Tesla Model 3 performance model - test driven
Discussion
I'm a reservation holder in the UK. Test drove a Tesla Model 3 performance model when I was out in California last week. It had the upgrade, so was on 20 inch wheels.
It drove and handled well, albeit quite a firm ride in urban areas over bumps due to the large wheels. The acceleration (3.5 seconds to 60mph) is very quick, but you don't necessarily feel it as the car is so smooth. I did notice that there appeared to be quite a lot of wind noise at 60mph coming from the front. The salesman explained it away saying, you'll hear much more given there is no ICE.
Call me old fashioned, but one of the joys of accelerating in a performance car (for me) is the noise, especially if you have a lovely sounding engine and exhaust. The test drive did feel like a very sterile experience due to the silence.
Brilliant audio quality when playing music. Seats weren't uncomfortable on the short test drive, but they definitely lacked support compared to premium vehicles I've driven. I do wonder how I would find them on long drives.
Tried the self park system when taking the car back to Tesla. Completely hands and feet off, as it even changes from D to R on its own when parking.
Build quality, fit and finish still seem to be quite disappointing when comparing with even a bog standard VW Golf, imho. The red paint looks amazing in real life. The user interface is weird. Needed to use the touchscreen to use the glovebox or adjust the wing mirrors. I'm still not convinced.
I'm definitely keeping my reservation and intend to place an order but I don't think I'll be going for the performance version. I would just get a standard one, and then something a bit more fun for weekends.
It drove and handled well, albeit quite a firm ride in urban areas over bumps due to the large wheels. The acceleration (3.5 seconds to 60mph) is very quick, but you don't necessarily feel it as the car is so smooth. I did notice that there appeared to be quite a lot of wind noise at 60mph coming from the front. The salesman explained it away saying, you'll hear much more given there is no ICE.
Call me old fashioned, but one of the joys of accelerating in a performance car (for me) is the noise, especially if you have a lovely sounding engine and exhaust. The test drive did feel like a very sterile experience due to the silence.
Brilliant audio quality when playing music. Seats weren't uncomfortable on the short test drive, but they definitely lacked support compared to premium vehicles I've driven. I do wonder how I would find them on long drives.
Tried the self park system when taking the car back to Tesla. Completely hands and feet off, as it even changes from D to R on its own when parking.
Build quality, fit and finish still seem to be quite disappointing when comparing with even a bog standard VW Golf, imho. The red paint looks amazing in real life. The user interface is weird. Needed to use the touchscreen to use the glovebox or adjust the wing mirrors. I'm still not convinced.
I'm definitely keeping my reservation and intend to place an order but I don't think I'll be going for the performance version. I would just get a standard one, and then something a bit more fun for weekends.
I think your comments tie up with what others may only previously been able to hint at.
In the US, I am sure the fit and finish may allow it to blend in with similar priced vehicles. if not, then I think Tesla may find negative feedback stops future owners taking the plunge. As for the seats, whilst I've never found many US models to have Germanic quality seats, for the long distances I have driven over there, they have always been okay. Perhaps Americans don't notice as much...?
In the US, I am sure the fit and finish may allow it to blend in with similar priced vehicles. if not, then I think Tesla may find negative feedback stops future owners taking the plunge. As for the seats, whilst I've never found many US models to have Germanic quality seats, for the long distances I have driven over there, they have always been okay. Perhaps Americans don't notice as much...?
raspy said:
I'm definitely keeping my reservation and intend to place an order but I don't think I'll be going for the performance version. I would just get a standard one, and then something a bit more fun for weekends.
Great to hear some real life feedback, the biggest draw of the 'perfomance' version for me is purely the 0-60 time, otherwise am pretty sure the LR RWD version will be more 'fun', especially if you pull out the TC fuse 
.Will come down to just how big a price difference it will be, looking like LR version will also have more range - 10% ish, so the LR RWD version is by far the most 'sensible' version to get, though actually am not even sure how much range is an issue for the standard version. Currently in holiday in France in our 75D X which has a real life range of around 200-220 miles, even though we drove down over the weekend through rain, against wind, 2hr+ wait in the car to board the ferry with climate control/Spotify on - still haven't seen the SOC drop below 30%. So actually 200-220 miles of range in a Model 3 would be fine, along as Tesla keeps up the job of expanding the SuperCharger network.
Edited by gangzoom on Monday 24th September 09:38
dukeboy749r said:
I think your comments tie up with what others may only previously been able to hint at.
In the US, I am sure the fit and finish may allow it to blend in with similar priced vehicles. if not, then I think Tesla may find negative feedback stops future owners taking the plunge. As for the seats, whilst I've never found many US models to have Germanic quality seats, for the long distances I have driven over there, they have always been okay. Perhaps Americans don't notice as much...?
It's small things on the seats, such as the seat bottoms not being long enough for me. In the US, I am sure the fit and finish may allow it to blend in with similar priced vehicles. if not, then I think Tesla may find negative feedback stops future owners taking the plunge. As for the seats, whilst I've never found many US models to have Germanic quality seats, for the long distances I have driven over there, they have always been okay. Perhaps Americans don't notice as much...?
I really appreciate having extendable thigh support on my C class, which the Model 3 doesn't. Not necessarily a deal breaker, but something I personally value.
I was very impressed at the amount of room inside the car. I had my seat all the way back, and there was a lot of legroom behind me for the rear passenger (vs my C class, where only young kids can sit behind me)
Interestingly enough the sales guy (fairly young) told me his daily driver is a BMW E90 M3 with a manual transmission, and he still prefers the Model 3 performance edition if he had to choose only one car. He finds the Tesla servicing and maintenance costs to be much cheaper than the M3.
Track mode tweaked by Randy from motor trend and released today.
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tesla/model-3/2019...
M3 track mode is pretty quick..
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/tesla/model-3/2019...
M3 track mode is pretty quick..
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