Not sure where you live, but a BMW isn’t really impressing too many people these days. Teslas on the other hand are a much rarer commodity relatively speaking. And because most people associate Tesla pricing with the >$80-90k price tag of the S and the X, it may very well be viewed by many as being more exclusive than a BMW.
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Tesla Model 3 initial impressions (and compare to. BMW 5-series)
- Thread starter st_o_p
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Not sure where you live, but a BMW isn’t really impressing too many people these days. Teslas on the other hand are a much rarer commodity relatively speaking. And because most people associate Tesla pricing with the >$80-90k price tag of the S and the X, it may very well be viewed by many as being more exclusive than a BMW.
Really? It’s the polar opposite here. Tesla still is very much a status symbol here in NJ, and is, honestly, part of why my wife is opposed to getting a Model 3. The perception and ration of *sugar* she’ll get from her friends ... On the other hand, BMWs are a dime a dozen and have a ... less than flattering ... perception of their drivers.
EdisonDrvr
Member
I don’t know where you live but in my neighborhood BMWs are a dime a dozen. BMWs are like Kias....actually I see more BMWs and Audi’s than Honda’s or Toyota’s. A Tesla gets much more attention if that’s what you’re after. Many many of the BMW and Audi drivers are lusting after Tesla’s...I know...I used to be one of them. BMW and the other German brands are rapidly losing esteem as Tesla takes over. As a former BMW M3 owner ..... Tesla is a much more desirable brand.
Following up on this: it took a few tries to get Home Link set up, but I finally got it to work. It seems like the issue was that you have to hold the garage door opener remote control very close to the bumper when pairing the car with the garage. Once it detected the signal though, the rest of the setup went pretty smoothly. I noticed one odd thing: I set the distance when it will automatically close the door to 50 feet, but whenever I leave the garage, it says that it will auto-close the garage door in 20 feet. After trying it a few times, this distance seems fine, so I just left it as-is. I just thought that was strange.
I really like this feature though! I don't usually forget to close the garage door, but I used to do it so absent-mindedly that sometimes when I was already out of sight of the house, I couldn't remember whether or not I had closed the garage door. Only once have I actually forgotten to close it, but I have a Nest Cam in my front yard that the garage door is in view of, so I can check if it's closed even when I'm not home. However, I can't close it remotely. There is almost always someone home though, so on the one time that I forgot, I only had to text whoever was home at the time and ask them to close it.
I admire your enthusiasm guys but where I live we call a spade a spade.
There is no way a mass market 500K/year production vehicle will ever be more exclusive than a BMW or a Merc.
And yes - that goes for NJ too - literally yesterday someone in NJ told me about Model 3 "they are everywhere".
The fact is Tesla didn't put much effort in making the car exclusive - and it's not. They wanted a mass market huge penetration - and they got that. There is zero visual distinction (for casual observer) between $35K basic Model 3 and $70K fully loaded performance. Most people are not enthusiasts and have no idea. And believe me - when you look at my 5-er - inside or out - you can immediately tell it's over $70K vehicle. When you looks at the Model 3 - it would be hard to distinguish from a distance from any average car on the road.
There is no way a mass market 500K/year production vehicle will ever be more exclusive than a BMW or a Merc.
And yes - that goes for NJ too - literally yesterday someone in NJ told me about Model 3 "they are everywhere".
The fact is Tesla didn't put much effort in making the car exclusive - and it's not. They wanted a mass market huge penetration - and they got that. There is zero visual distinction (for casual observer) between $35K basic Model 3 and $70K fully loaded performance. Most people are not enthusiasts and have no idea. And believe me - when you look at my 5-er - inside or out - you can immediately tell it's over $70K vehicle. When you looks at the Model 3 - it would be hard to distinguish from a distance from any average car on the road.
I guess it depends on your POV. I have never considered BMW or Mercedes "exclusive". Not only are there tons of them here, but both brands have models that dip well into what I would call affordable. Plus, Mercedes is for elderly drivers, and BMW has a certain aura attached to it as well...not a good one.
