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A few weeks ago, when I went to local TV to host a news presenter who did not have a license and explained why the Tesla Model 3 had won the magazine's car of the year award, I was I am deceived in two ways.
First, I failed to say "Popular Mechanics", which I said to do whenever possible. Second, I talked about the car as a car salesman the first day. Without too much criticism, I did everything I could to do, how its price would influence the electric vehicle market, and how it made me better to have it driven.
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Fox 5 New York
Had I really to become a loyal Tesla? To find out, I spend a few days behind the wheel of Model 3 Performance Edition to discover what can make a small supplement to the electric car "entry" of Elon Musk.
The summary
First of all, an abbreviated explanation of why the Tesla Model 3, the car on which the performance is based, is exceptional:
Price: At the beginning of September, you can not buy model 3 of the $ 35,000 base. Until the car arrives, the cheapest 3 model you can buy costs $ 49,000 and comes in stock with a 310 mile long-range battery and an upscale interior featuring wood accents, seating heated, front seats lamps and seats in Tesla synthetic leather.
Fun: Models 3 have a double wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear suspension. It's the same configuration as other fast sedans like the Porsche Panamera. In practice, this means that you can crush a model 3 right pedal on an access ramp and the car stays at the turn.
Like in a Panamera, the tight turns make you laugh because you're sure the car will go where you run it. Also: you can also move the car with your phone only. Useful? Nah. Cool? Very.
User experience: Talking about vehicle dynamics is not really my business, but I know a lot about product design and user interfaces. On this front, model 3 is difficult to criticize. Because the car unlocks when your phone is close enough, there is no key ring to lose. Since there is no engine in the front, the lower windshield allows you to see more. And this central tablet means fewer bright numbers that distract you from the road.
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After driving a model 3, the console of all cars looks like misuse of wires and visual real estate.
LuxuryLike the Chevy Bolt or even the first-generation Nissan Leaf, electric cars are as smooth and quiet as a Rolls Royce.
Range: More than 200 miles for $ 35k is the new standard for consumer electric vehicles. Whenever Tesla starts selling the base model 3, at least.
Perfection of performance
James Lipman / jameslipman.com
My journey for the next 72 hours is even enjoyable. The ultra-luxury Performance variant, at $ 64,000, adds the kind of stuff that will appeal to anyone who has chosen a BMW M3 or M4 on the 3-Series. Which means that it's a car with enough d & # 39; 39 space to be your only vehicle, but will reward you for finding good back roads.
A second engine for the front wheels adds power and moves it from rear-wheel drive to all-wheel drive. According to Tesla, the improved inverters provide energy to both engines more efficiently than the classic model 3. The lower suspension makes it more aerodynamic and reduces roll. New software developed internally (rather than at a vendor, like other Teslas) allows everyone to talk to each other, both for security and for the purpose of going faster.
All this makes the time zero to 60 from 5 seconds to 3.5 seconds. Or, only 0.1 seconds slower than a McLaren F1. It means a lot. CEO Elon Musk told Joe Rogan that a Tesla was a fun tool. After driving one, it's hard to disagree.
Going fast with electricity is different than using a V12. The low weight of the battery means that the car stays level without requiring an extremely stiff suspension. No noise or vibration, your hands and buttocks communicate clearly with the wheels. And since there is no motor to wind, the acceleration is immediate. You can dust off anything that is not powered and costs six digits.
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All this free speed does not prevent Model 3's obsession with pulling every mile of its batteries. With regenerative braking, removing your foot from the accelerator turns your motors into generators, pulling the power of wheel spin and storing that energy in the battery.
It's so dramatic that you can do everything you need without touching the brakes.
Better than the basic model
Alexis Georgeson
My Performance 3 loan car had the $ 5,000 performance upgrade package: 20-inch wheels, carbon fiber spoiler, and larger brakes with red-painted calipers. He also had the improved autopilot, another $ 5,000 extra.
On a hospitable road (paved roads with lane markers bright enough to allow the system to see, suitable weather), you can turn it on, move your feet off the pedals and hang your thumbs behind the wheel. If the wheel does not detect any resistance from your hand, the system will require your attention and will turn off if you ignore its warning.
But even the most advanced autonomous driving systems prevent the driver from turning away from the road long enough to compose a text. Thus, in practice, "autonomous" driving is not far from the adaptive cruise control of the Mercedes S-Class of the late 1990s.
But the performance of the model 3 exists because it rewards anyone who accepts this reality, because it is the car that is much more fun when you let it monopolize your attention.
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The daily
Alexander George
When I returned to my garage after a day's driving, plus 90 minutes of traffic, I realized that you had to work hard to kill 310 kilometers of reach. For an average American who drives less than 30 miles a day, you can spend weeks without needing to find a high voltage charger. The application told me to load it Less for the longevity of the batteries.
After 72 hours spent passing this Model 3 in my daily routines (shopping, visiting friends, and commuting to town), I started sliding into the mind of a Tesla-phile.
You can imagine quiet city streets that buzz subtly with electric motors. You imagine how the dangers of fossil fuels, whether they be global or personal, would be relegated to the past. You can even check the state of charge of the car on the Tesla application. You smile and shake your head with approval from other Tesla drivers.
And while fanatics can be annoying by nature, when it comes to Tesla, I understand it now.
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