3 days/450 miles living with the Tesla Model 3 dual motor
Discussion
So just returned from a trip to Silicon Valley in the USA where I had a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor for 3 days. I'm a UK reservation holder, and wanted to see what it's actually like to live with in the real world. Here are some of my observations. I drove mostly in London, so was looking at how well it would suit urban environments here. It was riding on the 18 inch rims. I have mixed emotions about the car. I do think it's an unfinished product though.
Pros:
Estimated range of 308 miles at full charge. Got 258 miles in mostly high speed freeway driving with plenty of rapid acceleration. I suspect if I kept the regen on and drove in urban traffic, I would be getting even above the 308 miles.
Performance felt very strong all the way up to speed limit of 65mph. You barely need to step on the gas pedal in normal traffic. I don't think I ever needed to press the pedal all the way, as it felt like a rocketship (0-60 in 4.5 seconds) and whatever gap you need to squeeze into, you don't even think twice.
Ride was very impressive. It was so smooth and well controlled, I went over speed bumps at 30mph, and it handled them extremely well. I figure it's the weight of the batteries. That is a real plus point for me as I have to drive over so many speed bumps every day in London.
Brakes felt like a normal car. Didn't have to do an emergency stop, but when slowing down quickly from speed, they did what was asked.
Handling and grip were good, but not as good as you'd find in a well set up 3 series.
Speedo on central screen not an issue. I had a similar setup on my Prius, and it's actually better than having a regular speedo behind the wheel
Surprisingly comfortable seats in the front and lots of room to stretch out, even though the seats don't have extendable thigh support.
Parked at shopping mall for dinner one night. Placed it in Park, and screen said software update available, so I started the update and went to dinner.
When I came back, things like sentry and dog mode had been added with the update.
Supercharging was easy, I was getting 250-280 miles per hour charge rate at the superchargers I tried (including at the Fremont factory) - so total time for supercharging was about 1hr 20mins at worst case.
LED headlights felt very bright and illuminated the road very well.
Autopilot with autosteer worked well for certain scenarios, such as stop start traffic in freeway jams (up to 25mph) - I did stay in the lane even at 65mph when the freeway was curving quite a bit, but I still didn't trust it 100%. Yes, it could change lane for me when I indicated, but would often do so very slowly like a learner driver. Sometimes that feature wasn't effective as many drivers there are quite aggressive on the freeway and would speed up as soon as you indicated to move into the gap in another lane.
Sound system was incredible. Very low levels of distortion even at high volumes.
No creaks or rattles from interior. Yes, the interior feels very cheap quality but it was well constructed.
Cool minimalist design with hardly any buttons apart from on the steering wheel.
Ventilation was good, I left it on Auto (outside temp was 23C) and no complaints.
The car's 8 cameras picked up pedestrians crossing in front of me, motorbikes, cars, vans, trucks, cyclists either side of me. In terms of being able to detect those different shapes and showing on the main screen. It highlights how their path towards full self driving mode one day.
Cons:
The software is buggy. The most alarming moment was when I was driving at night on the freeway in the left lane at 65mph and I set it on autopilot and autosteer. A few seconds later, the screen went black. About 30 seconds later, the Tesla symbol pops up on the screen and 30 seconds later the screen was back, albeit with no live traffic info due to no internet. I have no idea what exactly happened, but it was scary as hell.
At least once a day, when selecting reverse gear, the rear camera would just show a black screen.
Having to use the menus on the main touch screen for virtually everything was a hassle in my opinion. Adjusting wing mirrors, air flow, heated seats for rear passengers. Best to set all of this before you start your journey, otherwise it's dangerous to have to look down at the screen for 3-5 seconds to adjust something whilst driving.
It had blind spot warning when changing lanes, but instead of the warning coming on the wing mirror like most cars, the warning comes on the main screen, which is quite dangerous in my opinion, as it means you have to take your eyes off the road and look down to see if the screen shows the car in lane you want to move into is coloured red instead of grey. The 8 cameras on the car are 'seeing' the vehicles around you all the time and show that in real time on the main screen.
The built in mapping was weird. Every time I got directions to a supercharger, it would take me to the general area of the supercharger, but then I had to pull out google maps on my phone to get directions in the mall car park to the actual supercharger location.
Front visibility - thick A pillars - not helpful for spotting pedestrians and cyclists in urban areas.
When I turned up at the Fremont factory at around 9pm at night on a weekday, all of the supercharger stalls were full, and I had to wait for 5 minutes for someone to leave. That location was subject to a 40 minute charge limit.
Quite a bit of wind noise noticeable at high speeds.
