My first Tesla! 2025 Model 3 RWD

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Out with the Honda Prologue and in with a Tesla Model 3. It's a VERY different experience but not in a bad way. After my test drive last week I thought about it and decided this was the way I wanted to go. I thought about it for a week before making the leap and ordering it.

What a great experience. I submitted the order on the Tesla website. Did a few steps in the app. Financing and everything was done in the app. Scheduled a date and time to go pick up the car (sadly in Fremont, not Vallejo, which would have been closer, oh well, it was cool to see the huge Tesla factory), went into the showroom, they gave me a post it note telling me which parking spot to find my car in. Then, inspected the car, everything was fine, went in the app to accept delivery and pair my phone with the car and we could leave. No sitting in the dealership for four hours waiting for the finance guy to finish up with the previous customer. No negotiating off dumb dealer add-ons. No upsells of protection plans and other trash.

I used FSD ("Full Self Driving [Supervised]) the whole way home. And have been using it pretty much every drive since I got the car. And for the most part, it's wonderful. The Supervised part is important though, about once a day it does something that I feel I need to intervene to avoid causing problems. Also, the navigation routing is weird. Like, to get to my work, it wants to go a certain way, which would mean taking a right then a left then needing to make a left turn across a busy road with two lanes in each direction. Instead of just going straight and making a hassle-free right into the parking lot. It also did the same thing when leaving a friends house. If it had gone straight we would have ended up at a traffic light. Instead, it took a detour to one block over where I'd have to turn across multiple lanes on a busy highway. I'm not sure what its obsession is with that manuever! I wonder if I can suggest routing improvements to Tesla somehow? All that said, I have a three month free trial of FSD, and am not sure if I will keep it after that (it's $100/mo). The other thing about FSD is that it doesn't avoid potholes and stuff like I do as a human driver. I let it be, but cringe a little each time.

It's FAST. Yes, this is the slowest version of the car, but it's still super quick and will push you back in your seat if you ask it to.

Quality and fit and finish stuff is just as good as the Prologue, a vehicle with an MSRP of about $15K more than my Tesla. In fact, I'd say in some ways its better, as the Prologue has some problems... at under 7000 miles two interior trim pieces are loose already (and no, we are not rough with the vehicle). The Tesla? No issues. I'd say the worst part is the motorized charging cover. It sounds cheap!

As I mentioned last week in my test drive of pretty much the same car in a different color, the audio system isn't stellar. It's not worse than the Prologue's "Bose Premium Audio", it's just not great in a different way. Still, plenty good enough, I am OK with it. Like I said before, though, I would have upgraded to the premium audio used in the AWD version of the Model 3 if it was an available option, for, let's say, $500?

I find the suspension to be a little firmer than I'm used to. It's definitely more "sporty" than "comfy" but it's not bad. Once again, hard to compare a "sports sedan" to a "family SUV" here. I suspect the Model Y would be a lot more like a Honda Prologue. But, at the time of placing the order, the Model Y was much more expensive. Of course, the next day, the cheaper Model Y dropped and it wouldn't have been a huge price difference. Oh well, I don't like the new tail light thing on the refreshed Y looks anyway, so I'm not really upset about it.

Tesla gets some quality of life stuff right that makes a huge difference. Phone as a key is one of the best features ever and has so far worked flawlessly. I do carry a key card in my wallet as a backup but I haven't need it yet. Their mobile app and in-car software are amazing as well. HondaLink by OnStar literally never worked right and in the Prologue I could trigger a "Service Transmission" and the EV equivalent of a check engine light by shifting too soon after starting the car. But the Tesla? It all works wonderfully. Scheduled charging was literally broken in the Prologue. While in the Tesla it took me under 2 minutes to create the charging schedule I wanted for my home location while making it charge instantly anywhere else.

