I’ve been driving the 2025 Tesla Model 3 Long Range for almost a year, and while it looks sleek on paper, the real-life experience has been a letdown. On paper it’s futuristic; in practice it’s frustrating, sterile, and full of cut corners. ⸻ ⭐ What’s Good • Fast in a straight line. Instant EV torque is fun. • Supercharger network. Still the best for convenience. • Over-the-air updates. New features roll in automatically, even if some changes are pointless. • App controls. Climate control and Dog Mode are genuinely useful. That’s about where the good news ends. ⸻ ❌ What’s Bad Interior feels cheap. Tesla stripped out the wood trim and emblem, leaving a flat, plasticky cabin and one giant iPad. It doesn’t feel premium — more like a $20K rental car from the airport. Driving is loose and rattly. Steering is vague, cornering is sloppy, and the cabin rattles like a cheap piece of furniture. Poor insulation means you hear and feel every bump. Nothing about it feels like a refined $50K car. Air quality is awful. I constantly smell exhaust, smoke, and construction even in recirculation mode. My old BMW i3 had a HEPA filter that kept air clean — Tesla did not include one, and it shows. No stalks for turn signals. Tesla replaced them with haptic buttons on the wheel. When the wheel is rotated, you end up guessing which button is left or right. It’s distracting and unsafe. And now Tesla wants $350 to sell you stalks back. Minimalism is frustrating. Want wipers? Screen. Glovebox? Screen. No heads-up display, so you’re constantly glancing sideways at the iPad. It looks futuristic but in daily life it’s distracting, unintuitive, and even dangerous. No welcome lighting. Unlocking at night gives you a quick blink and then nothing. I once spent 30 seconds tugging at the wrong Tesla at a Supercharger because mine gave no clear indication it was mine. My i3 lit up with a purple glow — welcoming and unmistakable. Phantom drain is outrageous. Park the car for 2–3 days and you can lose 50–100 miles of range doing nothing. Sentry Mode alone burns ~20 miles/day. My i3 app had climate and lock controls without draining range. With Tesla, you either disable features or watch your battery bleed. Full Self-Driving almost killed me. Going 80 mph on the expressway, it made a reckless move that could have ended badly if I hadn’t taken over instantly. Thank God I was paying attention. Tesla’s warnings to keep your hands on the wheel aren’t for liability — they’re because the system will fail if you don’t. Nickel-and-diming. Tesla removes features (stalks, trim, lighting) and then sells them back as “upgrades.” Instead of getting better over time, the car feels stripped down. ⸻ 🎯 Bottom Line The Tesla Model 3 is quick and easy to charge, but everything else feels like a downgrade. The interior is cheap, the drive is sloppy, the ergonomics are frustrating, and the “tech” is more gimmick than refinement. I say this as someone who drove a BMW i3. That quirky little EV may have looked odd, but it was solid, smooth, and thoughtfully designed. By comparison, Tesla feels like it was made by tech bros who cared more about spreadsheets than real drivers. I miss my i3 every single day — and I cannot wait to hand this Tesla back when my lease is up.

2 Years in and no looking back. If you have a driveway and can install a charger, it is an even better experience to bypass gas stations completely.

I've had mine for almost 2,000 miles now, and its been great. It rides super smooth, and is super controlled over bumps. The turn signal stalks aren't that big of a deal. They work plenty fine for most every use case. Interior quality is much improved over the last generation. There is not a single piece of hard plastic in the interior. Infotainment is super snappy, and is a worthy replacement of CarPlay or Android Auto. Seats are comfortable, and their heat/ventilation works great. There are no creaks or rattles to speak of as well. Performance is plenty for what anyone will ever need. Tons of storage as well for a midsize sedan, especially since the frunk is there, as well as another section below the trunk floor for more stuff. Rear seat screen is very nice for rear passengers as they can control air, seat heating watch movies/videos, and play games. If you are interested, go demo drive one to see it for yourself!