Last to the Party: My First Experience Driving a Tesla Model 3

Many friends are surprised I don’t own a Tesla. I’m near the center of their demographic target. Except that, as some have pointed out, I’m a bit “careful with money.” 😀

So, when given the opportunity to take a Tesla Model 3 as an alternative to my reserved Toyota Corolla that I reserved at Budget, I jumped at the chance. Here’s a review of my experience.

TL;DR; It was a little disappointing. I'll wait and re-evaluate in a year or two before buying. Thank goodness I'm currently not in the market for a new car.

First Impressions. Operating most cars is pretty standard. If you can drive one car, it’s pretty easy to drive others. This is especially crucial when driving a rental car – there isn’t a big learning curve to driving it. Whether a Toyota Corolla, a Chevy Malibu, a Toyota Tacoma, or a Dodge Minivan, the cars are all pretty much the same. All the controls and displays are in pretty much the same place. (The only typical confusion is how to operate the windshield wipers.)

On the Tesla, nothing is very intuitive. All most everything must be discovered or learned. Everything from how to unlock the car, how to open the door, how to start it, how to turn it on, how to put it drive/reverse is different from a normal car. The fact that 90% of the controls are buried onto a touch screen account for a lot of the differences. It’s a very different interface than normal cars. I never did figure out how to adjust the horizontal tilt on the mirrors.

“Gassing it up” is a specific new challenge for those used to ICE cars. When do I need to charge, where can I charge, how do I charge, how long will it take to charge are all new problems.

“Different” isn’t necessarily bad. Just unfamiliar. I think most will get comfortable with time. But for a first time user in a hurry, it’s pretty cumbersome.

Drive Assist. This was probably the biggest surprise. I’ve driven cars with “self driving”/auto-assist before. Infiniti, Ford, and Honda to name a few. Surprisingly, Tesla didn’t perform as well as these other cars. I thought Tesla would be ahead in this game. Engaging it, keeping it engaged, and “trusting it” seemed deficient on the Tesla.

There was a fair amount of anxiety when driving. What was and wasn’t the car doing? Was the car veering too far left or did it really want to hug the left part of the lane? Was it going to stop before hitting the car in front? The car knows there is a stop sign ahead, but it doesn’t appear it is going to stop. Autosteer would turn off, sometimes at times when it wasn’t clear that it would. How much pressure and turn guidance does the driver need to apply and how often?

“Auto steer” vs “Full Self Driving” was confusing. T first day I drove the Tesla, a “recall” was announced on all Tesla Full Self Driving enabled cars causing further confusion. Maybe there was an over-the-air update that disabled some capabilities. Or that it was never fully turned on? And, sometimes the “Full Self Driving Preview” would turn on. What was that telling me?

Finally, even though autosteer was off (I couldn’t enable the “blue steering wheel”), speed control was on without clear indication. So, it seemed there was autobraking/acceleration capabilities without driver assist lane control. But it was unclear.

I never could figure out the autopark. Was it enabled? I couldn’t figure out how to turn it on from the touch screen.

Maybe my expectations were off. I was thinking that Tesla was far ahead in the self-driving car game. And expectations didn’t match reality, and those other cars aren’t as good as I imagined. Maybe my expectations were just lower for other cars.

Sensors and warnings. There are many sensors on the car. However, when I got close to objects, the car didn’t warn. For example, I got no warning when pulling up to wall or navigating around cars in a tight garage. Maybe there’s a way to turn warnings on – but it wasn’t clear. By default, this works intuitively on my Infiniti and Lexus.

Maybe things are in transition – a friend told me the sensors are different in 2023 (was this the first year without lidar?). Maybe Tesla needs to work out some bugs/deficiencies.

Speed (really, Acceleration). This car is quick. It accelerates like no other car I’ve ever drive. It’s amazing. Makes passing, merging, and lane changes a brand new game. It’s pretty fast too, I think. But I never pushed it over the speed limit. 

I never really appreciated “Jerk” – the derivative of Acceleration (the third derivative of Displacement). I think I experience it when driving the Tesla (e.g. the Acceleration is increasing). Or at least I’m getting a better intuitive understanding.

Fit and Finish. This is a beautiful, solid car. I’ve heard complaints before – especially with the Model X. It’s on par with my Porsche, Lexus, and Infiniti. Maybe as good as Mercedes or BMW (I’ve never owned one of these).

Miscellaneous.

The need for the bulky plastic key is annoying. For most of my cars, I can leave my key in my pocket to unlock the car or start it. Not so with the Tesla. First world problems, I know. I’m told I can pair car with with my phone to overcome some of these problems. I couldn’t figure that out – perhaps because it was a rental car. Further, if your phone runs out of battery, does that mean you can’t enter or drive your car?

When I first sat in the car, my eyes were immediately drawn to the big touch screen. Picture of the car was front and centered with two prominent labels "Frunk Open" and "Trunk Open." I thought it meant that the trunks were open. So I get out of the car to see -- no, they are closed. I get back in the car, and touch the open labels -- Voilà the trunks open. That is a very confusing interface."Open" means push here to open -- not "it is open.

This was a horrible first impression. Not only did it not spark joy, the experience created confusion and displeasure. It was far cry from the rapturous unboxing experience of a new Apple product.

The touch screen to control all most everything is interesting. I'm sure it saves money as so many mechanical parts -- physical dials, knobs, sliders, special purpose output -- are eliminated. The jury is out whether the screen only I/O is going to be better or worse. For now, I prefer real world buttons and knobs. The tactile feel is much better and operations are more obvious. Maybe I will get accustomed or the touch screen interface will improve. The debate between touch screens and real controls isn't just for cars -- this is a concern for all things that use digital controls and output.

I had to find a YouTube video or I called a friend to do a few things. I couldn’t figure out how to unlock the car. I couldn’t figure out how to remove the universal charge adapter. I couldn’t figure out how to turn on autosteer.

Using the screen to consume media (e.g. YouTube) seems interesting – but I never did that as I never sat around in the car.

Conclusion. I thought Tesla was way ahead of the game with self-driving cars. This doesn’t seem to be the case based on my experience. I’m thinking maybe there’s a major breakthrough coming from Tesla with Domo, FSD, and all the investment in software and hardware. But today, the other car companies seem a lot closer than I imagined.

On acceleration, the Tesla is amazing. I wonder where other electric cars stand? On the other hand, I do miss the experience of the Internal Combustion Engines of yesterday. The noise, the feel, the smell. Acceleration and top speed are only part of it.

I’m glad I test drove a Tesla. We were considering a new car this year. And, Tesla was under consideration. I think we’ll pass if we must buy soon. Maybe in a few years, this will be the car of choice. Of course, if Elon finds out I’ve posted this less than stellar-fanboy-quality review, I might get canceled.

Kazabyte

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

3814 24th St #202 San Francisco, CA 94114 Foreclosure

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Last to the Party: My First Experience Driving a Tesla Model 3