https://electrek.co/2018/01/01/tesla-model-3-early-impressions/
Tesla Model 3 Early Impressions – it’s as good as we hoped it would be
Tesla has finally started shipping Model 3 in significant numbers, and as a Roadster owner, an early reservation holder and a California resident,
I’ve been lucky enough to get one of the first batches of cars sent to non-employees, and have been spending the last two days driving it, giving test rides, and trying to figure out everything I can about the car over the course of this busy holiday weekend.
Without getting too into the weeds (yet), I want to share some of my early impressions. I’ll post more details in the coming days and weeks of ownership.
The other day we
asked for your questions about the car, and while I’ll touch on a few things about that in this article, I’m not going to answer all of them now, and will do a “your questions answered” article once I’ve had a little more time with the car. (*update: here’s the post:
Tesla Model 3 – Your questions answered)
While
we’ve had a chance to drive the car before, that was just a short drive around the factory. Fred’s impressions from that drive largely match mine, so far, but his was a very early model while Tesla was only just starting to deliver to employees and now Tesla is finally ramping up production and getting cars in the hands of customers, so I’ve got the “real deal” so-to-speak, with a VIN in the mid-2000s.
Fit and Finish
I’m going to answer this first because it’s one of the more common questions people have about this car. Many people have shared photos of inconsistent body panel gaps on release candidate Model 3s. I don’t particularly care about this too much myself, because as long as the car looks good and is fun to drive and has nice technology in it, I don’t need everything to be perfect down to the sub-millimeter level. But many people do care, and this can be seen as a symptom of poor manufacturing processes as if things don’t fit together well, a car can have service issues down the road.
After seeing my car and three other “first batch to the public” cars up close in the last couple days, I can report that the cars by and large do not seem to have significant issues with panel gaps.
Early Model S had a lot of issues with inconsistent panel gaps, but as Tesla built more and more of them, this problem has been disappearing. Many thought that the same would happen with Model 3 – that early cars would have issues, and later cars wouldn’t. The fact that these “first-batch” cars to the public do not have these issues shows that Tesla is not just getting better at making the Model S, but better at making cars in general.
At the few car meetups I’ve been to this weekend, everyone I’ve asked has observed the same – that the fit and finish seems much improved from what they expected after seeing early Model S cars and release candidate Model 3s.
Driving experience
On to the driving. The first thing I noticed is that the handling is
superb. The car feels very “pointy” – it’s extremely responsive on turn-in, and feels much more nimble than a Model S due to its ~1,000lb lower weight. There is virtually no body roll due to the low center of gravity. The steering in sport mode feels perfect and responsive, though there are comfort and standard modes as well if you prefer lighter weight on the steering wheel. Keep in mind here my daily driver is a Roadster.
I need to underline that whole paragraph. This car’s handling is really great. I love it. I really really love it. It’s my favorite thing about the car so far.
Acceleration feels similar to a ~70D. It’s not as “punchy” as my Roadster or any “P” Model S, but it’s still got great pedal response and good power through the range. Regen is strong but still a little weaker than the Chevy Bolt and less than I’d like; it’s possible that it will be stronger in the future all-wheel drive version of the car.
On my first drive of the car (in Southern California), in mixed driving, I averaged an impressive 246 Wh/mi, which translates to an effective range of ~305 miles. It should be easy to get more than 310 miles of range with a little effort and under the right conditions (especially with
aero caps attached).
Rear visibility for the driver leaves something to be desired. The trunk lid is quite high, which obstructs the rear view significantly. I usually like to sit low in the car, but adjusted the power seat upwards because rear visibility is poor. This is particularly true at nighttime, when this can obstruct the driver’s view of a following car’s headlights, making the following car almost invisible. As a workaround, it’s possible to drive with the rear-view camera on, and the touchscreen button to activate it is in the most convenient position for the driver to reach. I believe this may have been an intentional UI decision by Tesla to make up for poor rear visibility.
Comfort
Interior room is ample. Headroom and legroom are not going to be a concern for the vast majority of passengers, the headroom is positively cavernous and the glass roof makes the rear feel very open. As for width, with three below-average sized passengers in the back, the shoulder room was “okay, about as good as you’d expect from a sedan this size.” This is a real five-seater.
The car is very quiet inside, even at highway speed. Bluetooth calls are clear and easy to understand both for the driver and for the person on the other side of the call.
