One month ownership update - features that don't get enough attention...!

[akmedia]

It is exactly a month after taking the delivery of my Model 3 LR Dual motor. Before buying decision, I researched, read many blogs and watched youtube videos. It gave me a clear picture of what to expect and how to adopt. But there are many more niceties that are not covered. Thought I will jot down few of them which are subtle but satisfying.

No Gas anxiety:
Many complain about the electric range and it is one of the primary reason many put off buying an electric car. It is actually the opposite for me. With my gasoline car I was not able to set a schedule. Often i pump gas at Costco when I go there. This means it exactly goes to empty the morning I run late to the office. One of the best advice I got from the delivery advisor is to charge the car every single night. With long range battery I charge 80% to get to 250+ miles every single day. Without fail I charge it every single night. This is more than enough for me to get around during the day. With proximity to superchargers in my area i do not look at the battery or energy graph. It is completely out of my mind. The bigger plus is to not waste 10 mins at the gas station twice a week in cold winter. More than anything I do not miss "Gas Station TV"...

API & data:
At heart I'm a techie, nerd and a developer. I automate and optimize many things in my house from thermostats to light switches. On day 2 I signed up for data service at www.teslafi.com which uses the unofficial APIs to poll and get data from the car. They have nice graphs to show the trip report, energy savings and much more. I drool over this data and see for ways to optimize my energy savings. When my wife uses the car, I can check on her driving pattern as well.

Traffic aware cruise control:
While the autopilot feature is fancy and the car drives itself, i do not engage it often. My work commute does not include freeways. But traffic aware cruise control saves me every single time. Almost all the time I have a car in front of me to follow. The TA cruise control follows the car in front to the dot. This takes away the pain of moving the leg from brake to accelerator and pressing each pedal. This saves me at least 50-100 times each day.

Proximity distance alerts:
I've used reverse camera in many cars before. Even with camera it is always a guess work. it always feels like I'm too close to the wall or the car behind me. But when I get out and actually see it there is at least 2ft distance between them. Each car's camera is different and the lines drawn inside the camera is even more confusing. Every time my brain is calculating the distance between the car and obstacle. Tesla solved that exact problem of calculating the distance. It actually show the distance between the car and the obstacle in inches. When parking in my garage I stop when it shows 18 inches because a feet and a half is the safe distance in my mind. The guess work and brain calculation is completely gone and I park like a pro every single time.

No more fighting with physical A/C vents:
Look back 20+ years and the A/C vents functionality has never changed. Always it comes with left-right and top-bottom knobs. But they never work the way I want the airflow to come. With version 9 of software there is a visual way of controlling the airflow. After playing with it few times, I mastered the way I want the air flow.

I'm sure many of you have similar experiences in owning a Tesla. Feel free to add your best feature that gets little attention.

 

[Driving Slate]

The A/C in the model 3 has just shown me how lazy traditional auto maker have been for so long. In fact the distance to objects alerts likely falls in the same category, I’ve not seen any other car that does this.

I’ve had colleagues who have been most impressed by the things that Tesla have done that have nothing to do with the car being an EV and the air flow is almost always top of the list.

 

[jkcheng122]

Great points, and I'm loving not having to adjust the A/C vents at all also in my Model 3. While proximity distance is great, I would have liked the car to also include rear cross traffic alert. I'm not sure if any other car makers have this feature.

TACC though is a feature many other cars have.

 

[jlghertner]

Great points, and I'm loving not having to adjust the A/C vents at all also in my Model 3. While proximity distance is great, I would have liked the car to also include rear cross traffic alert. I'm not sure if any other car makers have this feature.

TACC though is a feature many other cars have.

My Tacoma tells me when a car is approaching as I back out of a parking lot.

 

[SMAlset]

@akmedia your red car in the snow looks great! Nice list.

I like:
having the tire pressure alert and readings;
the button on the charging handle so when you finish charging and come out to remove it you don’t have to go in your car or have your phone with you;
not going to the gas station to pump gas — so convenient to charge at home;
the air filter in the car which got it’s use during the Camp Fire smoke down here — thought it did a good job;
the little extras like the cleverly designed side door pocket storage space — nice it fits a standing water bottle — I find it useful for storimg my umbrella so it’s always in the car if I need it.

 

[dumbass]

I've had a Leaf for 5 years, so can report that range anxiety is a thing, especially in cold weather. So I appreciate the huge increase in the 3. I think (even with the Leaf) that most people don't appreciate the avoided nuisance of having to fill up until you don't have to. I agree that is freeing.

