about the UI thing its not really up to the eye of the beholder the number 1 rule in human computer interface design is least clicks to accomplish your goal. In the case of the 3 vs S the 3 ALWAYS has more clicks and has a more room for error since it is all touch screen so it is infact inferior.
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Two days with Model 3 impressions/review- This is not a mini model S
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about the UI thing its not really up to the eye of the beholder the number 1 rule in human computer interface design is least clicks to accomplish your goal. In the case of the 3 vs S the 3 ALWAYS has more clicks and has a more room for error since it is all touch screen so it is infact inferior.
DennisLevitt
Member
smorgasbord
Active Member
There are two positions for the stalk in each direction:
A) A slight move will flash the turn signal 3 times and then stop
B) Move to the end of travel will keep the turn signal on until you turn the wheel back, or until you click stalk again.
Note that pushing away from you brings up the high beams - unless the high beams are already on, in which case they turn off.
That said, I'm getting a new software update in a couple hours, so maybe that'll change? ;^)
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smorgasbord
Active Member
Yeah, I'm thinking the Contis that come with the 19" wheels aren't up to snuff. My road home includes a mile of switchbacks up the hill. It's too easy to have wheel slip on the pavement. And that's with the road being dry.
At least I hope it's the tires. Otherwise I'll be thinking about upgrading to AWD much sooner than I thought.
smorgasbord
Active Member
Note that the rear cargo mat makes access to the underneath cargo bin a bit more difficult.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
That’s exactly how BMW does it. I thought it was weird at first but now prefer it to our other cars.
AllDigital
Member
I took delivery of a new Model 3 this morning. I think that autopilot's write-up is spot on. This is a fantastic car. My expectations were exceeded.
There are a number of things that are better than my 2015 P85D. The phone as a key, the center console, those amazing "digital" vents, and a lighter more nimble feeling. On the other hand, the Model S is bigger and more luxury. In Mercedes speak, the Tesla Model 3 is a very nice "E Class" or "C Class" to the Model S "S Class". Newer cars, regardless of "class", will always have a few more bells and whistles. A new Mercedes E class is 10X better than a old 2005 S Class, as an extreme example.
The single simplified UI of the Model 3 takes some adjustment. I truly believe it is the future of all cars, but for 100 years we've been programmed to look through the steering wheel at a gauge. For many things the UI is better, but having to go two taps down for the glove box or going a few taps down to adjust mirrors can be tough. Like getting used to a new iPhone, in a few years, we'll all wonder why cars had so many freaking nobs and buttons (and drivers). Old cars will feel like Blackberries.
In the first 4-5 hours of driving we had no major issues. The fit and finish is great and the buying experience was amazing. I spent 3 hours buying a Range Rover last Summer and had no less than 7 arguments with the dealer and F&I team. This car at Tesla was 5 minutes of paperwork signing in Marina del Rey followed by 30 minutes of training/overview for my wife and I. It was personal and delightful and I even got a Tesla latte.
As the title of the post says, it is not a mini-Model S, but it is still a truly awesome car. Almost six years in and Tesla continues to amaze me.
There are a number of things that are better than my 2015 P85D. The phone as a key, the center console, those amazing "digital" vents, and a lighter more nimble feeling. On the other hand, the Model S is bigger and more luxury. In Mercedes speak, the Tesla Model 3 is a very nice "E Class" or "C Class" to the Model S "S Class". Newer cars, regardless of "class", will always have a few more bells and whistles. A new Mercedes E class is 10X better than a old 2005 S Class, as an extreme example.
The single simplified UI of the Model 3 takes some adjustment. I truly believe it is the future of all cars, but for 100 years we've been programmed to look through the steering wheel at a gauge. For many things the UI is better, but having to go two taps down for the glove box or going a few taps down to adjust mirrors can be tough. Like getting used to a new iPhone, in a few years, we'll all wonder why cars had so many freaking nobs and buttons (and drivers). Old cars will feel like Blackberries.
In the first 4-5 hours of driving we had no major issues. The fit and finish is great and the buying experience was amazing. I spent 3 hours buying a Range Rover last Summer and had no less than 7 arguments with the dealer and F&I team. This car at Tesla was 5 minutes of paperwork signing in Marina del Rey followed by 30 minutes of training/overview for my wife and I. It was personal and delightful and I even got a Tesla latte.
As the title of the post says, it is not a mini-Model S, but it is still a truly awesome car. Almost six years in and Tesla continues to amaze me.
