Tesla Model 3 Rental Review

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 09/10/2019 at 15:04 • Filed to: None

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Last weekend I rented a 2018 Tesla Model 3 with the Extended Range battery and Premium interior options. Also notable on the options list was “Auto Pilot” but not the full “Self Driving” mode. I had the car from Saturday evening until Monday evening to enjoy most of the Labor Day weekend with. Included from Turo were 300 miles and the car started out with about 40 miles to empty in the battery so I got to experience charging as well as driving the car a fair amount. For the most part, it was a normal car once you got past the regen braking and charging aspect. There were then a multitude of quirks and features that ranged from outright dangerous to actually quite useful.

Comparing the car to my own machines (‘06 STi and ‘01 Miata) is kind of a silly endeavor but it makes sense to me as a way to really describe some of the “intangibles” of the Tesla. Like I said from the start, if you ignore some of the quirks, it really felt like a “normal” car. Sitting in my STi and just driving versus doing the same in the Tesla is not that different. Sure it’s a TON quieter in the Tesla without the petrol burning but its also probably even quieter in a modern E class Mercedes, even with a gas engine in there. The Tesla definitely felt way faster when switching back and forth and really exemplified “instant torque” vs “horrendous turbo lag”. I don’t actually notice the turbo lag once I am used to it and I am sure the Subaru is actually a faster car in terms of numbers but in terms of “seat of pants feel” the Tesla really showed me how electric cars have a definitive place in the future of “fun” cars. Normal functioning turn signals were also IMMEDIATELY apparent in my cars as well as non-regenerative braking, non-intrusive (non-existent) lane keep assist, and just an overall feeling of “freedom” became apparent after driving both. By “freedom” I just mean that the safety nannies in the Tesla made it feel “too safe” almost. I generally get this from most modern cars, but I think Tesla took it to the extreme with the Model 3. When not turning that stuff off, the car is VERY aggressive about keeping you in your lane and reacting to things around you, even when auto pilot is off. It was something I am left to ponder about that this car truly made me feel like a prisoner in some sort of dystopian future of autopiloted cars. Is there a point where “active safety features” have just gone too far?

Anyways, the quirks and features. The thing everyone knows about the Teslas are the giant screens in the center. The Model 3 takes the giant screen in the Model S one step further and completely removes any gauges and buttons and puts just about everything on the screen. I am generally not a fan of touch screens even for the radio and other non-important things. But even adjusting the mirrors, turning on/off the lights, using wipers, and climate control are all on the screen. I was surprised the turn signals werent also buried in there someplace. Also of note which actually confused some people, Those “OPEN” bubbles on the trunks are not indicators that the trunks are ajar, its just buttons to perform that action.

It took me a bit to get used to no gauges. Eventually I thought it was fine though, its much cleaner this way and I actually found the center screen to not be overly distracting. I didnt like having no obvious visual indicator of the turn signals being on since the screen indicators were not exposed or large enough. The steering wheel could also use more buttons since this is definitely less user friendly than other modern cars with cruise control and radio controls easily usable from there. I didnt really try out the voice control but I imagine that is suppose to be the replacement for those sort of things in a very apple-esque kind of way.

The strangest thing was definitely the “key”. From what I understand, the standard way of Operating a Model 3 is to use your phone as a “key” and that makes it function like a normal modern car with a proximity key of sorts. But since this was a Turo rental, I had the keycard which works more like a hotel room key or a tap to pay register at a store. To lock and unlock the car, you tap the card on a nondescript but specific place on the door. And to put the car into drive or reverse, you tap the card at another nondescript but specific place on the center console. I say nondescript because neither location is marked nor intuitive really. I watched a youtube video for both the first time I tried to do either action. I was also extremely confused that there is no OFF button for the car. This was the oddest feature to me by far. You dont use the “key” to turn on the car in any way. You dont get a “welcome” screen or a “good bye” screen. The AC and the radio just stay on when you get out and everything “goes to sleep” or something when you lock it. It simply does not turn off. I expected at least a touch screen on/off toggle although as CaptDale pointed out, a Giant ON/OFF toggle switch like a breaker switch for a powerful piece of equipment that feels hefty and makes a giant KER-CHUNK sound when switched would be ideal!