Suspension is tight, and if I were looking for something to nitpick, ride quality would be it. A tight suspension is good for performance driving and responsive handling which Model 3 has in spades, but a tighter suspension also makes the ride a bit harsher.
Technology
The screen is is smaller and has fewer functions than that of the S/X, but it is much more touch-responsive and has a snappier user interface. Switching the map view from streets to full satellite view happens almost instantly, dragging and zooming the map is smooth, and there’s no lag when interacting with touch buttons needed while driving. This is good, because a touchscreen interface can require more attention than physical buttons, and lag just increases the time the driver isn’t paying attention to the road, so minimizing lag is very important and Tesla has done this very well in the Model 3.
The steering wheel buttons serve a variety of uses, though there are some functions missing – in the S it’s possible to adjust fan speed or other settings with the right scroll wheel, but that function is not available on the 3. Hopefully this will be added in an update soon, because right now the right scroll wheel doesn’t do enough. The right scroll wheel does activate voice commands, and responsiveness to them has been improved significantly.
Bugs
It’s an early production car so there are bound to be a few bugs. These have been reported on fairly widely, largely sourced from the Model 3 Road Trip facebook page where several problems have been documented – and we’ll hear all about those when Fred interviews You You Xue, the driver undertaking the trip, when he gets to Montreal later this week. So far, I have only experienced one of these bugs – the audio system made cracking sounds after hanging up a bluetooth call, which I solved by rebooting the screen by holding down the steering wheel buttons for a few seconds. Early owners should get used to this gesture while any kinks are worked out, but Tesla will surely fix most of them soon with over-the-air updates.
Wrap-up
There are a lot of details I’ve left out of this post which I’ll cover later in a more full review. Tesla really got a lot of small design features on this car right – from the vanity mirrors, to the frunk space, to the cupholders, everything seems very well-thought-out. Coming from the proof-of-concept Roadster (which I still love), and having spent plenty of time in the somewhat-idiosyncratic Model S (no lighted vanity mirrors, no door/map pockets, no place to hang the dry cleaning, etc), the Model 3 finally feels like a “real car,” and an exceptional one at that.
EV fans have all spent the last few years with a strange mixture of excitement, hopefulness and nervousness, wanting the Model 3 to be everything we hoped for but fearing that it might miss that mark, or that there might be other problems with Tesla which result in the car being less than promised or expected. But, from early impressions, Tesla seems to have done it. The car is great. You can all take a breath now.
https://electrek.co/2018/01/04/tesla-model-3-your-questions-answered/
Tesla Model 3 – Your questions answered
Last week we
asked you for questions about our Model 3, and after a few days of testing I’m here to provide answers to as many of them as I can.
I covered a few things about the car in my
first impressions post, and will go over more in a larger review post later, but I want to hit a list of many of the questions our readers asked us. I’ll mostly stick to short answers with bullet points, because there were so many hundreds of comments on our post that it will be impossible to get all of them in one go.
EXTERIOR:
- Fit and finish? Panel gaps were covered in early impressions post, they seem quite consistent both to my eyes and to others who saw it at a weekend car show we brought it to – many of them owners of expensive “show cars” where that sort of thing really matters. Have to be real picky to find an issue with them. I tend to be less picky about panel gaps but very picky about rattles and noises, and the car is almost rattle-free (the sun visor occasionally vibrates some, but a small adjustment fixes it). Everything else is solid and interior is very quiet (which makes squeaks and rattles more apparent, so it’s impressive that there is only one minor one).
- Is the keycard waterproof? It seems to be. I ran the faucet over it for a few seconds and it still worked. It’s thick plastic so there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t be waterproof or at least water resistant.
- Size compared to other cars in its class? In the time I’ve had so far, the best I could do was park it next to a 2016 328i which I happened upon and take some pictures for you. They were very similar in size.
COMFORT:
- Seat comfort? Tesla synthetic material looks and feels great. Seats are a bit softer than the S, though with less side-bolstering than the S next-gen seats. Some drivers might prefer cushier seats, especially given the 3’s tight ride quality. A friend who drives a RAV4 EV and has a herniated disc sat in the Model 3’s seats for about 45 minutes and was surprised that he didn’t experience discomfort as he often does when seated in a car for that long, so they pass that test at least.
- Ease of ingress/egress? Significantly easier than Model S (and obviously easier than Roadster). Easy entry/exit profiles and the car has tons of headroom and a more upright seating position than the S. My mother and father, who in my mother’s words are “active seniors” (and definitely not “elderly” as a previous version of this article stated) have an easier time getting in and out of 3 than S.