That huge navigation screen, especially in city traffic. Not having to squint at your phone. While i'm okay with voice prompting, visuals help, particularly on routes with many quick shifts that voice prompts may not adequately prepare you for.

The power. My God the power!

 

[JES2]

What really surprised me was how much I love the regenerative breaking. I drove my car without it for the first couple of months. I turned it on and had difficulty adjusting to it for the first couple of days. After that, my legs and brain slowly started to adapt to it. Now, I can't envision driving without it. You basically move from having to use two pedals (breaking and accelerating) down to mostly utilizing just the one pedal (acceleration / deceleration).

I also agree wholeheartedly with the avoidance of gas stations. All of my driving has been local and I have charged 100% from my home. Those pump TVs are about as annoying as you can get on a cold, windy day.

 

[xilex]

In fact the distance to objects alerts likely falls in the same category, I’ve not seen any other car that does this.

Probably they're concerned people with no clue who complain and/or litigate that the sensor said they had 1 inch of space left but they hit the wall instead. It looks like the sensors in Tesla just tell you to stop when it drops below some threshold because when pulling into a narrow garage, where I have only about 2 inches of space on unfolded mirrors. It will say stop at the front sensors when pulling in, which should have about 6-8 inches of space.

 

[HeatproofGenie]

I love regenerative braking. It's the one biggest surprise for me. I knew I would love ditching gas and filling up, knew I'd love the torque but regenerative braking makes the car so engaging to drive. It reminds me of a good manual car where there's engagement in both acceleration and deceleration except in the 3 I get power back from the decel.

Also I quite like having a car that is enjoyable to drive again. There are of course lots of enjoyable cars out there but few that are as fun but also as guilt free as driving the 3 is.

 

[jkcheng122]

I love regenerative braking. It's the one biggest surprise for me. I knew I would love ditching gas and filling up, knew I'd love the torque but regenerative braking makes the car so engaging to drive. It reminds me of a good manual car where there's engagement in both acceleration and deceleration except in the 3 I get power back from the decel.

Also I quite like having a car that is enjoyable to drive again. There are of course lots of enjoyable cars out there but few that are as fun but also as guilt free as driving the 3 is.

There is one thing I dislike about the regen braking. When my right/leg foot itches, I can't take it off the accelerator to scratch w/o the car slowing down significantly.

 

[Petrlol]

There is one thing I dislike about the regen braking. When my right/leg foot itches, I can't take it off the accelerator to scratch w/o the car slowing down significantly.

If you set the cruise speed to absolute -20 it will basically always default to your current speed.
Then one pull down on stalk, scratch, push up on stalk.

 

[jkcheng122]

If you set the cruise speed to absolute -20 it will basically always default to your current speed.
Then one pull down on stalk, scratch, push up on stalk.

Switching to CC is actually what I do now as remedy.

 

[Gavyne]

Switching to CC is actually what I do now as remedy.

Dude how often does your right foot itch?

 

[jkcheng122]

Dude how often does your right foot itch?

I had recently acquired a few ant bites on my right ankle.

 

[Knightshade]

TACC though is a feature many other cars have.

Yes- but a much crappier version on most of them.

(for example the loaner Lexus I had earlier this year- it turned off below ~30 mph)

non-tesla cars that handle every speed down to 0 (and starting again FROM 0) are still the minority.

 

[chibi_kurochan]

The A/C in the model 3 has just shown me how lazy traditional auto maker have been for so long. In fact the distance to objects alerts likely falls in the same category, I’ve not seen any other car that does this.

I’ve had colleagues who have been most impressed by the things that Tesla have done that have nothing to do with the car being an EV and the air flow is almost always top of the list.

“I’m looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn’t have the confines of a large OEM,” Von Holzhausen told Car Design News when he joined Tesla in 2008.
Von Holzhausen leaves Mazda to become Design Director at Tesla Motors - Motor Trend

Established automaker mentality of don’t change what’s not broken for reliability vs startup mentality of constant design improvements. It’s a balance between the two.

 

[jkcheng122]

“I’m looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn’t have the confines of a large OEM,” Von Holzhausen told Car Design News when he joined Tesla in 2008.
Von Holzhausen leaves Mazda to become Design Director at Tesla Motors - Motor Trend

Established automaker mentality of don’t change what’s not broken for reliability vs startup mentality of constant design improvements. It’s a balance between the two.