But, there are some downsides. I hate the door handles. Every time I have ever got in/driven a 3/Y I have hated the door handles. I'm a fan of traditional door handles. Yet, our Equinox EV has "pop out" door handles which are still better than the awkward push in and pull thing we got going on with this car. Also, as most people know, Tesla dropped the turn signal and shifter stalk in this car. The turn signal is fine... FSD signals for you, and even if you are driving manually, you get used to it real quick. Shifter is more annoying. You swipe on the screen to shift. I enabled "Auto Shift Beta" and it generally works OK but the way our driveway goes onto a busy two way street, and the manuevers I have to make when I arrive or leave are a little frustrating.

I do like the charge port being in the rear drivers side, as I tend to prefer to back in to our driveway anyway. And hey, when I do use Superchargers, I don't have to use up two spots up!

Efficiency on this car is excellent. I've averaged about 4mi/kwh since taking delivery. In the Prologue? I'd average under 3 most drives. With our power costs and only having Level 1 charging at home, this makes a difference. I do have Sentry Mode on which uses a little juice when the car is sitting but with todays political climate I think it's a must for all Tesla owners. I do think I will have an electrician install a L2 plug eventually, but so far I've been fine with the slooooow charging.

Interior space/trunk space, definitely less than I'm used to. But it's fine, it's just me... or maybe me and a passenger occasionally. No kids or whatever. I used the cargo area of the Prologue like twice? And like I said, there is an Equinox EV in the household I can borrow if/when I need more space.

So yeah, those are my thoughts for now. Whether you like Tesla as a company or not, and regardless of what you think of the CEO, the car is impressive. I'd give it a 9/10 rating overall.

And, as a bonus, the color and wheel combo I picked nicely matches our Equinox EV. They look so cute together! The "Highland" Model 3 really does look so much better than the previous years. Much less of a blob thing!

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Good purchase and I like the matching black and white vehicles. If I had to buy an ev to own for the long term it would be the tesla and it'd be that long range rwd model 3 as it makes the most sense but there are some quicks I don't like about it since I test drove a model y. The equinox is a good value too but I don't know if I trust GM pouch cells or any kind of pouch cells in something that isn't a short term disposable tech item but if I wasn't owning it for the long term I'd take the equinox instead.

How's the AC in this thing when it's hot and not pre cooled. I test drove a model y that was already pre cooled so I didn't get to experience that weird no air vent thing when starting off in a hot car. I can't imagine not having the ability to point air vents right to my face when it's hot inside. I won't want the cold air wafting around me with only some going to my face I want all of it going straight towards my face to cool me.
 
Good purchase and I like the matching black and white vehicles. If I had to buy an ev to own for the long term it would be the tesla and it'd be that long range rwd model 3 as it makes the most sense but there are some quicks I don't like about it since I test drove a model y. The equinox is a good value too but I don't know if I trust GM pouch cells or any kind of pouch cells in something that isn't a short term disposable tech item but if I wasn't owning it for the long term I'd take the equinox instead.

How's the AC in this thing when it's hot and not pre cooled. I test drove a model y that was already pre cooled so I didn't get to experience that weird no air vent thing when starting off in a hot car. I can't imagine not having the ability to point air vents right to my face when it's hot inside. I won't want the cold air wafting around me with only some going to my face I want all of it going straight towards my face to cool me.

The Equinox EV was a purchase, not a lease, so it's going to stay in the household for a long time... we'll see about battery longevity. The primary driver of that vehicle does A LOT of miles so we'll blow past the 100K warranty much sooner than the 8 year mark.

On the Tesla, the HVAC is great. The Prologue's AC and heater never really kept up, and the mobile app worked maybe 5% of the time so preconditioning wasn't really an option. In the Tesla I just open the app and tap the climate icon a few minutes before I get in and all is well. The vent situation is totally fine, plus it has automatic heated and ventilated front seats. I think rear seats are heated only? Don't know, but we did test the rear screen by playing chess on it!
 
The Equinox EV was a purchase, not a lease, so it's going to stay in the household for a long time, so we'll see about battery longevity. The primary driver of that vehicle does A LOT of miles so we'll blow past the 100K warranty much sooner than the 8 year mark.