Like this, but maybe with more DANGER signs and a heftier switch. Sparks when moving it would add to the experience. I want to sit through a week of OSHA training and wear some PPE just to be allowed to use it.

But anyways, the car never turning on and off just through me for a loop. Even push button starts are futuristic to me so getting rid of the concept of “OFF” entirely perplexed me. Overall though, the fully enabled suite of safety features were the most offputting aspects for actually driving the thing. Once I learned how to disable just about everything and reduce them to just chimes, it was much better. But by default, the autosteer “safety” feature and autobraking were both way too aggressive. I could go for an aggressivity dial or something if it really had to be kept but as is it was definitely dangerous for me. On the highway with autopilot off, I experienced a few times where the car steered me out of my lane and I had to fight it to stay in the lane. I could easily control it but given the average person, this is a bad idea in my opinion and could result in a wreck due to confusion. It made me not trust the car until I disabled all of it. Then it still chimed at me all the time for nonexistent lines I was crossing or objects that I was “in imminent danger of crashing into” according to the messages that popped up.

Autopilot! Or sleep while driving mode apparently. I actually found this to be a pretty neat concept. The constant warnings to hold onto the wheel and apply gentle pressure were annoying but I can see why its needed... Still though, in autopilot I found I had to hold the wheel MORE than I actually do when normally driving myself. It required constant attention to fight off the warning rather than paying attention to the surroundings. So its definitely more of a gimmick than a useful feature. It was pretty slick to use radar cruise control in general but the steering seemed pointless to me since it only really worked on well defined highways anyways. The scariest part was stopped traffic in other lanes and having an open lane to use autopilot in. The car absolutely took off with no regard to the stopped traffic and the possibility of people jumping out in front of me. I tried that once and declared NEVER AGAIN to use it in that situation. Overall, Autopilot was neat as an experiment but just radar cruise stuck out as the useful and key feature when used with an attentive drive still fully in control of steering and turning it off when need be.

So, Tesla Model 3. My final verdict? I’d love to drive one again some day. These are quite nice and I like the concept. Notably I left out the charging experience because that really deserves it’s own article. I am firmly in the camp that electric cars are completely useless without at home charging. Speed of charging just isnt there, even with being able to get an empty to full charge at a supercharger in just under an hour (as tested). But just as a car to drive, it was great. I enjoyed the instant torque and the quirks were manageable in the same way that I can manage to use an iphone even if I hate everything about the way they function (team android here, regardless of bugginess or what I refer to as character). I’d also like to try more electric cars since there is no reason for the quirkiness really. A normal car that just happens to be electric might be kind of cool and I can see that now. Assuming it had this sort of range of course, since sub 100 miles is absurd to me and a complete nonstarter in this country. Range is the thing Tesla got the most right here. I easily achieved ~280 miles while doing countless full throttle pulls, giving no regard to staying slow uphill to “save miles”. I just drove it like I do my Miata or my STi and didnt run out of juice. AC was also cranking the full time since it was upper 90s or more most of the weekend. No idea what “fuel economy” in terms of W/mi (or whatever the unit is) ended up being but smiles per gallon were plenty enough to get my stamp of approval!

Bonus sunset picture taken one of the days I had the car. I actually did not drive the tesla to see this sunset though since I was nearly out of Turo miles at this point and needed them for the Oppo meet! But that is a turo problem and not related to the car lol.

So should you buy one? Idk, I would rather someone come out with a “normal” electric car that just gets this sort of range. But people have to adopt these to get the ball rolling. I am glad there are “tesla superfans” out there so maybe one day the normal population can enjoy normal electric cars that innovate in less unsafe and ridiculous ways. I’d definitely drive one of these if given one but for my own money, its almost there but not quite.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 15:10

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Did you open the door to get in or did you walk through the panel gap?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 09/10/2019 at 15:15

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I am never very picky about fit/finish so I am probably not the best judge. But I didnt find any issues in that regard. Opening the doors was kind of strange though since again, Tesla gotta be different with how to open a door just to be different. 

Ash78, voting early and often > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 15:15

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adjusting the mirrors, turning on/off the lights, using wipers, and climate control are all on the screen

To me, that’s just as frightening as the Autopilot. Maybe more. Excellent writeup, thanks for sharing.