Wow, did not know Franz was with Mazda prior to joining Tesla. It just so happens our two cars are Model 3 and CX-5. I am really liking this guy.

How much does Mazda qualify as a large OEM compared to Honda/Toyota/GM/Ford?

 

[dfwatt]

It is exactly a month after taking the delivery of my Model 3 LR Dual motor. Before buying decision, I researched, read many blogs and watched youtube videos. It gave me a clear picture of what to expect and how to adopt. But there are many more niceties that are not covered. Thought I will jot down few of them which are subtle but satisfying.

No Gas anxiety:
Many complain about the electric range and it is one of the primary reason many put off buying an electric car. It is actually the opposite for me. With my gasoline car I was not able to set a schedule. Often i pump gas at Costco when I go there. This means it exactly goes to empty the morning I run late to the office. One of the best advice I got from the delivery advisor is to charge the car every single night. With long range battery I charge 80% to get to 250+ miles every single day. Without fail I charge it every single night. This is more than enough for me to get around during the day. With proximity to superchargers in my area i do not look at the battery or energy graph. It is completely out of my mind. The bigger plus is to not waste 10 mins at the gas station twice a week in cold winter. More than anything I do not miss "Gas Station TV"...

API & data:
At heart I'm a techie, nerd and a developer. I automate and optimize many things in my house from thermostats to light switches. On day 2 I signed up for data service at www.teslafi.com which uses the unofficial APIs to poll and get data from the car. They have nice graphs to show the trip report, energy savings and much more. I drool over this data and see for ways to optimize my energy savings. When my wife uses the car, I can check on her driving pattern as well.

Traffic aware cruise control:
While the autopilot feature is fancy and the car drives itself, i do not engage it often. My work commute does not include freeways. But traffic aware cruise control saves me every single time. Almost all the time I have a car in front of me to follow. The TA cruise control follows the car in front to the dot. This takes away the pain of moving the leg from brake to accelerator and pressing each pedal. This saves me at least 50-100 times each day.

Proximity distance alerts:
I've used reverse camera in many cars before. Even with camera it is always a guess work. it always feels like I'm too close to the wall or the car behind me. But when I get out and actually see it there is at least 2ft distance between them. Each car's camera is different and the lines drawn inside the camera is even more confusing. Every time my brain is calculating the distance between the car and obstacle. Tesla solved that exact problem of calculating the distance. It actually show the distance between the car and the obstacle in inches. When parking in my garage I stop when it shows 18 inches because a feet and a half is the safe distance in my mind. The guess work and brain calculation is completely gone and I park like a pro every single time.

No more fighting with physical A/C vents:
Look back 20+ years and the A/C vents functionality has never changed. Always it comes with left-right and top-bottom knobs. But they never work the way I want the airflow to come. With version 9 of software there is a visual way of controlling the airflow. After playing with it few times, I mastered the way I want the air flow.

I'm sure many of you have similar experiences in owning a Tesla. Feel free to add your best feature that gets little attention.

Several things have jumped up the best features list - and given that they are all great features where it's hard to know how to prioritize. So, in no particular order:

1) how the car is both a great cruisemobile when you want to drive gently and screamingly quick when you're in the mood
2) originally a concern, the minimalist approach of controlling everything through a great touchscreen OS now seems like the only sensible way to go - wonder why no one else was brave enough to risk this kind of integrated control
3) updates over the air - car is getting better and better with age
4) echoing #1, the great handling/ride balance. Would love a bit more grip/wider tire, but not at the expense of ride and range
5) putting this one last might be misleading - but the smartphone control interface is such a game changer. Can't imagine ever going back to keys, key fobs, etc. Being able to for example cool the interior 20 minutes before stepping into the car, remote control over charging, software updates, etc. Total game changer, makes me wonder again why and how nobody thought of this?

Collectively, this thing is a work of genius and, overall, best car ever. Might be the best sedan I could own price no object given its incredible balance of virtues. Can't imagine even considering another ICE-mobile.

 

[dumbass]

EAP__yeah I know this is feature does get plenty of attention. But I haven’t seen mention of what it does for you on a long road trip. Such relieve on the upper back and neck muscles! To me it is far from ready for self driving, but it is wonderful for being much more refreshed at the end of the day.

 

[golfpilot]

When did gas stations get TVs? Other than a once or twice a year rental car, I haven’t pumped gas in nearly 10 years. When I do, it looks like I just arrived from the 1800’s