Quick impression of Model 3 after 2 weeks

[dougs99]

Does a model 3 stop automatically in reverse say to avoid hitting a kid on a trike?

 

[suwaneedad]

I just spent about 10 minutes sitting in a Model 3 at the Stanford Shopping Center Tesla store. I am slightly disappointed but for some very mundane reasons. I am single and retired. The car is actually too big for me. I don't really need all that space. Secondly I hit my spine when I entered the car. On my Kia Rio the retracted radio antenna is exactly in the correct place for my left hand to grab as I lower and slide into the front seat. The Model 3 is smooth and sloping at the location and there is nothing to hold onto. I am sure with practice I will find some combination of steps and leanings that will help getting into and out of the car. My balance is very poor since I am now deaf and all the inner ear mechanism are giving bad feedback. So the egress and ingress may not be a problem for the younger generation (I'm 73). I have been looking forward to no longer shifting gears and clutching. Still waiting for my notification of availability.

Several years ago after a hip replacement, my mom's physical therapist recommended she use a small device that grabbed onto the door latch (on the car frame) and thereby provided a handle for her to use while getting into and out of the car. It made a tremendous difference. She just left the tool in her car door drink holder, so easy to grab/use/return. I'm pretty sure she referred to it as a device used for breaking car windows, but a quick Amazon search just now didn't yield any results (sorry). Good luck on a short wait time for your 3!

 

[suwaneedad]

Do people think the premium is worth it? Are lots of you getting auto pilot? I got my invite and cannot figure out what I should and should not get.

If you go to the very first post on the following, you can click to the tracking spreadsheet which shows you (go to overview tab) what 'everyone' is getting. It's pretty illuminating. 12-28-17 New Invite / Configuring / Delivery Spreadsheet

 

[suwaneedad]

If you go to the very first post on the following, you can click to the tracking spreadsheet which shows you (go to overview tab) what 'everyone' is getting. It's pretty illuminating. 12-28-17 New Invite / Configuring / Delivery Spreadsheet

So far, 68% of respondents are getting auto-pilot, 14% are also getting FSD, and 18% are buying neither at delivery.

 

[tsw4life]

I have the update (2017.50.12) that is supposed to be better.

I'd say maybe a little better, but still way blown out in bright lighting and too contrasty over all. I would not want to leave it up on screen while driving, it just looks bad. It is by far the worse part of the car. Actually, it's pretty much the only thing (aside from unfinished software) that I don't like about the Model 3

Totally agree, I am shocked that the car shipped with this poor quality of a camera. There are some things they can do in software, but the camera resolution is pretty obviously terrible.

It's especially surprising given the importance of the camera system for FSD. I wonder what the quality is like on the rest of these cameras?

 

[MikeBur]

Does a model 3 stop automatically in reverse say to avoid hitting a kid on a trike?

Just tried this. Nope. Even going all the way over and then accelerating forward again the car goes over it moving forward.
/jk

No, it will not stop - you should a) look at camera, b) look at mirrors, c) check over shoulders for blind spots and d) look at/listen to proximity warnings from ultrasonic sensors. If you miss all these signals then please surrender your license

The driver is in control and if the driver chooses to drive into a wall the car will let them.

Of course, if in some future the car is autonomous (not autopilot which is NOt autonomous) then the software will have to deal with these type of situations.

 

[liuping]

Totally agree, I am shocked that the car shipped with this poor quality of a camera. There are some things they can do in software, but the camera resolution is pretty obviously terrible.

I'm not sure there is anything wrong with the resolution, just the exposure and dynamic range. Hopefully further software adjustments and and camera settings changes will help.

 

[⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️]

I drove the x hoping for a great autopilot experience and was very disappointed. It was totally unreliable around town and on the freeway was no better than anyone else's range following radar. The interior on a bmw was shedloads nicer. I loved the motor braking on the model x, but for 25k difference to a loaded x5 I really could not justify the expense of an x over an x5 diesel. All the other automated stuff works really well on the bmw. Maybe someday a model x will seem more competitive; the model 3 certainly has a nicer pricepoint, so one hopes some of the economies of scale will carry over to other Tesla models as time goes on.

Funny how I guessed this would be your first or second post. Third post. I was close. AP works great on freeway. In town usage I’m not sure how well it works. Doesn’t seem like a good use of the feature. Have fun driving your diesel BMW.

 

[tsw4life]

I'm not sure there is anything wrong with the resolution, just the exposure and dynamic range. Hopefully further software adjustments and and camera settings changes will help.

What I will say is the resolution of the camera is not high enough for the large area of screen they are currently stretching it to fill. Blocky, chunky pixelated look to it, the quality of the video is nowhere near what I had in my previous X or in the Pacifica we have now.

If they want a camera filling that large of a view on screen then they need to increase the resolution, IMO.

And yeah, the exposure and dynamic range are also awful. I think what makes it really stand out (in a bad way) is how great the touch screen otherwise looks. Everything is extremely high resolution, so the camera just looks like .

 

[tsw4life]

Just tried this. Nope. Even going all the way over and then accelerating forward again the car goes over it moving forward.
/jk

No, it will not stop - you should a) look at camera, b) look at mirrors, c) check over shoulders for blind spots and d) look at/listen to proximity warnings from ultrasonic sensors. If you miss all these signals then please surrender your license

The driver is in control and if the driver chooses to drive into a wall the car will let them.

In my opinion there are enough sensors and cameras on the Teslas that they should be doing a better job with the general safety of the vehicle and the warning system. I bought a Model X (my vin was in the 900 range). Overall I loved the car, but it had many problems and Tesla ultimately bought it back from us due to all the issues.

