Tesla's Model 3: Where Adjectives Fear To Tread
Tesla unveiled its first Model 3 on Friday and from the based upon the reaction in the wide open eyes and mouths of the professional motor press, Tesla has hit this one out of the park, or more accurately, out of the Milky Way.
"The Tesla Model 3 is here, and it is the most important vehicle of the century." Kim Reynolds writes, "The ride is Alfa Giulia (maybe even Quadrifoglio)-firm, and quickly, I'm carving Stunt Road like a Sochi Olympics giant slalomer, micrometering my swipes at the apexes... The Model 3 is so unexpected scalpel-like, I'm sputtering for adjectives."
"Have I ever driven a more startling small sedan? I haven't. At speed, it gains a laser-alertness I haven't encountered before. By happenstance, associate road test editor Erick Ayapana had penciled me into a 2.0-liter Alfa Romeo Giulia to get here, and it feels like a wet sponge by comparison."
"...once you open the Aston Martin-esque door handles with a push-pull motion and slip behind the wheel, it's clear the inside is where the real innovation lies. There are no visible vents. Just two minimalist stalks-a shifter on the right and turn-signal/windshield-washer controls on the left-sprout from the steering column, and a giant screen dominates the center of the cockpit. Behind the steering wheel is nothing but windshield. It's disorienting for the first few minutes and then you never notice it again. Let your worries about the lack of an instrument cluster fade away."
"It's definitely the most fun I've ever had driving a car in this price range... It's hard to stress how much of a step up this will be for most drivers in terms of pure driving experience: It's basically apples to oranges. So much so that based on that brief trial alone, it's likely my next vehicle purchase."
"I just drove the Tesla Model 3, and it changes everything - the entire world will want this car... [and] I've driven pretty much every other all-electric car you can buy, and I can safely say that the Model 3 has no competition. But it's more than that....The Model 3 stokes immediate desire, and the lust lingers. That truly changes everything."