On the Tesla, the HVAC is great. The Prologue's AC and heater never really kept up, and the mobile app worked maybe 5% of the time so preconditioning wasn't really an option. In the Tesla I just open the app and tap the climate icon a few minutes before I get in and all is well. The vent situation is totally fine, plus it has automatic heated and ventilated front seats. I think rear seats are heated only? Don't know, but we did test the rear screen by playing chess on it!
The battery warranty period on ev's is good and I'd own one to that point but once I'd be near the end on the battery warranty I'd take it to a proper ev shop and have them give me a battery health report using their computer and if it shows up as better than expected for the age and mileage I'd keep it but if it's below I'd look to trade it in. But 8 years and 100k is long term enough.

Hmm so maybe the no air vent thing isn't so bad on teslas then. I forgot you can pre cool it for a moment there. I think I can do the same with my escalade including remote start without the fob but I don't care to download a GM app which for all I know is just going to steal more info from me than the darn truck already does.
 
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The buying experience is a snap. On our '18 Model 3 Mid range, I gave them a credit card for $250 at the store after test drive. Did the rest online and the car was delivered to our driveway.
The 2nd purchase, our '24 M3P, was at the Fremont factory, like you. Went in, signed a few papers, and was given the space number, same as you. As we signed the papers, they took ownership of our '18 trade in, sight unseen. I sent them a few pictures when they made the trade in offer earlier.

Our cell phone app was automatically switched to the new car. Get in and go!

I highly suggest the S3XY Stalks from ehnance. About $400 all in. I like the button blinkers, but they can get stuck; that's a big problem.
Given Tesla's tech first nature, the Commander module can control 80+ functions. The module daisy chains into the harness; a 10 minute installation. Out of the box, the stalks operate like the pre-Highland cars.

I have set the blinkers to operate the wrap around interior LED, left or right side. I also set the LEDs to operate with the blind spot indicators. The little red dot blind spot monitor in the Model 3 is worthless IMO.
 
Out with the Honda Prologue and in with a Tesla Model 3. It's a VERY different experience but not in a bad way. After my test drive last week I thought about it and decided this was the way I wanted to go. I thought about it for a week before making the leap and ordering it.

What a great experience. I submitted the order on the Tesla website. Did a few steps in the app. Financing and everything was done in the app. Scheduled a date and time to go pick up the car (sadly in Fremont, not Vallejo, which would have been closer, oh well, it was cool to see the huge Tesla factory), went into the showroom, they gave me a post it note telling me which parking spot to find my car in. Then, inspected the car, everything was fine, went in the app to accept delivery and pair my phone with the car and we could leave. No sitting in the dealership for four hours waiting for the finance guy to finish up with the previous customer. No negotiating off dumb dealer add-ons. No upsells of protection plans and other trash.

I used FSD ("Full Self Driving [Supervised]) the whole way home. And have been using it pretty much every drive since I got the car. And for the most part, it's wonderful. The Supervised part is important though, about once a day it does something that I feel I need to intervene to avoid causing problems. Also, the navigation routing is weird. Like, to get to my work, it wants to go a certain way, which would mean taking a right then a left then needing to make a left turn across a busy road with two lanes in each direction. Instead of just going straight and making a hassle-free right into the parking lot. It also did the same thing when leaving a friends house. If it had gone straight we would have ended up at a traffic light. Instead, it took a detour to one block over where I'd have to turn across multiple lanes on a busy highway. I'm not sure what its obsession is with that manuever! I wonder if I can suggest routing improvements to Tesla somehow? All that said, I have a three month free trial of FSD, and am not sure if I will keep it after that (it's $100/mo). The other thing about FSD is that it doesn't avoid potholes and stuff like I do as a human driver. I let it be, but cringe a little each time.

It's FAST. Yes, this is the slowest version of the car, but it's still super quick and will push you back in your seat if you ask it to.

