Uh, no. No car is perfect! Let me outline specific things about my car that leave room for improvement.
- The frunk latch – when closing the frunk/hood you need to apply a fair amount of force in just the right location to avoid denting the hood. With most cars, you simply let the hood drop from a certain height and it latches in with a nice ‘thunk’. Not so with the Model 3. Push down with hands placed strategically to the left and right of the Tesla emblem and it might latch on the first, second or third push. This is annoying, but it is what it is.
- I’m 6’2″ so my driver’s seat is fairly far back in the track. With my driver seat in the proper position, the back of my seat crunches the headrest of the rear seat when it’s lowered to make room for large items. This could have been remedied with a removable headrest for the rear seats. But as it is, I just need to be a little uncomfortable when that back seat is folded down. I’m OK with that, but think this could/should have been resolved in the initial design.
- Floor mats, mud flats, swivel mount for the center screen, center console organizers, potential water intrusion into the ventilation system – these are all items that have been resolved with 3rd-party accessories for minimal cost.
When comparing this car with all my previous cars, this list is nothing. Tesla builds a great car that just works really well, and most people could drive it off the lot then for another 5 years without doing anything to the car – just drive and enjoy. I’m not that person. I need to file the rough edges until it’s perfect for me, and realistically the frunk and rear seat things are just Tesla idiosyncrasies, and I can live with that. My Prius had its share of annoying traits I learned to live with as well, yet I still view my 2017 Prius Prime as an ‘almost’ perfect car (for me). Turns out, with the Prius Prime redesign for 2024, the Prime is now even more perfect! Check it out: https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/
PS – There is one major defect with the Tesla Model 3 (and the Model Y as well) and that’s the vulnerability of this poorly protected, plastic coolant connector:
Run over some road debris and you’ll get a repair quote from Tesla in the neighborhood of $18,000+ to replace your battery because Tesla has no repair procedure to simply replace the connector. Here’s a link to Reddit for more information if you’re interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/17kwoai/coolant_line_damage_new_battery/
Today, I’m having a pair of aluminum aftermarket skid plates installed on my Model 3 to help prevent this sort of damage from occurring in the future (video). I recommend you consider doing the same since it might just save your bacon (and a lot of money) some day.