At some point, the Model 3 will become commonplace, and much like BMW, people will think of it as a dime a dozen. But as of right now, mainly due to public ignorance, a Tesla is a Tesla, and people still think they are insane EVs that cost a fortune.
The kids at my son's school point and talk about my car when I drive up. They don't do that with the BMWs, MBs, or Audis.
Perry
Active Member
Yep same thing happens with the kids at my son's school. When I pick him up I am referred to as the "Tesla guy" even here in California where there are the most Teslas. Nobody cares about BMWs. They are way more common place and not a novelty in any way. With Teslas, at least for now, they have a mythical quality. People want to come close, touch it and look inside. And when they do, if they have never seen one before, they always comment on the white seats, single center large display, and that the interior looks like a space ship, especially that I enhanced the white look of the seats even more with white vinyl wrap on all the piano black surfaces.
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EdisonDrvr
Member
You’ve got to be kidding....right? BMW exclusive??? LMAO. The 5 looks like an old persons sedan that was designed back in the 90s. BMW exclusive....HA HA HA. I never felt I was driving an “exclusive” car when I had my 2016 F80 M3 BMW...PSSSttttttttt... $70 grand doesn’t buy exclusive......it buys a good car ...... a performance model 3 ..... but while quicker, better looking, better technology and EV efficiency makes it much much much more desirable than any BMW it’s not exclusive. Sorry but Tesla is a much superior brand than BMW. I’m brand conscious and have no interest in BMW anymore what so ever.....NONE.
Well - this is why I have stayed away from Tesla forums in general - this cult-like mentality.
You know not every BMW is 3 series. But whatever.
You guys need to get out in the real world.
I'm not going to post anymore on "exclusivity" - it's a waste of time. But in my household - the 5 series is the luxury car, the Tesla M3 is the utility car.
I didn't even consider "exclusivity" when buying my Model 3. I guess I understand why someone might want to have a distinctive car, but that just isn't important to me. I bought mine because I love the idea of electric vehicles, I think it is a well-made car, and is good value for the cost.
Zcd1
Active Member
Perry
Active Member
I bought mine because its the quickest thing on the road for the price not for exclusivity either.
Some more impressions after the first couple weeks:
The automatic unlock feature doesn't work as well as expected. It mostly works - but fails way too often. And yes - I read that supposedly it's because of the phone not the car - but it's a real pain to have to get your phone out, open the app and unlock in order to be able to get in your car. On the flip side - the auto-lock as I walk away hasn't failed once.
I'm having trouble with the proximity warnings as I drive in traffic. I did enable chime from the parking sensors as I absolutely need that when parking. However - now when I drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic - the car keeps chiming when I get closer than 36 inches from the car in front. Super annoying. Is it really not possible to distinguish between regular driving and parking? Would have been great at least to have some way to tell the car - I need the chimes now, and I don't need them now - depending on whether I'm actually parking or not.
The last thing I find super annoying is that it takes so long to get the car in gear. I generally get in, push the break pedal and put the car in gear. And nothing happens - because it apparently takes several seconds after I depress the pedal until the car is ready to accept gear (or reverse). So I end up stepping on the gas - just to realize the car is actually not in gear, and I have to do over again. Haven't had that experience with other cars.
The stock 19" tires can be very loud on certain (bridge) road surface - but on regular road they're fine.
Apart from the those few things - the car has been stellar, and a real pleasure to drive.
I also managed to get some Kindle Fires for the kids attached to the backs of the front seats. (The internal memory of a Kindle Fire 32GB has just the right amount of space to hold the complete Tom&Jerry series so I can use it as dumb video player with a touch screen
). And the USB cable that comes with the Kindles is the perfect length to plug into the rear USB ports. And the best part - the Tesla seats have something plastic in the back so you can route the cable inside and it doesn't hang out.
