My experience with the Tesla Model 3

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

Just picked it up on Wednesday. PPF went on Thursday. Winter tires going on today.

I don't really intend to turn this into an ICE vs EV thread. I'll post about my experience driving from Lethbridge to Revelstoke and answer any questions people have about driving, the car itself, and charging.

Stg2Suby · Dec 21, 2018

Great! What's a PPF? Any surprises with ICBC and getting it plated?

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

Delivery process.

I actually did not intend to buy this when I did but it started with a call to the insurance company because I heard some people getting sky high quotes. I was curious and maybe I'm getting old but the insurance rate was shockingly low. I called the Calgary dealer and they said just to go on the website and order it, put down the deposit, and if anything didn't work out they would just refund me. Went on the website and built it the way I wanted on Dec 3. My original delivery date was supposed to be Dec 17 but got pushed back a day because of the poor road conditions. The delivery team emailed, called, and text messaged me updates the whole way through. My appointment was at 4pm but I showed up an hour early and they were able to get me out the door before 3:30pm. The car was sitting in the show room with the new plate installed and ready to drive with 90% charge. The orientation for new owners would take about 45minutes.

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

Stg2Suby said:
Great! What's a PPF? Any surprises with ICBC and getting it plated?

Paint protection film. Just gives some protection from rock chips and scratches. I got the entire front end done. There is a package to wrap the entire car but its very spendy. I used TD insurance and got 5 year full replacement value and full glass.

NoBrakes! · Dec 21, 2018

How does the supercharger work? just pull up, plugin and go for lunch? I know there's one in Golden, I thought a hotel chain has them?

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

NoBrakes! said:
How does the supercharger work? just pull up, plugin and go for lunch? I know there's one in Golden, I thought a hotel chain has them?

There are 2 types of chargers. The best and fastest is the Superchargers. They can charge at up to 120KW. Superchargers are usually located within walking distance of restaurants and other services. So plug in, go eat, bathroom break, and continue your trip. 0-80% will be your fastest charging and the remaining 20% will taper off quite a bit. Empty to full could take about an hour depending on your packs size. Lots of times it's more efficient to charge for 25-30minutes to 80% and just keep driving than to wait an hour to get to 100%. The application on your phone will show you the battery percentage, time remaining, and also give you notifications as to when it will be done. The navigation system will tell you where and how long to charge to continue your trip but you can always charge extra if you want.

The other kind of charger is a destination charger at hotels, restaurants, and other businesses. These chargers have a charge rate of about 15KW (70km/h roughly). Pull into your hotel, plug in and charge while you sleep, and leave in the morning with a full charge.

There are also a ton of other third party chargers that can be accessed from PlugShare or Chargepoint. Some require adapters with the most common being j1772.

deaner · Dec 21, 2018

What is your first impression so far? Happy with the purchase? Any surprises good or bad?

skegpro · Dec 21, 2018

How are you billed at these chargers?

And is this your primary vehicle now?

Lund · Dec 21, 2018

Looking forward to driving one. Will be picking mine up on Sunday after getting off the ferry in Victoria. Will have it for almost a week.
A good opportunity to test it, will be driving to Mtn Washington for a ski trip.

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

deaner said:
What is your first impression so far? Happy with the purchase? Any surprises good or bad?

I did not test drive prior to purchase so I had already bought it before I drove it. (you can return within 3 days if you buy without a test drive) It basically felt like a smaller model S which is exactly what I wanted. The dash is crazy minimalistic and there are almost no physical buttons. The guy at the place I got my wrap done said he prefers the 3 over the S for the driving feel and better connection with the road and described it as a big electric go kart. After 400km I'm going to say I totally agree. I will be using chill mode as soon as the winter tires go on. Not regretting anything yet, ha ha.

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

skegpro said:
How are you billed at these chargers?

And is this your primary vehicle now?

I have 6months free charging but after that expires it would be roughly 10-15 dollars to charge.

Yes primary but still using the dodge for sledding duty.

52weekbreak · Dec 21, 2018

I am curious how the 3 comprares size-wise to another vehicle we see on the road alot. I looks to me to be about Mazda 3 size. Also curious about your normal usage patterns. When I was commuting, it was a 70 KM round trip for work and 99% of any deviation would only add about 10 to 20 K so range would not be an issue for me and it has always just been price and availability.

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

52weekbreak said:
I am curious how the 3 comprares size-wise to another vehicle we see on the road alot. I looks to me to be about Mazda 3 size. Also curious about your normal usage patterns. When I was commuting, it was a 70 KM round trip for work and 99% of any deviation would only add about 10 to 20 K so range would not be an issue for me and it has always just been price and availability.

Volkswagen jetta size (2012) except trunk is bigger and a frunk.

NoBrakes! · Dec 21, 2018

ludicrous mode?

arff · Dec 21, 2018

Are you installing a home charger ?

Is the X model similar for power etc.

Thanks

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

NoBrakes! said:
ludicrous mode?

Unfortunately no. A very slow 0-60 of 4.5 seconds. Even that feels a bit hard on tires.

jhurkot · Dec 21, 2018

arff said:
Are you installing a home charger ?

Is the X model similar for power etc.

Thanks

I’m using a 240v 30amp plug for home charging right now. Need to install a charger at my place in revy still. Charging off a 120v 12amp plug last night went very slowly. 40% to 60% overnight.
(100km of range). Model s/x are the same for charge rate. The 3 has slightly higher charge rate for home charging.

52weekbreak · Dec 21, 2018

jhurkot said:
Unfortunately no. A very slow 0-60 of 4.5 seconds. Even that feels a bit hard on tires.

Ram 1500 R/T is 5.4 seconds for zero to 60 so I would say that is probably adequate. Checked my car which meets my needs very handily and it is shown at 7.3. I checked a few cars that I have driven that I thought were very good and 6 seconds seems pretty fast to my a*ss. Aren't that many vehicles that run faster than 4.5 thta cost less than $100K

Check your ride at https://www.zeroto60times.com/browse-by-make/

catalac · Dec 21, 2018

How much Canadian all in for a 3?

X-it · Dec 21, 2018

jhurkot said:
Unfortunately no. A very slow 0-60 of 4.5 seconds. Even that feels a bit hard on tires.

My sons car seemed to accelerate a lot faster than that, but then again i was not timing it.

My experience with the Tesla Model 3

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