Quality and fit and finish stuff is just as good as the Prologue, a vehicle with an MSRP of about $15K more than my Tesla. In fact, I'd say in some ways its better, as the Prologue has some problems... at under 7000 miles two interior trim pieces are loose already (and no, we are not rough with the vehicle). The Tesla? No issues. I'd say the worst part is the motorized charging cover. It sounds cheap!

As I mentioned last week in my test drive of pretty much the same car in a different color, the audio system isn't stellar. It's not worse than the Prologue's "Bose Premium Audio", it's just not great in a different way. Still, plenty good enough, I am OK with it. Like I said before, though, I would have upgraded to the premium audio used in the AWD version of the Model 3 if it was an available option, for, let's say, $500?

I find the suspension to be a little firmer than I'm used to. It's definitely more "sporty" than "comfy" but it's not bad. Once again, hard to compare a "sports sedan" to a "family SUV" here. I suspect the Model Y would be a lot more like a Honda Prologue. But, at the time of placing the order, the Model Y was much more expensive. Of course, the next day, the cheaper Model Y dropped and it wouldn't have been a huge price difference. Oh well, I don't like the new tail light thing on the refreshed Y looks anyway, so I'm not really upset about it.

Tesla gets some quality of life stuff right that makes a huge difference. Phone as a key is one of the best features ever and has so far worked flawlessly. I do carry a key card in my wallet as a backup but I haven't need it yet. Their mobile app and in-car software are amazing as well. HondaLink by OnStar literally never worked right and in the Prologue I could trigger a "Service Transmission" and the EV equivalent of a check engine light by shifting too soon after starting the car. But the Tesla? It all works wonderfully. Scheduled charging was literally broken in the Prologue. While in the Tesla it took me under 2 minutes to create the charging schedule I wanted for my home location while making it charge instantly anywhere else.

But, there are some downsides. I hate the door handles. Every time I have ever got in/driven a 3/Y I have hated the door handles. I'm a fan of traditional door handles. Yet, our Equinox EV has "pop out" door handles which are still better than the awkward push in and pull thing we got going on with this car. Also, as most people know, Tesla dropped the turn signal and shifter stalk in this car. The turn signal is fine... FSD signals for you, and even if you are driving manually, you get used to it real quick. Shifter is more annoying. You swipe on the screen to shift. I enabled "Auto Shift Beta" and it generally works OK but the way our driveway goes onto a busy two way street, and the manuevers I have to make when I arrive or leave are a little frustrating.

I do like the charge port being in the rear drivers side, as I tend to prefer to back in to our driveway anyway. And hey, when I do use Superchargers, I don't have to use up two spots up!

Efficiency on this car is excellent. I've averaged about 4mi/kwh since taking delivery. In the Prologue? I'd average under 3 most drives. With our power costs and only having Level 1 charging at home, this makes a difference. I do have Sentry Mode on which uses a little juice when the car is sitting but with todays political climate I think it's a must for all Tesla owners. I do think I will have an electrician install a L2 plug eventually, but so far I've been fine with the slooooow charging.

Interior space/trunk space, definitely less than I'm used to. But it's fine, it's just me... or maybe me and a passenger occasionally. No kids or whatever. I used the cargo area of the Prologue like twice? And like I said, there is an Equinox EV in the household I can borrow if/when I need more space.

So yeah, those are my thoughts for now. Whether you like Tesla as a company or not, and regardless of what you think of the CEO, the car is impressive. I'd give it a 9/10 rating overall.

And, as a bonus, the color and wheel combo I picked nicely matches our Equinox EV. They look so cute together! The "Highland" Model 3 really does look so much better than the previous years. Much less of a blob thing!

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Very fine looking vehicle. Sounds like a simply amazing purchase experience too. I did similar once with a new 2002 Honda Accord and did 99% online before going in to take delivery. Sweet way to get it done! Enjoy.
 
Nice Tesla.

I’ve seen some cool Tesla RWD drifiting videos.

I might buy a Tesla in the future.
 