- How’s the sun feel coming through the glass roof? Glass coating cuts out 90-95% of UV (according to Tesla delivery specialist). My balding father who always wears a hat due to skin problems drove (hatless) with the glass roof and felt fine near noon on a sunny winter day in Southern California. Tesla sells a collapsible sunshade which cuts an additional ~2/3 for $75 if it bothers you, but this is only for the front roof not the rear one.
- Does the footwell heater work well? Yeah, your toesies will be nice and comfy. Overall, car heater and heated seats work very quickly, one passenger was impressed on a cold New Year’s morning with how quickly the car heated up, before we were even halfway down the block after starting up the car.
INTERFACE:
- Is the screen UI quicker than the Model S? Yes, it’s so smooth, it’s really a joy to use. No lag for any interactions I’ve encountered. Puts every other in-car system I’ve used to shame, including the Model S.
- How about that weird door handle? Pretty easy to get used to, though about half of people have to be told how to use it (the other half are brave enough to try it and figure it out on their own). Could see it being an issue if you’re trying to open the door with one finger while holding onto grocery bags or something. There is some possible trouble with the interior passenger-side door handle, some passengers reach for the manual release instead of the regular door release button, and manual release should be used only in emergencies as it can harm the door seals (which keep the car quiet and keep water out).
- Can wipers be activated from the stalk? Yes, a single press gives a single wipe, a press-and-hold gives spray, with more settings available on touchscreen. When using spray, it wipes 3 times, pauses, then wipes again to get rid of drips, which is cool. Wipers spray fluid from the blade just like newer Model S/X does, so you won’t make a cloud of overspray and anger the driver behind you.
- What voice commands does it have? Same as Model S, generally “call [contact],” “navigate to [place],” “play [song]” and variations thereof. Voice response is very snappy, faster than Model S, and navigation is good at figuring out where you want to go even if you give it an oddball address or intersection or weird pronunciation. Ability to play any song under the sun, like Model S, through the car’s Slacker internet radio connection, is a real crowd-pleaser.
- Backup camera quality? Doesn’t seem as sharp as the S and is VERY wide-angle, like a fisheye lens, which makes it less useful for seeing what’s going on behind you while driving forward (given the car’s poor rear visibility, this is unfortunate). Wide angle is nice for parking though and it does give you the lines overlay to see where you’re backing into.
- Is there an emergency manual release for the rear doors hidden somewhere? Tesla says there is not, and that the intention is for the driver to leave the car through the front manual release, then open the rear door with the exterior door handle if necessary, which works as a manual release.
DRIVING EXPERIENCE:
- How does it feel to have no gauges? When I had the MINI E, speedometer was in the middle of the car, further away from the driver’s eyes than in the Model 3, and it wasn’t too hard to get used to. There is a slight moment of weirdness the first time you’re driving at night and stare into the inky blackness beyond the steering wheel and panic as there is nothing to look at there, but it’s not a concern beyond that. The most important info is the closest to the driver and it’s really right next to the wheel from the driver’s perspective so it doesn’t take any more attention to look for it, you’re just looking in a slightly different place than usual. Other cars have had center instrument clusters before, you’ll get used to it.
- Visibility? Front is great, sides is good/normal, rear is poor because of the high trunk lid. Adding rear tint would probably negatively affect visibility as well because of the sloping glass. Compounding this problem, my rear defroster seems not to be working. I’ve been assured by other owners that their defrosters do work, so I suppose a service visit is in order.
- Actual 0-60? Just over 5 seconds, as advertised. Note that Motor Trend tests all cars with a 1-foot rollout, which is why they got 4.8 seconds.
CARGO:
- Rear child seats? LATCH attachments for two seats, with a little space in the middle, middle space would really only work for a veerry skinny child. Did not try 2 car seats plus booster seat but seems like it would be too tight to work.Model 3 two car seats in rear
- Can you install a roof rack? Owner’s manual says they will eventually be available. We’ve already seen suction cups.
- Camper mode? Either I couldn’t figure out how to activate it, or it’s not there yet. I couldn’t find a “keep climate control on” setting anywhere. Later software update, perhaps? Regardless, when folding down the seats and laying down, there was plenty of room for a 6-foot-tall person to sleep. If front seat is pushed forward all the way, should be possible for someone up to a few inches taller than me.
