Im 6’ 10” with 39” inseam - so Im about a 50/50 Body/legs configuration.
Friend passed this post to me as I to am concerned with the M3 interior space.
My 30 years of driving I have experienced that Lateral Knee Space is the biggest issue - with center consoles getting so wide with each new generation of car - its ridiculous. And unfortunately the MS has that nice 17” display right where my knee wants to go. If the center display was just a couple inches to the right it would be perfect… that 17” screen should encroach the passenger area, not the driver area. Better yet, it should be on a gimbal or somehow adjustable to make knee space & to adjust for sun glare.
I have driven MS many times and its just great. But after driving a MS for an entire day, I got to the point of almost regretting having to get into it as I walked up to the car. Not that that would prevent me from owning a MS, but defiantly has me waiting to see other options (M3, Bolt). But in a two EV household, one car will need to be a Tesla for road trips - so I am waiting with high hopes that the M3 interior can deliver the space I need.
So getting in & out of MS is the biggest point of discomfort because the windshield pillars are still sloping back above the door entry, reducing the vertical entrance space enough that I have to contort my way in. If I have a soar neck from something (sleeping wrong, etc…) it would be painful to get in & out of. Thats what concerns me the most regarding the M3. Elons own description states that the drivers area is pushed farther forward than the MS so the driver sits closer to the front, providing max headroom for the BACK sear passengers. That seems to imply that the entry space for the front seats is reduced by the windshield slope even more than the MS
In my opinion thats absurd. Front seats should be spatially optimum for the driver and the back seats should get whats left over. As the owner of the car I don’t care about the headroom in the back, I am always in the front seat - so attention to space & comfort should have no sacrifices to provide more space in the back. I get the whole “seats 5” thing as a competitive selling point in the auto market, for for families, etc… but this is a sub-mid sized car - perhaps a family who needs space should stick with a mini-van or MX, even a MS. Elon seems to be overly concerned with that, as he says specifically, ‘Seats 5 adults comfortably” and he re emphasizes comfortably in the back.
At any rate, inside the MS is more comfortable than most cars, but not as much as a car of that size should be. Its not uncomfortable, but not optimal for me at 6’10”. My knee hits the 17” display corner. Other than that the legroom is good. Headroom is tight with just an inch or less, and despite what the Tesla Associates say, the Glass roof does not help much wit headspace because of the additional roof beams. Directly under the glass is more headroom, but in the drivers set, my head is not in the center of the car, my head is to the left side of the interior - right where the additional roof beam structures are. A solid metal roof actually has more headroom, particularly towards the side,
The Mosel X is the absolute best regarding driver comfort, even for me. Headroom, legroom, lateral knee space - all are generous in the X & its an absolute pleaser to get in & out as well.
BUT… I don’t care for the Falcon doors & the other nonsense features like auto door open/close, etc…
Of course this is all speculation on the M3 at this point, so until they show up on the street and I can actually get in one - I have high hopes that my M3 reservation will turn into a M3 in my garage
Otherwise I will have to consider the MS. Or maybe there will be a stripped down BASE model X with out the Falcon doors in the near future
Just for additional info, what we drive now is a Leaf & a Spark EV.
The Leaf is a mid sized car, is quite comfortable for me, with plenty headroom, but is tight with lateral knee space & a non telescoping steering wheel makes it tighter than I’d like.
The spark is very small, the wife’s car primarily, but surprisingly I have plenty of headroom. The issue is the narrow-ness of the car & knee space. I can drive it fine, but its very tight.
But then again, interior car space & lateral Knee Space are just common issues I have learned to live with. I don’t like big trucks & monster SUV’s - and interestingly enough, some huge SUV’s have even worse knee space.