R&T reviews the Tesla Model 3
- Thread starter Mook
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They appear to have liked it more than I did and I really liked it. I think they throw the S under the bus a little. The S isn't a bad handling car if you compare it to other cars it's size and weight but the moment you compare it to a 3 yeah, it's going to look like a bus. Compare the 7 series to a 3 series and you'll walk away with the same conclusion. The S is fun to drive and engaging for a car that size but at the end of the day it is a 5000lb car. It's an A8.
I agree about the criticism about doing everything through the touch screen. The S had a dedicated cruise control/ autopilot stalk as well as wiper controls are the turn signal stalk. I don't understand why both of those features didn't stay. They should have. But their omission is a minor annoyance in a car that impressed me in so many other ways.
The same can be said for the omission of the instrument cluster. I don't care that it's gone. I think I mentioned in my review that it took me 40 or so minutes of driving the car before I even remembered that I was supposed to see if that annoyed me. Not everyone is the same so perhaps there are others out there that are certain this would be a deal breaker for them. For me it's a non-issue. On the S right now the screen is split into thirds. The center is an Autopilot display and speedometer and the right and left sides can be set to other things like a trip computer, album art, etc. But the important information: the speed limit. That's literally the only thing showing on that 12.7" display. This isn't a traditional car. You're not losing your tach, and your temp gauge, and oil pressure, and your big analog speedometer. You're simply moving a digital speed display, as the crow flies, 12 inches up and to the right.
The interior I acknowledged that some would take or leave. Personally I was hoping they'd go more traditional here and compete with Audi or Mercedes but simplicity is the name of the game for them and they pull it off well. Coming from the S, I am actively lusting after the 3's interior. I can not wait to have it. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected I would and came to find it endearing. When the 3 arrives the S will be relegated to Turo duty until the lease is up.
And that's saying something because the S is an amazing car but in my opinion, and apparently Road & Track's, the 3 is just that much better.
I agree about the criticism about doing everything through the touch screen. The S had a dedicated cruise control/ autopilot stalk as well as wiper controls are the turn signal stalk. I don't understand why both of those features didn't stay. They should have. But their omission is a minor annoyance in a car that impressed me in so many other ways.
The same can be said for the omission of the instrument cluster. I don't care that it's gone. I think I mentioned in my review that it took me 40 or so minutes of driving the car before I even remembered that I was supposed to see if that annoyed me. Not everyone is the same so perhaps there are others out there that are certain this would be a deal breaker for them. For me it's a non-issue. On the S right now the screen is split into thirds. The center is an Autopilot display and speedometer and the right and left sides can be set to other things like a trip computer, album art, etc. But the important information: the speed limit. That's literally the only thing showing on that 12.7" display. This isn't a traditional car. You're not losing your tach, and your temp gauge, and oil pressure, and your big analog speedometer. You're simply moving a digital speed display, as the crow flies, 12 inches up and to the right.
The interior I acknowledged that some would take or leave. Personally I was hoping they'd go more traditional here and compete with Audi or Mercedes but simplicity is the name of the game for them and they pull it off well. Coming from the S, I am actively lusting after the 3's interior. I can not wait to have it. I enjoyed it so much more than I expected I would and came to find it endearing. When the 3 arrives the S will be relegated to Turo duty until the lease is up.
And that's saying something because the S is an amazing car but in my opinion, and apparently Road & Track's, the 3 is just that much better.
The closest thing I could compare it to would be my 2010 535. The interior in the E60 5 series was hardly luxurious but it was very well made and there's a certain luxury to that. I think anyone that's hopped in a Cadillac can speak to the opposite side of that equation where you have something that looks very nice but clearly isn't very well made and that doesn't feel luxurious for very long.
But I think it's supposed be luxurious in the same sense that an Audi A4 or BMW 3 series is. A 3 series doesn't feel like the pinnacle of luxury. It just feels nicely built. If that's the measure for entry level luxury then I would say they nailed it.
Seems to me Tesla could work on the world's best HUD and incorporate it into the car negating the need for a dash panel. Your eyes stay on the road and you can add just about any display parameters into a HUD that you want to especially if you don't mind blocking a bigger part of the windshield.
Yes and no on that.
Personally, from a performance driver standpoint, I like the way Ford is doing the new Lincoln instrument panels.
I love the big middle gauge which usually switches between Speedo and Tach. With two LCD's on the wings displaying less critical alternate information.
I realize the styling of the Lincoln MKS is not to everyone's taste (nor is this one mine) but I like the multi-functional layout the LCD's screens offer here.
Were someone in a performance car, in sport/track/race/whatever uber drive mode the center "dial" could act as a huge tach so it was visually easy to keep track of the revs with maybe a digital speedo in the middle.
With oil/water temp on the left side, and maybe Volts/Fuel on the right.
And the HUD could have some of the same information, but simplified a bit so it was mostly just a horizontal tach with maybe speed.
didn't musk just claim the dual motor one would beat an M3 around a track too?
better step up dem brakes...
i just did a 2 day bmw track day and i wonder how much track time it could even get in between demands on the car plus charging it. not that i think that's the target market but hey, musk mentioned it.
better step up dem brakes...
i just did a 2 day bmw track day and i wonder how much track time it could even get in between demands on the car plus charging it. not that i think that's the target market but hey, musk mentioned it.
Electric cars are usually terrible at track times. They can't deal with the heat generated from extended hard use. The battery backs heat up, and the cars go into limp home mode to reduce battery temps.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/tesla-model-s-p85d-at-lightning-lap-2016-feature
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/tesla-model-s-p85d-at-lightning-lap-2016-feature
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