Model 3 Highland first look

[UncleDave]

I prefer a mix of dedicated and screen based controls.
I also prefer an instrument pod in front of me and a big screen on the side or center for infotainment maps, and info.

The model 3 and Y fall short for me. Turned out not to be a big deal to me. I adapted very quickly like by the end of the first half hour drive.
I still have those preferences I found them to be of a much lower priority in terms of what I thought they would be initially.
It works much better than many mixed systems, but not as good as the good ones.

I've never had a japanese cars voice command ever work well enough to even bother with the feature at all - ever, they were like talking to a tree.

 

[Nick1994]

Oof! Is this a new Highland???

This was the 2021 that I bought new, then sold 6 weeks later.

 

[Trav]

Citroen messed around with different controls just for the sake of being different. I got used to it but getting used to it doesnt make it suck any less. They finally dropped this in later models.

Mine was a series 1 with the real crazy dash.

Musk and Tesla are not leading they are following other companies design and putting another twist on it. In this case Tesla failed miserably.

 

[OVERKILL]

 

[AZjeff]

If the Tesla or that Ferrari was the only car you drive you'd learn it and not think about it. Problem is every other motor vehicle in the world (probably?) has the turn signal on the left stalk, down left up right. Could it be a problem in heavy traffic where you have to signal and go NOW if you last drove the Tesla and are now in the Tundra and hit volume down instead of left turn?

IMO the only time trying to find the wheel mounted buttons while turning would be a problem is if you're doing a big smoky drift and trying to change lanes..

 

[y_p_w]

If the Tesla or that Ferrari was the only car you drive you'd learn it and not think about it. Problem is every other motor vehicle in the world (probably?) has the turn signal on the left stalk, down left up right. Could it be a problem in heavy traffic where you have to signal and go NOW if you last drove the Tesla and are now in the Tundra and hit volume down instead of left turn?

IMO the only time trying to find the wheel mounted buttons while turning would be a problem is if you're doing a big smoky drift and trying to change lanes..

I've been driving a variety of cars recently and every car does things differently. Sometimes I switch to a car with a lever parking brake but then try stepping on a nonexistent floor parking brake. I've been driving a Tesla Model 3 where the shifting is on the right stalk. Or shifting to a stick where I generally remember everything because it's just so different. I've dealt with different forms of shifters including knobs, levers, push up/down/etc.

And yeah there's nothing inherent about left/right turns on a left stalk. I even remember driving a car once where pushing that same stalk in honked the horn.

 

[Trav]

Musk should just bring these back and call it his new and improved version.

Slick dash mounted control.

 

[Ws6]

This was the 2021 that I bought new, then sold 6 weeks later.

How is this even pertinent?

 

[dogememe]

How is this even pertinent?

This. It's not!

 

[AZjeff]

I've been driving a variety of cars recently and every car does things differently.

Agreed. The things you list that are different aren't in use while driving, trying to change lanes in heavy traffic isn't a good time to have to think about where your turn signals are. I can't think of a car or truck I've ever driven that the turn signal wasn't in the left stalk. The location of the gas and brake pedal is universal as well. Maybe not in a Tesla?

 

[Nick1994]

How is this even pertinent?

Do you have reading comprehension trouble? This post is literally about the Model 3's fit and finish and quality. And I replied to a post with a picture of a recent Tesla's quality with my personal experience of my own car.

And to add to it I'll include a picture of my door jams that were barely painted.

 

[dogememe]

Do you have reading comprehension trouble? This post is literally about the Model 3's fit and finish and quality. And I replied to a post with a picture of a recent Tesla's quality with my personal experience of my own car.

And to add to it I'll include a picture of my door jams that were barely painted.

View attachment 202006

Not relevant IMO, this discussions is about the new "Highland" Model 3, not about a car from 2021.

 

[edyvw]

Not relevant IMO, this discussions is about the new "Highland" Model 3, not about a car from 2021.

So? 2021 is 3 years ago, not 30.
VW invested $1billion in 90's just to close gaps between panels to 1mm. Tesla is not VW, and will not invest that money to reach that level of fit and finish. And it took VW some 5yrs to execute.

 

[proveitwithdata]

another one of these threads, great.

TLDR

tesla continues making improvements with refreshes.
Fails to meet stringent qc requirements from non customers and those who are sick of tesla
Meets expectations for previous customers and possible conquest buyers, who look to purchase
bitogers yell at the sun about how Tesla is trash, and ignore legacy oems still scrambling to make a dollar on their ev investments.


