I drove a $57,500 Tesla Model 3 for a week, and I'm convinced it's the best car money can currently buy
Matthew DeBord/BI
- After driving the Tesla Model 3 several times for short periods, I finally got to spend some quality time with Tesla's newest set of wheels.
- I borrowed a long-range Tesla Model 3, with rear-wheel-drive in Premium trim, to conduct my actual life for a week.
- I was already sort of blown away by the Model 3, but a week with the car wiped out the whole "sort of" part.
I feel like I've been living with the Tesla Model 3 for years. I attended the unveiling of the car in 2016 and the subsequent launch in 2017. Later, I drove the rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions of what's become the most anticipated new car in history.
But I really, really wanted to do what I've done with other Teslas, which is live with the Model 3 for a week. This is the ultimate test of Tesla ownership: Can one of its sexy all-electric future-machines - with their sharp looks and neck-snapping speed, their layers of technology and fully autonomous aspirations - handle everyday existence?
The Model S is a lovely luxury sedan, and the Model X is a tech-y over-the-top SUV. The Model 3, by contrast, was designed to be an entry point to the Tesla Way. For the moment, that means a four-door boasting more than 300 miles of range on a single charge, but priced at around $50,000, a lot more than the $35,000 base version that Tesla isn't building yet.
Still, a car priced between $50,000-$60,000 is going to attract plenty of attention, and not incidentally help Tesla and CEO Elon Musk achieve the goal of turning a profit in 2018.
The big question, of course, is after all the delays endured by the Model 3 as it entered production last year and the drama around Musk and Tesla, how does the car measure up? And more importantly, if it's an initially impressive effort, what's it like after you've driven it around for a few days, in rain and shine, with a full load of passengers or by yourself.
I was eager to find out. Here's what I learned.
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I journeyed to the Tesla store in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood to fetch the Model 3.
It was a $57,500 Model 3 Long Range in Premium trim, meaning that its has 75 kilowatt-hour battery pack and can travel 310 miles on a single chart. That's a $9,000 upgrade over the base-priced Model 3, which is a $35,000 vehicle the Tesla isn't yet manufacturing.
I got my first look at the Model 3 when it was revealed at SpaceX HQ/Tesla's design studio in Los Angeles.
A short ride in the back seat was my first taste.
A little over a year later, I attended the launch event as Tesla's Fremont, CA factory. I actually got to drive the Model 3 then for a short period — and was impressed.
Early this year, Tesla loaned us a Model 3 Long Range Premium for a few hours. I had previously been impressed. Now I was sort of blown away.
A bit later in 2018, the $78,000 all-wheel-drive Model 3 Performance appeared outside our offices. Note the luscious white interior! I was no longer sort of blown away — I was totally and completely blown away. What a car!
A summer headed into fall in the Northeast, Tesla once again loaned us a rear-wheel-drive Model 3 Long Range with an all-black interior — the vehicle I picked up in Brooklyn.
This was going to be the real test for the proper review. I would use the Model 3 like a normal person: driving to the grocery store and soccer games, taking family outings, commuting to work — and running all the battery charge down so I could re-juice the Tesla.
The summer was dominated by news from Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk.
But I put Elon out of my mind and focused only on the product: my life would be all about Model 3-ness.
The Model 3 is a sharp set of wheels, designed by Tesla's Franz von Holzhausen to embody forward-thinking without taking any wild and crazy chances.
The Model 3 is sleek, not overly curvaceous, and something of a hybrid of mid-size and full-size sedan. No grille because ... there's no gas engine to feed air!
The Model 3 bears more than a passing resemblance to its big brother, the Model S. To my eye, this design actually looks better at a smaller scale.
The entire roof is a continuous curve of glass, with a fastback rear hatch/trunk culminating in a crisp spoiler. The recessed door handles and the window trim are the only significant chrome on the Model 3.
What's missing? Well, both "Model 3" badging and the trim-level badge.
The Model 3 is unadorned except for the Tesla badge. By the way, fit and finish on my test car were superb.
The headlights are a tad plain by 21st-century standards. But if you ask me, headlights have gotten too ornate.
Unlike on the Model S, the Model 3's door handles don't self-present. Instead, you rocker them out of a flush position.
Another wee splash of chrome-y bling.
The Model 3 has plenty of trunk space — and an offbeat hatch design to enable that continuous glass roof.
It handled grocery duty for a family of five without breaking a sweat.
Plus, the Model 3 also has a front trunk, or "frunk."
I used it to prepare for my "Westworld" audition. In total, the Model 3 offers an ample 15 cubic feet. This gives the Model 3, a sedan, versatility on par with SUVs.
