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No hatch-back on model 3 - Anyone else disappointed.
- Thread starter nolngrgrsngslde
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- Model 3
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
Yeah, we are probably talking past each other because of these differences. Technically liftbacks are a subset of hatchback, but personally I use the term "traditional hatchback" to describe cars like the Golf and A3. The Model S is not a "traditional hatchback", more of a liftback or "sedan-like hatchback" as I like to put it.
Anyways, Elon already described the advantage of the sedan: by eliminating the hinge behind the rear passengers' heads it allows better rear headroom (something that was a constant complaint in the Model S).
There are 10 million things Tesla has to look at when designing a car - safety, noise, strength, stiffness, price, styling, range, aerodynamics etc etc
You are just singling out one aspect - utility to evaluate which is a "better" car.
But as Elon has stated, they could not implement a lift back design similar to Model S because of rear head room.
Maybe utility is the only thing you care about, but this does not apply to everyone. As I mentioned before, utility is not even in the top 10 reasons of why people chose a specific car.
First, this is not possible for Tesla, so your question is moot.
Even for cars with both variations or very similar variations like the BMW 3 and 4 series, the sedan is still the best selling version in US.
Is the Model S a $35,000 car or a hatchback? And I have not had the chance to take a look at the back seat of the Model S to have an opinion on it.
Of course, I am not. Where do you get that idea? This THREAD is singling out one aspect.
Which is nonsense. If the car had no utility, no one would buy it.
I am not going to tell Tesla what they can and can't do. This is car engineering they seem pretty good at it. I just want to adjust their relative priorities.
Neither you, nor I, nor Tesla, knows what the market for mid-priced Electric vehicles is. They were off by 400% in their estimate on pre-orders.
Thank you kindly.
N5329K
Active Member
They will. But they won't call it a station wagon, even if it is a station wagon. That's marketing death in the US. So they'll do what everyone else does: they'll build a station wagon, but call it a crossover SUV.
Robin
Robin
Clear cut, no not really. If you look at this differently you can just as easily make the claim that the vast majority of car buyers prefer cars that have easy access to load and store cargo.
That is why most buy liftbacks, hatchbacks, SUV's/CUVs and wagons. And if you toss in pick up trucks with easy access sedans become an even smaller percentage of cars sold.
The message here is what you hear all the time, you can make stats say pretty much anything you want
Well Tesla is definitely going to be making a CUV variant of the Model 3 platform, so if hatchbacks and CUVs are the same then everybody should be happy.
Nonsense or not, that's the fact in US: 10 Top Reasons Why People Buy Specific Cars
People won't buy coupe or convertible if they care about utility above other considerations.
And if you compare minivan and SUVs, minivan has much larger cargo and passenger room - then why is minivan's sales continue to decline year after year?
And they have clearly stated their priorities, which I happen to agree with.
But as things turn out, Tesla seems to be spot on with its decision.
The enthusiastic response to Model 3 reservations tells you that most people are happy with the sedan body style.
Shouldn't be a big problem other than money, time and production capacity.
Same platform does not mean no development cost, and the cost is not trivial at all.
And why would Tesla even consider a wagon when wagons only has 1.2% market share in US in 2014? They would not be able to sell enough wagon version to make up the development cost.
Not quite. I'd prefer a hatchback, but I'm keeping my reservation because, on balance, the rest of the car makes up for this one deficiency.
Someone mentioned minivans upthread. We're so practical that we have two minivans at the moment. (We replaced our recently totaled Prius with a second minivan in anticipation of replacing the older van with an EV.) We can get away with replacing one minivan with a sedan, but we can't replace both with sedans -- due to the limitations of the design.
I'm not happy with the sedan design, but I want the rest of the car enough that I'll make the tradeoff. I'm just one person, but this opinion is common enough to keep this thread going...!
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Sorry, but we only have three dimensions to work with. Your theoretical four-dimensional car is a physical impossibility that cannot exist.
I'd prefer my cars to have warp drive, a 2000 light-year range, and Tardis-like interior dimensions but that's as physically possible as the design you suggest.
So, I was originally surprised to hear about the controversy of the trunk and frunk and the choice of a sedan for the Model 3 vs. a hatchback. So, I wrote a blog post regarding this trunk/frunk controversy.
Spoiler alert: considering we made our two reservations for the Model 3 sight unseen, I'm pretty happy either way, hatchback or sedan (and I'm American.) Then again, not planning on getting rid of the S when we get the 3, so there's that. Let's remember, that this is a prototype.
Spoiler alert: considering we made our two reservations for the Model 3 sight unseen, I'm pretty happy either way, hatchback or sedan (and I'm American.) Then again, not planning on getting rid of the S when we get the 3, so there's that. Let's remember, that this is a prototype.
p-f-g
Member
Simon Sunshine
Member
Elon Musk has shared (part of) his masterplan with us. Model 3 is aiming at competing with the class of Audi A4, BMW 3, Mercedes C and alike. Model S is competing with Audi A8, BMW 7, Mercedes S. What about the class in between? The price gap is very large and can be filled very profitably with at least one or two models competing with all the cars in between, could be targeting at BMW 5 or SUV like X3, X5, X6 etc. Think Elon Musk has figured this out undoubtedly, and, will surprise the competition with the launch of new models just after the delivery start of Model 3, always a step ahead.
For sure, but US accounts for over 62% of Tesla sales. Europe, where wagons are very popular, only accounts for 17% of Tesla sales.
p-f-g
Member
I think this will change with smaller cars like the 3 which are in Europe much more popular than big cars like the S, regardless of price. And a 3 wagon could take a huge market share here.
ZAKEEUS
Member
I have a classic S and a 3 reservation. The 3 will replace the S. I'm fine with the 3 trunk design. I want a smaller car and do not need a hatch. The S hatch is certainly very functional but it is not a requirement. The coming CUV version of the 3 (who knows when but maybe 2019?) will be very popular and satisfy those who want a hatch in their 3.
