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Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

motortrend.com

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Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#171

Post by Pulcinella »

bcatanzaro wrote: post #128
_ph_ wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I am old, but the Model 3 gets 0-60 in about the same time the Porsche 911 used to. I would consider everything less than 8s "sporty". That does not mean, it is a race car, just something with quick performance. The fact that the full power is always instantly available without shifting or pressure by the turbocharger building up, closes the gap further.

I agree with you, but thought you might find this drag race funny. The Chrysler Pacifica minivan does 0-60 in 8 seconds: https://www.cars.com/articles/drag-strip-challenge-chrysler-...

You jest but minivans (and pickups) can be fairly quick when they aren't loaded with passengers, bags, and towing stuff.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#173

Post by fulafel »

falcolas wrote: post #132
acomjean wrote: post #119

Rear wheel drive? For those of us in snowy places....

Agreed. Especially really torquie rear wheel drives, where the slightest bit too much pressure on the gas will send your rear end zooming around. I'm to the point where I only ever want to drive AWD vehicles in the winter. A safe and predictable commute is worth the slight markup.

Safety comes from all-wheel braking, not all-wheel acceleration. As long as you have traction/stability control, AWD is not really any safer unless you're on a winter rallye track (=want to accelerate into corners).

See eg. this study: http://indexsmart.mirasmart.com/25esv/PDFfiles/25ESV-000260....

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#174

Post by laydn »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #133
laydn wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Center console indicators are quite common. One advantage is that, the indicators are never blocked when you are in a turn. With your traditional instrument cluster placement, the steering wheel blocks the indicators. Cars with instruments in the center dashboard: Mini Cooper: http://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/2010-mini-cooper-hardtop-2-do... Toyota Yaris: https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/izmo/306771/2009_...…

Mini Cooper: There is a speedometer directly behind steering wheel, in a smaller secondary instrument panel, as shown in the picture. Toyota Yaris: Not shown in that picture is the Head Up Display projected onto the windscreen, even closer to the driver's line of sight. I drove a Yaris for a few days a while back, and the HUD is good - not distracting there's and no need to turn your head, which would be dangerous. C…

I know for a fact that the one in Yaris and C4 is an option... And for a while, it wasn't available in many countries. For a C4 Picasso, this is still the case.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#175

Post by MarcelGerber »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #133
laydn wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Center console indicators are quite common. One advantage is that, the indicators are never blocked when you are in a turn. With your traditional instrument cluster placement, the steering wheel blocks the indicators. Cars with instruments in the center dashboard: Mini Cooper: http://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/2010-mini-cooper-hardtop-2-do... Toyota Yaris: https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/izmo/306771/2009_...…

Mini Cooper: There is a speedometer directly behind steering wheel, in a smaller secondary instrument panel, as shown in the picture. Toyota Yaris: Not shown in that picture is the Head Up Display projected onto the windscreen, even closer to the driver's line of sight. I drove a Yaris for a few days a while back, and the HUD is good - not distracting there's and no need to turn your head, which would be dangerous. C…

I drive a Yaris myself (the center display looks different than the one pictured, but the concept is the same). It doesn't have a HUD and I actually love the center display. As stated before, it is never blocked. In a turn, when a normal instrument panel is behind the steering wheel, I can still monitor the speedometer and shift gears according to the speed. Also, I totally have the road in vision when looking at the speedometer.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#176

Post by Keyframe »

While I appreciate almost everything Tesla does, and I may be in minority with this opinion here, but damn are their cards ugly / generic looking. Especially so with the interior. I like spartan features, or lack of, but it's just - ugly.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#177

Post by gcb0 »

laydn wrote: post #81
jimmcslim wrote: post #12

Is there a HUD or do I have to move my eyes to the centre console to check my speed? Seems like bad ergonomics to me... and whereas the road ahead is perhaps still in my peripheral vision when I check my speedo, its less so if I am glancing at the centre console (which maybe has a bunch of other distracting things on it as well?)

Center console indicators are quite common. One advantage is that, the indicators are never blocked when you are in a turn. With your traditional instrument cluster placement, the steering wheel blocks the indicators. Cars with instruments in the center dashboard: Mini Cooper: http://images.hgmsites.net/lrg/2010-mini-cooper-hardtop-2-do... Toyota Yaris: https://cars.usnews.com/static/images/Auto/izmo/306771/2009_...…

please do not compare properly designed center consoles, that are very close to the windshield base, to that corner-cutting excuse of a design for the model 3.

the main design flaw here is that the proximity makes it a completely different visual field than the road. while all your examples (I guess, havent clicked all, and only drove extensivly a twingo 1st gen, designed by stark studios) the distance makes your eye see the panel info while looking at the road. even more so than the behind the steering wheel models.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#178

Post by elihu »

kumarvvr wrote: post #6

What sort of maintenance are performed on these cars?? Seems like there is nothing to be maintained, given the all steel, aluminum, glass stuff everywhere. Does it have any oil changes required, like in brakes or transmission?

With a mass-market car, I hope that Haynes or Chilton put out a repair manual if Tesla doesn't make their shop manual available to the public at low cost.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#179

Post by prostoalex »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #101
chc wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty bizarre to treat driving without an $8000 options package as a weird edge case. If autonomous driving is that central, it seems like it should be a basic feature, not an upgrade.

Without an 8000$ options package that won't be available in most places for several years .

Adaptive cruise control is part of the base config.

Re: Tesla Model 3 First Drive Review

#180

Post by prostoalex »

ranit wrote: post #94
prostoalex wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company likely has the data on the percentage of customers opting in for autonomous features and likely optimized for that. Considering the hardware in every vehicle supports autonomy, it's a feature that could be sold to the customer later on or as an on-demand subscription. If autonomous driving is out of the question, what makes Model 3 appealing compared to a Chevy Bolt, Chevy Volt or a plug-in Prius? edit: I…

> what makes Model 3 appealing compared to ... Everything that the reviewer wrote.

The reviewer went out of his way to emphasize the test drive is for a fully-loaded version.

> Franz’ car is a loaded version—a Premium (add $5,000), meaning better-grade materials, wood-veneered dash, 12-way front seats, 12-speaker sound, heated rear seats, side-by-side inductive phone chargers, and that panoramic glass ceiling

> paired with this car’s $9,000 long-range battery

> Tesla Model 3 is available with Enhanced Autopilot ($5,000) and for another $3,000 what’s called “Full Self-Driving Capability”

> $59,500 before incentives—including $1,500 for the larger 19-inch wheels (18 inches are standard), and a grand for the red multicoat paint

> And it’ll be a while before $35,000 versions are built

Their review of the $35,000 vehicle might be very different.

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