To you, what are the small, lesser known things that make the Model 3 just brilliant?

[WilliamG]

Yeah yeah we know it's fast, the instant torque, blah blah - but what are the less commonly known things?

Here are some of mine:

1.) The air conditioning is a revelation. I don't mean the vent design. I mean the fact that it's always cold. Whether doing 65+ on the highway or sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the air conditioning is fantastic, and better/more consistent than any ICE vehicle due to the way electric works (someone with more technical know-how can explain this).

2.) Free up-to-date maps for life. Is there any other car that has free LTE built in? I know that in the future it will be $100 a year (whenever Tesla enables this), but maps will ALWAYS work with or without the premium fee. You won't see the live traffic, but the mapping will still use it, and it will still be free. This is so great, especially for the older folks who don't live on their cell phones for CarPlay or Android Auto.

3.) The design of the phone holder, whether you replace it with a wireless charger or not - is brilliant. Even in the Model 3 Performance, with my wireless charger, under full-beans acceleration the phone doesn't move one iota. Amusingly, though, the g-forces of acceleration do light up my iPhone XS Max's display because it must think it's being picked up. Anyway, the angled design is extremely thoughtful, and I'm never worried about the phone going flying, while the screen is super easy to read.

I'm sure there are more, and when I think of them I'll add to the list. Again, just the lesser-known stuff, please! I'm interested to learn more things about the excellent nuances of this car.

 

[XLR82XS]

I haven't taken delivery of my 3 yet but i keep reading things here and on the web about how great the A/C is. This is a huge plus for me living in S. Florida and during the summer months the leave-on system will most definitely be treat when parked outside.

 

[WilliamG]

I haven't taken delivery of my 3 yet but i keep reading things here and on the web about how great the A/C is. This is a huge plus for me living in S. Florida and during the summer months the leave-on system will most definitely be treat when parked outside.

You're so in for a treat re: AC. It's just so great.

 

[UTMB]

Yes, climate control. Just did a 12 hr round trip another wife liked it. That’s proof enough. Seriously, it is quiet and infinitely adjustable. Everyone was happy.

Also, headlights are brilliant, literally.

Both features have a high function/sexy ratio.

 

[WilliamG]

Yes, climate control. Just did a 12 hr round trip another wife liked it. That’s proof enough. Seriously, it is quiet and infinitely adjustable. Everyone was happy.

Also, headlights are brilliant, literally.

Both features have a high function/sexy ratio.

Oooh yeah, the headlights are GREAT, and I recommend keeping the fogs on - it helps illuminate the road right in front of you, - handy for seeing potholes at night!

 

[iluvmacs]

The fact that the car warns me if I close the console lid too hard. I've been doing it wrong my whole life!

 

[WilliamG]

The fact that the car warns me if I close the console lid too hard. I've been doing it wrong my whole life!

The interesting thing about that is that it's actually nothing to do with closing the console lid too hard! If you close it gently just enough that the light goes out, you'll notice it's not actually fully closed - but if you do that gentle closing (stopping it with your finger over and over), it will give you the same result - a warning about closing the lid too hard. That seems to imply that the car has no idea how hard you're closing the lid, but it does detect the light going on and off and THINKS (as it should, under normal use) that the reason is because someone is slamming the lid.

Either way, it's very clever.

 

[groovidad]

Pressing the button on the charging handle to open the charge port cover, instead of having to use the phone. Simple, maybe less of an experience but, cool, just the same.

 

[WilliamG]

Pressing the button on the charging handle to open the charge port cover, instead of having to use the phone. Simple, maybe less of an experience but, cool, just the same.

Yeah, the bummer about that is this only works if the car or charge port is specifically unlocked. Be nice if it worked this way when the car was locked, if it detected the phone nearby when you press the charger button.

 

[jkdman123]

Yeah, the bummer about that is this only works if the car or charge port is specifically unlocked. Be nice if it worked this way when the car was locked, if it detected the phone nearby when you press the charger button.

I think it has to do with sleeping, not necessarily the lock condition. I've pressed the button on the charger and opened the port even when the car is locked.

As for other brilliant stuff, the backup camera is LIGHTYEARS ahead of any other camera I've seen in both field of view and clarity (either day or night!!). And the back up lines that move to adjust for a turn while backing up are great in their simplicity. Other cars do this but they're a lot busier, which isn't necessarily better.

The panoramic roof is also a work of art given that it does about the same job as an opaque roof when it comes to heat transfer in the car on a sunny day.

 

[SageBrush]

Nice idea for a thread although for me it is more a case of small things adding up to more than the sum of the parts. So much so that most of the time I don't really appreciate any particular feature so much as I just really enjoy using the car. A well-worn, perfect fit baseball glove comes to mind.

If I had to pick one minor feature as cool it would be the sentry and mirror use of geo-fencing. SO much thought has gone into this car, it is humbling.

 

[groovidad]

Yeah, the bummer about that is this only works if the car or charge port is specifically unlocked. Be nice if it worked this way when the car was locked, if it detected the phone nearby when you press the charger button.

I think it has to do with sleeping, not necessarily the lock condition. I've pressed the button on the charger and opened the port even when the car is locked.

As for other brilliant stuff, the backup camera is LIGHTYEARS ahead of any other camera I've seen in both field of view and clarity (either day or night!!). And the back up lines that move to adjust for a turn while backing up are great in their simplicity. Other cars do this but they're a lot busier, which isn't necessarily better.

The panoramic roof is also a work of art given that it does about the same job as an opaque roof when it comes to heat transfer in the car on a sunny day.

I had to think on the charge issue and went out to verify and you are correct, jkdman. Car locked, phone in pocket, pressed button and port opened. Haven’t tried on “sleep”....yet. Ahhh, the little things.

