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Production interior look just as minimalistic as preproduction cars.

8.5K views 75 replies 20 participants last post by  Tim Ostler  
#1 ·
Tesla Model 3: best look at the interior and Model 3’s unique dashboard to date

Have to say I remain unconvinced on the sparse interior of the Model 3. Though I'm loving our X I find it hard to think of a single reason to go for the Model 3 instead of S/X apart from price. Even on the price front used Model S will be at the £40-45K mark by the time the 3 hits UK shores, not entirely convinced a new model 3 will be much better than a used Model S.

Before anyone says anything about size been a worry on UK road....all I can say is having covered nearly 4000 miles in our X, which spends most of it's life driving round B/unclassified roads, been parallel parked on narrow one way roads, visiting multi-storey car parks, size really isn't an issue.

I think our next car will be the Model Y, the 3 just isn't pushing any of my buttons at the moment.
 
#3 ·
After a week with the Model S in UK, I still don't want one or an X here. Based on previous comments about parking dents I am clearly more "precious" about my cars than @gzoom :p Also both are bigger than either me or OH need - >90% of time just one or two of us in car.

The iPace does look good size for us in UK and OH may prefer to M3 if that is too plain inside, but she may not want to spend £60K and does like Supercharging. Hopefully we will get to see M3 in flesh later this year in USA, so can start to make plans...
 
#6 ·
I am sure base M3 will be basic and plain. No switches isn't an issue as OH loves the Model S. Vents she won't miss as hates air blowing on her. The hope is they will do premium upgrade options - nice leather seats, upgraded trim, etc. Would make sense as they will want higher average invoice cost. The iPad type screen isn't much different to Mercedes - OH had that on B Class and has lower spec (fairly naff) one on current C350e.
 
#5 ·
Tesla have come up with a new approach to cost reduction. Gauges, buttons and switches add to the cost. They are probalby saving money on plenum, duct and vents too.

Parts, wire harness, assembly time all add to the cost of the car. There is a weight savings too. Wire is heavy.

Now all they need is data bus and power out to the accessories.

It also means that the controls can be reconfigured and updated.

I'm not sure if I will like it or not. I am interested in getting in the queue for a test drive.
 
#7 ·
I wasn't too sure initially about the minimalist design of the Model S, but liked the idea of a touch screen for major elements after my first Prius (a gen 2). The gen 3 based PiP took a step backwards from the gen 2 with a positive festoon of buttons for the HEVAC etc which I found a very clunky and irritating backwards step - also although the multi-media functions had increased, the integration was much worse and in my case had issues that took a real battle to get fixed. As a result I gave the Model S interior the benefit of the doubt.

After just a few hours with the Model S I was convinced that the central screen covering all functions was an inspired idea and the lack of physical buttons troubles me not one iota. The only physical switch I would have likes is a light switch and that's a very minor want. I love the interior (I went for the premium pack for the powered tailgate and fog lights) and find it a superb environment to inhabit for hours at a time. The Model 3 takes this a stage further, but after the Model S experience I suspect I'd like it too. I've driven a couple of recent Mercs recently, a C and an E class and IMHO the interiors are grossly inferior both in usability and looks - particularly the former.

I know a lot of people criticise the Tesla interiors for being poor quality not in keeping with the price but after living with it I strongly disagree. I also disagree with the comments it's getting old and needs updating - why for goodness sake? It's simply the best system I've experienced so far so why on earth is there a pressing need to change it. IMO the manufacturers often change the interiors just to make it look different, rarely to make it better. We've just been conditioned by them to expect changes every three years or so and therefore the impulse to own the latest model kicks in - the only thing this supports is the manufacturers desire to sell us new cars.

For me then I'm happy to give Tesla the benefit of the doubt since their first interior is quite simply superb! Just MHO of course.
 
#12 ·
They say with other non tesla battery factories kicking in by 2020 the price of the packs could be 40% what it is today. That's a huge saving on cost to produce the car when so much of the price is tied up to the power pack. Hopefully in a few years customers will be able to enjoy more options as the price falls. Right now I honestly don't think I'd touch the model 3 as it's been manufactured as cheaply as they can and that's going to show in low spec cars if not in build quality. The face lift version or V2 Md3 in four years etc will hit the sweet spot of things they have added as standard and revised build quality.
 
#10 ·
Hi @smartie I quite understand, but would second @gzoom's comments that in practise the size is rarely if ever a real issue. Before I got the Model S I suspect I would avoid a lot of the local narrow roads, but drive down them quite happily now. For some reason it's much easier to place on the road than my wife's gen 2 Prius which is far narrower - no idea why. The Model X is wider and longer, but having lived with the Model S I'd happily give it a go - oh and I've managed to clip a tyre three times in 18 months and 43k miles - Twice in tight car parks where I accidentally drove over a curb due to not paying enough attention and once taking a corner where I kissed a kerb - that was definitely down to the fact I was going way to fast (with a huge grin on my face). In all cases no visible damage occurred and I inspected that tyre when I swapped over to winters and there wasn't any observable damage inside or out.

