One month with a model 3

January 21 was the one month anniversary for my model 3. We have put on ~1600 miles in that one month. my impressions have remained the same, only more reinforced, as those expressed in the "One week with a model 3" thread. However, my wife's favorable impressions have increased immeasurably. She now uses adjectives like "fantastic, unbelievable, amazing, fun," to express her enthusiasm. Her favorite features (not necessarily unique to Tesla but unique to her) are the easy to use seat warmers, auto tilt mirrors on reverse, auto adjust seats to driver profile, auto Homelink, Smartphone access, no more gas stations, and Autopilot (not necessarily in that order).

COMFORT
The model 3 are very comfortable. We are average size people and road trips are a breeze with plenty of room to stretch out and there is plenty of interior space. The interior is more open feeling than our PIP with the flying bridge. Interior storage far exceeds the Prius. The trunk depth from the trunk lip to the back of the seats is the same as the PIP, however the PIP is easier to load because of the much larger hatch. We find the view out is similar to the PIP. The one thing that surprises me is that we don't even notice the all glass roof anymore. It does give lots of extra head room. The first couple of days we marveled over it. Now we don't even pay attention to it. I do think it is more noticeable to rear seat passengers.

CHARGING
We took our first extended road trip last weekend, ~800 miles over three days. Here is the raw data:

• travel was on the freeways of Los Angeles out into the agricultural Central Valley and then back to the freeways of Los Angeles
• 90% of the travel was at the posted speed limit which was 65/70 mph.
• 90% of the travel was on Autopilot
• On board computer is extremely accurate predicting ETA (it is constantly recalculating based on real time traffic) and range/battery remaining at programmed destination
• Stopped 3 times to charge for a total time of ~75 minutes
• we used ~22% of charge per hour of driving at highway speed (ranged from 19% to 25% depending on terrain and local weather)
• weather was mild, mostly in the 60's. little to light winds
• elevation change was +2200 to +0 to +4100 to +0 and vice-versa on return.
• I drove about 2/3 of time, wife 1/3

We departed Saturday morning with 100% charge (~260 miles) We arrived at our first stop at 1 pm, 3.5 hours later with 33% charge left. 18 of 24 Superchargers were available other than a new red Mustang ICE driven by a 20 something parked in a Supercharger handicap space. He had no no handicap placard. NOT COOL. It was time for lunch and a comfort break. I set the car to charge to 80% and we walked 50 yards next door to a restaurant for a quick lunch. 30 minutes later, just as we were finishing our sandwiches, we get a notice on our Tesla app that the car is finished charging to 80% and we are good to go.

Arrived at our destination 3 hours later for an evening family reunion (about 100 people). Later, checked into the Marriott that had two Tesla Destination chargers (Level 2) with ~43% left. I programmed to charge that night to 90%. We had the charger all to ourselves.

Departed the next morning (Sunday) for the return trip with 90% charge. Arrived at the Supercharger (the one from the previous day) with 47% left. 16 of 24 chargers available and one ICE parked in a Supercharger space. (As an aside, California is formulating legislation that will impose serious fines and tow away on ICEVs parked in charging spaces. The State is serious about transitioning to EVs as a way to fight climate change.) Programmed the charge to 80% and went back to the restaurant next door. 25 minutes later we were on our way.

Arrived at our daughter's house in Long Beach for an overnight stay with 54% charge. The next day I drove around the L.A. area for some business meetings. That evening (Monday) I had 33% charge. The onboard computer said I would have 2% charge at arriving at our house about 1.5 hours distant. That was cutting it way to close for me! I decided to take it to a local Supercharger 10 minutes away for a quick top up while the daughter made dinner. All 10 of the Superchargers were occupied by Teslas. I had to wait about 7 minutes for my turn. 15 minutes later I had charged to 60% and made my space available for the next person in line. Went back to daughter's house to celebrate two birthdays before leaving for home.

Arrived at home with about 28% charge. Programmed for an overnight charge to 80% and put the baby and me to bed.

Very easy and successful trip. The only thing I would do different is that I would have charged to 100% at the overnight stop at the Marriott which would have eliminated the last 15 minute charge.

Yes, we did spend 75 minutes of the trip for charging but it was combined with comfort stops and lunch breaks. We would have stopped 3 times for gasoline in the PIP (we have done this same itinerary in the PIP several times) We stop at Costco for fuel and restrooms and that takes us anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes per stop depending how busy they are. So fuel stops and charging stops pretty much equal out for us.

AUTOPILOT
We used Autopilot about 90% of the time. It takes some getting used to. It is not perfect. We loved it. As long as you understand it's limitations and remain vigilant and supervise the car, it is safe, relaxing, and indispensable on long trips or commuter traffic. We did experience two false braking incidents, nothing dangerous, just unnerving. I sincerely believe that Autopilot drives better than I do in 90% of situations. On long trips, Autopilot never gets tired, always remains attentive, and can see better which is more than I can say for myself.

CONCLUSION
We both love the car, my wife perhaps even more than I do because of her lower initial expectations. Many people make conclusions about the car without even a test drive. But a test drive really isn't enough to become irrevocably hooked. That is why Tesla is giving people a 3 day, money back guarantee if they don't like the car. It would be interesting to know how many people do give the car back after 3 days.

Yesterday, I moved all my personal stuff from the PIP to the Tesla. It was something I had been putting off for nostalgic reasons. I guess it is pretty final now.

 

Why don't you tell us how you feel about your Prius? Oh, that's right you have.

 

This is the SECOND time CR has done this to the model 3. And like the first time, the issues will be fixed by Tesla and CR will put the model 3 back on its recommended list.

I have had my car for exactly two months today. It has been trouble free.