Model S vs Model 3 First Impressions

[dragoljub]

Vs. Model S (Mid-2015 85D)
Exterior = Draw ... and that's good! (Agree that it looks way better in flesh than in photos)
Fit & Finish = Draw ... and that's good! (vs. VIN 86xxx)
Door handles = Simpler, thus better (in light of my recent MS door-handle failure)

Phone-key approach = Better ... but one must figure out system to remember phone (and house key!)
Wallet card key = Flat-out cool
Hope these come to MS/X soon

Interior = Even cleaner ... like it!
Forward visibility = Way better ... mind-boggling
Seating position = Better (can position wheel without blocking speedo)
Seat Comfort = Draw (with Next-Gen)
Air Vent system = Way better
Seat Heat = Faster

Screen Position = Higher, closer, ability to stabilize finger by grabbing display = Better
Screen Angle = Worse ... needs to be angled at least slightly towards driver
Nav interface = Way better (coming to MS/X soon!) ... smooth zoom & fast draw = unbelievable
Single Screen vs. Dual = Worse ... especially with everything having been moved onto screen
Requires more interface element juggling
Requires even interface element scrolling (such as with trip odos)
Shrinks map ... and covers it up more
Perhaps worth it, though, to free up wheel position, improve visibility (for short driver)

Acceleration = Less ... but plenty good
Canyon/Mountain Handling = Better
Steering Feel = Slightly firmer (M3 "Sport" vs. MS "Sport")
Braking Feel = Slightly softer/spongier (should be tightened up)
Throttle Response = Slightly touchier
Regen = Similar
AP2 = On par with AP1 ... but seems "naggier" and to require stronger "holds"

Motor noise = Quieter ... often inaudible (as expected, coming from AWD --> RWD)
Ride quality = Slightly worse (but still surprisingly good)
Road/axle noise = Much worse (only thing that seemed like cheap rental car)

Early-Days Missing in Actions: Auto-dim headlights, scheduled charging, easy entry

There is easy entry in Model 3. Just check the use easy entry next to your driver profile.

 

[Skione65]

I still don't understand why you or anyone else wouldn't expect heated steering wheel on the model 3. Leaf and Prius both have it and I consider both to be less luxurious than the Model 3.

@dhanson865,

I hope you’re right! I’ll be optimistic as well. I just figured it was one of the ways Elon was trying to differentiate the 3 from their flagship S. I’m hoping it’s more of just simplifying factory ramp up and to be added later than any other reason. Believe me I’d LOVE it if they rolled out a cold weather package on the 3...maybe with AWD and SAS in the Spring/Summer time frame before I configure late 2018. I’d be beside myself! Let’s hope!

Ski

 

[kablammyman]

Model S70D owner from new early 2015, flew to Fremont to pick up new Model 3, first impressions while taking our time driving back down to Southern California.

...snip...
• Missing instrument cluster area screen is hard to get used to. After 2 days of driving still find myself looking directly ahead at the wood behind the steering wheel when driving.
• Missing functions from steering column stalks is also hard to get used to. Some windshield washer functions, auto speed settings are only available from the center screen. Mirror and wheel position adjustments are ok.
...snip....

These are the things I was afraid of. I knew that "I would care" and others would too that there is no front binnacle.

 

[ForeverFree]

There is easy entry in Model 3. Just check the use easy entry next to your driver profile.

Looked, didn't see it. Guess I shoulda looked harder!

Heading outside now ...

Thanks; you made our day!

 

[ForeverFree]

These are the things I was afraid of. I knew that "I would care" and others would too that there is no front binnacle.

There's a flip side to that, though. For comparison, my wife and I went for a short drive last night in my S85D immediately after a mountain voyage in her 3. Couldn't believe how much higher the visual "belt line" in front of us. Like going from a car to an airplane ... in a not good way.

Especially for us short drivers, M3's binnacle-less front vista is a game changer.

Of course, with that said, it was admittedly nice in the S to have driving info directly ahead ... and a full-page map spread uncompromised by all sorts of stuff smushed into it.

Trade-offs, trade-offs ...

 

[daniel]

These are the things I was afraid of. I knew that "I would care" and others would too that there is no front binnacle.

I would much prefer a front binnacle. But on my short drive in a 3, I found the screen display to be easier to see than I expected. A drawback, but less of a drawback than I had feared.

I'm very pleased to read in various posts above that in many ways the 3 compares favorably to the S. I drove a base model S five or six years ago, so long ago that I don't remember anything of the experience. Then a year or two later I got to drive a P85D Model S. That car was amazing, and way above the Model 3. But way more expensive and way too big for me. I have very high hopes for the P-AWD Model 3 and might decide to upgrade to that in a year, but I don't want to wait that long so I expect to get my 3 when they send me the invite and drive it for a year and then see what happens.