The automatic unlock feature doesn't work as well as expected. It mostly works - but fails way too often. And yes - I read that supposedly it's because of the phone not the car - but it's a real pain to have to get your phone out, open the app and unlock in order to be able to get in your car. On the flip side - the auto-lock as I walk away hasn't failed once.
I'm having trouble with the proximity warnings as I drive in traffic. I did enable chime from the parking sensors as I absolutely need that when parking. However - now when I drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic - the car keeps chiming when I get closer than 36 inches from the car in front. Super annoying. Is it really not possible to distinguish between regular driving and parking? Would have been great at least to have some way to tell the car - I need the chimes now, and I don't need them now - depending on whether I'm actually parking or not.
The last thing I find super annoying is that it takes so long to get the car in gear. I generally get in, push the break pedal and put the car in gear. And nothing happens - because it apparently takes several seconds after I depress the pedal until the car is ready to accept gear (or reverse). So I end up stepping on the gas - just to realize the car is actually not in gear, and I have to do over again. Haven't had that experience with other cars.
The stock 19" tires can be very loud on certain (bridge) road surface - but on regular road they're fine.
Apart from the those few things - the car has been stellar, and a real pleasure to drive.
I also managed to get some Kindle Fires for the kids attached to the backs of the front seats. (The internal memory of a Kindle Fire 32GB has just the right amount of space to hold the complete Tom&Jerry series so I can use it as dumb video player with a touch screen
). And the USB cable that comes with the Kindles is the perfect length to plug into the rear USB ports. And the best part - the Tesla seats have something plastic in the back so you can route the cable inside and it doesn't hang out.
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Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Why are you frequently getting less than 36 inches from the car in front of you while driving?
(also if you drive in traffic a lot, get autopilot and let TACC do the work- it's vastly, vastly, vastly better)
Swampgator
Active Member
Pretty nice write up, you said it yourself, you are comparing the 5 series to the model 3, I think a better comparison would be Vs a 3 series. My wife has a 2014 328i luxury and Technology packages and and I have a RWD/LR/PUP/EAP/FSD June 2018 build.
Performance: the 328i is quite strong for a 4 cylinder turbo charged, we love the power on this car. BUT of course it is nothing compared against the instant torque of the electric drive. Still both are pretty enjoyable rides.
Ride: I have to say that the 328i is a smoother ride, because of the luxury package. The slightly stiffer ride on my 3 series is not something that bothers me at all.
Interior build: on both cars is supreme, both cars to me look gorgeous on their own way. I have to say that after owning the simplistic model 3 cars with knobs and switches are starting to look cluttered to me.
Infotaiment: On this the 328i SMOKES the tesla. Navigation and sound are superior on Tesla that is it. The bluetooth controls on the BMW are way better, the smaller screen splits to show you navigation and a large display of the artwork of what is playing on your phone, you can also navigate through your playlists and select a playlist or a specific song. also you can shuffle the contents of the playlist you are playing. you can FFW and RWD through the song that is currently playing. Sirius XM is available in the BMW, we subscribe to it and is great in roadtrips. The dependency to cell phone signal on the tesla is a limitation if you travel to areas where signal is patchy, I knew of this in advance so I downloaded a playlist to my phone for our last roadtrip. On the 328i you can also preview text messages from your phone, oh and if you plug in your phone to the car, you get a built in interface to Spotify (I hope if there is an exclusivity contract with slacker that it comes to an end SOON!). We have a kia sportage in the family and it has Carplay, don't get me going on that is being a even better interface!.
Comfort: both my wife and I are short, so the seats on both cars are very comfortable We have done long roadtrips on both cars and never felt tired from sitting down. A big plus for my wife is that she does not have to push the seat too far forward to reach the pedals ending up too close to the steering wheel, this was a problem in my 2009 Mini Cooper.
The HUD I have to agree it would be nice to have in the model 3, I really like it on the 328i.
