Tesla
Model 3 Highland with stealth grey paint After driving more than 51,000 in my 2018 Mid-Range Model 3, I decided to upgrade to the new 2024 Model 3 Highland. I took delivery a week ago of a demo car with about 2,000 miles. The reason for a demo was because I wanted to take delivery before March 31st, in time for a free Full Self Driving (FSD) transfer from my old
Tesla to the new one. Had I ordered a brand-new long-range Model 3, it would have arrived too late for the free transfer. With the exception of a small dent on the lower front bumper (Tesla says it will fix it at no cost to me) the car is in new condition. After picking it up, I did a factory reset so the software was identical to a brand new one. I got Long Range, but most people would do OK with Standard Range I wanted the long rang because I sometimes get range anxiety on road trips, even though the standard range’s EPA estimated 272 miles would have been more than adequate in the vast majority of cases, because of Tesla’s extensive Supercharging network. In my several road trips on my mid-range (EPA estimate of 264 miles) there have been only two or three times when my range anxiety was justified. But that didn’t keep me from worrying. The long range has an EPA estimated 341-mile range but, just as with EPA gasoline cars, your mileage will vary. Hardly anyone gets the full EPA rated range on Teslas. As of this writing, the standard range costs $38,990 while the long range, which has dual motors, costs $47,470. Before buying the long range, I test drove the standard range rear wheel drive model and didn’t notice much difference. The zero to 60 acceleration on the long range is rated at 4.2 seconds compared to 5.8 seconds but in most on-road situations, it’s crazy to accelerate at that speed. Both are rated for a top speed of 125 miles per hour, which is less than the 140 MPH of the 2023 but that doesn’t even come close to mattering to me. Driving around town, I didn’t notice any difference between the dual motor all-wheel drive and the single motor rear-wheel drive. Perhaps I would in
SNOW or heavy rain or if driving aggressively, which I don’t do. Other than the obvious, there are no noticeable differences between the two models. The long range has more speakers, but I didn’t really notice the difference in casual listening. Perhaps an audiophile might. They both have the same exterior, nearly the same interior, the same seats and the same display. Speaking of seats, the new Model 3 seats are both heated and cooled, which should be nice on hot or cold days. Visually, the changes on the outside are subtle. You may notice the lack of fog lights and the slimmer headlights but the easy way to tell the new one from the old is to look at the back where they put the word Tesla rather than just the Tesla logo. Rear of refreshed Model 3 Highland Getting use to not having stalks When it comes to user interface, the biggest difference between this car and the vast majority of cars on the road (including older Model 3s), is that the new Highland doesn’t have stalks on both sides of the steering wheel. So, instead of using the left stalk as a turn indicator and the right one to change from Park to Drive or Reverse, I now have to use a small left or right button on the left side of the steering wheel to signal a turn or lane change and have to swipe up on a strip on the left side of the screen to go into drive or down to go into reverse. You touch the P on top of the strip to go into Park and N at the bottom for Neutral. There is also an “Auto Shift Out of Park (Beta)” that uses the cameras to predict which direction you want to go in. I have that turned off until I hear verification from lots of other users that it reliably gets it right 100% of the time. Because this is new to me, I’ve been practicing with both the turn indicators and the on-screen gear shifting. The gear shifting has gone well, perhaps because it’s something I do before I start moving. But I’m still having a little trouble getting used to pressing a steering wheel button to activate the turn indicator. My muscle memory is starting to kick-in, but it takes getting used to. I’ve seen numerous comments from European drivers who complain about the indicators on Europe’s many roundabouts. One problem with the steering wheel buttons is that they change positions when you turn the wheel so they might not be where your muscle memory thinks they are in a turn or when going through a roundabout. Personally, I wish Tesla had left the stalks alone, but it is what it is. Quieter and smoother ride Although there a few cosmetic changes to the outside of the car, what I mostly noticed is that it’s much quieter and smoother than my old Model 3. Tesla says it’s 20% quieter and I believe it. It actually seems even better than that. It’s a major improvement. One reason is that Tesla is using dual pane glass on all glass surfaces, not just the windshield as was the case with the old model 3. Tesla says that better aerodynamics contribute to the quiet ride, along with better range. I still remember how disappointed I was in December 2018 when I first drove my old Model 3 and noticed every bump on a nearby street that’s unevenly paved. My 2016 Prius is noticeably smoother, which surprised me since it’s a much smaller car. But the 2024 Model is a lot smoother. It doesn’t completely eliminate significant bumps in the road, but it does smooth them out. The new Model 3’s new shock absorbers have as what Tesla calls “frequency selective damping,” to improve ride quality while maintaining the ride handling, said Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy in an online video . Back seat screen Back seat passengers now get their own 8-inch screen that can be used to control heating and cooling, audio volume and to watch video via
Netflix,
YouTube or other streaming services. You can also use it to play games. It can also be used to change the position of the front passenger seat if it’s affecting leg room of the person behind it. I question, however, how that’s going to go over for the person in front. Fortunately, back seat passengers can’t mess with the driver’s seat. As an entertainment device, the screen is a bit small, and it’s positioned so low that it might cause some neck strain to watch for an extended period. I suspect that some backseat passengers will opt for a tablet rather the bothering with the built-in screen. Luxury touches Starting at under $39,000, the new Model 3 is priced well-below most luxury cars, but it does have some luxury touches, like doors that feels more solid when you close them, the 17-speaker audio system on the long-range model and heated, ventilated, and electrically adjustable front seats. Both the long range and standard range handle well. The long-range model has one of the highest ranges of any EV while the standard range is ahead of many other EVs. My old Tesla may have looked a bit like a luxury car, but it didn’t feel like one. I’m happy to say that the new model does. Having said that, Tesla did replace the wood grain trim above the dash with a cloth lined trim. I never loved the wood grain, so it doesn’t bother me. I also wonder if the cloth helps dampen sound inside the cabin. About Elon I was proud to buy a car from
Elon Musk when I purchased my first Model 3 in 2018. He has done more than any other person to usher in electric vehicles which are finally being adopted by most other automakers. He has been a pioneer in space travel, his Starlink company has brought high speed internet to remote locations around the world and his Neuralink company has enormous potential to benefit people with disabilities. But his antics, extreme expressed views and elimination of many of Twitter’s former safety features leaves me cold, especially as a former member of Twitter’s Safety Advisory Council which Musk dismantled. But beyond politics and his impact on what is now X, I am concerned about his leadership of Tesla. There are already things about the company that annoy me including that it no longer has a PR department, making it impossible for me to get questions answered and the way they handled the FSD transfer program that I took advantage of, which put out contradictory information regarding when you had to order to get the free transfer. Even after taking delivery of my car, as I wrote in an earlier post, I remain confused as to when FSD might be available for my car. Overall conclusion This is a refresh, not an entirely new design but it takes what’s good about the Model 3 and makes it better while fixing things that always bothered me, including bumps and road noise.