I’m anxious to go test out a newer Nissan Leaf Plus, they’re just really hard to find at my local Nissan dealers, who are stuffed with Altimas.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Ash78, voting early and often 09/10/2019 at 15:20

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The funny thing was that autopilot was actually not on the touchscreen. One of the few tactile things you could do. Left stalk was just turn signal and high beams. Two buttons on the steering wheel, one to actually do the mirror and steering wheel adjustments (but you had to activate that feature first on the touch screen) and maybe it does other stuff? The other button seemed to just be for voice control. Then it had window buttons and a door open button (there is not handle to open the door). A hidden emergency release for the doors. And then everything else imagineable is on the touch screen in a menu somewhere. Turning off the lights took me a solid couple of minutes to actually find and was stressful since I was going to a popular stargazing location and it was “uncool” if you showed up lights blazing. 

Spanfeller is a twat > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 15:26

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I got used to it very quickly... also the auto-off is pretty neat... I honestly forgot to turn off my car after driving the Model 3 a few times. 

Ash78, voting early and often > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 15:29

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You know, all the stuff you’re describing sound like a boatload of cost cutting to me. I appreciate minimalism, but some of this stuff is just “ergonomically creepy” for lack of a better term. Like they’re inventing solutions when there was no problem.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Spanfeller is a twat 09/10/2019 at 15:37

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Well yeah its one of those “this is actually probably a good idea” but it just felt so foreign that I react with “GET OFF MY LAWN” to the concept at first lol. It made it seem like the “features” were a “lets throw things at a wall and see what sticks” rather than a cohesive set of well thought out, tested,  and implemented ideas.

Spanfeller is a twat > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 15:41

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When I first got the car in Madrid, the Autopilot sensors never stopped calibrating due to a software issue. It really made the car useless, you didn’t even have cruise control, which isn’t very annoying normally, but when you have to drive six hours and preserve charge, it is.

what that made me realize is that all of these stick to the wall features are there to distract you from range anxiety and the other shortcomings of the car... I don’t think it’s wrong of Tesla to do it... But I do get the impression that without the weird features, the Model 3 is a very different car. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Ash78, voting early and often 09/10/2019 at 15:42

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But didnt you know, thats called “innovation”. And if you invent the problem in this build, then your solution in the next go-around will also seem innovative and revolutionary as well. It definitely is cost-cutting but the main cost avoided is probably proper planning and testing in the real world. A lot of these issues could be fixed by software for sure. It wasnt so much the fact that I have to use a touch screen that made this stuff annoying. It was more that it wasnt organized in an ergonomic way. Permanently locked sections of the screen with these features “docked” there or something would work. Using menus and submenus while driving a car is stupid at best, especially when its the ONLY way to activate this stuff. There was a “quick” option screen that was like having a widget home screen on a phone. You could put quick access things like lights and wipers there but that whole area was an obscure button on a menu rather than a giant obvious thing to always find on screen.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Spanfeller is a twat 09/10/2019 at 15:55

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About cruise control, I really didnt like that if you had autopilot on and turned it off by turning the wheel sharply, cruise control was still on, even though you didnt have it on before activating autopilot. This confused me at first since I wasnt actually aware that cruise control was on until I pulled up to traffic and wasnt slowing down when I let off the gas. Obviously I just used the brake at that point I just found the indicator of cruise on to be lost and somewhat dangerous because of it. I am used to it being mildly annoying in my own cars where you would never miss the indicator since its a bright ass green light that says CRUISE. 

Spanfeller is a twat > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 15:58

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I found more comfortable to gently press the brake to disengage it... it won’t brake the car, and I don’t think it turns on the rear lights either. 

Ash78, voting early and often > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 16:06

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I previously joked that Tesla builds GREAT cars for people who have never driven a car before. I still think that’s the case...it’s almost a cocky disregard for norms and expectations, but a lot of people seem to eat it up.

It almost reminds me of the late 19th century, back when every car had a different set of controls (throttles, brakes, clutches in random places; some levers, some dials, some pedals).

