After the Roadster put Tesla in the minds of car enthusiasts and hearts of environmentalists, it was the Model S, our 2013 Car of the Year, which put it on the map. The recently released Model X SUV is important too, but it’s the Tesla Model 3 that’ll make or break the company. Musk didn’t share any hard Model 3 facts at the car’s March 31 debut, he did promise the base model will hit 60 mph in less than six seconds, get around 215 miles on a charge, and start at $35,000. Tesla also offered rides in a Model 3 prototype to crowds of assembled journalists and customers, and we were lucky enough to score the very first one.
The new Tesla Model 3 is actually quite striking in person. The sleek car looks taut, like it’s ready to pounce. Yanking on the lever-actuated door handle (gone are the Model S’ electronically recessing units) opens the door to a welcoming cabin that feels futuristic and immediately familiar. You’ll find the two-spoke steering wheel–and center console in the usual place, but otherwise the Tesla signature cabin has been reshuffled for the Model 3.
A 15-inch screen mounted in a landscape format on the center stack is the only option in the Model 3. It’s perfectly located to allow driver and passenger use, and it also appears to offer a newer version of Tesla’s infotainment software. Driver information including speed, range, and Autopilot status is located on the left side of the display, so it’s only a glance away from the road. It’ll probably take some getting used to, but the Model 3 also features a centrally located speedometer.
The front seats feel as if they’re mounted farther forward than one would expect in a BMW 3 Series-sized car, and that’s because they are—Musk said during the presentation that he and the Tesla team wanted the Model 3 to be capable of comfortably seating five, and given the lack of an engine up front, Tesla boosted cabin space by sliding the firewall forward. Another key to passenger volume is above your head—a one-piece full-length glass roof that stretches from the top of the windshield all the way back to the trunk lid gives the cabin an open airy feel not only due to the illusion of space, but because glass is much thinner than the steel and aluminum that the rest of the car is made from. The roofline has a Porsche Panamera-like look to it, further boosting rear passenger headroom.
But I digress—you want to read about what it’s like to ride in a Model 3. In short, it feels like a Tesla. Our Model 3, which was a fairly well-equipped dual-motor version with air suspension and what we think could be a 70 kWh battery pack, shot effortlessly forward when our Tesla minder flattened the accelerator. Despite the fact that our car was loaded down with five people, acceleration was quick, smooth, and quiet. Typical Tesla. While the Model 3 won’t throw you back in your seat like a Model S P90D will, it’s not going to leave drivers wanting for more oomph. Think of the difference in acceleration compared to a Model S like a BMW 328i versus an M3; both are quick, one feels a bit more so. Handling from the passenger seat felt solid, too. With the center of gravity kept low by the floor-mounted battery pack, there was little if any body roll detectable during our mini-slalom course, but count on Motor Trend for a full, instrumented track test once we can get our hands on a production-spec model.
So first impressions are promising. Mr. Musk is “fairly confident” that the first few Model 3s will be reaching a handful of customers toward the end of 2017. I too, am fairly confident, that the hundreds of thousands of hardcore Tesla fans who have reserved Model 3s (137,500 $1,000 deposits at last count) will enjoy their new, more affordable Teslas.
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