there is too much swerve in trying to stay centered. Almost like it is using a PID controller and the damping is way off. Tesla is probably just trying to maintain too tight of a tolerance on the center of the lane to try to avoid edge cases of leaving the lane around corners.

2. I have this too whenever someone cuts across my lane, or slows down to take a turn ahead of me. I believe autopilot is not taking into account the velocity of the other vehicle, and just assumes that it is going to remain in the lane, and that result in the forward collision warnings going off when there isn't a need. This is a different setting than follow distance though, so changing following distance isn't going to help i think? Unless you are talking about when you are on the highway and someone changes into your lane ahead. I think this is similar to lane centering in that they have too tight of a tolerance that they try to maintain and that results in a sudden braking followed by speeding back up in order to get back to the correct follow distance.

3. This was really bad when i first bought my car (mid 2018) but it is way better now. I think it helps if you have NOA on, since that gives it a better idea whether it needs to go straight or make a turn.

8. I have this problem too. I found that waking up the car and turning on climate before I go out to my car helps a lot. I also find that it helps if i just take my phone out of my pocket. Or even if i just move my body so that my pocket is closer to the side mirrors. From talking to a tech, my understanding is that there are 3 BT receivers. One in each side mirror, and one near the trunk. With my phone in my right pocket, and trying to open the left door i sometimes have issues, unless i move more to the left. I also think it probably depends on your phone a bunch as well (as other people mention)

13. I haven't used it because i don't find i need to adjust the wipers much any more other than to force them off, but there are voice commands to control them.

15. My garbage can tip is to throw out garbage every time you get out of the car :)
 
This is strange, on my car the steering wheel feels rock solid. Does it vibrate in all 3 driving modes?


This seems to be just terrible. Do you mean you have an average consumption of over 400 Wh/mile? If so, I would pay a visit to a service center.
Yeah the consumption seems unreal. How can real world range be less than 100 miles? Makes me not want this car anymore...
 
Yeah the consumption seems unreal. How can real world range be less than 100 miles? Makes me not want this car anymore...

Just last night, at 40F, I took a trip of 16 miles one way without heat, and then 16 miles back with heating set at 68F. I also used Chill mode and the drive was a combination of city streets and highway driving (speeds 20-40 mph stop-and-go on the streets and 55-70 mph on the highway). Results: without heat - 225 Wh/mile; overall 32 mile trip - 251 Wh/mile. There is no problem at all to achieve the EPA rated mileage even in winter (soft winter) time.
 
Just last night, at 40F, I took a trip of 16 miles one way without heat, and then 16 miles back with heating set at 68F. I also used Chill mode and the drive was a combination of city streets and highway driving (speeds 20-40 mph stop-and-go on the streets and 55-70 mph on the highway). Results: without heat - 225 Wh/mile; overall 32 mile trip - 251 Wh/mile. There is no problem at all to achieve the EPA rated mileage even in winter (soft winter) time.
Yeah that's definitely way slower than I drive, but it seems like OP is having issues unless he's constantly going uphill at 75+ mph
 
1. I think it is more complex than that. I think ideally, I'd like it to drive on the opposite side of the lane if there is a large truck or vehicle on one side, or in the case of a divided highway, on the outer edge if you are in an outer lane. But i agree on an undivided highway in the center lane it would be nice if it stayed more towards the outside of the road. I also have issues that there is too much swerve in trying to stay centered. Almost like it is using a PID controller and the damping is way off. Tesla is probably just trying to maintain too tight of a tolerance on the center of the lane to try to avoid edge cases of leaving the lane around corners.

2. I have this too whenever someone cuts across my lane, or slows down to take a turn ahead of me. I believe autopilot is not taking into account the velocity of the other vehicle, and just assumes that it is going to remain in the lane, and that result in the forward collision warnings going off when there isn't a need. This is a different setting than follow distance though, so changing following distance isn't going to help i think? Unless you are talking about when you are on the highway and someone changes into your lane ahead. I think this is similar to lane centering in that they have too tight of a tolerance that they try to maintain and that results in a sudden braking followed by speeding back up in order to get back to the correct follow distance.

3. This was really bad when i first bought my car (mid 2018) but it is way better now. I think it helps if you have NOA on, since that gives it a better idea whether it needs to go straight or make a turn.

8. I have this problem too. I found that waking up the car and turning on climate before I go out to my car helps a lot. I also find that it helps if i just take my phone out of my pocket. Or even if i just move my body so that my pocket is closer to the side mirrors. From talking to a tech, my understanding is that there are 3 BT receivers. One in each side mirror, and one near the trunk. With my phone in my right pocket, and trying to open the left door i sometimes have issues, unless i move more to the left. I also think it probably depends on your phone a bunch as well (as other people mention)

13. I haven't used it because i don't find i need to adjust the wipers much any more other than to force them off, but there are voice commands to control them.

15. My garbage can tip is to throw out garbage every time you get out of the car :)


Thank you for your input :)
 
One, your lane position seems off. Mine is centered, and doesn't sway.

Your door lock issue, may be a phone issue, since mine never hesitates to open. I would bet if you put your car in D, the doors would lock.

Steering wheel vibration? Do you have your auto lane leaving set so that it vibrates? My steering wheel never vibrates unless it's supposed to.

As for the seating position, it's a "sedan". When you buy a sedan, it's inherent that the seating position is lower. Maybe you should set your EasyEntry position to push you up, like mine is set. It raises my steering wheel, pushes my seat up and forward.

Your efficiency should be great, but it's terrible. At 65mph, my 3 is calibrated at 235Wh/mile. At 75/80mph, I get 265Wh/mile. Try ABRP, it can calibrate your vehicle at 65mph so you get a real reference point.

Thanks for the input. I will try the EasyEntry function and mileage reference details.


You may find things that bother you, can be adjusted if you "investigate"d.