M/T first drive of Tesla Model 3

[kevm14]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/tesla/mo ... 164AD0CC3D

The elephant in the room is pricing with the options. The giant LCD screen looks ridiculous on the dash and also there is no gauge cluster. The Bolt by comparison has far less price variation and is designed to be much more of a normal vehicle. So i don't see these as being in the same market.

[kevm14]

Also the base car is RWD. AWD is coming later. Just another difference to the Bolt.

[kevm14]

Also the interior looks unfinished. Definitely different, which some people will like.

[kevm14]

The Tesla App on your smartphone is your key to the car. There’s no key fob to lose. As long as your phone is on you, you have keyless entry and starting. You can also control some features of the car from the app, such as locking and unlocking. Someone needs to borrow your car? Give them the valet smart card, a credit card-sized “key” that allows the holder to open and drive the car.

Uhh...so if you lose your phone you hopefully have the valet key (credit card thing) in your wallet? Which is hopefully not part of your phone case? I don't know about all that, plus all the cyber stuff.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/10-thing ... A262C59B82

Also: http://www.motortrend.com/news/refreshi ... A262C59B82

[bill25]

Things I like so far based on the article:

Rear wheel drive, almost a nod to enthusiasts
0-60 in 5.1 is pretty decent
Sounds like it handles really well
Range - I am not planning this to ever be the only car, which means range wise, it is plenty.
Exterior styling - there isn't an electric car that can touch this car in terms of styling until you get to the Model S or some super cars that are way out of the class and price range. That being said, the front might be a little plain, like maybe needs an upper grill even if just decorative. Might be better in real life.

Things I don't like:
The lack of a gauge cluster in the normal spot
The interior is a little lacking, but if this is to be bought as an econo commuter box, I guess that is ok
I would probably not install the phone app and just use the valet "key" if possible.
I would not opt for the automated driving crap, I am glad it is optional though.

I mean, for electrics, what is the competition? The Leaf and Bolt. Both are Fugly. This is way better looking than the neon light rear tail light Priuses coming out. THe Volt doesn't look bad, but GM is discontinuing it.

I was in a Hybrid Fusion - passenger not driver. It seemed ok, but I would rather either an all gas car, or all electric. I feel with the battery tech now, there is no reason for the over complexity of a hybrid.

[frankbreau]

I mowed my lawn today for the first time with my battery powered cordless lawnmower. Whisper quiet, grass looked great, and the only maintenance i'll ever have to do is the blade and maybe a new battery down the line somewhere. I was thinking the whole time how awesome it would be to have a car that just worked like this. I think we're going to see a lot of model 3's running around the base within the next couple of years.

[bill25]

I was actually just telling Kevin about how awesomely simple and capable my Ryobi electric weed trimmer was. Fairly light, and about as quiet as a buzz. I was looking at gas ones because I always heard how only gas powered weed whackers had enough power. My father-in-law talked me out of gas and I am glad he did. Do gas oil mix garbage, or clogged carb etc. It just works.

[kevm14]

FWIW I also have a bunch of Ryobi stuff including the string trimmer. That said, I have a Craftsman Professional handheld leaf blower (made by Husqvarna) and it has to be like 10 years old or more. No carb issues, starts on the third or fourth pull as designed. I put sta-bil in all of my gas cans so anything that gets gas is already stabilized, including the 2 stroke leaf blower (which has a dedicated 1 gallon can). I also don't think an electric (or, really, battery powered) leaf blower would do anything useful for me except perhaps move leafs around on the driveway.

[kevm14]

They are playing some games with the pricing on this car. The car you really want and everyone expects is like $50-60k. I was a little irritated that the article really played that down. The article is peppered with options and their prices and only at the very end do they say what it all adds up to, plus another little nugget:

But of course, Franz’s car isn’t $35,000. A quick summing of its features puts it at about $59,500 before incentives—including $1,500 for the larger 19-inch wheels (18 inches are standard), and a grand for the red multicoat paint. (You can have any no-extra-cost color as long as it’s black. Seriously.) And it’ll be a while before $35,000 versions are built, but reservation holders can place an order for an upgraded Model 3.

They also didn't even include that price in the table at the end.

Anyway, I don't see this as the every-man EV any more than the 3-series is the go-to ICE car. That said, it is definitely a good play in a luxury segment.

[bill25]

Not to split hairs but for it to be 50-60 you are adding 8K of autonomy, that I don't want. And 5K for a glass roof and nicer interior.

The base plus the better battery I think was around 45K. I just priced out the Camaro over the weekend with 2SS trim and like 1 option and it was around 48K.

I agree it isn't really realistically 35K, but all manufacturers play these games.