Model 3 stinks ....

[Cypress John]

I'm not a fanboy. I'm a gearhead. I go to car shows. I restored a 1968 Chevelle in my garage, sitting next to a 750 horsepower Camaro ZL1 and a big pickup truck. And none of them get driven any more (mostly). The Performance Model 3 is the best car I've ever owned (so far). It's impossible to describe the driving experience, it's just FUN. The biggest problem with the Model 3 is that I have no problems with it, so when I describe the car to the many curious other people I SOUND like a fanboy. I need something to break so I can have at least one thing that I don't like about the car and people will know I'm objective about it. Still looking for that one thing.

Not everyone will agree with my post, and that's ok! Not everyone is going to get on board with it for whatever reason. But I thought I'd share my opinion since my perspective is a little different from most here. There are lots of reasons to own any EV but I own a Model 3 just because it is a cool car.

One tidbit about door handles: High-End show cars, "trailer queens", have been retrofitting door handles similar to the M3 for several years, they're called "shaved" door handles. Any show car trying to win top honors in a show will probably have these. It was, obviously, the first thing I noticed during my test drive that told me I was about to experience something special.

 

[Ol'Blue]

My other car is a Range Rover Velar and I still love it every time I get in, it's no match for the acceleration and handling of my P3D but it's gorgeous inside and out. Tesla is a great car but somehow I just don't get the obsession and the fayboyism I see in a lot of Tesla owners. BMW, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, LR, still make great cars, they are just not the same as a Tesla and they don't need to be.

I traded in a specially ordered Porsche Macan Turbo for my model 3. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I grew up in a household where my father went through a Porsche every 6 months to a year.

A few Mercedes have crossed the threshold over the years.

I’ve been a car modifier for years.

Owned several BMWs

I respect all the cars you listed, but I find them all soulless now that I have the model 3P

The only car I would repeat was a replica Porsche 356 roadster. And soon there will be electric ones!

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Really, the Model 3 stinks. It’s a terrible car.

... simply because, it’s completely ruined driving anything else for me.

Things like instant torque, turn signal stalks, steering, audio, the huge display, and so much more .... have me completely questioning the so-called “quality” of everything else I drive.

Warts and all - there’s NOTHING on the market like a Tesla. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever driven.

I drove my wife’s Enclave today - first time driving a gas car in about a month. Wow. I’m ruined. It just felt sloppy - things I thought were tight just felt ... cheap. Turn signal, for instance - whatever spring Tesla uses, it just gives a solid feel vs the Buick. Downshifting? What the heck is that?! And don’t get me started on how awful the in-dash screen is .... looks like a joke after Model 3.

So, Tesla, you stink. You’ve just destroyed any happiness I had in owning that Buick. It WAS a quality vehicle to me, at least in the 3-row SUV class ... now I’m ruined.

I thought changing my daily driver from an SUV to the Model 3 would drive me crazy .... instead, it’s the other way around. I couldn’t wait to get home and get back in my little electric sedan!!

My wife has a pickup, and we use it early in the season to move larger things up to our lakehouse in Maine. I dread those drives, because driving a 2017 Colorado just isn't the same.....

but now we've got everything we need for the summer up there. We're back to driving the Model 3 up for the weekends.

Also.....in due time, I may end up with a Tesla pickup, especially if I can get 400+ miles of range for ~ $50K

 

[ammulder]

I need something to break so I can have at least one thing that I don't like about the car and people will know I'm objective about it. Still looking for that one thing.

I have the solution for you! If you sit in the back, there’s not much room for your toes under the front seats. The battery-in-floor stole that space.

Presto! Not a fanboy.

Also.....in due time, I may end up with a Tesla pickup, especially if I can get 400+ miles of range for ~ $50K

I think Elon promised $49k and I think he promised 400 miles, but I think those were two different promises...

 

[ilg]

I think Elon promised $49k and I think he promised 400 miles, but I think those were two different promises...

I think it's far safer (and more accurate) to say that Elon "projected" both of those options would be available. And, yes, they were separate things; almost certainly mutually exclusive.

