Review of my 2024 Tesla M3 RWD after approx 2 weeks

I picked up my Tesla M3 rwd, March 16. First time in my life I had to pick car up out of town. It was 3.5 hours drive to get back to Sudbury. There was heavy rain at times but no issue getting back to Sudbury. Charged car at Tesla Supercharger when I arrived in Sudbury.

I wanted a Tesla since 2012 when I drove friends Tesla Model S. I have had a Mustang Mach-E which had the same 1 pedal driving as the Tesla but because I had the base Select model , no heated seats or heated steering wheel and stereo was not very good. The Mazda MX-30 did not have 1 pedal driving, and you had to select regen setting via paddles on steering which which got annoying after awhile,

Love the frameless windows as it reminds me of doors on my convertible’s of the past. This car is faster than the earlier Ford Mustang GT convertibles I had between 1997 and 2003. Performance wise it seems similar to Mazda Miata’s I had so I am happy. Visibility is really good. Screen is closer than in the Mach-E so no issues adjusting climate. For base stereo system, it out performs the Bose audio system in both the Mazda Miata and Mazda MX-30. Not warm enough to try cooling feature on seats.

Handling is so much better than the Mustang Mach-E or Mazda MX-30 ( no surprise as these were SUV style ). But not same handling level as the 5 different Mazda Miata’s I had in the past. Driving characteristics remind me of some of the BMW 3 series.

Overall no regrets getting the 2024 M3 rwd. Nice I can charge to 100%. To me it is almost deceptive that range is always advertised at 100% charge but most manufacturers only recommend charging to 80% resulting also in less range than advertised.

The app for the Tesla light years ahead of everyone else. The app from both Ford and Mazda a joke compared to Tesla. To make matters worse Mazda expects you to pay monthly fee to use mobile app after first year.

No complaints with build quality.

Dan

"Tesla Model 3 'Highland' (2024)" by Mliu92 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

 

[rpiotro]

Sudbury? Canada? Do they still have the giant nickel on the hill?

 

[JER85]

Congrats on the purchase! We are getting an M3 as a second car.... Waiting to see what the performance/ludicrous model prices at.... I should really do the financially smart thing and get the RWD, but the performance is so tempting.

 

[traubgator]

besides my maiden voyage from atlanta to st Augustine, FL, the day after delivery, my new rwd hasn't gotten below 80% state of charge yet.....
its such a great feeling having a car full every morning even though we aren't driving it much daily etc. (sorry , besides 1 day we did put 175 miles on it driving around town...)

the road trip was a breeze, the computer always underestimated our arrival state of charge, but I'd also to be safe would charge a few minutes extra.
its funny, even having it only 2 weeks now, no range anxiety at all, and loved the supercharger experience. just so calming and honestly, by the time you run inside grab a coffee and go the bathroom, it's almost time to get going. I drove normal also, didn't worry about my speed etc, just went with traffic etc.

I'm impressed also, looked like i'll be able to make a 325 mile drive north to Greensboro, NC area within only 1 short stop. That is great news.
Car drives great, from 0 - 60 you can feel that little bit of delay as the suspension settles in, but where i've found it shines, is turning a corner and going 5-10 miles an hour, then juicing it, as well from 60 to 90 mph its quick. Got enough quickness for me.

the music integration is top notch - use mostly spotify
i'm not an audiophile, and i made a decision young in life not to become one (my dad is) -- 9 speakers is plenty-- yes, would a sub be nice, yea, it would, but the system sounds fantastic. I shifted the balance to be slightly off center towards passenger seat and love the sound.

i was concerned about the elimination of the 2 usb ports in the center console -- haven't used the power port or even any usb ports yet in the vehicle besides the one in the glovebox (i have tested they all work). The wireless charger does an excellent job with my iphone 14 pro

minor suggestions for future update and these are in no way negatives:
1. I would like to see a future setting where like it is now, the mirrors will fold by a saved location, but there is an option to delay the fold until the car is parked. i don't like the mirrors folding in when i'm backing in the garage, i still like using them even though we have the camera's etc. (i don't like locking the doors in my garage which obviously has autofold)
2. ability to fold mirrors directly from app
3. rear seats temperature control -- its unclear if it uses driver or passenger side temperature?
4. app uses profile saved addresses/favorites for navigation
5. add lane switching to standard auto-pilot on highway, i know this would never happen etc. But seems safer than it turning off and then having to turn it back on again
6. add more controls to the controls page of the app, why not allow the bottom icons to be smaller or allow 2 rows

 

[tm1v2]

1. I would like to see a future setting where like it is now, the mirrors will fold by a saved location, but there is an option to delay the fold until the car is parked. i don't like the mirrors folding in when i'm backing in the garage, i still like using them even though we have the camera's etc. (i don't like locking the doors in my garage which obviously has autofold)

@traubgator Mirrors folding while backing up doesn't sound right at all! There should be a setting to auto-fold mirrors only when locked in Park.

With that setting enabled on my 2021 Model 3, the mirrors auto-fold only when the car locks without a driver occupant, e.g. walk-away lock or tapping my phone to the B-pillar NFC reader. And they auto-unfold as soon as the car unlocks.

 

[traubgator]

@traubgator Mirrors folding while backing up doesn't sound right at all! There should be a setting to auto-fold mirrors only when locked in Park.

With that setting enabled on my 2021 Model 3, the mirrors auto-fold only when the car locks without a driver occupant, e.g. walk-away lock or tapping my phone to the B-pillar NFC reader. And they auto-unfold as soon as the car unlocks.

yea locking and unlocking autofold and unfold works flawlessly.

but it also has a feature where regardless of locking, you can click fold mirrors, and then save the location. its really for lets say your pulling into a tight spot and want to always fold the mirrors at that location, this works great for that -- but i'd prefer to pull into my garage, and then have the mirrors fold without having to lock the car ( i have autolock at home disabled). I hate having my cars locked in my garage

 

[tm1v2]

yea locking and unlocking autofold and unfold works flawlessly.

but it also has a feature where regardless of locking, you can click fold mirrors, and then save the location. its really for lets say your pulling into a tight spot and want to always fold the mirrors at that location, this works great for that -- but i'd prefer to pull into my garage, and then have the mirrors fold without having to lock the car ( i have autolock at home disabled). I hate having my cars locked in my garage

@traubgator I see, that makes sense.

Do you leave Bluetooth enabled on your phone? If so the car should automatically unlock anytime you're next to it and open a door or the trunk. Is there a scenario where this isn't sufficient?

 

[mborkow]

Congrats on the new car, but I gotta ask: you really think the Model 3 is equaled or outperformed by a Miata? I last drove a Miata in 2003. I bought it new in 2000 (when I moved to California) and sold it after 3 years (and 56k miles) when I upgraded to a 993 Carrera 4 (which I drove for 3 years) that I subsequently sold for a 986 S (wanted a convertible again) which I owned until we had kids (I can still hear my wife saying, “that car only has two seats; where are the kids going to go!?”). In many ways, I’d put the Model 3 LR AWD ahead of all of them…the Miata coming in a distant 4th. It’s a great car for the money…but, at least in my experience, it’s in a different performance league.

 

[Miata Head]

Hands down my 97M outperforms my Model 3...when I'm driving in the twisties, it's not blistering hot out and the fun factor at less than highway speeds. Otherwise, my RWD is the better daily.