Hi guys, it’s KJ the MiTechGuy here, and today I’ll be reviewing the Tesla Model
3.
This is the first time I am reviewing a car on this channel, but with all of the tech
inside of this car, and with how good my experience has been, I thought this was a great opportunity
to finally do a review on the car I think is a game changer in the car market.
In this video I’ll be talking about the good and the bad with my experience with being
able to drive this car for just about every day this past month and I’ll show you some
of the cool features I didn’t even know about before using this car.
Let’s get right into it.
I actually really like the design of the Model 3.
I know some people don’t necessarily like it, but to me, I like how the body is shaped,
and how they were able to put all the different sensors on the car without making the car
stand out too much.
Despite not having a front grill, the Model 3 looks similar to other cars on the road
today, and for all of the tech packed inside of this fully electric beast, that’s impressive.
Also, the overall shape of the car, and also the fact that the door handles don’t stick
out of the car body at all, help a lot with the drag this car encounters on the road from
the air.
I’m going to get technical for a little bit and talk about the drag coefficient.
Basically, when an object moves through air, it will encounter some drag or air resistance,
and the lower the drag coefficient, the less drag a certain amount of wind creates.
So lower is better.
The Model 3 has the lowest drag coefficient of any production vehicle on the planet at
0.23.
As reference, the drag coefficients of the BMW i8 and Nissan GTR are both 0.26.
This leads to less force from the air pushing back on the car as you drive, which ultimately
leads to higher range on a single charge and easy acceleration.
I also really like the design of the interior.
It’s very minimal, with just an empty dash and this 15 inch touchscreen monitor that
is actually more responsive than some Android tablets I have used.
The interior is clean, seems high end, and with the panoramic sun roof, there’s extra
head room and the overall cabin feels bigger than other cars this size.
Also, because it doesn’t have an engine, there’s a front trunk.
And because there’s no transmission or fuel tank, we even have extra space in the actual
trunk of the car in the form of extra compartments.
Let’s now talk about actually driving this car.
If I could describe it in one word, it would be comfortable.
Not comfortable in the sense that it has the most comfortable interior ever, although the
seats are quite comfy, comfortable in the sense that when I am behind the wheel I just
feel like I am always comfortable with any situation that comes my way.
This is for a few of reasons.
First off, it is because this car is really fast and handles well…
This is the dual motor option which gives this vehicle all wheel drive, and those electric
motors can really get this car going fast because of that instant torque.
The car is fast enough to impress people coming out of stop lights, but most importantly,
the instant torque and speed, and the precise handling this car has, give me the comfort
that I will be able to get out of just about any situation.
I know that I can quickly duck out from behind someone who is slowing down or quickly get
out of a car’s blind spot if someone starts merging into my lane.
Secondly, if I am on a long road trip or I just happen to be stuck in traffic, I don’t
have to get my legs sore from constantly toggling between accelerating and breaking because
I can just click the gear shifter down twice to activate autopilot.
Autopilot allows me to, in spurts, take my hand off of the steering wheel, crack my knuckles,
and just have my legs relax on the floor.
The system needs to feel your hand on the steering wheel every so often, and you should
still be engaged with the road, but when it’s in autopilot, it feels as if someone else
is driving the car.
It’s pleasant and can make a stressful trip a bit more relaxing.
While it’s in autopilot, you can change the max speed up to 90 miles per hour, you
can change how many car lengths you want to stay behind the person in front of you, and
you can even have the car automatically change lanes for you.
Keep in mind that the most realistic application for autopilot is on highways and freeways
because at this point in time, the car will not stop for stop signs or red lights.
The next reason I will mention as to why this car is so comfortable, is the lack of engine
noise.
I’ve noticed this the most as a tired passenger trying to take a nap.
Usually when accelerating you’ll here a loud rumble, but in this case, it just goes.
All you can hear is the sound of the wind and the tires on the pavement.
And when you really punch it, it sounds like a space ship.
The final, and I think the most important reason as to why I feel comfortable in this
car, is the safety factor.
The car is relatively small, and usually this means a more dangerous car.
But the fact that there is no engine in the front gives this car a natural crumple zone,
and the battery packs along the floor of the car ensure the center of gravity is low to
the ground making the car almost impossible to flip, and the batteries also help with
the overall structural integrity of the vehicle.
Now I want to talk about some of the awesome tech on board this car, and some features
that I didn’t even know about before using this car.
Let’s start with something that is part of every car, which is the heating and cooling
air conditioning system.
