Tesla Model 3 First Drive Reviews

[jhs_7645]

Plugged in the cradle, not Bluetooth, for media, phone, Siri etc should be fine.

Interesting, can you (or somebody) describe the differences between cradle and bluetooth (iPhone only here)?

i.e. when playing back songs (or podcasts) does it show progress?

Can you select a playback position in the song/podcast via a slider or something?

can you select songs, navigate playlist?

Any other differences?

 

[03DSG]

Plugged into the cradle is hard wired to the car both for charging and you can select your phone to play music. Just ask Siri to play your song list

 

[Emmexx]

It would be nice if it had a simple screen for a mirror function. Maybe sizable through multitouch on the screen.

 

[Sverre]

Interesting, can you (or somebody) describe the differences between cradle and bluetooth (iPhone only here)?

No experience with Tesla but in other cars you get better sound quality in the cradle and volum settings on the phone will not impact volume in the car.

 

[internalaudit]

I didn't go through most of the reviews. Did the reviewers compared the Model 3 to any car besides a Porsche? Would be interested to know to what cars they drew parallels.

 

[erthquake]

I didn't go through most of the reviews. Did the reviewers compared the Model 3 to any car besides a Porsche? Would be interested to know to what cars they drew parallels.

Alfa Romeo Giulia ("maybe even Quadrifoglio") by MotorTrend.

Exclusive: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review - Motor Trend

 

[Drivesolo]

OCDetailing's Tesla Model 3 - Driving Impression

 

[troubledmind]

I'm sad to hear about the turning radius. Looks like the software has much work. I hope the buttons on the steering wheel become a lot more functional. It'd be great if you could control the screen with just the buttons and scrolling on the steering wheel.

 

[Tam]

Have anyone seen Model 3 energy consumption screen yet?

 

[gregincal]

Have anyone seen Model 3 energy consumption screen yet?

I don't think there is one yet.

 

[3mp_kwh]

OCDetailing's Tesla Model 3 - Driving Impression

I thought it was pretty fair. He didn't warm up to the screen, and I'm feeling the same. The more I think about placement of controls for critical stuff, like whether Autopilot sees lanes or not, the less comfortable I am. It would be an awesome Level 5 layout. For those who have to drive it, however, I'm still wondering why? This car is to the Model S, what the Miata is to a 3,000lb sports car, but there's that center screen. What driver would rather pin the tail on an iPad, when they could just press, flip, or spin something, and get back to enjoying the low CG, and power, of the Model 3?

 

[gregincal]

I thought it was pretty fair. He didn't warm up to the screen, and I'm feeling the same. The more I think about placement of controls for critical stuff, like whether Autopilot sees lanes or not, the less comfortable I am. It would be an awesome Level 5 layout. For those who have to drive it, however, I'm still wondering why? This car is to the Model S, what the Miata is to a 3,000lb sports car, but there's that center screen. What driver would rather pin the tail on an iPad, when they could just press, flip, or spin something, and get back to enjoying the low CG, and power, of the Model 3?

He was comparing the touchscreen layout to the Model S. It's smaller, so compromises were necessary.

 

[RedAntisocial]

I'm hoping to get more control out of the features and functions on the touch screen via the steering wheel controls. Having those controls be custom configurable would be even nicer. But really? The only thing I ever really play with in my current car while driving is the audio, switching between podcasts, spotify, and audio books, etc. And I spend a LOT of time in my car.

 

[bambam4171]

Astonished this link is not yet up here?

 

[RedAntisocial]

Astonished this link is not yet up here?

It is...

Russian language owner video

 

[bambam4171]

Thanks, didn't see that

 

[pangolina]

Not a bad video despite some cameraman profanity words at the beginning . And VVS.

The car is from the batch of first 100. Sounds like both driver and the passenger like it. Driver said that in his opinion stereo is better than premium one in Model S. The car is very quiet on the road - cameraman commented that he couldn't hear the motor vine.

Second half of the video is more Q&A about Model 3 production delays. One of the details (new to me, but is probably a known fact): according to the driver (he's a Tesla employee), they were digging holes for assembly line foundation pillars in March, robots arrived in April, and first cars were made in July. Sorry for rough translation.

 

[Sammyzuko]

Doug DeMuro does his thing with a M3.

 

[Electroman]

TLDR: 68 out of 100 - best score yet for a car in this price category; Great all around car

Interestingly he raves about the acceleration but only gives a score of 5.

 

[Qualchan]

And then there‘s this sort of review of Doug DeMuro’s review, and the Model 3:

“The Truth Behind Doug DeMuro's Tesla Model 3 Review - The Drive.”​

The author, Alex Roy, implies that DeMuro’s review was essentially “aw shucks clickbait” that missed the essential secret of Tesla’s impending disruption and dominance of the world automobile market. Alex Roy’s piece is writerly and insightful at points:

“One thing is certain: When the auto sector as we know it is annihilated, it will be because of the Model 3. Based on what I experienced, everything in the Model 3 will be duplicated by everyone else, except for the public relations and mythology, which no automaker outside of the hypercar circles understand.”​

That last line sums up the mystique of the Tesla brand that infuses Elon’s affordable car, created by the hypercar-crushing ludicrous Models S and X. Does the author have confidence in Tesla and the Model 3?

“In an increasingly commoditized world, brand is everything. By that standard, Tesla has already won. Every Model 3 would literally have to explode on opening the door for the brand to take a hit, and even then it probably wouldn’t matter. Tesla holds too many cards—good, bad and unknown—to lose. What is “winning” and “losing” for a poker player as good as Elon Musk, who can afford to come back to the table over and over? As long as the Model 3 is halfway decent—and it's clearly far better than that—Tesla will survive.”

Lots of interesting ideas and tidbits here. And Alex Roy's other articles look interesting as well - Alex Roy