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Spanfeller is a twat 09/10/2019 at 16:33

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Yup, that was my solution to the problem but I just found it odd that it was a problem. Since there was clear feedback of autopilot turning off, I just thought it was now fully disabled back to normal driving. It was just weird to me to end up in cruise control since I didnt consider autopilot and cruise control to be the same feature at all intuitively. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Ash78, voting early and often 09/10/2019 at 16:36

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I think that is why I was actually impressed that they didnt mess with the placement of that stuff. That throttle, brake, and steering just seemed to work and feel like “a car”. That i didnt feel like I was operating a space shuttle just to drive. Sure those other things are somewhat essential but its not like I couldnt drive at all without them. 

Spanfeller is a twat > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 16:45

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radar cruise and autosteer are supposed to be different features... but I totally understand why you would want both to disengage when applying steering input.

After a few drives, I ended up realizing that on the highway I do like disabling them separately, but approaching exits I’d rather have both turned off

What I find really annoying is that I don’t think you can disable either with the stalk, which would insure the most fluid transition.. I also hated that I couldn’t adjust the cruise speed while it was disengaged, or that it automatically tried to stay at the speed limit.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 17:52

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Idk, I would rather someone come out with a “normal” electric car that just gets this sort of range.

Think that’s basically what the Chevy Bolt and the new Nissan Leaf are. Obviously not as “sexy” or hip as the Tesla...but for the most part are just regular cars that happen to be electric. Outside of regen braking that you can turn on or off, the rest of the driving experience as far as your inputs go are exactly the same.

My 60+ (?) y/o neighbor lady just got a new Leaf, she loves it. Used Bolts are getting cheap too, pretty tempting. I’ve been driving a Spark EV the last 3 years and it’s been a great little city car (only 75ish miles range), so wouldn’t hesitate giving its big brother a try.

I’d consider a Bolt as my next commuter, but for peace of mind and size reasons I’m thinking a PHEV on the more electric side of things - kinda obsessed with the Clarity right now. It looks pretty bizarre but seems to be a really, really good car that you could run on electricity a huge portion of the time if you have a driveway you can charge in (47 miles electric range, and can handle highway speeds, heater etc. all on electric).

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 17:59

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I just want everyone to know WrongWheelDrive has absolutely NO concept of limited range driving. When I met up with him to try and charge the car for a few minutes so I could drive it, I had to struggle to keep up with him, and I think the car said it had 23 miles of range. Suffice it to say I would not have been driving it like that with that range. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 09/10/2019 at 19:37

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My problem with the Leaf and Bolt is that they face the opposite problem that electric cars have. They are still “different for different sake” but are instead also in the “ugly for ugly sake” as well. I kind of like how I have seen BMW do their cars where the only way I know it is electric is the badge. It is otherwise exactly the same as another car. Just because its electric doesnt mean it has to be a utilitarian car. But it also doesnt have to be a futuristic space ship either. A normal Honda Civic or Mazda 3 that just happens to be electric would be cool. In this regard is why I think the E-golf is neat. Aside from the range problem...

I just think 200 miles is the absolute minimum for electric range and really it needs to be more like 400 so that you can get 300+ miles with just an 80% charge. The other problem is the “range” is not at all reality. It does not harm a gas car to run it down to 1/8th tank or to fill it. But an electric car is absolutely harmed being at 1% or 99%. Artificially having 400 miles of “100%” range but reality saying the “80%” range is 320 with efficiency loss for “normal” driving being more like 300. Until numbers like that are the standard, electric cars are just novelties. I complain about my gas cars barely being able to scrape by with 300 miles to a tank so electric would only be worse lol. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > His Stigness 09/10/2019 at 19:45

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Exactly, and that is my problem with electric cars. I just want to drive it like a car. Having to take precautions like that would be extremely limiting. The easy solution is just having more range than you could ever need. But also, the same could be said about gas range equivalent. If my gas gauge was reading completely empty (which it would at 23 miles of range, fuel light would have been on for at least 20+ miles before that in the Subaru, miata would have said E flatly for that long) I would still drive the same, assuming there was a gas station in range. Granted, that is assuming the meter is accurate enough. I assume a 2018 battery can be accurate. And I have to hope its not like my phone that just plain shuts off at 25% sometimes and then says 0% when you turn it back on...

Plus its a rental, its a requirement to floor it at all times.

wafflesnfalafel > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 20:21

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thanks for the write up - that is super helpful. I was really wondering about the nanny stuff. It bugs the cr@p out of me even in the relatively non-intrusive modern Subie set up.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > wafflesnfalafel 09/10/2019 at 20:56

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And this was with normal Street driving. I can only imagine how obtrusive it would get with serious canyon carving or tracking the car. Most modern cars seem to not bother me when just driving down a freeway at least. 