Bluetooth call quality was crap. People on the other end of the call described my voice as sounding like I was on a windy beach. That was at 65mph. When I had pulled off and was driving at 20mph, they said the call quality improved a lot, but still pretty average. If I got the car, I would buy a bluetooth headset from Plantronics.
Voice control not great. Can use for navigation, telephone and music, i.e. if you ask it to set the temperature it can't do that yet.
Turning circle is atrociously wide for the size of the car. It felt ponderous when doing U-turns on regular streets and in car parks.
I tried the Navigate on Autopilot feature which actually drives you on and off the freeway too. It was very weird for the car at 65mph to indicate by itself and move over to the exit lane and then take the off-ramp, and suddenly slow down to 25mph (which is the advisory limit for the off ramp) - I would have done the exit more smoothly, but this is a beta feature though.
When engaging autopilot with autosteer at speed, the car would shift slightly to the left in the lane and then centre itself. I found that disconcerting if a car was alongside me in the lane to the left. Just like many cars with adaptive cruise, the car would suddenly brake sharply for no reason, even though the lane ahead was clear, but because there was a truck in the lane next to me. Tesla owners out there seem to have too much faith in Autopilot. I saw a lady next to me turning the pages of a book at the wheel whilst going past me at 80mph round a freeway that was curving, and she didn't have her hands on the wheel. Another guy I met had installed a workstation in his Model 3, so he could type emails on his laptop during the morning commute on Autopilot. Completely bonkers and dangerous as hell. They should rename Autopilot to something else.
Fonts on the main screen are very small, and hard to read imho. In terms of ETA for navigation, or even the current speed limit on the road you're on.
No electric boot closure. Not necessarily a big deal for me as I'm quite tall, but may be a problem for those owners who are closer to 5 foot and who would struggle to reach. One very dim light in the boot. Not a deal breaker per se, but why can't they illuminate the inside of the boot properly.
Getting in the car is not going to be easy for anyone with limited mobility, i.e. if you have someone who is disabled or elderly to ferry around.
Additionally, the door handles from the outside would not be easy for anyone with limited dexterity in their fingers, because you have to push hard with your thumb and then grab the handle that pops out with the other four fingers. It's a car designed for people under 40.
When reversing both wing mirrors drop down, and you have the rear camera, but there is no 360 camera (which I am used to and would want on this car, especially as it helps me with reducing chance of kerbing rims)
Rear camera resolution not great, especially at night (compared to Mercedes, imho)
I was blown away by how many model 3s were out there. I remember once on the freeway, there was one either side of me, and one in front of me. It's a very wealthy part of the world, but still quite weird to see some suburbs where most homes had 1-2 Teslas in the driveway.
The Tesla owners I met seemed to be quite forgiving of the flaws. One guy said his seat cushion on his Model 3 fell apart after delivery, but Tesla replaced the seat, and it had more quality problems, but he loves the car, the brand and Elon Musk.
Given this car is likely to be £50-60,000 when it launches here this year, compared to cars in that price range, you would find that the build quality and materials used were from a car costing £10-12,000. Buy this car for the technology, the software and the batteries as that's where Tesla has spent the money. I do feel this car has been designed to support the eventual aim of full self driving for the freeways in California and hence that's why it's so flawed in many ways from the perspective of someone who lives and drives mostly on congested narrow London roads.
Will I be cancelling my reservation? Probably not but I am much more aware that I would probably be having to put up with buggy software and that the software updates over time will help resolve some of the bugs. I am keen to switch to an electric car this year, and compared to other EVs, even with the many flaws, the Model 3 still feels superior, imho. I'm an early adopter of new tech and having the Model 3 this year is useful for my work in the tech industry to be able to understand what it's like to live with on a longer term basis.
Pros:
Estimated range of 308 miles at full charge. Got 258 miles in mostly high speed freeway driving with plenty of rapid acceleration. I suspect if I kept the regen on and drove in urban traffic, I would be getting even above the 308 miles.
Performance felt very strong all the way up to speed limit of 65mph. You barely need to step on the gas pedal in normal traffic. I don't think I ever needed to press the pedal all the way, as it felt like a rocketship (0-60 in 4.5 seconds) and whatever gap you need to squeeze into, you don't even think twice.
Ride was very impressive. It was so smooth and well controlled, I went over speed bumps at 30mph, and it handled them extremely well. I figure it's the weight of the batteries. That is a real plus point for me as I have to drive over so many speed bumps every day in London.
Brakes felt like a normal car. Didn't have to do an emergency stop, but when slowing down quickly from speed, they did what was asked.