The 328i has a moonroof, the model 3 has the whole sky over your head for you to enjoy
Both cars have auto dimming mirrors, which is excellent when a teenager with a supped up Civic with misaligned Halogen headlamps gets behind you, or the usual redneck in a monster truck.
I guess that's all I can think of mentioning about my experience on both our cars. i would say it would be more fair to compare a 2019 330i Vs the current 3 series.
I rented a 330 ix convertible for almost 6 weeks prior to getting the Tesla in October. I don't understand your comments about the Infotainment systems. I did not like the BMW knob controls at all.
Also, the BMW is a dog unless you drive it in Sport+, which you must select every time you get in the car. What a pain. When in normal eco mode the motor shuts down at traffic lights which is very annoying. Also, the interior of the BMW was very cramped and mostly uncomfortable. The materials were higher quality than the Model 3 though.
The ride and handeling on the BMW were nice. I don't think better than the Model 3, just different. The Model 3 (I have AWD) for sure feels sportier though, and turn in is razor sharp compared to the BMW.
The autopilot is unusable in bumper-to-bumper traffic around NYC. It leave half a car to a full car length space in front. That can only work in a single lane traffic. Otherwise people will keep getting in front of you (and everyone behind you gets pissed).
As for is 36" too close - I wouldn't have been able to tell you until now - but now I know that yes I often am closer than 36" from the car in front of me. Was never a problem when I'm driving other cars.
Swampgator
Active Member
Some more impressions after the first couple weeks:
The automatic unlock feature doesn't work as well as expected. It mostly works - but fails way too often. And yes - I read that supposedly it's because of the phone not the car - but it's a real pain to have to get your phone out, open the app and unlock in order to be able to get in your car. On the flip side - the auto-lock as I walk away hasn't failed once.
I'm having trouble with the proximity warnings as I drive in traffic. I did enable chime from the parking sensors as I absolutely need that when parking. However - now when I drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic - the car keeps chiming when I get closer than 36 inches from the car in front. Super annoying. Is it really not possible to distinguish between regular driving and parking? Would have been great at least to have some way to tell the car - I need the chimes now, and I don't need them now - depending on whether I'm actually parking or not.
The last thing I find super annoying is that it takes so long to get the car in gear. I generally get in, push the break pedal and put the car in gear. And nothing happens - because it apparently takes several seconds after I depress the pedal until the car is ready to accept gear (or reverse). So I end up stepping on the gas - just to realize the car is actually not in gear, and I have to do over again. Haven't had that experience with other cars.
The stock 19" tires can be very loud on certain (bridge) road surface - but on regular road they're fine.
Apart from the those few things - the car has been stellar, and a real pleasure to drive.
I also managed to get some Kindle Fires for the kids attached to the backs of the front seats. (The internal memory of a Kindle Fire 32GB has just the right amount of space to hold the complete Tom&Jerry series so I can use it as dumb video player with a touch screen
I agree with you on the doors. They need to get this fixed so that it works 100% of the time. What I have found though as a tip: If you grab the handle and the car does not unlock, keep the handle pulled out and it will eventually unlock. It usually takes 2-5 seconds for me when this happens. I FEELS like an eternity though
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
Every area is different as far as norms and people trying to cut you off, etc., but I've never had an issue with people cutting me off with even more space than that in Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle traffic.
You should always be able to see the bottom of the tires of the car in front of you from your position in the driver's seat, as it reduces the likelihood of an accidental collision due to inattention, reduces the severity of pileups if someone rear ends you and you are on top of the guy in front of you, and, from my perspective as someone who rode motorcycles for years, it means you always have enough room to cut your wheel and get out of the lane you are in if something unforeseen happens.
Swampgator
Active Member
Yes I think in general if you are less than 3 feet from the car in front of you......you are too close. I don't care if you are stopped at a traffic light or not. Give me some space dude.
Maybe that also comes from being paranoid driving my Model 3 beacuse the tall rear end makes it look like every A-hole on the road is getting ready to mate with me
