Nikhil reviews the Tesla Model 3 Performance: 450 hp, 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, quarter mile in 12.1 seconds at 114 mph. The instant torque and nimble handling impress, but he finds the driving experience soulless despite the speed. Priced at $62,000, or $54,000 after rebates.
Questions this video answers
Approximately 450 horsepower.
About 471 pound-feet of torque.
Around 4,100 pounds.
3.3 seconds.
12.1 seconds at 114 miles per hour.
Chapters
There comes a point in every man's life where he must forego everything he's believed in and drive a Tesla. This is the Tesla Model 3 Performance. I wanted to start small, take some baby steps because I couldn't risk breaking my neck just yet with a P100D. But this car is still no joke. Even though it's powered completely by magic, it rarely for 450 horsepower and 471 pound feet of torque, that's almost as much as a C7 Corvette. But this thing weighs almost 4,100 pounds, so it is a bit heavy for its class. The neat thing about electric motors though is that they produce instantaneous torque and a boatload of it. It's a bit bizarre though. There's no exhaust noise, no supercharger whine, no turbo spooling, just gentle whirl and a violent thrust that propels you from 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds into the quarter mile in 12.1 at 114 miles per hour. That's mostly thanks to its dual motor all wheel drive system. Elon says this car will outrun the BMW M3. It's a tall claim. Might have to find out how that turns out in my performance tests. We'll put it through the 4100 and see how it does. But for now, let's just go see what this thing's all about. And boy is it enjoyable. There's a certain bliss in driving along in complete silence and knowing that at any given moment, if John pulls up with his Ford Focus rs, I'll smoke him with the mash of a pedal. This car also has the optional Autopilot, but I'm not ready to trust my life to robots. I did try a few times and honestly it freaked me out. So I don't think I'm ready for the future. Not just yet. As far as corners go, it tackles them surprisingly well. For a car that weighs so much, it's pretty nimble for its weight. I'd say it's on par with the Lexus GS F, but with a bit more body roll. The steering feel is great because it's direct, so the input is almost instantaneous if you want to have some fun. There's also a track mode where you can send more power to the rear wheels for some oversteer characteristics. And it's definitely more confident than my BMW 535. I wish I could take this thing to the track and set a lap time. They say the Model 3 won't overheat like the P100D does after a few laps. The ride is also pretty compliant, especially considering these low profile tires and how well it handles. I wouldn't mind going on a road trip with this car, especially if it's me driving itself half the time. So the interesting thing here is that this car has no gears, it's not a cvt, it's not a dual clutch system, and there are no paddles. This thing is a one speed automatic. It's a direct drive system. And while that might work well for most situations, the acceleration suffers at high speeds because of feels a lot like a go kart. And I'm sure it's pretty efficient, but I don't think I'll be giving it my conventional gearbox anytime soon. And then things get even weirder. There's no dashboard, no buttons, and the gear lever is mounted on the steering column. Plus the car key is actually your smartphone. Everything is controlled on this giant tablet that's mounted in the center. Your climate controls, driving modes, navigation, and even the dashboard gets built in here. They definitely need to put a heads up display in the performance model though. Nobody wants to be looking away at their speed at 100 miles per hour. But aside from that, I don't have much to complain about. The seats are not bad, not the best I've been in, but good enough for daily driving and a little bit of fun. Once you get used to how undistracting this interior is, the simplicity starts to grow on you. On a side note, rumor has it though that the car won't be at peak performance if the batteries are under a certain level. Now, I can't remember if this was 50% or 80%, but that's what I heard. And I can't confirm it either. But after a long day of driving, I felt like the car didn't launch as hard. So I guess you just have to make sure you're fully charged before you go out and race anybody. But that shouldn't be a problem. Tesla's network of superchargers is becoming pretty vast and they can get you up to full charge in a little over an hour. So I wouldn't be too worried about that. The one downside though, is that they no longer offer lifetime supercharging. Now you have to pay for it. Still cheaper than gas, but kind of sucks, huh? You know, I'm actually really impressed with the Model 3. These electric cars are the future and Tesla has been leading the charge, no pun intended. And as of today, this car costs $62,000. But after rebates and savings. It comes out at 54 grand. 54 grand. That's cheaper than the BMW M3, the ATS V, the C63 and the RS5. And yet it'll probably outrun most of those cars. Tesla really outdid themselves in this one. Fast, all wheel drive, eco friendly. Plus it's not a bad looking car either. It can even drive itself and park itself. But there is one problem. It lacks excitement. Sure, you get the thrill of jaw dropping acceleration, but it's soulless. It's sort of like making love to someone who's quite good at it, but they're silent the whole time. And then there's one more thing. Since this is a channel focused on performance, I have to say that if you want to make this car any faster, you won't be able to. The only way involves weight reduction. Or you have to hope that Tesla comes out with a software update that improves performance. In any case, the days of combustion engines are numbered. Tesla started a revolution here and the Model 3 made it all affordable. And no, I haven't lost my mind. I'll still take a C63AMG over the Model 3. But if you already have a loud, fun and rambunctious sports car, the Tesla Model 3 performance would make the perfect addition as a daily driver. So on that note, I think it's time to go find out how fast this thing is. So stay tuned. In the meantime, give this video a thumbs up, leave me a comment below, and if you're new to the channel, hit that subscribe button for new content every Thursday. And special thanks to Nikhil for letting me review his Tesla. And thank you all for watching. I don't know, I feel like. I feel like I'm driving a phone. Music. Wow. There's even Internet. There's a browser. Did you know there's a browser in this thing? Like you can surf the web, like that's crazy. Wonder if I can watch it.