MarkS22
Member
Completely agree. I’ve been advocating an upgradable center screen/GPU for years. Make it easy to pop in a new one for $2,500. You can already swap out the seats, battery, and Autopilot hardware. A modular interface is the last piece of the puzzle to “future proofs your $100k investment. And Tesla is in an unprecedented position to offer this.
Actually, I still fined it quite easy since I usually lift up the loop tab and hold to get stuff in and out. For sure it’s not as easy to flip out and push back without the mat. For our use case we store less frequently accessed things in the lower compartment.
The mat is well designed with a cutout to allow access to the lifting loop.
Sunroof.
Air Suspenson, not sure if that is ever coming to 3. Heated steering and rear seats. Auto lift trunk. Unlimited super charging. 2.4 seconds to 60. The list is getting shorter and shorter. Hope S refresh comes soon.
Sunroof.
The list is getting shorter and shorter. Hope S refresh comes soon.
AIr suspension is definitely coming, but you couldn't pay me to take one of those. Personally could not care less about heated rear seats, I'll never be sitting back there. Unlimited supercharging… great, all of like five bucks a month savings for me
Sunroof, heated steering wheel? Totally valid.For my purposes I think the model 3 is a flat out better car. I know we all value different things in vehicles but I wouldn't take a brand new 100D over a Model 3 even if the 100D was at the Model 3's price. I spent 3 days with a Model S realllllly trying to convince myself to order one instead of continuing to wait for the 3 but there were too many things about it that I didn't like and I thought that the $34k difference between how I'd configure an S and how I'm configuring my 3 resulted in far too many downgrades and far too few improvements.
That said, if the Model 3 weren't coming I'd probably have bought the S and complained constantly about all the shortcomings, so you should probably all be happy that didn't happen
Callahan
Member
AIr suspension is definitely coming, but you couldn't pay me to take one of those. Personally could not care less about heated rear seats, I'll never be sitting back there. Unlimited supercharging… great, all of like five bucks a month savings for me
For my purposes I think the model 3 is a flat out better car. I know we all value different things in vehicles but I wouldn't take a brand new 100D over a Model 3 even if the 100D was at the Model 3's price. I spent 3 days with a Model S realllllly trying to convince myself to order one instead of continuing to wait for the 3 but there were too many things about it that I didn't like and I thought that the $34k difference between how I'd configure an S and how I'm configuring my 3 resulted in far too many downgrades and far too few improvements.
That said, if the Model 3 weren't coming I'd probably have bought the S and complained constantly about all the shortcomings, so you should probably all be happy that didn't happen
@run-the-joules I personally agree. For me, I prefer the Model 3's smaller size, minimalist interior, and design aesthetic to the Model S. What are the qualities of the 3 that you prefer, and what features - if changed / removed - would make you shift to a Model S?
Things I prefer on the 3 (in no particular order):
1. Size - I don't like large cars. I don't have and never will have kids, and I rarely find myself carrying more than one passenger. The S is big enough that it would have complicated my parking situation at home to the point where I'd likely have needed to start parking my motorcycle outside, which I'm not a fan of doing.
2. Exterior design - The S is fine, I just prefer the 3.
3. Traditional coil suspension. The magnetic suspension on my current car was a bit north of $6k to replace out of warranty when it crapped out. The air suspension on my Audi was somewhere about $4k. I'm not really keen to do that dance again, and if I owned a car with a magic suspension in the future it means I'm committing to never owning it out of warranty.
4. More usable interior amenities for storage. I like having things like coat hooks and door pockets. I use them a lot.
5. No gimmicky, unreliable door handles.
6. MCU performance. I work in tech, and tech with deficient UI responsiveness drives me loopier than a rollercoaster park.
7. Sun visors. Not the mirrors or lighting or the suspiciously-reminiscent-of-my-iPad covers on the mirror. Just the fact that the size is usable.
8. Overall value for the dollar. I'm a cheapass at heart. Just because I can "afford" a thing doesn't mean I'll buy it if there's something else that fits my needs at a lower price without making large compromises.
9. Specifically, range for the dollar!
10. Minor quibbles about the S all grouped together because they're tiny annoyances. I hate the center console design for both usability and comfort. The door armrests are about two inches too low (Model 3 may have the same problem, TBD once I've actually driven one instead of a very quick sit). The center display for someone my height is mighty far away and leaning toward to use it is annoying. Didn't seem to be a problem in the 3. The interior door pulls are a stupid design and I hate them, even if they're pretty. The headlights are also pretty mediocre but that's a common problem in modern cars. Allegedly the 3's are better?
