2020 Tesla Model 3 SR+ Owner Review

Tesla Model 3 SR+ 2020 - title image

Tesla Model 3

SR+ 2020

9.2/10not logged21 votes

One year ownership: still love the car & every drive

Took scraping all our money together, but don't regret it for a moment.

30 Jun 2021

Tesla Model 3 Pros and Cons

Pros:
  • Auto-pilot & FSD: maybe not level 5 and all, but impressive (and i think it's the best in the market), improving all the time, and makes for much more relaxed highway drives!

  • Tesla Super Charger network and the way planning a route in the Tesla takes care of any needed charges, what chargers to visit etc. When you have used public non-Tesla chargers, searching for where they actually are, praying they will work etc, you'll even more appreciate a Tesla and the Tesla charger network.

  • Frequent Over-The-Air updates, improvements etc

  • Compared to gasoline cars, all pro's of most EVs: being able to charge at home/during the night/from solar, acceleration, the car being better for the environment than a comparable gasoline car, one-pedal regenerative driving, low in maintenance etc

  • Keyless entry and the ability to add everyone with a smartphone to use that as a key. And them being able to unlock your car from a distance (great in case you for some reason are unable to get into the car ... not that that ever happened to us ;-))

  • The app, it's possibilities, pre-cooling/-heating the car, scheduling an appointment with a mobile service engineer etc.

  • High safety rating

  • User profiles (remembering your seat position, steering wheel, driving options etc) and it activating your profile when you get in

  • Great seats & sound system

  • The screen and it's usage as entertainment system for for instance watching some Netflix while charging at a SuperCharger

  • Sentry (security) mode and the dash cam

  • Love being able to just 'put it in park, get out and walk away' > the car will shut down the stereo, close any windows, no need to shut down the engine etc

  • Glass roof

  • The minimalist interior did take a little getting used to, but now love it

Cons:
  • Compared to gasoline cars, all cons of most EVs: range drops significantly when it's very cold, less range, if you need to charge during your trip it takes more time than to fill up a gasoline care (but when you're having a coffee and a visit to the toilet you hardly notice)

  • Read paint quality on the cars was not up to highest standards yet, so decided to add a glass/nano/ceramic coating

  • Autopilot and FSD confusing names for what they currently offer (i can imagine some people expecting more ... we personally love what the system already can do)

Considered buying

Hyundai Kona Electric

example image of Hyundai Kona Electric

The Attractions:

Sitting higher, SUV-like

The Dealbreakers:

In the end the price difference with the Tesla was too small for us to not choose a Tesla

Owner Review

One year ownership: still love the car & every drive

Buying the Tesla for us was because we wanted to drive an EV as that is better for the environment. It took us to really save on other stuff,saving up money etc. Most expensive car we ever bought. We did opt to also add the FSD option (yes, more money ;-)).

My wife initially told friends we bought it 'because he likes it'. Not a lie, but very soon, she started to like it as much as i did.

For now, we find every drive a pleasure. In our small country, driving 180 km one way is a long drive, but in the Tesla, we totally enjoy it (compared to driving the same route in a different car). We have already on a road trip to Berlin and Portugal (over 5.000 km), both of which were great, not the least due to the Tesla driver assist (AutoPilot, FSD) which takes care of keeping the right speed, distance and in between the lines on the highway.

We heard about people with problems with their Tesla or the service by Tesla, but we haven't had any problem: better, the 2 times we needed service (shortly after delivery: a safety belt in the back was 'burried' in the seat, and one of the back lights kept building up water/fog), it was a great experience.

When we look around on our drives at other cars, we don't want to swap with any of them, maybe except a long range model 3, a model Y or a model X ;-). And when we had to drive a loaner car for a week, one on petrol, we REALLY missed the Tesla.

We recommend a Tesla to everyone, and would buy another one if we had to choose again at this moment.

Long-term average consumption

Long-term average consumption: 130 Wh/km

See Tech Specs - Tesla Model 3

Tesla Model 3 Photos

Tesla Model 3 - Image 1 from the photo gallery

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