It doesn't mean it doesn't handle well. You just feel the weight as it pulverizes the road with all that torque. It's the new American muscle car.

 

Can you buy gas at a GM dealer? When they service your car do they put gas in it? Maybe but they have to go to a gas station.

 

I read somewhere that the Performance version is softly sprung, but very firmly damped - not much float for high speed body control; though rapid vertical oscillation of a firmly damped vehicle gives a more tiring ride.

The higher the mass, the greater the inertia to resist change in direction, hence the slower the turn-in, in other words the slower the speed of change in direction.
However, the battery pack's lower Center of Gravity reduces body roll, to reduce weight transfer to the outside wheels, to maximize grip on all four wheels, hence more terminal grip.

Thus, would you say that Model 3 is slowish to turn-in/change directions, but once changed directions, it has a high level of terminal grip/cornering velocity on the skidpan/around the curve?

 

Virtually every new-car dealer I've seen in the D.C. area has gas pumps of their own. It's true that customers don't usually gas up there, but installing a simple charger, for the dealership, is much simpler and easier than a gas pump, which needs an underground tank for storage, electric hook-ups to manage/regulate it, and numerous safety devices. Vehicle-chargers, of course, also require safety-devices, but they are usually of a less-expensive and less-complex nature than for gas pumps.

 

Interesting I don't think I've ever seen that, at a shop that sells and services heavy trucks yes. But I'm a bit confused now you're saying electric charging is easier and cheaper than petrol?

 

It has an extremely aggressive steering rack so initial turn in is extremely fast. Transition from one corner to the next in canyon carving feels a little unsettling due to the weight. It should be stiffer for that type of driving. An adaptive suspension could have really helped it out. Weight transfer during aggressive driving is the weak point of the car due to the weight. The reason it gets great track times is the acceleration out of corners. It just rockets out of them.

 

No. I'm saying that it is (usually) cheaper to install a simple charger than a gas-pump/tank assembly, which needs a lot more hardware and plumbing. A good electrician could do it probably in an hour or so. In fact, one of our Car Chat members (I think it was Hameed, if my memory is right) built a charger in his own garage for his Tesla. Did most of the work himself.....all that was needed was an electrician's formal inspection and sign-off. No reason, IMO, why Tesla dealerships couldn't have more of them.

Now, don't get me wrong, Electricity obviously isn't free...nor is the labor needed to installing certify the chargers. But, if he or she is not actually getting service there, the dealership could simply charge X number of dollars to each customer for a recharge....they'd probably make a profit doing so.

 

I simply don't see why you'd use the word incredulous when bringing up that anyone at all visiting a Tesla showroom can't charge their car up, and at the same time almost no one can go to a car dealer and gas up, or would even think of doing so. Can you gas up your car at home? Nope. Can you gas up your car in a parking lot? Nope. Can you gas up your car on the side of the street? Nope. But you can't go to Tesla just to charge your car, that's incredulous. Hmmmm.

 

Nah. The dealer chargers are too slow. They usually aren't the Super Charger variety which are expensive to install. A typical Tesla Wall charger will not you 40 miles every hour of charge (dealer). The Super Charger gives you 280 miles per hour.

 

Unless I missed it, I haven't heard of any dissatisfaction among Tesla owners over the fact they can't get their cars charged at a sales or service facility. I doubt that it is an issue at all..

 

I saw wall chargers for the Tesla's in service when I picked up my car during delivery. It's been rock solid without a single rattle in the cabin. I don't see what the fuss is for charging. Took a trip to LA from San Diego and was able to find a charger there easily. 30 min later, full charge and home I went. Total travelled miles was 250. Total cost was $10. I also have a total lead foot and don't think I had a single car pass me. If you want to speed on the cheap, the Performance model is so damn good.

 

I understand very well what you are saying. My point of view, though, is that it's apples and oranges. Gas stations are a dime a dozen, especially in my area. High-speed charging outlets aren't. You can usually get gas anywhere, especially if you are willing to settle for less than a Tier-1 brand. Of course, it can also be argued (and I also agree with this view) that one should not buy or lease a Tesla or other BEV in the first place if a good charger is not readily available.

 

You tend to focus in on what you perceive as negatives for Tesla and discount or don't even consider the positives. In my view the fact you can "fuel up" your BEV at home removes any advantage for the ICE car especially since 99% of all trips per day are 100 miles or less and most of those are between home some other destination and back. And there is the fact a Tesla goes ~240 miles using the same energy as 2 gallons of gasoline. Now if you need to go on long trips and never have to worry about fueling up then yes a petrol burner has the advantage. Which should not be even slightly surprising since petrol cars have been around en masse longer than most of us have been alive.

 

This makes a lot of sense. Most Tesla owners I have met usually have a petrol burning car as well. The only real concern right now for a EV is a long trip.

 

In other words, the Model 3's steering ratio is very high [nee quick].
Model 3 is a heavy vehicle with great inertia.
Like you have experienced, I also read somewhere that the Performance trim was relatively softly sprung, hence lots of weight transfer.
I read somewhere that the dampers of the Performance trim was relatively firm [with high frequency vertical oscillations] to minimize float at high speeds - hence a tiring ride, and they suggested a simple set of electronically controlled variable valve dampers would improve the ride by softening the damping for more comfortable low frequency [nee slower] vertical oscillations.