My Model 3 Impressions - Got to Drive It!

[K-MTG]

A friend of mine who has a relative that works at Tesla took delivery of his 3 last week (VIN 800s).

Build Quality:
It's nearly perfect!! The panel alignments are perfect, everything is sturdy and clean, the seals are also pretty good...but still slightly bent in the top corners of windows, not really a big deal. Much better than 57xx Model X...and this car is in the 800s!!!
The seats don't have any wrinkles, and they aren't any rattles!

Space
The car has a lot of space! The trunk is huge, rear legroom and headroom is not as much as the 6-seater X but still really good. The center counsel is awesome!!

The Screen
Coming from the X, it will still take some getting use to. The U.I doesn't seem entirely finished as certain tasks are still not-intuitive but it is still responsive. I still prefer the X/S screen layout but this is still pretty good. Also, it seems that they need to fix the auto-brighness.

Autopilot
He was told not to turn it on till the car reaches 200 miles for calibration.

Mobile App
It wasn't really working properly on his Android device...so he had to use the key card. Kept on getting connection errors and phone key didn't work.

The Drive
Handling is pretty good, steering is nice...it is almost as good as my X.

Delivery Experience
Tesla made him sign an NDA so he isn't letting me post any pics or videos...I begged him! He was told not to let any media or 3rd party gain access to the car. He was told not to take the 3 into any shop for tinting/wash or something like that and not to valet the car.
Also, he said the delivery process was smooth but the reps didn't have any answers to the questions he was asking...probably since the car was so new.
I am not sure why Tesla is so worried regarding this...the car is nearly perfect and a lot of people will like it. The early X's were a lot worse...Tesla has nothing to worry about.


I am nearly asleep...ate to much turkey so apologies if something I wrote earlier doesn't make any sense.

 

[powertoold]

Tesla made him sign an NDA so he isn't letting me post any pics or videos...I begged him! He was told not to let any media or 3rd party gain access to the car. He was told not to take the 3 into any shop for tinting/wash or something like that and not to valet the car.
Also, he said the delivery process was smooth but the reps didn't have any answers to the questions he was asking...probably since the car was so new. I am not sure why Tesla is so worried regarding this...the car is nearly perfect and a lot of people will like it. The early X's were a lot worse...Tesla has nothing to worry about.

lol, Tesla must have seen those OCDetailing and M3OC videos and told people not to let third parties try out the car.

Tesla is in an odd anti-selling mode right now.

 

[seattlite2004]

Mobile App
It wasn't really working properly on his Android device...so he had to use the key card. Kept on getting connection errors and phone key didn't work.

What device did he have? Do you think the issue was with hardware? Android OS?

 

[K-MTG]

What device did he have? Do you think the issue was with hardware? Android OS?

Pixel 2

 

[seattlite2004]

Pixel 2

Wow...that's disappointing. Wonder if others have had issues on other Android devices. I'd hate to be stuck on just using the key card.

 

[K-MTG]

Wow...that's disappointing. Wonder if others have had issues on other Android devices. I'd hate to be stuck on just using the key card.

Or switch to an iPhone...but I guess they will have the issue resolved

 

[JohnSnowNW]

Thanks for the info. My wife and I have the two versions of the original Pixel...going to assume they get the issues with the app ironed out by the time we get the 3. Of course, we'll probably have different phones by then too.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Tesla made him sign an NDA so he isn't letting me post any pics or videos...I begged him! He was told not to let any media or 3rd party gain access to the car. He was told not to take the 3 into any shop for tinting/wash or something like that and not to valet the car.
Also, he said the delivery process was smooth but the reps didn't have any answers to the questions he was asking...probably since the car was so new.
I am not sure why Tesla is so worried regarding this...the car is nearly perfect and a lot of people will like it. The early X's were a lot worse...Tesla has nothing to worry about.


I am nearly asleep...ate to much turkey so apologies if something I wrote earlier doesn't make any sense.

I have a high degree of confidence that Tesla does not want too much Model 3 publicity until the production ramp is complete, precisely because the car is so good. I have watched every Model 3 video review I could find, and reached the conclusion that Mode 3's interior is arguably superior to the Model S in terms of usable space and convenience features like coat hooks, storage areas, and cupholders.

IMO this is about preserving sales of Model S. While people who want a large cargo hatch, dual motor, and HEPA filter will still go for an S, I expect that fence sitters may opt to wait for a 3 if there is a lot of publicity around it. From a business standpoint, Tesla would rather have a Model S sale and get cash now, than have more people place reservations for 3's that won't ship for a long time.

 

[sammyfan711]

I have a high degree of confidence that Tesla does not want too much Model 3 publicity until the production ramp is complete, precisely because the car is so good. I have watched every Model 3 video review I could find, and reached the conclusion that Mode 3's interior is arguably superior to the Model S in terms of usable space and convenience features like coat hooks, storage areas, and cupholders.

