I’ve had this car for several months and I think it’s a perfect car for the right kind of buyer, but it’s certainly not right for those looking for the luxury car experience. I will lay out what I like about the car and what I don’t, and ultimately if the cons are not something you care about then I’d say go right ahead and buy one.
PROS: – Speed: The performance version is incredibly quick and for the money there’s no other car on the road that will come close anywhere near legal speeds. – Technology: The car is packed to the brim with amazing tech features and entertainment options (Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Games, etc.) that just aren’t present on any other vehicle. While I didn’t option the Full Self Driving, I was given it free for 4 months when I purchased the vehicle and it was pretty good (if you trust it). – Sounds System: Unbelievably good sound quality, far better than any other vehicle I’ve been in ever. – Savings: This one’s obvious but the money you save on gas adds up and for the right person this could be huge.
CONS: – Road/Wind Noise: The level of sound that penetrates the cabin on any speed over 40 MPH is absolutely atrocious. If Tesla wants to remain competitive, especially in the luxury car space, they will need to improve this FAST. On the highway, even with music near full volume, I can still hear wind and road noise that makes me feel like the windows are rolled down. This also makes one of the pros of the car, speed, not as fun. It’s great to have a car that can go fast but that speed isn’t hidden at all. When you’re going 70-80, you FEEL like you’re going 70-80 and that’s not as fun as it sounds. – Charging/Battery Life: I don’t drive very aggressively at all and for the most part when casually driving, I keep the car in comfort mode and even then I get NOWHERE near the estimated range. Not even somewhat close. This leaves a lot of room for range anxiety when going anywhere not close to home or within a short distance to a supercharger.
Now I will give credit to Tesla and their supercharger network, but unless you own a home where you can have a wall connector installed, I would not recommend making the change to electric. – Tesla Service: I won’t get too deep into this one, but if you’re someone that’s coming from BMW, Audi, Lexus, MB, etc. Do not expect to get treated like you did with those brands. Tesla is WAY behind in the customer service department.
– Phone Key/Connectivity: Before Elon gets us to Mars, he may want to work on bluetooth first. Your phone key will become disconnected for no apparent reason all the time, and the key cards are not as convenient as you might think. I much prefer a normal key fob, which if you want one of those with Tesla, you’ll need to shell out $150 All in all, I think the model 3 is good car and perfect for someone who is FULLY trusting of the technology and allowing a car to drive you around. If you have any qualms about letting a car do all of the work, then I would recommend sticking to a normal vehicle. If you car more about technology than luxury, go for it! If you are in a place where it’s convenient and easy to charge, and you want to be the fastest on the road (most of the time), then this a good car and I would recommend it.
However, this is not the greatest car ever made, and for a lot of reasons it’s not going to be worth it for a good chuck of buyers so don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything special.