Handling and grip were good, but not as good as you'd find in a well set up 3 series.
Speedo on central screen not an issue. I had a similar setup on my Prius, and it's actually better than having a regular speedo behind the wheel
Surprisingly comfortable seats in the front and lots of room to stretch out, even though the seats don't have extendable thigh support.
Parked at shopping mall for dinner one night. Placed it in Park, and screen said software update available, so I started the update and went to dinner.
When I came back, things like sentry and dog mode had been added with the update.
Supercharging was easy, I was getting 250-280 miles per hour charge rate at the superchargers I tried (including at the Fremont factory) - so total time for supercharging was about 1hr 20mins at worst case.
LED headlights felt very bright and illuminated the road very well.
Autopilot with autosteer worked well for certain scenarios, such as stop start traffic in freeway jams (up to 25mph) - I did stay in the lane even at 65mph when the freeway was curving quite a bit, but I still didn't trust it 100%. Yes, it could change lane for me when I indicated, but would often do so very slowly like a learner driver. Sometimes that feature wasn't effective as many drivers there are quite aggressive on the freeway and would speed up as soon as you indicated to move into the gap in another lane.
Sound system was incredible. Very low levels of distortion even at high volumes.
No creaks or rattles from interior. Yes, the interior feels very cheap quality but it was well constructed.
Cool minimalist design with hardly any buttons apart from on the steering wheel.
Ventilation was good, I left it on Auto (outside temp was 23C) and no complaints.
The car's 8 cameras picked up pedestrians crossing in front of me, motorbikes, cars, vans, trucks, cyclists either side of me. In terms of being able to detect those different shapes and showing on the main screen. It highlights how their path towards full self driving mode one day.
Cons:
The software is buggy. The most alarming moment was when I was driving at night on the freeway in the left lane at 65mph and I set it on autopilot and autosteer. A few seconds later, the screen went black. About 30 seconds later, the Tesla symbol pops up on the screen and 30 seconds later the screen was back, albeit with no live traffic info due to no internet. I have no idea what exactly happened, but it was scary as hell.
At least once a day, when selecting reverse gear, the rear camera would just show a black screen.
Having to use the menus on the main touch screen for virtually everything was a hassle in my opinion. Adjusting wing mirrors, air flow, heated seats for rear passengers. Best to set all of this before you start your journey, otherwise it's dangerous to have to look down at the screen for 3-5 seconds to adjust something whilst driving.
It had blind spot warning when changing lanes, but instead of the warning coming on the wing mirror like most cars, the warning comes on the main screen, which is quite dangerous in my opinion, as it means you have to take your eyes off the road and look down to see if the screen shows the car in lane you want to move into is coloured red instead of grey. The 8 cameras on the car are 'seeing' the vehicles around you all the time and show that in real time on the main screen.
The built in mapping was weird. Every time I got directions to a supercharger, it would take me to the general area of the supercharger, but then I had to pull out google maps on my phone to get directions in the mall car park to the actual supercharger location.
Front visibility - thick A pillars - not helpful for spotting pedestrians and cyclists in urban areas.
When I turned up at the Fremont factory at around 9pm at night on a weekday, all of the supercharger stalls were full, and I had to wait for 5 minutes for someone to leave. That location was subject to a 40 minute charge limit.
Quite a bit of wind noise noticeable at high speeds.
Bluetooth call quality was crap. People on the other end of the call described my voice as sounding like I was on a windy beach. That was at 65mph. When I had pulled off and was driving at 20mph, they said the call quality improved a lot, but still pretty average. If I got the car, I would buy a bluetooth headset from Plantronics.
Voice control not great. Can use for navigation, telephone and music, i.e. if you ask it to set the temperature it can't do that yet.
Turning circle is atrociously wide for the size of the car. It felt ponderous when doing U-turns on regular streets and in car parks.
I tried the Navigate on Autopilot feature which actually drives you on and off the freeway too. It was very weird for the car at 65mph to indicate by itself and move over to the exit lane and then take the off-ramp, and suddenly slow down to 25mph (which is the advisory limit for the off ramp) - I would have done the exit more smoothly, but this is a beta feature though.
When engaging autopilot with autosteer at speed, the car would shift slightly to the left in the lane and then centre itself. I found that disconcerting if a car was alongside me in the lane to the left. Just like many cars with adaptive cruise, the car would suddenly brake sharply for no reason, even though the lane ahead was clear, but because there was a truck in the lane next to me. Tesla owners out there seem to have too much faith in Autopilot. I saw a lady next to me turning the pages of a book at the wheel whilst going past me at 80mph round a freeway that was curving, and she didn't have her hands on the wheel. Another guy I met had installed a workstation in his Model 3, so he could type emails on his laptop during the morning commute on Autopilot. Completely bonkers and dangerous as hell. They should rename Autopilot to something else.