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/10/2019 at 21:31

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Yeah I guess now that I think about it it’s fine, I think it’s just because I don’t trust range estimates.

But I still take it a little easier in my Dino juice powered cars when I get that low. 

His Stigness > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 09/11/2019 at 01:11

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Dude, lease a Bolt and then get the VW ID4 when we get it in a few years. Keep up the BEV life. Don't give up now! 

His Stigness > Ash78, voting early and often 09/11/2019 at 01:15

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Not only do you adjust the mirrors and steering wheel through the screen and the buttons on the steering wheel, it’s all done though ONE button. Not both. I went to adjust the mirrors and went to adjust the right so I naturally assumed the right hand button would adjust it. But NO. WWD had to correct me and let me know it’s all done through the left button.

For the love of all that is holy WHY would they be that stupid? I can’t imagine it wouldn’t have taken that much more time to allow the right hand button to adjust the right hand side mirror.

This car is absolutely one of the cheapest cars ever made in the worst areas. It really says something that the seats are comfortable, but they were too cheap to put in a steering wheel adjustment lever, or a side mirror adjuster. 

Ash78, voting early and often > His Stigness 09/11/2019 at 09:11

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They did it all just to say they could. I’m simply amazed at how many people say “Yeah, this is acceptable in a $45k car!”

I understand that building a BEV or PHEV means some level of compromise at that price point, but I’d rather they cheap out on some basic materials but leave the controls in a normal position.

Of course, I’m a weird who gets annoyed when basic controls are in the wrong place in rental cars. This is like that, but x 10.

His Stigness > Ash78, voting early and often 09/11/2019 at 12:19

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Everyone else has shown you can make a normal EV without being stupid.

Tesla just tried to make a Model S at a cheaper price point so they had to cut costs somewhere, and apparently removing switches saves more on manufacturing costs than we think?

OR, Musk is just insane. 

Tal > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/11/2019 at 16:16

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So many Tesla haters over here. If you find them intimidating, too different and awkward to use, that’s fine. B ut Tesla sales don’t lie, So they must be doing something right. Tesla is a technology company first and car manufacturer second, so clearly they have a different idea to how cars should be made. They can only improve.

Why can’t you show more support for an American company that has more balls than all car manufacturers together?

I mean, panel gap??? It has been fixed 2 years ago and it was no different than any ICE car, just no engine revving  to mask wind noise. You just keep looking for things to hate.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Tal 09/11/2019 at 17:02

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You’re in the grey so I am gonna assume you are new around here to Oppo and came in from google (neat how that works). I certainly came out with a higher opinion of Tesla after driving the car rather than before just seeing it on the internet. Regardless of my gripes, it was a neat car and I think I conveyed that well enough. The commenters arent wrong though and you pointed it out as well, that Tesla is not primarily a car manufacturer. That doesnt excuse them from making these mistakes and of course car enthusiasts are going to complain about them. Either way, it adds character to the car in my opinion so I appreciate the flaws. It wasnt just a perfect boring space ship. Every “good” car needs its haters otherwise it simply didnt try hard enough.

His Stigness > Tal 09/11/2019 at 17:26

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A technology company first, and manufacturer second? Who the fuck buys a MANUFACTURED product from that kind of company?

Oh yeah, an imbecile who doesn't understand panel gaps are not normal and a sign of poor manufacturing. 

Tal > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/11/2019 at 19:41

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You’re right, I’m not from around here and your review was recommended to me by Google. I actually enjoyed reading your review and based on what you usually drive, I understand why the Tesla was too much of a change for you (and other too), for better or worse. I adapt to technology pretty quick but still think a Tesla would require more time to get used to than any other car.

I just really appreciate what Tesla and Elon Musk are trying to do. I believe that in the next decade or two electric cars would become much more popular and I think Tesla should be encouraged to keep pushing forward.

His Stigness > Ash78, voting early and often 09/11/2019 at 20:14

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See comment below to confirm your suspicion that Teslas are cars built for people who have never driven a  car.  https://oppositelock.kinja.com/1838053888