I don't understand why people continue to take everything Elon says as a "promise." Generally, you are more likely to get thoughts, opinions, aspirations, even firmly held beliefs or convictions about how things will come out. As he has proven time and time, again, he is really not much better at predicting the future than most people.

 

[davewill]

I don't understand why people continue to take everything Elon says as a "promise." Generally, you are more likely to get thoughts, opinions, aspirations, even firmly held beliefs or convictions about how things will come out. As he has proven time and time, again, he is really not much better at predicting the future than most people.

Because most CEOs have the sense not to talk numbers unless they are real, so people expect Elon to do the same. A normal executive would have talked about their new truck being competitive in pricing to their major competitors and available with the longer ranges needed by people who work their trucks hard. Elon's fun, but not very prudent.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

I think it's far safer (and more accurate) to say that Elon "projected" both of those options would be available. And, yes, they were separate things; almost certainly mutually exclusive.

I don't understand why people continue to take everything Elon says as a "promise." Generally, you are more likely to get thoughts, opinions, aspirations, even firmly held beliefs or convictions about how things will come out. As he has proven time and time, again, he is really not much better at predicting the future than most people.

I am by no means operating under the premise of any promises for my next Tesla. I just know what I would LIKE it to have.

 

[Candleflame]

I got a rental car and they gave me this thingy I had to put in my pocket and remove from my pocket and press a button 2x to unlock all of the doors, then you get in and you have to stick this other thingy into a slot and turn it to make the car go. I was thinking, where the hell does the floor open so I can make it move forward with my feet.

if you buy a new car the same price as a model 3 it will have keyfob you keep in your pocket.stay real.

 

[Glamisduner]

if you buy a new car the same price as a model 3 it will have keyfob you keep in your pocket.stay real.

I prefer no key fob.

 

[Kilotango74]

if you buy a new car the same price as a model 3 it will have keyfob you keep in your pocket.stay real.

Who wants a key fob. Man that’s like saying you miss having a carburetor with a manual choke. Nothin better than getting up and jumping in a real car that you have to warm up before you can drive off and even then you still have no heat in the cabin right??? Lol.

 

[mcfuzz89]

I'll buy your Miata if you dont want it anymore.

You funny funny man!


I will probably keep it until I am an ol' farts with grandkids and maybe great-grandkids. And considering a guy sold one with 25K miles on BAT for over $17k......

 

[Candleflame]

Who wants a key fob. Man that’s like saying you miss having a carburetor with a manual choke. Nothin better than getting up and jumping in a real car that you have to warm up before you can drive off and even then you still have no heat in the cabin right??? Lol.

dunno theres a lot of ppl here who seem to want one for the 3.

 

[jyalpert]

You funny funny man!


I will probably keep it until I am an ol' farts with grandkids and maybe great-grandkids. And considering a guy sold one with 25K miles on BAT for over $17k......

That's why I wanted it. I figured it's probably in perfect condition. How about we make a deal and you sell it to me for $499 so I can race it in LeMons?

 

[daver3]

Really, the Model 3 stinks. It’s a terrible car.

... simply because, it’s completely ruined driving anything else for me.

Things like instant torque, turn signal stalks, steering, audio, the huge display, and so much more .... have me completely questioning the so-called “quality” of everything else I drive.

Warts and all - there’s NOTHING on the market like a Tesla. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever driven.

I drove my wife’s Enclave today - first time driving a gas car in about a month. Wow. I’m ruined. It just felt sloppy - things I thought were tight just felt ... cheap. Turn signal, for instance - whatever spring Tesla uses, it just gives a solid feel vs the Buick. Downshifting? What the heck is that?! And don’t get me started on how awful the in-dash screen is .... looks like a joke after Model 3.

So, Tesla, you stink. You’ve just destroyed any happiness I had in owning that Buick. It WAS a quality vehicle to me, at least in the 3-row SUV class ... now I’m ruined.

I thought changing my daily driver from an SUV to the Model 3 would drive me crazy .... instead, it’s the other way around. I couldn’t wait to get home and get back in my little electric sedan!!

