Monthly Update for February 2018 - 2017 Tesla Model 3 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited March 2018 in Tesla

imageMonthly Update for February 2018 - 2017 Tesla Model 3 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds conducts a long-term test of a 2017 Tesla Model 3 and finds it equal parts impressive and puzzling.

Read the full story here


Comments

  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    The all-function screen, the quality issues, and the price are why I finally cancelled my Model 3 reservation.
  • throwbackthrowback Member Posts: 445
    "When we arrived, however, we were told that only some of the parts had arrived. "

    Sounds like Tesla have some dealer practices down cold.
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    "Also, you might notice that some of the photos of our Model 3 show it rolling on 19-inch wheels instead of its original 18-inchers. In February we swapped out the wheels and tires to quantify the impact on performance and range and to see the effect, if any, on the ride quality. We'll post a stand-alone piece on the results of that test in the coming weeks."

    I suspect a millennial on the Edmunds staff couldn't stand the shame of riding on "only" 18" wheels and pleaded for this "test".
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    edited March 2018
    gslippy said:

    The all-function screen, the quality issues, and the price are why I finally cancelled my Model 3 reservation.

    Watch out for the Tesla customer care team spray painting "Luddite" on your garage door. ;)
  • actualsizeactualsize Member Posts: 451
    agentorange said:

    "I suspect a millennial on the Edmunds staff couldn't stand the shame of riding on "only" 18" wheels and pleaded for this "test".

    Actually, it was me, a Boomer. We track-tested the car on its standard 18-inch rubber, and I wasn't entirely satisfied. And the ride was busy enough that I wondered if the 19-inch combo was in fact the rubber they used when conducting spring and damper tuning. I located a set, so we were off to the races. Results to come soon.

    Twitter: @Edmunds_Test

  • morrisg2morrisg2 Member Posts: 12
    I too am very interested in the tire testing results. Please include inflation pressures when reporting. I looked up the weight rating of the 18 inch 98XL rated tires and compared them to the GAWR for the heavier load rear axle. According to an online load rating chart from 2007, you can reduce the inflation pressure of the 18 inch tires to 35psi without losing any GAWR load capacity. It would be an interesting test to see how much range the reduced inflation pressures cost vs any improvement in ride quality.

    Oh, yeah, I'm a Boomer too.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    The more I read about Teslas in longterm testing, the more I think that buying one out of warranty would be extremely risky. The quality control at Tesla is starting to make Fiat look good.

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