Since Tesla really wanted to keep the dash of this car as minimal as possible, the air
conditioning vent is just a strip that runs the width of the car.
And you can actually direct the air in whatever direction you want using the touch screen.
This works by having the main stream of air intersecting with a second, upward stream
of air that can change the direction vertically of the air coming towards you.
The main 15 inch landscape display is actually the only thing other than the steering wheel
that you notice in the front of the car.
Here, you’ll be able to do just about everything from open the glove box to changing preferences
on your steering wheels, to even browse the web.
If you know how to change settings on your phone, you’ll definitely be able navigate
through these menus.
A feature that I don’t think gets talked about enough is the fact that your cellphone
can act as the key.
I basically only need my phone and wallet with me whenever I use this car.
After I quickly set it up in the app, my phone was able to act as a key fob, and when I open
the door with my phone in my pocket, the mirrors unfold, the door just opens, and the car is
basically ready to drive right away.
Then when I leave the car and walk away, the car automatically locks itself.
You can use the key card that Tesla gives you to unlock the car, but for me, I have
never had to use it because my phone works so seamlessly with the car.
And you’ll be able to activate this feature on multiple phones.
Right now, a total of three people have their phones as keys, and it has still worked flawlessly
for all of us.
A feature that I didn’t know about before was the fact that this car can have various
driver profiles.
You can change the seating position, steering wheel, and mirrors to what you set them to
by simply changing to your user profile.
People have gotten worried with having to go through the touch screen to adjust the
mirrors, but having these profiles, make it so that you really only have to adjust them
once and save your preferences.
And when you are actually adjusting the steering wheel or mirrors, you use these dials.
These dials do different things based on whether you’re adjusting something like the steering
wheel itself or playing music.
The dials can change the volume, control your music, and also activate voice control.
This car just has those little features that I didn’t even know I even wanted.
Like it automatically closes the garage as I pull out of the driveway and automatically
opens the garage as I pull into the driveway.
It can now, via a software update, activate Cabin Overheat Protection which ensures the
cabin stays below 105 degrees at all times for those parents who want the piece of mind
if they ever happen to leave their child in the car.
And just like other Teslas, the car now has the summon feature that allows you to move
the car forward and backward from your phone as it uses its sensors to make sure it doesn’t
hit anything along the way.
While I do like the Model 3 a lot, there are some issues that I have had with the car.
I have started driving a significant amount of times where the car is beeping that the
front door is still open even when I thought I pulled the door hard enough to close.
You have to really pull the door hard to ensure it closes.
Also, the back trunk isn’t motorized at all.
Opening the trunk just pops open the trunk.
You still have to physically open it, and it does take quite a bit of force to close
the trunk again.
For a car at this price point, I would’ve expected a trunk that can open and close with
the push of a button.
Lastly, I shouldn’t have to google how to put a car into neutral, but that’s exactly
what I had to do before I was able to drive the car through the car wash.
Going down on the gear shifter shifts it into drive, while going up shifts it into reverse.
What I didn’t know was that to get to neutral, I have to first be in drive, and then ever
so slightly ease the stick up to activate neutral.
It is easy to do now, but it should’ve been intuitive.
Yes the Model 3 does have an impressively low starting price of $35,000, but people
rarely spend that little on this car.
If you want that extended range to get about 300 miles on a single charge, and if you want
some autopilot features and premium speakers, you’re looking at a car that now costs close
to $60,000.
For me, I don’t see this as a car that is quite ready to compete with the Accords and
Camrys of the world in terms of pricing.
Instead I see it as a car that has a real chance of eating away at the market for 3
and 5 series BMWs or c and e class Mercedes.
It’s a car that you can feel exclusive while driving, but you also happen to have a bunch
of tech and a completely electric vehicle that can be charged overnight.
With the Tesla Model 3, Elon Musk is really challenging other car manufacturers to actually
innovate.
The Model 3 doesn’t really look like anything out of the ordinary, but houses forward radar
and 12 ultrasonic sensors that can see up to two cars ahead, which all allow the car
to one day in the future, completely drive itself.
The Tesla Model 3 is the new car to beat because it is putting fully-electric and partially
autonomous driving into the driveways of hundreds of thousands of people.
People are finally starting to realize the joys of owning an electric car with the lack
of maintenance and the feeling as if you’re really helping the planet.
Although the Model 3 may not be the perfect car, it has forced other car manufacturers
to make electric cars.
So that’s all I had to talk about today.
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As always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.