 

[Dan203]

You're so in for a treat re: AC. It's just so great.

That’s good to know. A/C in BMWs suck. Even full blast it’s not that cold.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

The main appeal of an EV for me is a few key points. Not really Tesla specific though.

• Effectively no penalty for getting in and immediately accelerating full throttle in any weather
• Inverter driven electric A/C means nearly full cooling performance at any speed with no performance penalty
• Electric heat means the car can preheat in an enclosed garage
• Typically good low end grunt and linear throttle for easier low speed control and vehicle placement
• Unusual combination of high efficiency and good power
• Ability to charge off several sources of power that can be generated relatively easily for improved personal sustainability

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

That’s good to know. A/C in BMWs suck. Even full blast it’s not that cold.

The A/C compressor on effectively all of the non hybrid ICE vehicles is driven off the engine. The faster the compressor spins, effectively the higher it’s cooling power. It’s also limited by airflow, but that one is a limitation for both cars to varying degrees. The issue is, hot weather tends to mean low idle speeds, so low cooling power at idle. Where you often want the A/C the most, sitting in traffic or a parking lot, it performs the worst. Electric cars don’t have a thing always spinning to power a compressor, so they use a dedicated electric compressor. Although unlike a window A/C unit, they use variable speed ones that are often a bit ‘smarter’ and have sensors for temperatures and pressures through the system. This makes for improved efficiency, better performance, lower noise, and often times very good performance even parked on a hot day. And one nice feature of a variable speed system is it can generally control the compressor speed to ensure the evaporator never goes below freezing without cycling the compressor. This means you can get ice cold near freezing air out of the vents when there’s enough capacity or low enough fan speed. With a typical ICE vehicle, the compressor has ‘on’ and ‘off’, so if there’s too much cooling it shuts off to avoid freezing the evaporator. This is the ‘clunk’ you can hear when idling with the A/C running in an ICE car. But it means you get cool air that gets colder, then the compressor stops and the air gets a bit warmer until it kicks back on and repeats. With a variable speed system you usually don’t need to stop the compressor so the air is always cold unless the system runs out of capacity when it’s really hot. And it also means it can run at full throttle and at high ‘engine speed’. With an ICE, the compressor will cycle off automatically at high engine speed to avoid internal damage since it’s generally not designed to spin at the full engine speed through whatever drive ratio it’s running. So if you’re driving aggressively you get poor or no cooling. And at high enough speeds the A/C may literally not work at all. My Leaf cooled down faster and the compressor wasn’t as loud as my 3, but it didn’t have a glass roof. The capacity on the 3 is a bit less than I would have expected as it does take a while to cool down on a hot day. But it’s very much superior to other ICE cars, just not impressive for an EV.

 

[WilliamG]

I had to think on the charge issue and went out to verify and you are correct, jkdman. Car locked, phone in pocket, pressed button and port opened. Haven’t tried on “sleep”....yet. Ahhh, the little things.

This is correct. If you lock the car, you'll still be able to unlock the charging port with the charger button before the car sleeps. I'm not sure how long the car takes to sleep (20 minutes?), but when it's asleep you'll no longer be able to unlock the charging port just with the button.

 

[heysteveh]

For me, the first time I drove one, I pulled up to a stoplight and it was perfectly still and quiet inside. Even though I knew this would be the case, experiencing it was a revelation to me. My previous car was a Mercedes C250. It was very quiet, and sitting at a stoplight I could not hear the engine run or consciously feel the car shake at all. In an ICE, even if it is super quiet at a stoplight you still "sense" that the car is on with engine running, either through miniscule virbrations or other sensory type things. In the Tesla all those unconscious sensory things are GONE when you are stopped at a traffic light. It actually relaxes me!

I live in Phoenix and right now it is often over 110 degrees. When I park my ICE car in the garage after a trip, the heat from the hot engine makes the hot garage that much worse... not with the Tesla! And of course with the Tesla, I love running the AC before I come out to the car while the garage is still closed.

Overall, I have to agree with this:

Nice idea for a thread although for me it is more a case of small things adding up to more than the sum of the parts

All these little things add up to the best experience I've ever had with a car!

 

[astrowunder]

This is correct. If you lock the car, you'll still be able to unlock the charging port with the charger button before the car sleeps. I'm not sure how long the car takes to sleep (20 minutes?), but when it's asleep you'll no longer be able to unlock the charging port just with the button.

Actually, you CAN! The trick is (without your phone or key card), 'try' to open a door or the trunk. The door won't open, but this wakes up the car enough that the charge port will now open with the button. (random pro-tip)

 

[woodisgood]

I’m not sure how common the first is in other cars, but my wife loves the magnetic mirror covers in the sun visors as well as the clothes hooks in the back.

 

[camalaio]

Well, there's EV and then there's Model 3. I'll skip the EV points...

• The exterior is simple to wash by hand. There aren't a ton of crevices of a complex grill, mostly just smooth surfaces. This helps a lot.
• The best maps/traffic experience you will ever have in a car outside Android Auto, But of course, the map is larger than most Android Auto setups. (this point can be countered with "But I want to use Waze!", which people don't use in my area)
• Oddly, having the odd-one-out connector for charging actually means I have more destination charging options around here than other vehicles. There are sometimes an extra Tesla wall connector, sometimes the Tesla wall connector is the only charger.
• Some spirited driving doesn't impact efficiency much at all if you take full advantage of regen, which is easy to do.
• It's been a great EV conversion conversation piece for my wife's work (she's the primary driver). A decent handful of folks are considering EVs in their future now that someone at their workplace has one to field questions.

Just to maintain balance, a negative...

• The fake "leather" for some reason really collects dry skin, for example if you put your elbow on the armrest or door. Why?!