Meet the Tesla Model 3

Los Angeles

For the first time I met Tesla Model 3 not in Show Room Tesla, but on the streets of Los Angeles. At first I decided that I was just very lucky, but after a while I saw her again, and then again.



In general, it turned out that at least two of my assumptions were wrong. At first, I thought that it was almost impossible to meet Model 3, but in a week I saw it on ordinary city roads 3 times. Secondly, electric cars on the streets of Los Angeles are now about the same as on the streets of Vancouver (I assumed that there would be much more of them in California).

This may be a coincidence, but the vast majority of all Tesla that I saw in California were gray. Of course, there were other colors:
')








And in general, other EV, for example Fisker Karma:



But, if you go back to Model 3, then you can say that on the road, it looks more like a Model X than a Model S - that is, it is not difficult to confuse it with Model X and it is very difficult to confuse it with Model S.

San diego

This city is famous for the fact that there are dozens of fur seals on the coast,



and in Show Room Tesla you can meet Model 3:

Exterior

It’s not for nothing that the Model 3 stands between the Model S and the Model X - the body, although smaller, but in outline, is really something in between. Someone says that the “live” Model 3 looks much prettier than in the photos. I can not confirm this. There are no repulsive lines or elements, but nothing special. Yes, this is a beautiful car, but no more. I specifically drew attention to the build quality body panels and gaps. I did not find anything criminal - the gaps are smaller than those of the Toyota Corolla 2017, which we rented here.

Front trunk

I would say that the front trunk is unexpectedly large. Those. it really can be used as a trunk and will fit several shopping bags.

Not the front trunk

The trunk is large, but could be wider. As far as I remember, in Model 3 you can transfer about 2 times less baggage than in Model S (the size is better seen on the video).

Doors

The outer door handles are strange, but you can't say that they are uncomfortable - you just need to get used to them. It is not entirely clear why they are not made in the form of a button, as is done in Model X, especially since the door opens from the inside when you press the button on the door (the video shows how it works). The worst part of the handles, in my opinion on the Model S, is an unnecessarily complicated and unreliable solution, in which the door handles from time to time tried to unexpectedly guillotine my fingers.

Screen

The display is large and fast. If the machine is charging, you can see the data on the screen without even opening the door:



The screen has an ideal position, but a somewhat strange design - for me it looks somewhat alien to the torpedo. It works very quickly. Almost all the necessary settings at hand, but again you need to get used to. For example, it takes time to find where the button is located, which opens the glove box (there is no separate physical button yet). By the way, about the box. Not so long ago, the next Model 3 got into a major accident (the front part of the car crumpled almost to the cabin). The driver told Twitter that he was not injured and immediately reserved a new Model 3 for himself, but complained that the screen crashed, fragments injured the passenger and he could not get the insurance that was in the glove box. Musk reacted to this and promised that they would redo the screen glass on one that would not give such fragments and would make the box open in the event of an accident.



On the one hand, it seems that there are too few real physical buttons and controls - for example, the wipers mode and cruise control speeds are also configured on the screen. On the other hand, there is an opinion that this is due to the fact that after a while Tesla should be able to drive autonomously (level 4) and rumors about Car Sharing are circulating - in this case, transferring everything to the screen is justified.

In general, Model 3 users complain that the software is raw, many feature is still not there, navigation sometimes paves the route very slowly and in general, everything is very simplified in comparison with Model S / X.

Steering wheel

The steering wheel is comfortable, functional, the right size and thickness, but not beautiful - unfortunately the steering wheel from the prototype came into the final version. The joysticks on the steering wheel are cool, but I personally found it uncomfortable that they need to be constantly “turned”, instead of just turning in the right direction and then releasing at the right moment. It can be tedious to adjust the steering column and mirrors, but it is also quite understandable - less traumatic (harder to press yourself with the wheel) and more unified - if the volume is controlled by “torsion”, then why should the mirror setting work differently?

Ventilation

For me, this is the main plus of Model 3. The fact is that in any car, as if I did not set up deflectors, they would still blow me either in the neck, or in the chest, or in the face - after which my muscles ache. The way this is implemented in Model 3 is a real salvation for people with problems like mys. A simple and excellent solution from some distant future (the video shows how it works). Again, this will allow you to save individual settings for each driver.

Salon

Tesla Model 3 is definitely not a Large Luxury Car. The difference between the Model S / X and the Model 3 is very big. These are completely different in terms of solutions and class cars. The Model 3 also has leather, various electrical settings for very comfortable driver and passenger seats, a transparent roof, and other lines and elements of an expensive car, but in terms of its luxury, the Model 3 loses much to its older brothers. After the Model S / X salon, you just don’t want to return to the Model 3 :)

Total

I still like the Model S / X much more, but would I buy the Model 3 now if there wasn’t such a lineup? Sure. Model 3 is a great car with very interesting and functional solutions in unexpected places (for example, charging phones on the front console, joysticks on the steering wheel, ventilation, etc.), the best in its class with a large margin from any competitors in almost all positions. Will I buy it when delivery waiting shrink to a couple of months? Unknown. Apparently, this will happen no earlier than in a couple of years, during which competitors can present their equally interesting solutions.

Short video

Update

Today Tesla Model 3 started selling in Canada and I made a reserve. So far, they promise delivery closer to the end of 2018, but, of course, the waiting period can both increase and decrease, as it recently happened with the Model 3.