I can absolutely relate although it's the first luxury car I've ever had. I've had sports cars but not in this class. I enjoy driving (letting it drive me) to work and back. Auto pilot takes all the stress out of it. I'm not in a hurry because it is so easy to just float along with traffic and not worry about it suddenly stopping, rain or shine. And the stereo is outstanding so it's really just some time to listen to music.

 

[dmurphy]

I can absolutely relate although it's the first luxury car I've ever had. I've had sports cars but not in this class. I enjoy driving (letting it drive me) to work and back. Auto pilot takes all the stress out of it. I'm not in a hurry because it is so easy to just float along with traffic and not worry about it suddenly stopping, rain or shine. And the stereo is outstanding so it's really just some time to listen to music.

I'm traveling for work today.... pick up the rental, and Avis assigned me a Volvo XC60.

I'm shot. Just couldn't appreciate it. The Volvos are almost universally praised for their design. I was so blase about it. No pickup. Found myself actually stomping the accelerator. The controls are wacko-bizarre. (Who puts the buttons on the SIDE of a keyfob?!). It's loud, and with a stinky exhaust pipe, and does this weird shifting thing, almost like the engine doesn't drive the wheels directly or something. I turned the wipers on (NO JOKE!) at least 5 times trying to engage Autopilot.

And then I discovered that I had to drive it myself in traffic! The horror!

... even worse, when I came out from my meeting, the car was sweltering hot. There's no "Keep Climate Control On" feature at all... what kind of primitive junk is this, anyway?

Not to mention the sucktastic nav system and display. What a confusing mess of buttons.

We're a pretty spoiled bunch around here...... we pick out all the things wrong with Model 3 (which is natural, especially after owning it a while) and obsess over them... but it's VERY easy to forget just how good we have it.

Yeah, I can't wait to get back home to my baby.... The car's nice too, but I miss my wife.

 

[WilliamG]

I'm not a fanboy. I'm a gearhead. I go to car shows. I restored a 1968 Chevelle in my garage, sitting next to a 750 horsepower Camaro ZL1 and a big pickup truck. And none of them get driven any more (mostly). The Performance Model 3 is the best car I've ever owned (so far). It's impossible to describe the driving experience, it's just FUN. The biggest problem with the Model 3 is that I have no problems with it, so when I describe the car to the many curious other people I SOUND like a fanboy. I need something to break so I can have at least one thing that I don't like about the car and people will know I'm objective about it. Still looking for that one thing.

Not everyone will agree with my post, and that's ok! Not everyone is going to get on board with it for whatever reason. But I thought I'd share my opinion since my perspective is a little different from most here. There are lots of reasons to own any EV but I own a Model 3 just because it is a cool car.

One tidbit about door handles: High-End show cars, "trailer queens", have been retrofitting door handles similar to the M3 for several years, they're called "shaved" door handles. Any show car trying to win top honors in a show will probably have these. It was, obviously, the first thing I noticed during my test drive that told me I was about to experience something special.

I love my new P3D+. Easily the best car I've ever owned. However, the door handles are a pain in the ass. But let me clarify: The exterior door handles are a pain in the ass. Too touchy/feely, and while they're "natural" for me to use, they're still not as easy to use as the Model S door handles, though those of course have their own issues.

Now, the INTERIOR door button is genius. Wholly natural, you can press the button and push the door open in one smooth motion, and it's fabulous. But that exterior handle is way too hands on for my liking.

 

[CarlK]

Absolutely true. My last ICE car was a 6 speed flat six Porsche Cayman S, arguably the most fun to drive ICE car on the planet. Lost interest to drive it after I got my Model S in 14'. It sit in the garage for two more years but I had driven it for less the 1,000 miles until traded it in for our second Tesla. I can only imagine the Model 3 is even more of a driver's car.

 

[Glamisduner]

I'm traveling for work today.... pick up the rental, and Avis assigned me a Volvo XC60.

