On this day last year I picked up my model 3.
A few months later I wrote nearly five and a half thousands words on the car. So, after my first full year in the Tesla, is it still as good as it seemed in that review 12 months ago.
Well, no. because it’s BETTER.
OTA Updates
Better because of the improvements and new features that just keep coming with every over the air software update.
As an example, the built in dash cam previously employed 3 cameras and had no playback facility. now it’s using a 4th video camera and allows you to view clips on the automobiles screen.
Speaking of the screen, last Autumns big v10 update added Netflix and YouTube support so you’re never bored while waiting in the car.
Voice control got a big update and after a false start or two it’s now possible to set off numerous actions by speech, from opening the glovebox to the ‘My butt is cold’ command.
There’s also been a major update to the regen system that implies the automobile now has an even much more smart one-pedal driving setup, best down to 0mph.
Auto pilot is now recognising traffic lights, cones, stop signs and road markings as it develops with each new release.
Hardware
Tesla’s ‘Battery Day’ has been pushed out to September now and it’s widely rumoured that this will be used to launch the new ‘million mile’ battery pack version of the car.
There haven’t been numerous (any?) major hardware updates that I know of in the last year. It would certainly be good to see the model 3 acquire the heat pump from the model Y.
Winter Driving
Speaking of the lack of a heat pump, that was visible over the winter. It wasn’t a particularly cold one but the range still suffered. I never really got it on a good run to test the automobile correctly in cold weather.
In fact the last 3,000 miles or so have practically exclusively been short runs of less than 5 miles which are of course very inefficient. I’d say on these short journeys, pre-heating the automobile from its battery and then driving with the heater on full blast, in the cold and wet, the range could get down to around 140 miles.
1st Year Costs
With the automobile hardly travelling any distance over the last 3 months of lock down it has covered just 6,755 miles in its first year at 287 Wh/mile. That implies that missing out on all that warmer spring / summer driving the automobile has averaged 3.5 miles per kWh. I feel it would have been much more like 4.0 in a normal year.
Using £0.17 per unit that equates to £330 for the entire years ‘fuel’, or around 4.8p per mile. In reality it’s less than that as I’ve availed of the (still) totally free public charger network in northern Ireland. also once we’re into the new house and on a night time rate for charging, that will drop to much more like 2.5p per mile.
I, like numerous other owners, wrote to my MP over the £320 road tax (VED) that was to be paid on the model 3. While the replies were all strikingly similar and dismissive, the message should have got through because at the last budget this was reversed and now the model 3 costs £0.00 per year. and that implies a substantial £1,600 saving over years 2 to 6.
My second years insurance premium has just been paid and is the same as last year to the penny at £360.64 (the leaf was over £400). I’ve started paying the £9.99 per month for the ‘Premium Connectivity’ so my SR+ has the same maps, streaming music and video services as the long range and performance model 3s.
Issues?
Of the gripes I had with the automobile in the original review, it still “regularly shits itself and jumps on the brakes” as I put it back then. This continues to be the most bothersome aspect of ownership for me. I like to put cruise on in 30 and 40 mph zones and the automobile typically jumps on the brakes for little or no reason.
The door handles still confuse everyone but the car wipers have had a major software update and work much better now.
The most significant new issue I’ve had with the automobile lately is its loss of LTE / 4G connection. This happens increasingly frequently and can last for up to a day at a time. With the terrific news that Belfast is getting its own Tesla service Centre soon, at least it will be simpler to take in for a check.
I cannot think of any other issues really that are significant. and I’m pleased to report there are still no squeaks or rattles in the car.
NI Superchargers #Nope
Thanks to the all the people that purchased a Tesla through my referral link (mark40609) I had 20,000 totally free Supercharger miles. but without a single Supercharger in northern Ireland still, I’m viewing them gradually expire without being able to use them.
Hopefully the progress on the Belfast service Centre also implies the Supercharger near Lisburn that has shown on their map as ‘coming soon’ for several years now will soon follow.
Progress
It’s just 8 years ago this month that Tesla started to deliver their first volume car, the model S. Tesla’s share price peaked a week or two back and made it the most important automobile maker in the world. much more important than Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen put together. progress has been amazing and only a genius full of blind optimism and raging drive to be successful could have pulled it off.
It’s a cliché but it’s true to say that driving a piston automobile after a Tesla feels like going from your iphone back to a Nokia. reading back over my review a year on, my feelings haven’t change and I can’t improve on my original bottom line from then.
The Tesla model 3 isn’t perfect. but damn it’s close. [UPDATE – read the 24 Month Update]
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Last update on 2021-10-04 / affiliate links / images from Amazon product advertising API