Tesla Model 3 - The Elephant NOT in the Room

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by dstrauss, May 7, 2018.

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  1. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    Check out this review of the Tesla Model 3. The $35,000 darling of the EV movement weighs in at $57,500, but that does get you the alleged 300 mile EV range variety. Now, that means, for $20,000 more I can search for an open supercharger at 275 miles +/-, or pull into my nearest Exxon at 320 miles and refuel my Clarity...hmmmmm...

    Clearly the TM3 is a great looking car (almost like the Panamera Porsche but $28,000 less), but let's get serious here. If you use it as a daily driver, you just recharge once a week instead of nightly. It would be far zippier (and way cooler) to tool around in, and blow the doors off most other cars from the stop sign, but then again, I wasn't driving a Porsche before my Clarity either.

    Sorry, this is starting to sound a bit like sour grapes, which was not my intention. However, the reviewer did remark that the TM3 has over 500,000 reservations, and two years into the waiting list they only have 476,097 deliveries to go.
     
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  3. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    Tesla Model 3 is really nice, it was out for us because of 2 year wait and the fact I want to let other people help Tesla fix production issues before I buy one.

    I was going to wait to replace my Volt for the Model Y, but went cheap route and bought a used BMW i3 REx. Maybe replace it in 2022 with a used 2020 CUV EV.
     
    Domenick likes this.
  4. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    So we get more range, have absolutely no range anxiety, and save $20,000?
    This is why I say there is nothing currently available that comes close to offering everything the Clarity does.
    Maybe in a few years but not at the present.
     
  5. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    Exactly, that is a good point, I like the Model 3 LR with premium interior, but it is priced $20k higher than the Clarity, so that is another reason it was most definitely out. The lower range one is not going to be as good for long range travel. Still possible, but annoying, especially with kids and such.
     
  6. Not to take away from your take, but if you're setting off on a long trip, the navigation will automatically plot a route that will take you by a Supercharger if one is needed.
    A Model 3 vs Clarity comparison is pretty interesting, as they both have their strong points. I haven't driven the Clarity yet, but I did thoroughly enjoy a short period of time in the Model 3. I can see by all the positive sentiment toward the Clarity here that it's no slouch either.
     
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  8. I am a fairly earlier Model 3 reservation holder. I didn't wait in line but I did reserve shortly after the online reveal. I currently anticipate my invitation to order will arrive early-mid June 2018. I have been fairly excited about the car. That said, I always knew it wasn't a done deal and the deposit is refundable. The LR model is much more expensive than the $35k target model.

    With a 3rd driver (child) as of 6 months ago, adding an additional car to the household has been a desirable convenience. The Model 3 production delays were unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected. I had looked into the late 2017 Chevy Volt lease incentives and even purchase deals given the uncertainty of the federal tax credit. The Clarity was due to arrive at Honda dealership the 1st and 2nd week of December. Ultimately I passed on the Volt and we managed to put off a 3rd car purchase for the longer than usual New England winter.

    I was fortunate to find and meet one of the first local Model 3 Owners and got a chance to take a ride in his car. Roomy, quick, performant and very cool looking, I definitely had some excitement about the car. But a nagging anxiety remained: I don't drive a lot, I don't want to drive a lot, why would I spend so much on a car.

    When we ultimately test drove the Honda Clarity, it was practically a no-brainer. It was available NOW (sincere apologies to our Canadian neighbors), it has great state and federal incentives, and, living in a CARB state, Honda had some great incentives. Ultimately I figure I spent less than half than I would have on the Model 3 and honestly, I think I prefer my car. I know understand why I see so many Tesla owners cruising in the right lane at a slow speed despite the performance available. The feedback from our (PH)EV cars does "reward" conservative driving. I have as much performance as I would have actually used on the Model 3 (with the exception of the occasional quick start from the line) and nearly as many technology features and gadgets.

    Lastly, I like that the Clarity doesn't "stick out" as much. It's appearance is more subtly distinct than other (PH)EVs and I like it.

    TL/DR; Model 3 is hot, but Clarity is nearly as tech-heavy/fun and half the price. Will be cancelling my Model 3 reservation.
     
  9. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    I think people might cross shop who are mainly interested in the Model 3 for efficiency/using less gas and as a family car. People interested in Model 3 for performance or using no gas probably won't cross shop.

    Both are fairly large sedans. Model 3 is 8" shorter, but interestingly has 5" longer wheelbase, but is a bit narrower than Clarity, 3" less rear seat hip room in the Tesla, making it a bit narrow for 3 across.

