Tesla MODEL 3 Performance review: I'm no journalist, but I'll do my best.
Rented on Turo for $107 a day in Orlando. This is my first ever experience in an EV. Never even had a ride in one. Been a petrol head my entire life.
Background/Other cars: My current daily is a Fiesta ST. Basic bolt ons, drive it, 22-24k miles a year. My weekend car is an 03 Cobra making over 925RWHP and I've owned it for 10 years coming up. Driven many performance cars from AMGs, ZR1s, to a Ford GT.
Anyway on to my thoughts. To sum this car up in 2 sentences. " This car is overwhelming. But, at the same time it is also overwhelmingly impressive"
I mean you get in at first and there are only two visible buttons. There are no guages. No dials. I still haven't found the odometer 2 days into it. There is a steep learning curve.
Pros:
Speed and power: Tesla claims 0-60 in 3.2, bur I've read its as low as 2.8 now with a firmware update. It feels as fast. 0-60 is absolutely insane. There is no lag, no turbos, no delay, no noise. Just BAM you're doing 60.
The most impressive thing? The traction. So it's on Michelin PS4S in 65f weather, cold tire, road just the smallest touch damp. But it doesn't matter. You can't even get the tires to squeak.
Above 60, it feels around a 400whp car. It's definitely fast, but you can definitely feel it start to slow down. 20-60 it honestly feels as quick as my 900whp Cobra.
Quietness: I'll be honest. I thought I'd hate this aspect. But I love it. For a daily, it's so nice. You can hum along at 25mph without any noise other than the slight whirling sound of the performance tires. It's fairly quiet on the highway as well, coming from a Fiesta ST and a "way too over the top Cobra exhaust "
Comfort: Wow, these seats rock. My fiancée says they are the most comfortable seats she has ever sat in. Heating element feels like it goes almost up to your shoulders. The actual heat comes on instantly, very heat up time, if at all. Obviously not that cold here so can't confirm how it be home in NH.
Autopilot:
It was hard to trust at first. But after a few minutes, you feel safe. It will either just do an advanced style of cruise control where you set the "mph above speed limit" or "car length gap" to a full fledge steering, braking, and accelerating. It's most refreshing in stop and go traffic.
Charging :
Used a 480v Tesla Supercharger and went from 30% to 85/90% in 24 minutes I belive. That's pretty good! Definitely faster than I thought possible.
Cons: Not as many really. More just preferences
Visibility : While awesome forward, great to the sides, rear visibility for me is poor. Doesn't help car has super dark aftermarket tint. But I've always been taught to keep a near constant eye on the rear view, and it's just very small. The trunk lid is high and gives you a shorter than I'd like view.
Battery Range:
While I didn't expect much, I feel it sort of disappointed me a bit. I charged to 85/90% today and am already at 53% after 2 trips around to Universal and Disney Springs. I haven't been incredibly hard on the car, or incredibly soft either. Yes, on the aggressive side, but not overly so.
I feel I'd get around 150 total miles. A far cry from the 322 it's listed as having.
It just gives me a bit of "range anxiety", maybe with more experience it would wear off. But it gives you the same feeling as watching your smart phone battery go down and down and you wondering if it will make the day.
TL
R cliffs.
1. Life long petrol head tries EV/Tesla first time ever
2. This Tesla KICKS complete ass. It's refreshingly different and impressive in nearly every aspect.
3. Range not as impressive as it could be, but I'm sure that would improve with a less aggressive and more eco friendly approach.
4. Will now consider trading Fiesta ST in in 2021 for one of these!
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
Rented on Turo for $107 a day in Orlando. This is my first ever experience in an EV. Never even had a ride in one. Been a petrol head my entire life.
Background/Other cars: My current daily is a Fiesta ST. Basic bolt ons, drive it, 22-24k miles a year. My weekend car is an 03 Cobra making over 925RWHP and I've owned it for 10 years coming up. Driven many performance cars from AMGs, ZR1s, to a Ford GT.
Anyway on to my thoughts. To sum this car up in 2 sentences. " This car is overwhelming. But, at the same time it is also overwhelmingly impressive"
I mean you get in at first and there are only two visible buttons. There are no guages. No dials. I still haven't found the odometer 2 days into it. There is a steep learning curve.
Pros:
Speed and power: Tesla claims 0-60 in 3.2, bur I've read its as low as 2.8 now with a firmware update. It feels as fast. 0-60 is absolutely insane. There is no lag, no turbos, no delay, no noise. Just BAM you're doing 60.
The most impressive thing? The traction. So it's on Michelin PS4S in 65f weather, cold tire, road just the smallest touch damp. But it doesn't matter. You can't even get the tires to squeak.
Above 60, it feels around a 400whp car. It's definitely fast, but you can definitely feel it start to slow down. 20-60 it honestly feels as quick as my 900whp Cobra.
Quietness: I'll be honest. I thought I'd hate this aspect. But I love it. For a daily, it's so nice. You can hum along at 25mph without any noise other than the slight whirling sound of the performance tires. It's fairly quiet on the highway as well, coming from a Fiesta ST and a "way too over the top Cobra exhaust "
Comfort: Wow, these seats rock. My fiancée says they are the most comfortable seats she has ever sat in. Heating element feels like it goes almost up to your shoulders. The actual heat comes on instantly, very heat up time, if at all. Obviously not that cold here so can't confirm how it be home in NH.
Autopilot:
It was hard to trust at first. But after a few minutes, you feel safe. It will either just do an advanced style of cruise control where you set the "mph above speed limit" or "car length gap" to a full fledge steering, braking, and accelerating. It's most refreshing in stop and go traffic.
Charging :
Used a 480v Tesla Supercharger and went from 30% to 85/90% in 24 minutes I belive. That's pretty good! Definitely faster than I thought possible.
Cons: Not as many really. More just preferences
Visibility : While awesome forward, great to the sides, rear visibility for me is poor. Doesn't help car has super dark aftermarket tint. But I've always been taught to keep a near constant eye on the rear view, and it's just very small. The trunk lid is high and gives you a shorter than I'd like view.
Battery Range:
While I didn't expect much, I feel it sort of disappointed me a bit. I charged to 85/90% today and am already at 53% after 2 trips around to Universal and Disney Springs. I haven't been incredibly hard on the car, or incredibly soft either. Yes, on the aggressive side, but not overly so.
I feel I'd get around 150 total miles. A far cry from the 322 it's listed as having.
It just gives me a bit of "range anxiety", maybe with more experience it would wear off. But it gives you the same feeling as watching your smart phone battery go down and down and you wondering if it will make the day.
TL
R cliffs.1. Life long petrol head tries EV/Tesla first time ever
2. This Tesla KICKS complete ass. It's refreshingly different and impressive in nearly every aspect.
3. Range not as impressive as it could be, but I'm sure that would improve with a less aggressive and more eco friendly approach.
4. Will now consider trading Fiesta ST in in 2021 for one of these!
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
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