Jen, the Super Tesla Fangirl, on Twitter Account @ElectricJen
Recently, TSLARATI, a well-known Tesla media outlet, published a lengthy delivery review from a loyal Tesla fan named Jen.
In her review, Jen, who was already a Model S owner, listed seven shortcomings of Tesla while expressing her passion and rationality, objectively explaining why she loves her Model 3 so much.
This may be the best delivery review of the Model 3 in North America since it was delivered in large quantities. This article was translated by the WeChat account “New Forces in Highway,” authorized and reprinted with permission from the author, Yu Fei.
Please note: there are many details that only Tesla owners pay attention to, and we hope it will be helpful for everyone in choosing and buying a car.
Tesla Delivery Team is Excellent
Two years after my reservation, I finally received my Model 3 on February 12th of this year.
Because I only need it for short-distance commuting, I don’t need the long-range version. However, I still ordered the long-range version because of its impressive 310-mile (496 km) range and the incredible fuel economy it brings.
When I reserved my Model 3, Tesla told me that there would be a four-week delivery period. To be honest, I didn’t believe them at first. Because until the second week of the delivery period, I couldn’t find my Model 3 VIN online. But on the second-to-last day of the delivery period, I finally received a notification to pick up the car.
The Tesla delivery team is truly excellent. The personal sales consultant, delivery specialist, and product specialist who served me had excellent service attitudes.
But, I’m not surprised because ever since I bought the Model S four years ago and since I have been in touch with Tesla employees, every Tesla employee I’ve encountered has had a top-notch work attitude.
Model 3 is More Agile than Model S
After all that introduction, let’s talk about the Model 3 itself~
As a car, the most important thing is, of course, the driving experience. And when I stepped on the accelerator for the first time in the MODEL 3, it completely satisfied all my driving requirements.
To be honest, even though I am a loyal Tesla fan, I don’t like the slightly bulky shape of the MODEL S. The MODEL 3, on the other hand, completely fits my image of “the best car that can be bought.”
Because the MODEL 3 is obviously smaller than the MODEL S and lighter, it feels very agile to drive. My MODEL S, on the other hand, can only be called “agile” when a deer suddenly jumps in front of my car and I have to turn the steering wheel like crazy.
The steering wheel of the MODEL 3 is just as thick as its luxury brother car, but obviously smaller, which is very friendly to a female driver like me, and also has a sense of racing. As for steering sensitivity, I just drove the car out of the store a moment ago and switched the steering to sport mode, which is so cool that it can easily beat Takumi Fujiwara on a village road!
In addition, because the MODEL 3 is lighter, its braking performance is much better than the MODEL S. However, where I live is too cold, so I still need to be careful when braking in winter.
My mother can use it in a few minutes
Speaking of the interior, how is it?
I really like the dashboard of my MODEL S because I can see the current energy consumption and driving data at a glance, and I can see the navigation on the driver’s instrument panel just by lowering my head. These are things I’m used to, but the MODEL 3 doesn’t have these features because it only has a central control screen.
However, the above features are still very user-friendly. Even though I am an old owner of a MODEL S, it only took me a few days to adapt to the MODEL 3’s single central control screen. Checking the driving information on the screen to the left from time to time while driving has become my second nature.My elderly mother’s car is an antique Chevy Trailblazer from 2004 (comparable to a Highlander). Yet, within minutes, she was able to adapt to the touch screen of the Model 3 electric car without any formal learning.
This just goes to show how user-friendly the center console of the Model 3 can be.
I also really adore the interior material and color choices. The leather used in my Model S center console clashes with the black interior color scheme, but the light gray interior color scheme and leather used in the Model 3 are much more harmonious. And, since I haven’t experienced any cracking or fading in my Model S interior lining, I believe the durability of the Model 3 interior will also be high.
There’s one particularly impressive piece of tech in the Model 3 interior that I must mention – its adjustable air vents. With a simple touch on the screen, you can divide the airflow of the Model 3’s vents in half – truly amazing! I bet other car manufacturers will follow suit!
Seven flaws I discovered within a week
It’s safe to say that the Model 3 provided me with exceptional driving experience at an unmatched price point. However, during use, I discovered several small flaws… alright, it was a lot.
-
The turn signal stalk is fancy – it can return to its neutral position on its own, unlike other cars that require you to flick it back. But, it’s not so user-friendly… “Other cars make a ‘click’ sound when the turn signal stalk returns to its neutral position, and you can automatically understand to continue driving. But the Model 3’s turn signal stalk doesn’t make a sound, so you must constantly stare at the screen while turning or risk getting honked at and scolded with ‘Can’t you use your blinker? Are you a female driver?’ However, I am really a female driver, so I have to concentrate and reverse those stereotypes.”
-
The climate control needs to be tapped twice to turn on/off, which is a bit of a hassle. “It would be much better if you could simply tap the fan icon to turn it on/off, rather than having to bring up a pop-up menu and go through a more complicated process.”
-
The detailed energy data that displays on the center control of the Model S and X has been reduced to just one line on the Model 3, with the omission of a significant amount of information.* It’s really unacceptable because it’s just a difference in software and requires little cost to fix. Besides, the black block around the prompt message is too big that it directly covers the information below. I hope Tesla can fix it soon.
-
In the interface called “Cards” by Tesla, you can view different information by swiping left and right. The current distance of the journey (customizable journey A/B/the latest mileage since last charge) is something I really like to display on the main page, especially the latest mileage since last charge. But it’s really annoying to adjust it by myself every time I start driving. It would be great if the car could remember the last data I selected to display.
-
There are also some aspects of Autopilot that could be improved.
After turning on Autopilot, you can adjust the speed of Autopilot in operation through the lever next to the steering wheel. However, MODEL 3 cannot adjust the following distance when Autopilot is turned on, while MODEL S and X can. Don’t fool me. This is obviously something that can be fixed by software. Come on and upgrade it!
- The traffic conditions in the navigation are not updated in real-time.
When I was about to go to work, the navigation showed that the road was unobstructed with a yellow color, but the broadcast on the radio told me that it was not that simple. So I turned off the navigation and then on again. Well, the first online congestion city in Macau opened for business! If the navigation cannot update traffic information by itself, what’s the point of calling it intelligent…?
- Sometimes the car cannot be unlocked by the phone connected to it, whether it is held in the hand or carried in the bag/pocket.
Then I have to take out the wallet containing the card-style key to swipe the B-pillar and unlock the car, and then put the wallet behind the cup holder to start the car. If the person issuing the parking card is Guo Jingming and I have to get closer to get the card, it is very likely that the car will lock again before I can open it. And the parking pole may hit my future car, GG ~
Last but not least, this is the biggest problem!
- Sometimes I don’t even know if the car is locked!
One time when my husband got into the car with his phone that was also paired with the car, I was still waiting outside for the rearview mirror to automatically open, which is the visual sign that it is unlocked. It’s true that I have to put the key behind the cup holder to start the car, but does that count as unlocking it?
The first time was when my husband left something in the car, he went back to get it, and when he came back, he found that the car didn’t lock automatically on the APP, and he had to lock it again on the APP. MODEL 3 doesn’t have automatic door handles like MODEL S, so you must always watch your APP. I’m so anxious, I beg for a sedative!
That’s my feeling about MODEL 3 after a week, the overall impression is that the pros outweigh the cons!
Finally, a few words. The MODELS used to be my favorite. Today, I’m driving the MODEL S, and my husband is driving the MODEL 3. I suddenly began to miss the compact steering wheel of the MODEL 3.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.