Have had my model 3 for a month and a half [owner review]

[Dskdsk]

So I am a month and a half and 3,500 miles into owning my Model 3 (gray long range white interior). I'm writing this because I got a lot of useful information from this forum, and wanted to share my thoughts.

First off, I am NOT a car guy or fan boy. At least I wasn't. I've owned sedans and SUV's, all were functional and not a car that I ever fell in love with.

That all changed with my Tesla.

The driving experience is like none other that I've encountered. Incredible, smooth acceleration. Tons of leg and head room. Minimalist interior, the car handles very well. The tech is simple to learn, and the center screen, at least for me, is not a distraction. Careoke, Santa mode, fart noises all make it a fun experience for my 9/7 yo kids. Autopilot is a game changer, especially on highway drives, I had a 225 mile round trip recently, it takes the edge off the effort you need to drive. Voice recognition is on point, out of 15 voice commands I make, it doesn't recognize maybe one. The front windshield is huge, I've found myself going way faster than I realize, and have to slow it down. The one pedal driving is pretty intuitive, and I find myself rarely using the brakes.

When people who have never been in a Tesla take a ride with me, the reaction is almost 'jaw dropping'. Between the interior, acceleration, handling and quiet ride, they are blown away.

I've gotten a few extras for my car, which is kind of funny considering in the 30+ years I've been driving, I maybe got an air freshener as an add-on. Here are the goodies I've added:

- Racing pedals - these are really nice and make the car look great. Got mine on Amazon, gas pedal was tougher to install due to placement, but they have not budged since installing

- Screen protector (Abstract Ocean [AO]) - I got the matte protector. Overall, AO has great product and great service, with easy to understand installation videos.

- Headlight eyebrows - Vinyl, fairly easy to install from AO. I messed up the first batch, they sent a free replacement (all I paid was shipping). They look pretty cool

- LED color / upgrade - (AO) - Trunk LED was a bit dim - and the footwell, hanged the pale white to brighter blue. Highly recommend, super easy to install, get the plastic 'spunking' tool to make life easier. Still easy to do without the tool

- Window tinting - If in NY-NJ area, recommend "The Art of Tint" in Brooklyn. Clear on front, darker on back roof panel, light tint on sides. Looks great and made the car cooler on hot summer days. Less work for the car to cool down on hot days = more $$ savings

- STATS app - Fifty bucks, SO WORTH IT. Siri integration, watch functionality, and all the fun stats a numbers geek could want. Developer is hyper-responsive and accessible.

- Frunk cooler - don't bother with the pricey custom-made coolers. Get a Coleman mini cooler and some velcro tape so it doesn't bang around, here it is on Amazon (Amazon.com : Coleman 24-Can Party Stacker Portable Cooler, Gray : Sports & Outdoors)

I am so happy I got the Tesla. I've always enjoyed driving - now I completely love it. I'm sure it will fade somewhat, but I've never been so happy with a car in my life.

So there are a few negatives, which are not really that bad at all -

- There was a squeaking chirping noise coming from somewhere in the car. Service on the app, took a week for a tech to come out for mobile service and he couldn't replicate it (of course). It started up again and I took it in to a service center. Took about 2 hours, it was a poorly fastened rear seat latch, they reinstalled, added friction tape and it was done. No cost for either service. The service people were great, and I was very happy they found it, but from what I gathered, it's not an uncommon problem. You just won't get an "immediate" appointment and it's all through the app - if you have a major issue, service could be a problem.

- The phone key does not always open the door. I've found that tapping the phone against the handle seems to work but it can be frustrating.

- Auto pilot can be a bit dodgy on twisty roads, and will sometimes brake for seemingly no reason. Most of the time I can kind of zone out while using it - on curvy roads you definitely need to pay attention.

Overall, this is the most amazing car I have ever owned. If you're on the fence, I highly recommend you take the plunge.

 

[Scarletfever]

Thanks for the review. I'm also in NJ. How do you find the suspension? I mainly take the turnpike, 280, GSP, etc. Hoping for not quite a harsh ride.

Also how does the lane keep assist work when you are manually driving, especially on super narrow lanes like the parkway?

 

[Dskdsk]

Thanks for the review. I'm also in NJ. How do you find the suspension? I mainly take the turnpike, 280, GSP, etc. Hoping for not quite a harsh ride.

Also how does the lane keep assist work when you are manually driving, especially on super narrow lanes like the parkway?

Suspension is OK, it's not the smoothest ride, but what is in Jersey? I notice road noise a lot more, but I think its a function of the lowered engine noise.

I've driven with Autopilot on 287, GSP, 17, 80, etc. It keeps to the center of the lane, narrow or not. In my experience it works really well on the highway. But I do take it out of autopilot on merges, like the 287/280 split.

 

[snikt]

TeslaMate is a pretty cool system too if you want lots of stats and data, and it's free. Little more setup than an app though, but it also stores the data locally and not on some public cloud server somewhere.

 

[DwightKSchrute]

Thanks for the review. I'm also in NJ. How do you find the suspension? I mainly take the turnpike, 280, GSP, etc. Hoping for not quite a harsh ride.

Also how does the lane keep assist work when you are manually driving, especially on super narrow lanes like the parkway?

Lane keep assist (w/o autopilot) will let you know that you have drifted out or changed lanes without signalling. I don't think it's any more intrusive than other cars.
One REAL benefit of driving with autopilot is that traffic is so much less stressful, as the car will manage the flow in traffic. Really makes a difference in traffic.
If you don't have one yet, consider renting from Turo over a weekend. That's what I did before I got my M3.
Only difference is that you will be charging at superchargers and can do it at home once you own one (and set up a charger).

 

[Scarletfever]

Lane keep assist (w/o autopilot) will let you know that you have drifted out or changed lanes without signalling. I don't think it's any more intrusive than other cars.
One REAL benefit of driving with autopilot is that traffic is so much less stressful, as the car will manage the flow in traffic. Really makes a difference in traffic.
If you don't have one yet, consider renting from Turo over a weekend. That's what I did before I got my M3.
Only difference is that you will be charging at superchargers and can do it at home once you own one (and set up a charger).

I actually love more intrusive lane centering and it’s disappointing to me that Tesla doesn’t have the option without TACC enabled. I’m not sure how well TACC will do in NJ rush hour traffic because I know how to anticipate cars that run in and out of lanes, while I’m not sure how the Tesla will do. That’s why I like keeping control of the speed while letting the car stay in the lane.

 

[tstolze]

By chance do you carry your phone in your back pocket?
If so, take it out and I would guess you will see dramatically improved results.

 

[DwightKSchrute]

I actually love more intrusive lane centering and it’s disappointing to me that Tesla doesn’t have the option without TACC enabled. I’m not sure how well TACC will do in NJ rush hour traffic because I know how to anticipate cars that run in and out of lanes, while I’m not sure how the Tesla will do. That’s why I like keeping control of the speed while letting the car stay in the lane.

My opinion is that the smart cruise control works well in traffic. Including stop and go traffic.
the Tesla will also warn you when you drift out of the lane without cruise on

 

[DRTII]

STATS app - Fifty bucks, SO WORTH IT. Siri integration, watch functionality, and all the fun stats a numbers geek could want. Developer is hyper-responsive and accessible.

2nd this. Just downloaded it, went for a drive, checked out the features and stats. Easily worth the $49.99.