IMO this is about preserving sales of Model S. While people who want a large cargo hatch, dual motor, and HEPA filter will still go for an S, I expect that fence sitters may opt to wait for a 3 if there is a lot of publicity around it. From a business standpoint, Tesla would rather have a Model S sale and get cash now, than have more people place reservations for 3's that won't ship for a long time.

I think this is exactly right - s and x sales would suffer with more details about the 3 out in the wild.

What really gets me going is the capability of charging at 220kw leaked through the epa documents - why would you buy anything with the old cells that can theoretically charge at half the rate?

 

[K-MTG]

I have a high degree of confidence that Tesla does not want too much Model 3 publicity until the production ramp is complete, precisely because the car is so good. I have watched every Model 3 video review I could find, and reached the conclusion that Mode 3's interior is arguably superior to the Model S in terms of usable space and convenience features like coat hooks, storage areas, and cupholders.

IMO this is about preserving sales of Model S. While people who want a large cargo hatch, dual motor, and HEPA filter will still go for an S, I expect that fence sitters may opt to wait for a 3 if there is a lot of publicity around it. From a business standpoint, Tesla would rather have a Model S sale and get cash now, than have more people place reservations for 3's that won't ship for a long time.

It definitely doesn’t feel superior to my X, a great car but the S and X are definitely at a another level. From seat comfort to performance

 

[DFibRL8R]

Yes, definitely underselling the 3. 0-60 times and range advertised as worse than what is being seen in the real world, and as we saw with Model S, these things can be further optimized with OTA software updates.

 

[turnbowm]

Wow...that's disappointing. Wonder if others have had issues on other Android devices. I'd hate to be stuck on just using the key card.

Even more concerning is why Tesla is allowing M3s to go out the factory door with am important function like the Tesla app (Android) not working. I can deal with audio functions like USB and audio streaming (Bluetooth) not currently working but an important Tesla app to unlock/start the car is unacceptable. Clearly, the M3 is not ready for prime time!

 

[Krugerrand]

Even more concerning is why Tesla is allowing M3s to go out the factory door with am important function like the Tesla app (Android) not working. I can deal with audio functions like USB and audio streaming (Bluetooth) not currently working but an important Tesla app to unlock/start the car is unacceptable. Clearly, the M3 is not ready for prime time!

Because employees, that’s why. And according to the OP the car is ready for prime time. Using the key card until software bugs are ironed out for various phones is not a big deal unless someone wants to be petty and make it a big deal.

 

[Petra]

It definitely doesn’t feel superior to my X, a great car but the S and X are definitely at a another level. From seat comfort to performance

Interesting. I actually found the seats in the 3, at least from an initial impression standpoint (~15 minutes in them), to be more comfortable than any of the seating options offered in the S... and I've driven cars with every front seat configuration. More attention was paid in touch point materials choice in the 3 and the fit & finish was better than most of what I've seen out of the first 4 model years of the S. The steering wheel design in the 3 is a bit bland, but that's not the end of the world.

 

[turnbowm]

Because employees, that’s why. And according to the OP the car is ready for prime time. Using the key card until software bugs are ironed out for various phones is not a big deal unless someone wants to be petty and make it a big deal.

Keep drinking the Kool-Aid...

 

[KarenRei]

Tesla made him sign an NDA

Whoa, back up here - are you certain of that? Because we've had other Model 3 owners insist that there was no NDA. That they were asked not to do feature-by-feature reviews, but did not have to sign anything to that effect.

 

[kbM3]

It definitely doesn’t feel superior to my X, a great car but the S and X are definitely at a another level. From seat comfort to performance

Performance is not just acceleration. I would imagine the 3 handles better than the S, much less the X.

Edit: Because of lower polar moment of inertia, lower center of gravity and much lighter weight.

 

[K-MTG]

Whoa, back up here - are you certain of that? Because we've had other Model 3 owners insist that there was no NDA. That they were asked not to do feature-by-feature reviews, but did not have to sign anything to that effect.

I am pretty sure (according to what he told me)...and this was over month before delivery

 

[K-MTG]

Performance is not just acceleration. I would imagine the 3 handles better than the S, much less the X.

Perhaps the AWD variant will...but not the standard one I drove

 

[K-MTG]

Interesting. I actually found the seats in the 3, at least from an initial impression standpoint (~15 minutes in them), to be more comfortable than any of the seating options offered in the S... and I've driven cars with every front seat configuration. More attention was paid in touch point materials choice in the 3 and the fit & finish was better than most of what I've seen out of the first 4 model years of the S. The steering wheel design in the 3 is a bit bland, but that's not the end of the world.

The seats on my X are more wider and have better hip and lumbar support. The 3 seats are great but I found the X seats a little better. The only aspect that’s better are the headrest...on the X they are as hard as a rock!!
Totally agree about the steering wheel, it doesn’t look nice but it still feels nice