[EDIT] - I did scratch the paint on a thorn bush on one occasion but that was due to taking avoiding action from a white van coming round a blind bend well over the white lines which would have happened in any car and could have been a lot worse in a less easy car to drive!
 
#11 ·
Hi @smartie I quite understand, but would second @gzoom's comments that in practise the size is rarely if ever a real issue. Before I got the Model S I suspect I would avoid a lot of the local narrow roads, but drive down them quite happily now. For some reason it's much easier to place on the road than my wife's gen 2 Prius which is far narrower - no idea why. The Model X is wider and longer, but having lived with the Model S I'd happily give it a go - oh and I've managed to clip a tyre three times in 18 months and 43k miles - Twice in tight car parks where I accidentally drove over a curb due to not paying enough attention and once taking a corner where I kissed a kerb - that was definitely down to the fact I was going way to fast (with a huge grin on my face). In all cases no visible damage occurred and I inspected that tyre when I swapped over to winters and there wasn't any observable damage inside or out.
It's no so much narrow roads that puts me off cars the size of the S and especially the X but car parks! We've got dents and scrapes on our Leaf from others in car parks and having those regularly on cars the price of an S or X would not be much fun.

BTW I had the S for a week on the Polar Experience and though I enjoyed it I was relieved to get back to the Leaf for day to day driving. The S certainly beats any car in its price range and if I was looking in they range it would be the only car I would go for.
 
#15 ·
So a second hand MS or MX which wouldn't fit on my drive or a new M3 which would fit on my drive....

I struggle to find parking for my Leaf around London, so I'm glad I don't have a longer car. Size matters!!! I feel that my Leaf is big enough. I can get an 1800x600x12.5 sheet of plasterboard in the Leaf. Just. That is big enough.

In reality a Twizzy is big enough for the majority of my journeys. I just need to be able to carry my tools somewhere.
 
#16 ·
I really worry about crashing trying to fiddle with the heating controls and menus on a touchpad. Unless it is all onscreen at once and very touch sensitive. My i3 is very basic but I find the I drive distracting looking at a screen then the road, then the screen, then the road. Completely missed a white stormtooper i3 whizzing past me in the outside lane on the M40 today as I was fiddling with the I drive sat nav @ 70mph. When I looked up the white i3 was so far ahead I couldn't read the reg year on the number plate.

My first thought was, when did he pass me? I never saw him at all. I find the i3 shortcut buttons brilliant. I worry about spending time looking away from the road to select things when buttons are almost found without looking at them or just a glance to guide your finger.

Having never driven a Tesla maybe i'm wrong, but compared to my 2012 Honda civic buttons and controls the bmw idrive is very distracting.
 
#17 ·
Tesla Model 3: best look at the interior and Model 3’s unique dashboard to date

. Even on the price front used Model S will be at the £40-45K mark by the time the 3 hits UK shores, not entirely convinced a new model 3 will be much better than a used Model S.

.
But will you be able to buy a 2-3 year old Model S used from Tesla with a full 100k miles 4 year warranty included? Other wise it's not apples for apples as you will take huge potential out of warranty repair costs. I must admit I know nothing about Tesla UK warrenties new or old? How do the compare to the BMW i3 three year unlimited miles general warranty and 100k 8 year battery warranty?
 
#18 · (Edited)
@volt69 The central console on our X is the best infotainment system I've used in any car by a country mile. It makes the button based system in my wifes Lexus feel like it was designed in the 1980's - and her Lexus is barely 2 years old!!

The Model 3 has the same touchscreen but it's smaller, so any worries about using it is surely amplified?

@MikeProcter Everyone car needs are different. For us with a growing family, grandparents to transport around I wouldn't dream of a owing a car with less space than our X now that am use to the luxury of space. I've visited my parents in London in our X and cannot say I was worried about the size of it, in fact judging by the number of full fat Range Rovers I saw when visiting Kensington I would say fat SUVs were the norm in central London rather than the exception.

If you fine with a Twizzy and live in London surely even a Model 3 is overkill for size?? Why not just get a longer range Zoe, that cheaper than a Model 3 and you don't have to wait another 18 months+?

Looking at the spec sheets I really think alot of people will be disappointed if they thought they were going to get a mini S on the cheap. Its going to be a good car but have far less gadgets. Powered doors, memory seats, Built-in Spotify, these are the little things I love about our X all of which is likely to be missing on the 3. I suppose if you never got use to powered doors a car with normal doors is OK.... But I've been far too spoilt by the doors on our X now, it really should be a standard feature on every car, just like every TV comes with a remote :).
 