Things I prefer on the S (in no particular order, except for #6):
1. All-wheel drive.
2. Speed, speed, badass speed.
3. Power liftgate
4. Heated steering wheel.
5. Better interior trim options. The piano black plastic in the 3 is stupid and I hate it with the fire of a thousand nuclear wars.
6. Instrument cluster. Intentionally last because I honestly do not expect to care long term, but the 3's UI so far needs a few tweaks to be adequately info-dense. That said, my current car has a HUD and in implementing it, the manufacturer made some egregious UI missteps and I will be more than happy to not have a HUD as a result.
If they wanted to get me to buy an S instead of a 3 (interesting question, btw), it'd take a pretty serious interior refresh to start with, and would need to add more *value*, not just more *prestige*. Bring back ventilated seats and make them not suck (literally). But really even with those changes I'd still ask myself "is this worth the price difference?" and be hard to convince.
Callahan
Member
Triple yes. I'm hoping detailers are already finding solutions for this. I live in LA, but want to take delivery in Fremont so I can get tinted at OCDetailing. Hoping they have a nice looking wrap for the piano madness.
Edit: And thanks for the in-depth reply! Pretty much agree with all of it.
My pleasure! I'm fully expecting to spend many hours wrapping the interior trim myself the first week with the car, grumbling the whole time. Goes back to that whole cheapass thing… I know I can do just as good of a job without paying labor costs, so I'll do it. Tint, on the other hand, I will leave to the pros.
Callahan
Member
I wish I could do that. I simply don't trust myself to have the patience and precision to wrap it myself. Thank goodness the screen protector I bought for my Switch came with a backup, because I completely screwed up the first pass...
Patience is definitely the key for interior wraps. THAT SAID, depending how much work has to be done to get certain pieces out might mean I accept a slightly lower quality of install. if I have to completely remove the door panel to release the window control panel thingie (I don't know the word?!) so I can do the wrap properly, I'll potentially (based on how the fasteners are designed) do best-effort and see how it looks installing-in-place. Door panel tomfoolery is where rattles come from…
EXOTIC1
Member
AIr suspension is definitely coming, but you couldn't pay me to take one of those. Personally could not care less about heated rear seats, I'll never be sitting back there. Unlimited supercharging… great, all of like five bucks a month savings for me
For my purposes I think the model 3 is a flat out better car. I know we all value different things in vehicles but I wouldn't take a brand new 100D over a Model 3 even if the 100D was at the Model 3's price. I spent 3 days with a Model S realllllly trying to convince myself to order one instead of continuing to wait for the 3 but there were too many things about it that I didn't like and I thought that the $34k difference between how I'd configure an S and how I'm configuring my 3 resulted in far too many downgrades and far too few improvements.
That said, if the Model 3 weren't coming I'd probably have bought the S and complained constantly about all the shortcomings, so you should probably all be happy that didn't happen
agree with most of the observations however
the S styling IMO is much better (elegant)
the 3 looks kind of "frumpy"(similar to the X) almost a kind of crossover.
I do like the 3 from the front has the porsche look about it.
Lets not forget that Model 3 headlights are MUCH MUCH better/brighter than Refresh Model S!
On the other hand, the steering wheel is a bit too small for my taste in the Model 3. Model S is nice big and luxurious, but model 3 is slightly too small. Makes for quick turns though.
The gap between S and 3 features is smaller than I expected when we first made the reservation 1.5 years ago. Very happy I get to drive my wife's 3 once in a while. Its just a fun car.
When Dual motor performance versions come out its going to be very interesting. S needs a refresh bad! Maybe 3 motors.
jgs
Active Member
I'm a little surprised by the number of posts hating on the Model S CID. I very much doubt I'd drop the mooted $2500 to get nothing but improved rez and more responsiveness, because I find the current rez and responsiveness adequate to the task. More than adequate, usually. I might part with $2500 to fix the software, notably the still-buggy-and-feature-poor-as-hell media player, but I would also be annoyed to spend that money on something that (a) is really a software problem and shouldn't require new hardware, and (b) should have been right to begin with.
Total tangent, but all the talk about the reverse cam reminds me that a killer feature for me would be self-cleaning reverse cam. During winter/road salt season, I have to wipe it on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day, or it's worse than useless.
Total tangent, but all the talk about the reverse cam reminds me that a killer feature for me would be self-cleaning reverse cam. During winter/road salt season, I have to wipe it on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day, or it's worse than useless.
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