What's happening YouTube, Josh Teder here for 6 Months Later and this
weekend I don't have my Model 3 with me but instead I have a Model S 100D
and I thought I'd share my thoughts with you on coming from driving the Model 3
for about two weeks to driving a Model S for the weekend. Now the first
thing I noticed when I got inside the Model S was actually how complex it felt,
which just felt kind of odd. You get so used to having such a sparse and simple
interior with the 3 that when you get into something like even a Model S,
it just seems a bit overwhelming with all the screens, the buttons, the extra
stalks. I'm sure this would be way worse going from a Model 3 to something
like a BMW 3-series, considering that the Model S is still a pretty simple car
compared to a lot of other cars out there. Now I think it's pretty clear
where Tesla is going with its design language for future cars. Simplicity is
going to be king for all future Tesla cars based on what they have done with
the Model 3. Now after living with the Model 3 for a while, I also realized that
I really missed the long slit vent when driving the 3. The ability to shoot
air through the steering wheel at your face or just to the sides of your face is
actually a very underrated feature in my opinion for the Model 3.
I really missed that when driving the Model S. Now the Model 3's interior
overall I thought was actually a bit nicer than the Model S's. The Model S has
a weird cup holder placement issue, there's no door pockets, no coat hooks, no
vanity mirror lights. I thought the seats in the Model 3 were
also just slightly more comfortable than the S's and the 3's design just
seems more ergonomic overall than the Model S's. Now that's not to say the
Model S's interior is bad by any sense, because it's not. It is still really good.
I just prefer the Model 3's just slightly more than the Model S.
The Model 3 also has more headroom than the Model S. The Model S I had had the
panoramic sunroof, so not sure about headroom with the all glass roof. I would
imagine the all glass roof has a little bit better headroom. The Model S's rear
visibility is also worse than the Model 3's and the Model 3's front visibility
out the windshield is also better, probably due to the angle of the
windshield in the Model S and how it slants. Now while the Model S does have
two screens, I didn't really think it added all that much more to the driving
experience. I did like how the navigation directions do show up on the screen
behind the steering wheel, but other than that, I didn't really wish that the Model
3 had a secondary screen. It's probably because I've just become so used to
having just the one screen experience, I didn't really think that having that
additional screen added that much more to the overall driving experience. Now
the last thing about the Model S's interior I found a bit lacking was
actually the sound system. I had an S outfitted with the premium sound system
and I thought the Model 3's was actually a bit better. You can definitely hear
more detail in the music through the Model 3's and I also thought the bass was
overall better in the 3. If you're not an audiophile or someone who really likes
high quality speakers and sound, you probably wouldn't notice that much of a
difference between the two. But, if you are an audiophile or someone who likes
really nice high-end speakers you would definitely notice a difference. Now one
thing about the S that I do like better than the 3 is the door handles. I
think the 3's door handles are fine but they are harder for most people to
open then with the Model S's which just pop out and it's like a regular car door
handle. I also wish the Model 3 had bio
weapons defense mode because one, what a name, like who wouldn't want a bio
weapons defense mode in their car. The more important reason though is that the
bio weapons defense mode will actually clean the car's air inside the cabin and
it's just really great for getting rid of smells out of the car's interior like
if you're driving near a swamp or a paper mill. Now another thing that I wish
the Model 3 had that the Model S has is the power liftgate for the hatch at the
back of the car. I love how you can double press the key
fob and the hatch opens up. Double press it again and the hatch closes. I really
wish the Model 3 had this feature for its trunk. Now while cute, I don't think
that having a key fob in the shape of your car is really a necessity. I found
that just using my smartphone as a key worked really well for the Model 3 and I
always have my phone in my pocket anyway, so it makes it pretty effortless getting
in and out of the Model 3. Now the Model S drives very similar to the Model 3. It
is bigger and it's a heavier car so it doesn't feel as sporty as the 3 though
the Model S's acceleration feels more gut punchy, the 3's acceleration does
feel a little bit faster weirdly than the S's. I would assume it's because
you're sitting farther forward in the Model 3
and the Model 3 does feel a bit smaller and more nimble than the S, so that may
be why. I had several other passengers who have now ridden in both.
They also commented that they thought the Model 3 just felt just as fast as
the Model S 100D. Now the Model 3 also doesn't have the motor whine that the S
does when you're accelerating hard. This is probably due to the fact that the
cars don't share the same motor design. The model 3 does have a permanent magnet
motor in it, where the S does not. The S actually has a more expensive type
of electric motor. Now the S with dual motors has great handling and a low
center of gravity. The regen is also pretty similar to the Model 3, though I
felt that the 3's regen was a bit stronger than the Model S's which I know
some people have actually said the opposite, which I'm not quite sure why.
When letting my foot off the accelerator pedal in the S, it definitely did not
slow down as much as the Model 3 does, and that's probably due to the fact that
the Model S is a larger sized car and has substantially more weight than the
Model 3. Now another thing I really liked about the Model S was the air suspension.
I can't really tell if I prefer it over the coil suspension on the Model 3,
because I do actually like the sportier feel of that suspension, but at this
point I'd be happy with either choice. I do think it's really cool that the Model
S can lower itself when going faster to increase its
aerodynamic efficiency and it can also raise itself to not scrape the bottom of
the car on a steep driveway and then remember that location where it did that.
So in the future when you go to that same driveway, it'll automatically raise
itself again. Overall, I loved driving the Model S for the past few days. One thing
that I found surprising was the Model S I have costs almost double what my Model 3
does. Now I think it's pretty obvious that Tesla is not afraid to cannibalize
Model S sales with how they designed the Model 3. The Model S is truly a great car,
don't get me wrong. I think anybody would be happy with owning one, but I don't
think there's any doubt in my mind which one I'd go with especially when you
consider the cost of both cars and all of their options. Now maybe it'll be a
harder decision when the Model S gets a complete refresh, but right now
if I had to decide between the two I'd of course choose the Model 3. You're
getting about 90% of everything in the Model S at half the cost.
So those are my impressions of driving a Model 3 for two weeks and then driving a
Model S 100d for the weekend. Thanks so much for watching this video, if you like
this video, please make sure to give us a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel
if you'd like to see more Tesla videos like this one. Until next time, I'm Josh
Teder for 6 Months Later.