#20 · (Edited)
@gzoom In some ways I think the aftermarket £89 radio in my Lotus is better... but only because it's permanently paired to my phone which sits in a holder within line of sight ;)

Pros:
Navigation, Google Maps routing and traffic awareness puts the Tesla's system to shame
Spotify: Phone implementation has offline content mode
Apps: Well there are some.
Key functions are still physical: i.e. I prefer the physical dials of the A/C and radio volume. Undoubtedly easier to use while keeping your eyes on the road.

Cons:
Less integration: Can't control/display all the aspects of the car
Cluttered look: The holder looks naff
Ongoing cost: I, not Tesla, am paying for data and Spotify.
Fiddly screen size.
No physical button on the wheel to do voice commands.


Now if only someone came up with a way to mirror the screen of my phone onto a car's larger and less fiddly display, maybe with a vehicle specific app to bridge the integration aspects :whistle:
 
#24 ·
I guess we haven't got that long to wait till Model 3 full production info but its looking like virtually all the specs have been 'leaked' already.

As for people worrying about touch screens to control the car.... Humm I thought that argument has all been done already when the S first came out, Tesla clearly are never going down the traditional way of doing interior controls ever, so what ever 'concerns' people have about the touchscreen the solution is quite easy, buy something other than a Tesla.

I do wonder how long they will wait before the all singing all dancing P80D (or similar) is accounced. I might be able to overlook the lack of gadgets for sub 3 second 0-60 time...but I suspect by than Model Y rumours will be in full swing, and if the Y keeps the doors of the X my own past actions have shown which way our £££ will be spent :).
 
#25 ·
Personally I'm loving the minimalism they're going for. It's like the iPhone launch all over again - 'but, but, how can you have a phone without a keyboard!'

I think those with concerns about a single touch screen have never driven a Model S/X.

I'm pretty sure Elon has confirmed that the Model 3 will always be inferior to the Model S/X, so I doubt you'll get 0-60 times below 4 seconds. Still plenty quick enough.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I'm pretty sure Elon has confirmed that the Model 3 will always be inferior to the Model S/X, so I doubt you'll get 0-60 times below 4 seconds. Still plenty quick enough.
The base Model 3 is already quicker than the 75D X which lets be honest is pretty average in performance compared to current turbo chargerd combustion cars. Tesla will really have to software limit the thing to keep the AWD version slower than the current 90/100D cars. I'm not looking for sub 3 second performance like on the current P100D L, anywhere between 3-3.5 will be quick enough :).

Don't forget the latest batch of supersaloons due out in the next 12 months will all be pushing over 600bhp, 3 second 0-60 times will become par for any 'performance' car just as 4 seconds is now. So Tesla will need to keep ahead it they want to keep bragging rights.
 
#26 ·
Size was the reason we didnt get a Model S in the same way we would have bought a jag as its too big, Model 3 is a much better fit, Robert Llewellyn is dropping down to a Model 3 for the same reason, the interior is very sparse in the Model 3 as time goes on I expect it to liven up a bit though.
 
#33 ·
My wish list for the M3...

5 doors
5 seats
Hatchback
250 miles of range in all weathers
Supercharger access
Chademo and CCS access
7 sec 0-60
2wd

And nothing else. No autopilot, auto doors, leather or any fancy extras. Hell, I wouldn't care if it had manual winding windows. Just keep the basic spec as simple as possible, and therefore as cheap as possible. Of course, all manner of options should be available if you want to spend £100k, but if they make that basic spec model and sell it for £25-£30k I think it's the end of the road for ICE.

It's looking like the M3 is pretty close to ticking all the boxes, apart from no hatchback and CCS access, but I can live with that.
 
#35 ·
I'm sure someone at Tesla must have used a Google Home, Amazon Echo, Siri, etc and realised by now that a proper high quality speech interface would totally revolutionise the car UI. What Tesla (and other automakers, AFAIK) currently have is just lame and useless by comparison.
I hardly touch the screen when driving. Navigation and entertainment both done well by voice control. It occasionally gets in wrong and I have to repeat but I would say once a week at most. It is much less hassle to repeat the address or post code than to stop and key it in or try and key on the move.

The auto climate stays pretty much the same (19 degrees) all year round. I thought that was the purpose of climate, set and forget, no need to mess on directing jets of air at windows or legs etc like we used to.
 
#36 ·
I hardly touch the screen when driving. Navigation and entertainment both done well by voice control. It occasionally gets in wrong and I have to repeat but I would say once a week at most. It is much less hassle to repeat the address or post code than to stop and key it in or try and key on the move.

The auto climate stays pretty much the same (19 degrees) all year round. I thought that was the purpose of climate, set and forget, no need to mess on directing jets of air at windows or legs etc like we used to.
You have a Tesla that has a working climate control system? What sorcery is this?
 
