I have been meaning to “give back” to this forum for all the advice and information I have gotten these past three years, so here goes. I won’t bury the lead—I think the Model 3 is a revolution, a full turn in many ways past the Model S, and it will put other car companies out of business. Even if the cost of the two cars were equal, I believe at this point I would opt for the Model 3.
The quick background: I took possession of my black MS 70D (AP1, PuP) in June of 2015, and received my Model 3 (PuP, “19 in wheels, Midnight Silver, EAP2) on February 28th. I still have my MS since the lease is not finished until June, so I am driving both each day/week.
I have nothing but love for my Model S, and I reserved my M3 on day one in March of 2016 because I figured it might arrive at the time my lease was ending. I wanted the option of going to the 3 from the S for mostly cost considerations. As the car was released and started being delivered, I made the decision to buy it since the replacement for my MS70D, the MS75D, was much more expensive with much less range. Now that I have spent a month with the M3, I can say the differences are much more dramatic, in a good way. I will try to avoid some of the obvious comparisons written on this forum unless I have something new to say about them, but in no particular order, here goes.
The Model 3 is a sports car to me, plain and simple, while the MS is a touring car. It drives harder/firmer than the MS. It’s not as comfortable a ride, but it’s certainly not uncomfortable, and in fact I prefer the ride, which feels more connected to the road. Maybe the BMW M3 vs 7 Series would be a good analogy?
As far as rear wheel drive vs dual, I don’t notice much difference in the driving between the two. Given the bigger battery size and being 1K lbs lighter, the 3 acceleration is much faster than my S anyway, and living in southeastern PA I simply don’t drive the car in snowy weather (stay home for a few hours till the roads are plowed). I can certainly see someone needing a dual motor model in certain circumstances/geographies, but for the vast majority of drivers I don’t know why you would pay extra for the dual motors. This rear wheel drive 3 has plenty of acceleration.
Interior notes:
1. Overall: The interior seems more refined and appointed than my S. The lack of a center cluster and the wood of the dash stand out and take over the aesthetics of the entire interior…and that change seems a big upgrade in the overall presentation of the interior. It’s clean, simple and pure genius.
2. Touch screen: In addition to being sharper and more responsive, the location makes it so easy to operate. In my S, I need to lean forward from my seat a couple of inches to even touch the screen. In my 3 I can do it without even completely extending my arm. Given that everything is done from this screen makes this a necessity, but now when I am in my S I am annoyed whenever I need to operate the screen.
3. Push button door: it is very convenient to simply push that button with your finger and then elbow your way out of the car, especially if you have one or two things in your hands when doing it. I also prefer the 3 outside handles to the presentation style of the S, after taking a week or so to get used to it. The overall feel of the doors is more solid and requiresa hard push to close tightly, including the trunk.
4. AP lack of stalk: I read much about this and dreaded it since I use AP1 all the time in my S driving from PHL to NYC and DC. While I still prefer the stalk, the lack of it has not proven to be a major inconvenience, and if Tesla turns the scroll wheel on the right side of the steering wheel into a speed controller, then it will be even less inconvenient. I rarely change the follow distance so having to do that via a menu is not a big deal to me, especially since you are using AP when you need to do this and it’s not a problem to take your eyes off the road for a few seconds.
5. Sound system: the 3 is far superior to my S…not even a close comparison on bass, midrange, and overall clarity. This goes for phone calls over the Bluetooth speaker. I don’t feel like I need to shout in the 3, which I often feel the need to do in the S.
6. Storage: I am very happy with the upfront storage of the center console (NA in the S). The overall cargo storage with the deep bay below the floor of the trunk, and the easy, one-finger flip down of both seats provides plenty of room. I never use the frunk in either car (it amazes me how people complain about having to use the app to open it…who is regularly using the frunk and for what??). I could see missing the hatch and extra room of the S if you are used to that, but I have a hard time thinking most people need this additional storage/cargo space. If you do, you would probably get an X or something completely different in the SUV world. It does not seem to be a material difference to me between 3 and S.
7. Roof: The 3 roof is fantastic, and I much prefer it to paying for a sunroof, which I personally never open in the S except to vent the car in the summer. For this I would like to see Tesla allow the app to crack the windows in the car.
I am assuming that software updates will take care of some omissions on the 3 like wifi, auto dimming high beams, support for Sirius radio, etc, but even if some things such as a heating steering wheel (I use all the time in the S) and rear heated seats never arrive, I don’t see enough things lacking that I would miss too much on a daily basis, particularly given the price difference in the two cars.
In summary, I think two things will happen as this car rolls out. First, the MS75D will be completely cannibalized and eventually even go away. I understand why some people would buy the 100D and want ludicrous mode, etc. Those people have money to burn and/or love speed. But why would anyone buy a 75D for what amounts to $30K+ more, and only get in addition the dual motor (see above) and marginally more cargo/passenger space, while getting 75 miles LESS range than the enhanced battery version of the M3? It makes no sense.
Second, once the full range of M3s come out, and the word gets out about this beyond the fanboys like me and 500K people who have ordered the early version of this car, the onslaught will be on. Once people can test drive this car next to other options, EV and ICE, it will be all over. If Tesla can ramp production to meet demand they will dominate the global car market. Their own production challenges are the only things that can stop this company—this car is that good.
One more comment: I used to think that the cars themselves and the supercharger network were the two biggest reasons that Tesla would eventually dominate the car world. Then a few weeks ago I was at Tesla HQ on a business trip and in speaking with someone there was told that they feel their real advantage is in the service/delivery center network. Those of us who own a Tesla know that there is practically no maintenance, and many less moving parts than in an ICE car. All the traditional car makers have a network of franchises who make all their margin on service. It they end up going EV, which the world is formally now moving toward, how will they provide enough revenue/incentive to keep those franchises profitable? This is a problem Tesla does not have as their service centers are all company owned and sized to be profitable given the lower volume of service needs. This has to have all of Detroit and the major players in Germany and Japan worried.
Thanks for reading. I’d welcome comments/complaints!