 

[Sleipnir]

We get the reduced regen breaking frequently in the mornings. I think it might have to do with battery temperature. Not sure.

Also one thing to add to the list is the backup camera on the Model 3 is much worse than Model S.

This is probably normal. When the battery is full or too cold it cannot accept a charge. This is usually indicated with the warning icon and the yellow dashes on the power display.

 

[semrekl]

I drove a model 3 couple of days ago. Not bad car overall. Really like the handling car felt super light and handling was extremely precise, probably one of the best handling cars I ever drove. Efficiency is also amazing I'm in MN and it was getting 300w/mi when it was -20 deg c out

It went downhill from there. Gaps on the hood and bumper were horrible, a lot of road noise in the cabin (like early 2012-2013 model s). Doors have to be slammed shut. There was condensation already forming inside the rear tail lights.

Overall the car is not comparable to my p100dl. I'm not worried about the 3 taking sales away from the S. At $57k before rebates it's not really cheap either.

That was a bit of a long-term worry; should I have waited for an M3... adding your insight to the long wait I would have endured got rid of any regret I *might* have had.
Ha - like I "regretted" a Model S .

 

[Nomac]

I have the standard (no extra cost) aero wheels with green Michelins which I'm sure help this. Still on the original Michelins with good tread life left on my S after 55K miles, heard Continentals come on the sport 19s

Mr Billy, you have given us a very informative review - thanks.
I have Continentials on my S75 (bought Sept 2017) and find road noise bad compared to our Prius on Bridgestone Ecopia BST. New it had Michelins green which are also good. Have you compared road noise with Conti and Mich?

 

[DDotJ]

So I'm in an odd position, I have a 2014 Model S S85 RWD which is almost bare bones. It has leather seats, sunroof, and autopilot 1 (and tech package from back then). It has 1st generation seats as well. I've been thinking about it lately and I could trade in my S for a fully loaded Model 3. It would have the latest AP 2.5 suite, longer range (310 miles of range vs 265 on Model S) a faster center display, much nicer seats, premium audio, a motorized charge port door, and more interior storage compartments (such as cupholders and a center console).

The only drawbacks are space, since the 3 is a smaller car. But I routinely drive around 5 people in my Model S so interior space is the thing holding me back. I haven't really seen many reviews touch upon it, but can 5 adults comfortably sit inside Model 3 and how does it compare to the S?

Am I crazy for wanting to "downgrade" to a Model 3? What an odd position, I understand that a new Model S is more premium than a Model 3 but the way my car was optioned it kind of falls between the cracks. The interior materials are cloth headliner and plastic trim which aren't premium either. Even the performance numbers are pretty much the same as well. The only things I would lose are unlimited supercharging, cargo room, automatic liftgate, and the instrument cluster...

 

[ForeverFree]

Not crazy at all. I'm thinking of doing the same with my nicely-optioned 2015 S85D. Absolutely love my wife's M3.

It's actually a big car on the inside. Passenger room is impressive.

Of course, cargo room, though decent, doesn't compare with MS ... especially a frunked-out 2014 RWD MS.

 

[run-the-joules]

So I'm in an odd position, I have a 2014 Model S S85 RWD which is almost bare bones. It has leather seats, sunroof, and autopilot 1 (and tech package from back then). It has 1st generation seats as well. I've been thinking about it lately and I could trade in my S for a fully loaded Model 3. It would have the latest AP 2.5 suite, longer range (310 miles of range vs 265 on Model S) a faster center display, much nicer seats, premium audio, a motorized charge port door, and more interior storage compartments (such as cupholders and a center console).

The only drawbacks are space, since the 3 is a smaller car. But I routinely drive around 5 people in my Model S so interior space is the thing holding me back. I haven't really seen many reviews touch upon it, but can 5 adults comfortably sit inside Model 3 and how does it compare to the S?

Am I crazy for wanting to "downgrade" to a Model 3? What an odd position, I understand that a new Model S is more premium than a Model 3 but the way my car was optioned it kind of falls between the cracks. The interior materials are cloth headliner and plastic trim which aren't premium either. Even the performance numbers are pretty much the same as well. The only things I would lose are unlimited supercharging, cargo room, automatic liftgate, and the instrument cluster...

Would you switch from a 2014 535i to a 2018 340i? Or a 2014 A7 to a 2018 A4?

If not, probably best to stick with the S.

 

[DDotJ]

Would you switch from a 2014 535i to a 2018 340i? Or a 2014 A7 to a 2018 A4?

If not, probably best to stick with the S.