#37 ·
They say with other non tesla battery factories kicking in by 2020 the price of the packs could be 40% what it is today. That's a huge saving on cost to produce the car when so much of the price is tied up to the power pack.
At the moment the battery factories quoted are aiming for a lot less capacity and the Tesla approach of using the cylindrical cells still looks to offer a considerable cost advantage.

I really worry about crashing trying to fiddle with the heating controls and menus on a touchpad. Unless it is all onscreen at once and very touch sensitive. My i3 is very basic but I find the I drive distracting looking at a screen then the road, then the screen, then the road. Completely missed a white stormtooper i3 whizzing past me in the outside lane on the M40 today as I was fiddling with the I drive sat nav @ 70mph. When I looked up the white i3 was so far ahead I couldn't read the reg year on the number plate.

My first thought was, when did he pass me? I never saw him at all. I find the i3 shortcut buttons brilliant. I worry about spending time looking away from the road to select things when buttons are almost found without looking at them or just a glance to guide your finger.

Having never driven a Tesla maybe i'm wrong, but compared to my 2012 Honda civic buttons and controls the bmw idrive is very distracting.
I find at the most a very quick glance is all that's required and because the HEVAC controls don't move with the different options most of the time not even that. It's also possible to set the scroll wheel up to control temperature, fan speed etc if you want a physical control. After 18 months it seems very natural - the BMW system seems truly archaic and clunky to me. I remember when the iPhone was launched thinking what a stupid idea having no keyboard and how it would die at birth - now I can't live without it!

@volt69 The central console on our X is the best infotainment system I've used in any car by a country mile. It makes the button based system in my wifes Lexus feel like it was designed in the 1980's - and her Lexus is barely 2 years old!!.
Hmmm, I wouldn't go quite that far - the media player has quite a few bugs and oddities and the traffic routing on the satnav is only good if you're into long sightseeing trips. However both have changed since I bought the car through over the air updates and I trust Tesla to fix those over time. They are both usable just not as polished as they should be ..... yet - and I think that is a very important yet!
 
#38 ·
You have a Tesla that has a working climate control system? What sorcery is this?
Well the fan starts at a higher speed to warm up or cool down and gradually fades into the background and I am at a comfortable temperature so that is working in my books. It cools fairly quickly as well. Took less than 5 mins to go from 37 to 19 degrees when I used the app. I do find the ac pump is a bit noisy but perhaps this is just more noticeable because the rest of the car is quiet. It puts out cold air and the car doesn't mist up so it must be working. Might get them to look (listen) to it when it goes in for a service.

My biggest gripe is lack of auto wipers but I did get the cheap version. The wiper blades are also a bit noisy but I put this down to cheap blades designed for California where they probably dont see much action. Again, hopefully a new set at service will sort this out.

I cant wait to see the M3 reveal. I think the 1 screen will work out and if it allows the car to sell at a more affordable price then it has to be a good thing. The M3 was the car I was waiting for 3 years ago and is still at least a year away now so I am glad I got the MS while I could just about afford/justify the cost.
 
#42 ·
Am I supposed to get auto wipers on a non premium car ?. Just had a look at the site and can't see any mention of them in the spec or premium upgrade ?. I didn't pay to much attention to the options list when ordering and 24hrs before collection I thought I might not even have cruise control so that was a nice surprise when I picked it up. Thread has been hijacked a bit but slightly connected as lack of auto wipers on a £60k car is taking the minimalism a bit too far.
 
#44 ·
Thread has been hijacked a bit but slightly connected as lack of auto wipers on a £60k car is taking the minimalism a bit too far.
Auto wipers on AP 2.0 Xs aren't working yet.... Yes a company that previously claimed to be able to achieve 'self driving' by the end of this year still haven't worked out how to code rain sensing wipers 6 months on from AP 2.0 hardware roll out!!
 
#43 ·
My 2012 Honda Civic that was £23k new in ES spec (one up from lowest SE spec) had auto wipers and lights as standard, my i3 has both as standard. in 2017 I would say it would be pretty much standard on any £20k+ European car!

In fact thinking about it the gen 8 Civic has auto lights and wipers in ES spec and above and that came out in 2006 on a 55 plate!
 
#45 ·
50k? That's terrible? Really. Even most ice cars offer more than this! As a someone in sales doing 25k+ p/a this means any Tesla is only going to be under warranty for the first 2 years or less. Please tell me you can buy as good extended tesla warranties for less money? Changing a new or newish car every 2 years is expensive.
The CPO warranty Tesla offer is actually by far the most generous on the market. Both BMW and Mercedes only offer 1 year warranty on their appoved used cars.

Don't forget the battery and drive train is under warranty for 8 years and unlimited miles.