I thought you just got the Prologue? Either way, I've gotten so accustomed to the software and I really don't want to use anything else. The RWD 3 is still pretty darn quick. The only thing it loses out on really is the launch from a dig. It doesn't have the traction and power for that really hard launch, but from 20-80mph it still pulls hard. I honestly considered a Model 3 RWD when the new model released, but I really wanted a Performance. When the deals were going on the Model Ys that's what pushed me in that direction. There's a reason Tesla took over our garage. They're just so great to live with on a daily basis.

As far as FSD goes, I think I'm just in the wrong area to truly enjoy it. I've talked to some local people who have used FSD in the similar areas I drive and their experience has been mixed like mine as well. It's why I don't pay for FSD. For now I'll wait until other trials come along and when it shows some improvement I may change my mind. I've used it in areas where it works great. Those places are more than an hour from me and I rarely drive in St Paul, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Rural areas seem to truly break it. It defeats the purpose when I have to intervene every 2-3 miles. I didn't buy it wanting FSD though, so doesn't change my experience at all with the car. I bought it with the intention of driving it to begin with.

The door handles were a bit odd at first, but at some point it became normal for me. Probably having two Teslas. Hopefully they become normal for you. At times I have to help others that haven't been in the car in a while. I'm just glad they aren't motorized even it it still is just an electronic switch.

Congrats on the new car!
 
Nice Tesla.

I’ve seen some cool Tesla RWD drifiting videos.

I might buy a Tesla in the future.
Performance has a drift mode too. The front motor can be completely shut off with full 100% rear bias. I've had a bit too much fun with that for the life of my tires. 😂
 
Here in OC our insurance rates are insanity!
When I see people in their Tesla working on their laptop while driving to work in crowed traffic and on city streets, I like to get real close in my RAV4 so all the sensors go off next to them and makes them put their crap down and focus on driving.
I don't want to be a victim of a bad sensor nor do I want to be a victim.
I'm all for technology and gadgets but that is just what it is.

All this makes me want to buy a 4x4 Cummins twin turbo diesel dually and push that down the road, so if they Bash into me they'll bounce off.

Again, technology is great when it works, I'm probably tainted from a lemon law buy back from a Mercedes that I had new in 2024. What a pile!
But congratulations enjoy the new car it's always fun for the first 30 days, then you have the payments.
 
Here in OC our insurance rates are insanity!
When I see people in their Tesla working on their laptop while driving to work in crowed traffic and on city streets, I like to get real close in my RAV4 so all the sensors go off next to them and makes them put their crap down and focus on driving.
I don't want to be a victim of a bad sensor nor do I want to be a victim.
I'm all for technology and gadgets but that is just what it is.

All this makes me want to buy a 4x4 Cummins twin turbo diesel dually and push that down the road, so if they Bash into me they'll bounce off.

Again, technology is great when it works, I'm probably tainted from a lemon law buy back from a Mercedes that I had new in 2024. What a pile!
But congratulations enjoy the new car it's always fun for the first 30 days, then you have the payments.

So, insurance for the Tesla is actually $100/mo cheaper than the Prologue was.

Not sure how people are doing other stuff while FSD drives them around. It uses a camera to monitor the driver. It will detect if you have your phone in your hand, play with the car's screen for too long, or don't look out the windshield and ask you to put your hands on the steering wheel. I am not sure what it does if you don't, I've never tested that, but I'm assuming it'll start making noise or disengage or something.
 
Here in OC our insurance rates are insanity!
When I see people in their Tesla working on their laptop while driving to work in crowed traffic and on city streets, I like to get real close in my RAV4 so all the sensors go off next to them and makes them put their crap down and focus on driving.
I don't want to be a victim of a bad sensor nor do I want to be a victim.
I'm all for technology and gadgets but that is just what it is.

All this makes me want to buy a 4x4 Cummins twin turbo diesel dually and push that down the road, so if they Bash into me they'll bounce off.

Again, technology is great when it works, I'm probably tainted from a lemon law buy back from a Mercedes that I had new in 2024. What a pile!
But congratulations enjoy the new car it's always fun for the first 30 days, then you have the payments.
What a dangerous thing to do! What's wrong with you?
 
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