I'm shot. Just couldn't appreciate it. The Volvos are almost universally praised for their design. I was so blase about it. No pickup. Found myself actually stomping the accelerator. The controls are wacko-bizarre. (Who puts the buttons on the SIDE of a keyfob?!). It's loud, and with a stinky exhaust pipe, and does this weird shifting thing, almost like the engine doesn't drive the wheels directly or something. I turned the wipers on (NO JOKE!) at least 5 times trying to engage Autopilot.

And then I discovered that I had to drive it myself in traffic! The horror!

... even worse, when I came out from my meeting, the car was sweltering hot. There's no "Keep Climate Control On" feature at all... what kind of primitive junk is this, anyway?

Not to mention the sucktastic nav system and display. What a confusing mess of buttons.

We're a pretty spoiled bunch around here...... we pick out all the things wrong with Model 3 (which is natural, especially after owning it a while) and obsess over them... but it's VERY easy to forget just how good we have it.

Yeah, I can't wait to get back home to my baby.... The car's nice too, but I miss my wife.

My wife has a pretty loaded XC60 T6 (supercharged and turbo charged). The seats are much more comfortable than the 3.
Did you try the pro pilot out? How did you like the hud? Adaptive LED headlight? I think I like her adaptive bending headlights better than those on my 3 (which are by far the best I have ever had), and I like the HUD too. Model 3 with a HUD would be quite nice. Also I noticed she can browse all music on her phone from the XC60, where as on the 3 you can only skip songs on the current playlist. It can do similar things to the 3, remote start, heat or cool the cabin. But the model 3 app is nicer.

I like how the door handles illuminate when you unlock it. The kick to open / close the trunk is quite nice too.

 

[dmurphy]

My wife has a pretty loaded XC60 T6 (supercharged and turbo charged). The seats are much more comfortable than the 3.
Did you try the pro pilot out? How did you like the hud? Adaptive LED headlight? I think I like her adaptive bending headlights better than those on my 3 (which are by far the best I have ever had), and I like the HUD too. Model 3 with a HUD would be quite nice. Also I noticed she can browse all music on her phone from the XC60, where as on the 3 you can only skip songs on the current playlist. It can do similar things to the 3, remote start, heat or cool the cabin. But the model 3 app is nicer.

I like how the door handles illuminate when you unlock it. The kick to open / close the trunk is quite nice too.

Don't get me wrong - it's a very nice car - but so was my Cadillac. Neither of them get me excited anymore. The interior in the Caddy was, I think, more "premium" than the Model 3. I'm sure you've seen my other posts wishing Tesla would adopt some of the Caddy's features (which is a similar list to the XC60 above, plus things like the 360-degree camera, the rearview mirror display, blindspot alerts actually IN the mirror, cross-traffic alerting, etc.)

The Volvo's seats are excellent, most definitely. That said, I'm very happy with the Model 3's. That's a very subjective thing, and I find Model 3 extremely comfortable.

XC60 is quite a nice vehicle; it just doesn't make me go "WOW" anymore. My biggest complaint is that ridiculous keyfob. The buttons are silly.

Most of the other bits and pieces (HUD, Adaptive headlight, Carplay, illuminated door handles, foot opening for trunk etc) - are all things I knowingly gave up to get into Model 3. And that's OK, because at the end of the day, I'll take Tesla's drivetrain & technology over all of it. Plus, if I really feel the urge to open a hatch with my foot, I can just take my wife's Enclave.

(and PS -- the illuminated door handles are friggin killer. One of my favorite touches on the XT5 too.... it was crystal white (just like my Model 3) and at night when the door handles lit up -- man, that looked sharp.)

 

[daniel]

Speaking of the thread title (which, yes, I know was in jest) I have to mention that I HATE new-car smell. It literally makes me sick. I've had to leave the windows open for weeks and weeks on all my new cars to let the smell dissipate. But there was no new-car smell in my Model 3. It's the first new car* I've ever bought that did not stink. I was delighted with this.

* Not counting the Zap Xebra. But that car was constructed so badly that the dealer drove every one he sold for several hundred miles, fixing defects as he found them, before he let it off the lot. So that car, though I bought it "new" was not really new when I got it. So I don't know if it had new car smell originally.