Fonts on the main screen are very small, and hard to read imho. In terms of ETA for navigation, or even the current speed limit on the road you're on.
No electric boot closure. Not necessarily a big deal for me as I'm quite tall, but may be a problem for those owners who are closer to 5 foot and who would struggle to reach. One very dim light in the boot. Not a deal breaker per se, but why can't they illuminate the inside of the boot properly.
Getting in the car is not going to be easy for anyone with limited mobility, i.e. if you have someone who is disabled or elderly to ferry around.
Additionally, the door handles from the outside would not be easy for anyone with limited dexterity in their fingers, because you have to push hard with your thumb and then grab the handle that pops out with the other four fingers. It's a car designed for people under 40.
When reversing both wing mirrors drop down, and you have the rear camera, but there is no 360 camera (which I am used to and would want on this car, especially as it helps me with reducing chance of kerbing rims)
Rear camera resolution not great, especially at night (compared to Mercedes, imho)
I was blown away by how many model 3s were out there. I remember once on the freeway, there was one either side of me, and one in front of me. It's a very wealthy part of the world, but still quite weird to see some suburbs where most homes had 1-2 Teslas in the driveway.
The Tesla owners I met seemed to be quite forgiving of the flaws. One guy said his seat cushion on his Model 3 fell apart after delivery, but Tesla replaced the seat, and it had more quality problems, but he loves the car, the brand and Elon Musk.
Given this car is likely to be £50-60,000 when it launches here this year, compared to cars in that price range, you would find that the build quality and materials used were from a car costing £10-12,000. Buy this car for the technology, the software and the batteries as that's where Tesla has spent the money. I do feel this car has been designed to support the eventual aim of full self driving for the freeways in California and hence that's why it's so flawed in many ways from the perspective of someone who lives and drives mostly on congested narrow London roads.
Will I be cancelling my reservation? Probably not but I am much more aware that I would probably be having to put up with buggy software and that the software updates over time will help resolve some of the bugs. I am keen to switch to an electric car this year, and compared to other EVs, even with the many flaws, the Model 3 still feels superior, imho. I'm an early adopter of new tech and having the Model 3 this year is useful for my work in the tech industry to be able to understand what it's like to live with on a longer term basis.
Thanks for the write up, interesting to hear about the screen resets in the 3. This hard ever happens in the S/X, and even Ive never seen the main dash display crash/freeze.
AP on Mways is actually really conservative when around traffic. It wouldn't undertake, and even if a car in the adjacent lane just flinches towards you it slows down and is ready to swerve. But AP still cannot detect stationary cars in standstill traffic if your doing 50mph, so its nuts to try to read/do work in the car.....For now anyways.
AP on Mways is actually really conservative when around traffic. It wouldn't undertake, and even if a car in the adjacent lane just flinches towards you it slows down and is ready to swerve. But AP still cannot detect stationary cars in standstill traffic if your doing 50mph, so its nuts to try to read/do work in the car.....For now anyways.
The Americans get to deal with the beta version of the car and we should receive essentially what's version 1.0.
I'm just buying the absolutely poverty spec as long as it really is £31k as it seems it may be looking at Teslas conversion rates. The lack of toys does not bother me. I like driving, all I need is the supercharger network. I can fit my own sound system.
I'm just buying the absolutely poverty spec as long as it really is £31k as it seems it may be looking at Teslas conversion rates. The lack of toys does not bother me. I like driving, all I need is the supercharger network. I can fit my own sound system.
Witchfinder said:
You think it's flawed, but you're not going to cancel your reservation? Have you considered the I-Pace or Polestar 2 at around the same price point?
Personally, I loved the Model S when I drove it, but thought it was too expensive. The Model 3 just has to many compromises in my view.
If it was a personal purchase, then I would get the Model 3 in its current incarnation. However, since my work involves advising clients on emerging technologies, despite the flaws, I have to get the Model 3 through my business, even if I only run it for 6 months. Personally, I loved the Model S when I drove it, but thought it was too expensive. The Model 3 just has to many compromises in my view.
Not a fan of SUVs, hence i-Pace is out of the question for me. Polestar 2 possibly in 2020. Part of the reason a Tesla is a better EV than other brands is the supercharger network.
jjwilde said:
The Americans get to deal with the beta version of the car and we should receive essentially what's version 1.0.