I then needed to decide what to move us to, so we opted for a Pacifica (have 3 kids and need the room).

I was pleasantly surprised by the feature set. When I put the car into reverse, the camera view is great (ahem), and you get extremely useful warnings when cars are driving behind you from a blind spot (think: backing out of a parking space in a busy parking lot). It was so good, I never had to turn around, I could look at the camera and then the warning system would chime in as well.

Same thing for warning systems when changing lanes: an amber light illuminates on the side view mirrors when someone is in your blind spot, and if you turn your signal on in this scenario, you also get an audible warning.

It also stopped the car once when I was backing up and didn't realize I was about to hit a thin plastic pipe that was in a blind spot.

We are keeping the Pacifica, so I traded my 16 year old camry in for the Model 3 and overall I love it. But the safety systems could use some work. The Model 3, and any Tesla, should be able to do all of the above, and then some. I'm hopeful that the safety systems will be improved as we go along.

 

[T34ME]

I am sure with practice I will find some combination of steps and leanings that will help getting into and out of the car. My balance is very poor since I am now deaf and all the inner ear mechanism are giving bad feedback. So the egress and ingress may not be a problem for the younger generation (I'm 73).

Hiya DG, let's just say I am a bit older than the typical demographic represented here too, and I am completely deaf in my right ear and have some balance problems too. I don't have my 3 yet either but I was able to play with an owner's 3 for about an hour a couple of weeks ago. After two or three times practicing getting in an out of the drivers seat, it just started to feel natural too me and second nature. Easy peasy. One thing about us more 'mature' guys is that we seem to adapt more quickly than these young whippersnappers. The one thing I do miss in the 3 is the interior sissy handles over each window. They don't make cars like they used to! But boy howdy, I am looking forward to terrorizing the Bummer and Porch crowd in my 3 at the stoplight!

Be well amigo!

 

[MikeBur]

In my opinion there are enough sensors and cameras on the Teslas that they should be doing a better job with the general safety of the vehicle and the warning system. I bought a Model X (my vin was in the 900 range). Overall I loved the car, but it had many problems and Tesla ultimately bought it back from us due to all the issues.

I then needed to decide what to move us to, so we opted for a Pacifica (have 3 kids and need the room).

I was pleasantly surprised by the feature set. When I put the car into reverse, the camera view is great (ahem), and you get extremely useful warnings when cars are driving behind you from a blind spot (think: backing out of a parking space in a busy parking lot). It was so good, I never had to turn around, I could look at the camera and then the warning system would chime in as well.

Same thing for warning systems when changing lanes: an amber light illuminates on the side view mirrors when someone is in your blind spot, and if you turn your signal on in this scenario, you also get an audible warning.

It also stopped the car once when I was backing up and didn't realize I was about to hit a thin plastic pipe that was in a blind spot.

We are keeping the Pacifica, so I traded my 16 year old camry in for the Model 3 and overall I love it. But the safety systems could use some work. The Model 3, and any Tesla, should be able to do all of the above, and then some. I'm hopeful that the safety systems will be improved as we go along.

I too believe they will improve over time. I prefer information to make best-informed decisions, unless I fully cede responsibility. Tesla has ability to do significantly more, modulo, hw upgrades for free. It will be interesting to watch.

Picked up my wife’s 3 today. Completely agree with OPs comments. Great car, with some sw work still to be done. Predicting what will be the 35k car (less range, no PUP, no AP) it’s going to be a screaming deal.

 

[KT3Salem]

As a 50 something year old, I'm not sure I would recommend the M3 to seniors unless they're in great shape and are comfortable with learning a new way of driving. I have some health issues and I love our M3 but it's not the easiest car to get in and out of. Also, the side mirrors don't provide enough of a view especially at night or in the rain when changing lanes. The lumbar support is fantastic, though!!
If you have trouble with a smart phone or other gadgets stay away.
The auto pilot is awesome. The self steering still needs work but the adaptive cruise control is great!
I also love the navigation maps.

 

[T34ME]

As a 50 something year old, I'm not sure I would recommend the M3 to seniors

Hey KT, look at the bright side, you're only 5 years away from the 'senior discount' at most restaurants! As a 50+ y.o. I would recommend the 3 to a senior................unless they are ahead of me in the queue!

 

[GLocke11]

One of my favorite features of our x is you press voice button on steering wheel and ask it to play a certain type of music and it does. Hope 3 does this too

It does. Quite accurately as well

 

[GLocke11]

But it is possible to have the camera be live while you drive like in the S, correct?

That’s all that matters to me from this scenario. I don’t need anything else showing.

Correct. You can activate the rear view camera while you are driving.

 

[GLocke11]

Get premium. You can always upgrade to autopilot later. You can't upgrade to premium

Definitely agree.

 

[Sandiegodoug]

One feature I like in our x is the little energy graph. It seems to be missing from the 3

 

[CalBlue 85D]

So far, 68% of respondents are getting auto-pilot, 14% are also getting FSD, and 18% are buying neither at delivery.

I think it would be more accurate to say that 14% are paying for FSD, but nobody knows what they are actually getting yet....

 

[MikeBur]

One feature I like in our x is the little energy graph. It seems to be missing from the 3

There’s a number of features not on 3.

This is one (the real-time aspect is somewhat mitigated by the energy bar on the driver status screen - page 40 in attached manual).

Other one I’m missing already is web browser for teslawaze