    With kids, I prefer 5 min gas stop to 35 min charge stop every 170 miles, but as long as I wasn't frequently driving more than say 400 miles I would definitely consider a Model 3.
     
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  10. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    Hey Domemic, it might plot your route but if you’re in the central or south US, that’s not much help since the Superchargers are few and far between. One day maybe, but not now.
    Even on a long trip, I don’t want to wait while my car charges, I’ll just gas up and go.

    And besides, most of us save money and time by mostly charging at home. Public pay charging is usually more expensive than gas. And let’s see...what could I do with $20,000. Hmmm
     
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  11. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    Much as I'm an advocate for BEVs, with the current state of the art I'd never take a road trip in one, not even a Tesla. I'd rent a gasmobile for the trip instead.

    As the EV revolution progresses, we'll see EV fast-charge times continue to get shorter and public chargers get more powerful, two trends we can already see. I think competition will continue to drive shorter and shorter fast-charging times until we get down to 10 minutes or less, at which point the difference in time between fast-charging a battery pack vs. filling a gas tank will hardly matter to the average person.

    But in the meantime, PHEVs will be more practical for families with just a single car.
    -
     
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  13. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    I agree with Ken - we do have superchargers here in Texas at fairly reliable distances, assuming they are unoccupied and operational at the time, and have 45 minutes to burn to get to 80% or 75 to 100%.

    Nope, I'll stick to the 7 minute stop at Exxon (including rest break)...
     
  14. Viking79

    Viking79 Well-Known Member

    Realistically, I would use a supercharger to charge from 20-80% in about 30 minutes. This is why the long range model 3 is important: having to wait for short range model could get really annoying. If you are topping off from 80 to 100% you are doing it wrong.
     
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  15. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    This is all true, but planning my car stops relative to my cars bladder than my own is an uncomfortable thought...
     
  16. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    Yeah, the rule of thumb quoted from actual Tesla drivers doing actual road trips is 30 minutes of charge at a Supercharger for 150 miles of range. When people cite average Supercharging times either less than or greater than this, they're just showing their bias, either pro-BEV or anti-BEV.

    Now, that's not to say you'll always be able to charge to 80% in 30 minutes. If you have to share a Supercharger with another car, it may take longer. But that is the average real-world time reported by actual Tesla drivers.
    -
     
  17. Get the Autopilot enabled on your Clarity over the air, among other things?
    (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
     
  18. Ken7

    Ken7 Active Member

    So we own both a Model S and a Clarity. I haven't driven a Model 3, but from everything I've heard, it drives very much like a Model S without some of the luxury.

    With that said, as much as we love our Clarity, I can only tell those that pooh pooh the 3, you really need to drive a Tesla to understand. The Clarity is really great, but trust me trust me trust me, it's not a Tesla.

    As for the range anxiety, as Domenick said, when you plug in a destination that exceeds your range, the Tesla will automatically show you the Superchargers along the way or route you to the nearest one if needed. I would couple a charging stop (they're completely free for us...very nice) with a restroom and/or food break. I tend to think that many of us drive too long without breaks and that's not the safest approach to long distance driving.

    I confess, I haven't done much long distance driving since getting our new Model S, but everyone that owns these cars say the range anxiety quickly goes away with your first long trip. Ironically, we'll be taking our longest drive in the Tesla tomorrow and Wednesday. Not sure if we'll need a Supercharger, but if we do, there are several along the route. Looking forward to it.

    For my wife and I the perfect solution is to have one all electric like the Tesla and another that's a hybrid, the Clarity. :)
     
  19. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    Yeah, as if Autopilot is working so well...:eek::rolleyes:
     
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  20. dstrauss

    dstrauss Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]
    Just couldn't resist Ken...
     
  21. Touché! :)
     
  22. AlanSqB

    AlanSqB Active Member

    Cancelled my reservation when I bought the Clarity. No regrets since.

    Tesla could have made the Model 3 simpler and cheaper, but they apparently just don’t know how. There were just enough reports of issues to make me decide to give them a few years to work out the bugs. It was painful as I’ve been a Tesla fan for a long time.
     
  23. LAF

    LAF Active Member

    Let me give you a real life example of my brother who has a model X. He came to visit for Thanksgiving on a 300 mile trip. He planned his stops to charge and thought it was going to work fine.

    Well there was a little more traffic than he anticipated and he was afraid to be late so he didn't want to wait the entire time to completely refill 80 miles from us as he planned. He made it in time but to our dismay (and I am sure his) he was afraid to give us a test drive because he was afraid he might not make it back to the charging station on the way home. I am happy to sacrifice cool factor and some pickup with my Clarity (which my friend likened it to riding in a monorail) to avoid this type of scenario.
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2018

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