I'm just buying the absolutely poverty spec as long as it really is £31k as it seems it may be looking at Teslas conversion rates. The lack of toys does not bother me. I like driving, all I need is the supercharger network. I can fit my own sound system.
Yes! That is one benefit to us getting the car after other markets. I'm just buying the absolutely poverty spec as long as it really is £31k as it seems it may be looking at Teslas conversion rates. The lack of toys does not bother me. I like driving, all I need is the supercharger network. I can fit my own sound system.
raspy said:
<snip>
Not a fan of SUVs, hence i-Pace is out of the question for me...
Just on this point, the i-pace isn't really an SUV. It is quite a visually chunky car, but the actual proportions are fairly modest compared to proper SUVs. And reading some of your comments about the Model 3, the i-pace would resolve quite a few of those.Not a fan of SUVs, hence i-Pace is out of the question for me...
FurtiveFreddy said:
raspy said:
Good question. I will email the owner and double check for you.
I'm guessing you rented through Turo then?Did you get a chance to speak to the owner about their experience of the car and any new car issues or unexpected repairs they have had to deal with?
In terms of the reversing camera showing a black screen, apparently from time to time, it takes a while for the camera lens cover to either open, or it doesn't open at all on that occasion.
Knowing what you know now, if you were like me and considering the Performance model, would you be tempted to go for maybe long range dual motor, or wait for mid or standard range?
Will purchase through limited company as the cost becomes much more appealing.
I can't decide currently and figure I'll need to decide pretty soon.
Can't justify paint costs though so will stick with black most probably, I may consider wrapping it.
Will purchase through limited company as the cost becomes much more appealing.
I can't decide currently and figure I'll need to decide pretty soon.
Can't justify paint costs though so will stick with black most probably, I may consider wrapping it.
Certainly interesting to read real-world experiences from someone who seems to have no particular axe to grind either way. It sounds like the problems are a mixture of software bugs (which I suppose will get fixed), silly minor niggles which I suppose you can put down to Tesla's lack of experience at actually designing and building cars, and a handful of more significant design flaws such as the poor visibility.
For me at least the Model-3 is ruled out by the fact it's a saloon rather than a hatchback but it's interesting to read a first-hand report of Tesla's current ability to build a car.
For me at least the Model-3 is ruled out by the fact it's a saloon rather than a hatchback but it's interesting to read a first-hand report of Tesla's current ability to build a car.
Edited by kambites on Friday 29th March 08:46
The supercharging thing is a really big draw.
Sharp contrast when I stopped at Membury services last week on the way to Wales - two worse-for-wear Ecotricity units, one with a Leaf charging, one with an Outlander owner trying to work out how to plug in. Other end of the car park - eight empty Supercharger bays, four of which are already upgraded for CCS and ready for the Model 3.
Sharp contrast when I stopped at Membury services last week on the way to Wales - two worse-for-wear Ecotricity units, one with a Leaf charging, one with an Outlander owner trying to work out how to plug in. Other end of the car park - eight empty Supercharger bays, four of which are already upgraded for CCS and ready for the Model 3.
sjg said:
The supercharging thing is a really big draw.
Sharp contrast when I stopped at Membury services last week on the way to Wales - two worse-for-wear Ecotricity units, one with a Leaf charging, one with an Outlander owner trying to work out how to plug in. Other end of the car park - eight empty Supercharger bays, four of which are already upgraded for CCS and ready for the Model 3.
I've been saying this since I paid my model 3 reservation in march 2016. Most dismissed me at the time saying that within the next 2 years the big boys will of shown up with their army of EVs and charging infrastructure that will show them pesky Tesla wannabes a thing or two due to their size, power, money etc.... Yeah, still waiting, waiting for the cars, chargers, oh and plenty of non Tesla EV owners waiting for their cars to charge, or waiting for a free charging point, thats if it's not broken.Sharp contrast when I stopped at Membury services last week on the way to Wales - two worse-for-wear Ecotricity units, one with a Leaf charging, one with an Outlander owner trying to work out how to plug in. Other end of the car park - eight empty Supercharger bays, four of which are already upgraded for CCS and ready for the Model 3.
Audi, Merc, BMW, jaguar etc still dragging their heels.
Edited by manracer on Thursday 4th April 23:03
manracer said:
Yeah, still waiting, waiting for the cars, chargers, oh and plenty of non Tesla EV owners waiting for their cars to charge, or waiting for a free charging point, thats if it's not broken.
Audi, Merc, BMW, jaguar etc still dragging their heels.
And still waiting for the Model 3?Audi, Merc, BMW, jaguar etc still dragging their heels.
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