Tesla Model 3 - Changed. But for the better?

I test drive it the other day, the stalkless was no issue, if you remember you don't have stalk. I quit enjoyed it, and ride was magnificent.

Good review..one “bug bear” though is that one of your main gripes is that you say lots of stuff is “buried” in the screen….( as with the BYD)…. but all of that stuff is very easily accessible with voice control, whilst keeping your eyes on road and hands on the wheel 👍( as with the BYD). Keep up the good work

Ordered one of these after comparing to i4, polestar 2 and BYD Seal. Tesla won easily for me, efficiency, tech, driving fun, charging and company ethics are far ahead of the everyone. Becoming a Tesla only drive way with our 2022 MY.

I like the styling of the old model but I certainly think they’ve improved it. One thing about Tesla is that they are usable in a way that other EVs struggle to match. I’ve done 60,000 miles in 18 months and have had no issues either with the car or charging… I’ll be replacing mine with the new model in due course.

I haven’t tried one yet, but I did drive a Model S Plaid last week; after a couple of roundabouts I soon got used to the indicator setup (and I’m 70+ years old) and found no problems with it at all so see it as a big fuss over nothing. I remember the furore when the first Japanese cars arrived with the indicators on the right stalk!

Tesla have apparently improved the audio system considerably, but you don’t mention it in the review. Is it any good?

Not a fan of everything on a screen (it was bad enough with just the radio on a 595), but could cope with most of it. Things like mirrors I set once before driving the first time, so not an issue if it's buried in a menu somewhere. I dont even mind the gears, as getting used to the move away from the traditional gear selector position is the hard bit, swiping up or down on a screen isnt a problem and it's only when setting off or changing direction. But I'm not sure I could live with the indicators. They wouldn't be an issue on motorways or even a lot of driving where it's just lane changing and it's just a muscle memory thing. But never mind roundabouts, my usual commute has a 90 degree left followed by a 90 degree right turn within a few yds. I've tried thinking about it and using the radio buttons on my current car's wheel as a test and it's impossible to do - the indicator buttons go from 9 o'clock to about 2 o'clock and would be upside down. Unless someone comes out with an aftermarket stalk, it's a deal breaker.

One mistake. You don't need to use a WiFi hotspot to watch videos in the car if you have premium connectivity. I got used to no stalks in the new model 3 after just a few hours after I received mine and can use the indicators in roundabouts without looking at it or thinking about it.

No indicator stalk = no purchase from me, as well as no display directly in front of driver. Pity since seams improved otherwise. Do like the white interior. Good review.

My biggest disappointment with the new Model 3 Highland are the missing stalks (especially the turn signals one) and the missing parking sensors (the Tesla vision is crap especially in the front because it is using the windshield camera instead a bumper camera).

What a good review, some things i disagree with, but they are personal preference like the single pedal driving. But generally speaking, nice to see a review which seems to be quite balanced and isnt just someone drooling over the car and not pointing out faults. Looks like a great car, just worried about the lack of stalks. Would have loved to see a review on the camera sensors in terms of parking

This was the most informative review of any kind I have ever seen - thank you 🙏

Thanks for a very thorough review. As a TSLA investor I am pleased that Tesla has made the numerous improvements you point out. But, I agree that removing the stalks was a big mistake. I used to own a 2022 Model S with the yoke and no stalks. Sold it because of no stalks and that the shape of the yoke made ingress and egress cumbersome. Happily converted to BMW i4. Another thing Teslas have been missing in recent years is a data ready USB port for playing music from USB sticks. They used to have such ports in all models but the bean counters took them away. Thankfully, the BMW i4 and iX do have USB ports where I can listen to my music library.

Great review. Love the driving descriptions.

Thanks once again for another comprehensive review was looking forward to your opinion on the New model 3 , I'm happy you liked it as much as you did. I agree with your opinion on the stalks I think it's a backward move also, and I do wish they offer a heads up display, I believe a YouTuber called sexy buttons is working on a fix for the Stalks , but you shouldn't have to do this. Will you be driving the standard range model , as I would be interested in opinion of how the front end feels without the extra motor, like whether it feels lighter and more responsive. Great review John in Melbourne

It's absolutely crazy that removing something as simple, established and critical as an indicator stalk would deprive people of a fantastic car.

Don't forget voice commands, but it sometimes can be difficult with some accents

I have one ordered, switching from a Polestar 2 Dual Motor Performance. I definitely dont buy cause of facts and figures. I have tried pretty much every EV I can test and there is NO aboslutely NO other brand that even comes close to the Tesla HMI, Polestar is a great car. Its slightly faster than the M3LR that I ordered and the Öhlins suspension is superb, seats are great but its a horrible car to live with cause the infotainment feels like a 7 year old tablet. I really like the new steering wheel, gives a nice gokart feeling when driving. Don't mind at all the lack of stalks. Never drove a BYD Seal but looked at one, didnt like it. Also with 520km WLTP compared to 678 in the M3LR its a bit behind. Also HMI/Infotainment does not come close to Teslas.

Please...why you review the car and don't know all the things? There are gear buttons at the top, next to the lights and are used for emergencies if the driver has no screen for any reason. The problem you have with the turn signals is easy to solve if you notice that the turn signal for left is always under the steering wheel... even if you turned steering wheel...

A few points - regen in all EVs is about feathering the throttle to maintain the correct speed, this is a complete change in driving style. You can change the way the car slows, but agreed lack of adjustment isn't ideal. 99% of Tesla controls have voice or shortcuts you read the manual and you learn tips. Eg press voice button and say my bum is cold. Use the scroll wheel to change the wiper's speed etc swiping right or left to increase or decrease temperature. Same as on the model S the gear selection is intelligent, if you are facing a wall and press the pedal it will detect and reverse without you selecting the drive. The White interior is well known to stay in good condition with kids or not - cars have 50k miles or more and look like new. Just wipe them with a wipe and they are clean. Anyway great review and balanced.