Yeah, that is true. But people in reviews are saying that the Model 3 has a lot more room than the 3 series, and that it's very spacious in the rear seats. Especially with the better headroom and more than plenty legroom. I'm curious how it stacks up relative to Model S.

If they are close in terms of passenger space and comfort, I wouldn't mind getting a smaller car.

 

[run-the-joules]

Yeah, that is true. But people in reviews are saying that the Model 3 has a lot more room than the 3 series, and that it's very spacious in the rear seats. Especially with the better headroom and more than plenty legroom. I'm curious how it stacks up relative to Model S.

If they are close in terms of passenger space and comfort, I wouldn't mind getting a smaller car.

Yeah, that's fair enough too. I only think from the driver perspective, I very very rarely carry passengers.

 

[MrBilly]

Responding to more recent posts:

Teslas don't have the kind of lane change warning many newer cars have with a light in the side mirror and maybe an audible warning when a car is there and the blinker is on. Telsas with autopilot hardware (since fall 2014) have ultrasonic sensors all around that will see the car and show a fan in the instrument cluster display if it sees something, red if close. The 3 has the same on the left third of the center display. You can't rely on that for lane changes or anything safety related, it is unreliable, particularly the right front fan.

After driving the 3 for a few more days around town I'm starting to get used to looking to the right to see speed, blinkers, battery level, time, everything. It's not a safety concern I think, the right side of the center screen is close and high enough and I'm looking out the windows of course except for glances anyway.

I don't know how particular Michelins compare to Continentals road noise or otherwise. I just know I've had very good luck with Michelins after many cars and many miles. So when I heard the 3 aero wheels came with Michelins it was an easy decision to not spend $1K more for sport/Contis. I do notice the road noise on the 3 may be more than the S, not sure yet why.

I hear no summon on the 3 yet, but I didn't pay for autopilot yet so haven't experienced that. Thanks for the post with the 3 sisters lying in the back of a model 3, funny. I don't bother with the phone charging area in the front of the console, just leave long wires plugged into those slots and plug in placing phones where we want is easier.

As far as DJung and ForeverFree trying to decide if to replace an S with a 3, hard one. If I sit totally upright in the back of the 3, my head just grazes the glass. I'm 6'3”, so not bad. Funny thing is, it's exactly the same headroom, and seat cushion length (un)comfort, in my S with sunroof and rear glass. The 3 feels like it has more head room with the one piece of glass going all the way to the trunk. The S has some more leg room with the front seats in the same position and I'm sure some more side to side room if you squeeze 3 in the back seat. But I am pleasantly surprised with the back seat (and trunk) room in the 3.

Another new good feature I found with the 3 is the ability to keep the mirrors folded. There is a button on the quick settings screen for this, I use this when pulling into and out of my garage which is tight side to side. The S doesn't do this, folding or unfolding either happens or not when stopped, can't be folded when moving.

 

[ForeverFree]

Yeah, that is true. But people in reviews are saying that the Model 3 has a lot more room than the 3 series, and that it's very spacious in the rear seats. Especially with the better headroom and more than plenty legroom. I'm curious how it stacks up relative to Model S.

If they are close in terms of passenger space and comfort, I wouldn't mind getting a smaller car.

I’d say they’re close.

 

[Warbird]

Responding to more recent posts:

Another new good feature I found with the 3 is the ability to keep the mirrors folded. There is a button on the quick settings screen for this, I use this when pulling into and out of my garage which is tight side to side. The S doesn't do this, folding or unfolding either happens or not when stopped, can't be folded when moving.

There is a button to fold mirrors manually on the S, centered between the right and left mirror selector buttons on the drivers door. And the .42 update modified the automatic unfold behavior so that they unfold at 30mph instead of 10mph.

"In versions prior to .42 (at least in .32), the mirrors unfolded automatically when speed exceeded 10mph. In .42, they unfold when speed exceeds 30mph."
Mirror unfolding @ 30mph in .42 | Tesla

 

[MrBilly]

Thanks for the note on the mirror folding Warbird, learned something new about my S.

 

[JoshG]

Picking up mine tomorrow in Fremont. Curious if it has summon ability since I have a narrow garage.

No, as of now there is no summon on the model 3, even if you've paid for Autopilot. I assume it will come at some point in the future.

 

[Cattledog]

But I routinely drive around 5 people in my Model S so interior space is the thing holding me back. I haven't really seen many reviews touch upon it, but can 5 adults comfortably sit inside Model 3 and how does it compare to the S?

Not for any real length of time. I'd say from the comfort standpoint, the rear seat width in the Model S is superior and the bench has been sculpted as 3 seats whereas the Model 3 is really 2 with a center section bridging between them. It's also probably 6" wider. 10 minutes to go to lunch, sure. Driving a group of 5 around all day for site visits for work or a road trip, not so much.