Side note i wonder if tesla is following the bmw mantra of 7 year product cycles with a my3/4 LCI or lexus mantra of 14 year product cycle with plenty facelifts.

 

[dishdude]

So? 2021 is 3 years ago, not 30.
VW invested $1billion in 90's just to close gaps between panels to 1mm. Tesla is not VW, and will not invest that money to reach that level of fit and finish. And it took VW some 5yrs to execute.

Seems like bringing up the Pinto or Vegas are perfectly fine 50 years later but going 3 years back on Tesla is a big no.

 

[Ws6]

Do you have reading comprehension trouble? This post is literally about the Model 3's fit and finish and quality. And I replied to a post with a picture of a recent Tesla's quality with my personal experience of my own car.

And to add to it I'll include a picture of my door jams that were barely painted.

View attachment 202006

Im sorry, I could have sworn the title said "Highland" in it.

 

[Ws6]

Seems like bringing up the Pinto or Vegas is perfectly fine 50 years later but going 3 years back on Tesla is a big no.

When Tesla has said their new model addresses fit and finish, yeah, I expect posts to focus on the new model.

 

[demarpaint]

Slick move, fake right go left.............

 

[DwightFrye]

My point was that Tesla could have simply sourced a plug and play stalk assembly with turn signal and lighting controls from an existing supplier of such components and stuck a nice Tesla logo plastic knob on it, Then they could have saved a ton of money on not developing the new system and used existing parts bin steering wheels. And also not making a new model with a feature that consumers didn't ask for and wasn't any real improvement like moving a floor mounted dimmer switch to one on a stalk.

I have no problem getting used to new features. I love a HUD and find it amazingly useful, especially when in the Navigation mode and the display switches to upcoming turns and exits and other important data. The Blind Spot Monitoring feature on rear view mirrors (plus on the HUD of my Mazda) is another excellent advance in technology that is almost instantly understood and gotten used to in a new vehicle to old drivers who have never had such technology before.

I come from a manufacturing environment including working for Tesla. The cost of developing a new feature, tooling up for it and integrating it into production is huge. Not a good use of the company's resources to add features that are of no real benefit over existing designs just to be different. If Tesla's management had some budget dollars to spend on interior and driver-centric features they should have spent it on an all new dash design and not cheaped out by sticking a ludicrous 21" computer screen on the dash with regularly used features accessed on the screen. Or via voice commands which at least in my experience end up in an arguement with the stupid computer when it doesn't understand what I said, especially if I have the radio on or windows down or am driving on a grooved freeway surface that produces a lot of road noise.

Tesla has some very, very smart people working for them. They could easily develop new and useful features if given the proper guidance and vision. But some of the project managers that come up with the concepts need to be demoted to floor sweepers.

 

[y_p_w]

My point was that Tesla could have simply sourced a plug and play stalk assembly with turn signal and lighting controls from an existing supplier of such components and stuck a nice Tesla logo plastic knob on it, Then they could have saved a ton of money on not developing the new system and used existing parts bin steering wheels. And also not making a new model with a feature that consumers didn't ask for and wasn't any real improvement like moving a floor mounted dimmer switch to one on a stalk.

I have no problem getting used to new features. I love a HUD and find it amazingly useful, especially when in the Navigation mode and the display switches to upcoming turns and exits and other important data. The Blind Spot Monitoring feature on rear view mirrors (plus on the HUD of my Mazda) is another excellent advance in technology that is almost instantly understood and gotten used to in a new vehicle to old drivers who have never had such technology before.

I come from a manufacturing environment including working for Tesla. The cost of developing a new feature, tooling up for it and integrating it into production is huge. Not a good use of the company's resources to add features that are of no real benefit over existing designs just to be different. If Tesla's management had some budget dollars to spend on interior and driver-centric features they should have spent it on an all new dash design and not cheaped out by sticking a ludicrous 21" computer screen on the dash with regularly used features accessed on the screen. Or via voice commands which at least in my experience end up in an arguement with the stupid computer when it doesn't understand what I said, especially if I have the radio on or windows down or am driving on a grooved freeway surface that produces a lot of road noise.

Tesla has some very, very smart people working for them. They could easily develop new and useful features if given the proper guidance and vision. But some of the project managers that come up with the concepts need to be demoted to floor sweepers.

There are a lot of things that can be tricky. Especially different accents or dialects. I'm thinking Chinese must be a nightmare because it's a language that's heavily dependent on intonation. Even different accents. I remember an Italian friend telling me how poorly one voice recognition tools understood his accent when it was likely the developers were based in Rome.

Not sure about tooling because they're clearly retooling a ton for the Highland.