- Rear cargo usability? Storage is very deep, both seats fold down, vertical aperture is the same as Model S with the parcel shelf installed, and there’s a cubby hole on the side which is not quite big enough to hold your charging accessory bag unless you wedge it in there a little (same goes for a 6-pack of beer). There’s space under the cargo floor though, just as in the S. Charging accessory bag is velcro so you can stick it anywhere in the trunk, and it holds on very solidly so it won’t fly around. Impressively, I was able to fit three 6-foot tall people and a carbon fiber road bike (with front wheel off and seat set for a 6-foot tall rider) and still have room in the rear underfloor and front trunk for cargo storage. In a 3-box sedan – not an SUV, not a hatchback.
GIZMOS:
- Is autopark any good? I can’t quite figure out how it decides whether or not it’s looking at a “parking spot,” but I tried it in a weird perpendicular parking situation between a large delivery truck and a normal-sized sedan and it did an admirable job. Haven’t gotten it to work for parallel parking yet.
- Can you install a dashcam, is there a 12v supply somewhere? There is a 12V supply in the center console, but not sure where else in the car there might be one or whether that one stays active while in park. I’ve got an email out to Tesla about dashcams – or asking when they’ll let us use autopilot cameras as dashcams.
- Sound system quality? Subjectively, I am quite pleased with it. Obviously have not tested non-premium sound. Several passengers have been impressed by the sound system. My cousin who has owned a lot of higher-end cars says it’s the best car audio he’s heard. Car is very quiet which makes sound system stand out well. Bluetooth call quality is very clear on both ends of the call.
- Does the key card work if it’s in a wallet? Tesla says it needs direct contact, but I tried it in a rather thick tri-fold wallet and was surprised to find that it did work even through 18 layers of bills, 4 cards and 2 layers of wallet. You should still probably try to minimize the amount of stuff between the card and the car. Obviously doesn’t work if it’s in one of those RFID-blocking wallets.
- How close do you have to be for the phone to unlock the car? Can work up to about 20 feet away. Have had to take phone out of my pocket and open the app to open up the car a couple times, but I think it’s because of keeping location services set to “while using the app” (Tesla recommends “always”). The car does get confused when multiple phone-keys are nearby and moving in and out of range (e.g. when milling around the car at a meetup), will often lock and unlock itself over and over. Similar behavior as the keyfobs exhibit on the S.
- USB port amperage? I plugged in 4 devices and was getting 1 amp on an iPad capable of charging at 2 amps.
- Can you use a thumb drive to play music? Owner’s manual says you can, but I couldn’t get it working. Probably added in a later software update, or maybe it was user error on my part.
- Does it have AM radio? HD Radio? No AM radio at all. Most AM radio is available on TuneIn internet streaming inside the car, but this of course requires an internet signal. It does have FM HD radio.
- Does it have a web browser or Spotify? No web browser, no Spotify in the US (can’t answer for Europe). It has Slacker in the US, like the Model S does.
EV-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:
- Charge rates at home and supercharging? I have not yet supercharged the car, but have noticed many posts from owners with charge speeds up to and exceeding 100kW and rates of 400+ miles of range per hour. My charger at home is on a 40A circuit (so 32A continuous), and this is what the charge rates look like.
- Vampire drain? I’ve been driving and charging and haven’t spent much time “parked”, but overnight for ~12 hours in the Southern California “cold” (~55F), the car stayed at 249 miles. In the same amount of time, a Model S 70D went from 205 to 203 miles.
- Efficiency at various speeds? Didn’t do rigorous testing on the same flat stretch at various speeds, but in mixed Southern California driving in mild weather on multiple “normal” drives, each ended up getting around 240-270Wh/mi, which is about what the EPA numbers indicate. This is with 19 inch wheels, so with aero wheels or when paying more attention to efficiency you should be able to beat EPA mileage numbers, or if driving “in a spirited manner” or in adverse weather conditions you’ll get less than that. Quite efficient, but it’s no Hyundai Ioniq (which I got 175Wh/mi (!!!) with)
- Is there an energy prediction graph like the Model S? No, in fact the whole energy app is missing. The only energy monitor in the car is the “trips” card in the bottom left of the screen, which is nice (shows energy use since last time you got in the car, last time you charged, and 2 nameable trip meters, see above for example), but not as nice as Model S energy graph and doesn’t show live power/regen stats anywhere except a bar in upper-left of screen UI, but this has no units attached.
- CHAdeMO charge rates? The Model 3 currently does not work with Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter. I’ve got an email out to Tesla about whether this will change anytime soon.