A Tesla smartphone app enables owners to manage a wide range of vehicle functions— and serves as the Model 3's key!
It will even tell you when the frunk is open. Oh yeah, you can also name your Model 3.
Consider the level of detail on the app's rendering — taken from reality! This is the underside of the frunk lid.
The frunk is also the closest you can get to the Model 3's electric innards. The battery pack runs along the floor, and the three-phase motor sits astride the rear axle.
The brakes are pretty heft, and they should be, as the Model 3 in this configuration can dash from 0-60 mph in about five seconds.
A soggy week meant that I'd get to see how the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 handled wet conditions. It handled them without effort. Who needs all-wheel-drive?
You have to be a minimalist to love the Model 3's interior. The leatherette upholstery is animal-free, and the flash is .. well, there isn't any.
Tesla makes its own seats. The Model 3's are quite comfy and supportive for more spirited driving, and the front seats are heated.
They remind me of an excellent memory foam mattress. Note the subtle topstitching.
The rear seats are a bench design, but also comfortable.
Legroom is reasonable. I'm 5'-7" and ...
... I had no trouble stretching my legs. Taller passengers might struggle, but for a car this size, the legroom is decent.
Pity the weather was so bad all week that I couldn't enjoy that stunning glass roof.
The showstopper for the Model 3 has always been the dashboard.
Begin with the steering wheel. Unlike basically every other steering wheel on the planet, the Model 3's has almost no knobs or buttons.
Quick comment: The stitching is curled back behind the midpoint of the wheel. I thought this was a mistake when I encountered it on a previous Model 3, but according to Tesla, it's intentional, to downplay the detailing.
You have your choice of a thumbwheel left ...
... and a thumbwheel right.
In additional to controlling audio-system volume, they're used to adjust the steering wheel ...
... and adjust the side-view mirrors.
There's no instrument panel, so the driver's experience is completed by a pair of stalks. The Model 3 has rain-sensing wipers.
The one on the right is the gearshift, and it activates Autopilot (when available) with two downclicks.
That side-to-side strip of open-grain woods is so soothing. The vent above channels warm or cool air.
And the direction of the airflow is managed using 15-inch central touchscreen display.
The rest of the interior is well appointed, but again, minimalist. Tesla has sought to subtract rather than add with the Model 3.
Autopilot hardware is concealed in the Model 3's construction.
The hazard button is, Tesla told me, the only button in the car. That's almost right.
There are buttons for the doors.
And I'd call the horn a type of button. But you get the idea — nothing extraneous. The majority of functions are found via the touchscreen.
Storage is good — better than many other sedans this size I've tested. Losing all the internal-combustion stuff liberates a lot of space.
I'm especially fond of of this smartphone cradle, which has a concealed USB charging port.
A pair of cupholders and a piano-black center console.
The glovebox is opened using the touchscreen, and it's really large!
If your phone dies, or you don't have it, or you need to valet park the Model 3, there's a credit-card-size key that opens the vehicle and allows it to start up.
Typically, however, you rule the Model 3 by using the app. Lock, unlock, trunk and frunk, climate control, status, charge level — and you never "start" the Model 3. When you climb in with your phone, it comes alive. Leave and it shuts itself down.
The touchscreen carries an immense amount of responsibility. I'll dive into the whole thing in a later review. But it's divided into a left and right area, with important driving info in the left and infotainment on the right. The "P", for example, becomes a speedometer when the Model 3 is in motion.
The rear camera is surprisingly not capable of delivering quite as brilliant an image as I expected.
You have the usual Bluetooth integration and USB connectivity, with a wide range of apps to choose from and views that can be tweaked.
The audio system is Tesla's own creation — and it sounds fantastic! Some reviewers have complained about the lack of physical controls for the AC and heat, but I got used to the touchscreen pretty fast.
Navigation is a standout feature.The screen is simply so large that you can get a big picture of your trip, and it's smart enough to adjust views and your maneuver through a route.
It also supplies accurate traffic data.
The voice-recognition system is about the best I've ever used in a modern vehicle. So why did I want to navigate to Paramus?
Because that's where I took the Model 3 for a juice-up, at a Supercharger location close to my home.
It was at a Tesla store, where I could relax in the waiting room with a beverage ...
... while the electrons flowed at high speed into my Model 3's charge port.
The Tesla app provides a convenient way to keep track of the charging process.
As does the touchscreen in the vehicle.
And guess what! All this tech updates from time to time over the air! This happened at the beginning of my test. The whole process consumed less than an hour.
When it was time to say goodbye, I returned the Model 3 to the Tesla store in Manhattan's meat-packing district.
And wiped away a tear as I left the car all safe and sound in its home.
So what the verdict?
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