First of all, in terms of performance, the new Model 3 has a CLTC battery life of 352 miles, and can go from 0 - 60 mph in 6.1 seconds; the long-range version has a battery life of 443 miles, and can go from 0 - 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.
Let’s take a look at the new design of the new Model 3
New Exterior, New Interior
If the old Model 3’s keyword was “roundness”, then the new car adds some sharpness to this roundness.
The new Model 3 has a simpler front bumper, with more aggressive matrix-style wing lights, and gold accents inside. The fog lights that used to be at the bottom have disappeared, and only a curved line passes by, outlining the air intake below. The sharp design brings lower air resistance, according to Tesla’s official statement, the new model’s body drag is only 0.22.
The new color scheme is also a highlight of the new Model 3. Tesla offers two new color options for the new Model 3, namely flame red and starry gray.
▲ The two new color schemes are shown in real cars
On the side, you will find that the only difference is the wheels. The new Model 3 offers two wheel styles to choose from, one is the standard 18-inch photon wheels; the other is the 19-inch nova wheels that require an extra purchase.
▲ 19-inch nova wheels
The rear is also a good angle to identify the new car, the slender curved red line follows the change of the headlights, and the bottom also uses a more flamboyant diffuser. Interestingly, Tesla has changed the tail logo design, and the original LOGO has been replaced by the letter style “TESLA”.
In addition to the exterior changes, the biggest change is also in the interior.
Entering the car, at first glance, it still has that familiar feeling, but after a closer look, everything becomes a little different.
The new dashboard integrates the original three independent components into one whole component, without a doubt, this is a smart cost-cutting measure. The new gray trim replaces the original wooden trim, and Tesla also adds multi-color ambient lighting for the new wrap-around cockpit, which can be considered an “epic update” for a bare-bones room.
The door panel shape also changes, and the trim on the dashboard no longer extends to the sides. And in terms of materials, Tesla uses a new fabric to replace the Alcantara on the door panel. At the same time, the new Model 3 cancels the original physical door switch button and replaces it with the pressure-sensitive touch button on the current Model S/X.
However, no matter what kind of changes are made in the design, they are actually “small and trivial”. The real earth-shaking change is the interaction of the Model 3.
Now, you don’t have to use the gear lever to control the forward and backward movement of the Model 3. Tesla puts it on the center screen next to your hand. Just swipe your finger lightly, swipe up to go forward, and swipe down to go backward. What? What if the screen goes black and crashes? Don’t be afraid, there are touch buttons under the screen.
Tesla believes that shifting gears is not a frequent operation. Think about it, will you shift gears while driving? Obviously not, you only use it when starting or turning around on a narrow road. It can be foreseen that Tesla will also make the Model 3 automatically shift gears by recognizing the surrounding environment in the near future.
Tesla wants to get rid of not the gear lever, but the gear shifting itself.
Now look at the other side, Tesla also removed the turn signal lever, and integrated the turn signal, horn and other buttons into the steering wheel, in the form of pressure-sensitive buttons. In addition, the style of the steering wheel has also changed. The new Model 3 uses the same steering wheel as the Cybertruck that was exposed before.
For such a design, Dongchehui once invited several guests with different driving experience and different perceptions of driving to experience it. The result was that most of them got used to the pressure-sensitive buttons within 25 minutes. Of course, whether such a design is easy to use still needs to be verified by time.
Not only what you can see in front of you, but also the seat under your butt has changed. The new front seats of the Model 3 are wrapped in perforated leather, and the fan at the bottom of the seat cools the seat by sucking air. Well, people in Guangdong must like this change. And in the back row, Tesla added an 8-inch center screen, which supports entertainment software and vehicle functions.
▲ Rear smart entertainment device
To improve the riding experience of the Model 3, Tesla has made efforts to improve the quietness. The new Model 3 adopts a new sealing system, upgrades the sound insulation material, and installs double-layer acoustic glass on the front and rear windows, further reducing the driving noise.
From the design style and riding experience upgrade of the entire interior, the new Model 3 follows the footsteps of the big brother Model S. To some extent, the new Model 3 is like a small Model S.
Since it is a generation change after 6 years, there must be some progress in the invisible places.
The new Model 3 Refresh version uses a 66kWh battery, and the CLTC battery life is increased from 556 kilometers to 567 kilometers; the long-range Refresh version is speculated to use the M3P lithium iron phosphate battery produced by CATL, which can support 4.4 seconds of acceleration performance while also providing more than 680 kilometers of battery life. Another thing worth mentioning is that this may be the first appearance of CATL’s lithium iron phosphate battery.
From the name of this battery, we can see its chemical composition, which is composed of three metal elements (M3) and phosphorus (P). The three metals are manganese, zinc, and aluminum, which means that M3P is still a ternary battery, but it also belongs to the phosphate system.
Like the new Model S/X that went on sale this year, Tesla removed all sensors on the Model 3 and only used X cameras throughout the car to achieve the Tesla Vision assisted driving solution. Do you remember the radar that came out on the front of the new Model 3? It replaced the front millimeter wave radar.
In terms of intelligent driving, unlike the HW 3.5 hardware that was rumored by the outside world, the new Model 3 still followed the pace of Model Y and carried Tesla’s latest intelligent driving hardware HW 4.0. The loading of new components also means an increase in cost. The price increase of the new Model 3 may be related to it.
The ultimate cost reduction, Slightly surprising price
Apart from the technical trend, in fact, removing the millimeter wave radar, integrating the dashboard components, removing the physical gear lever, and using new interior fabrics, these changes all point to two words: cost reduction.
As a well-known “cost reduction master” in the industry, Tesla has never given up any opportunity to reduce costs.
Tesla’s former chief financial officer Zach Kirkhorn once revealed to the outside world that since the official release of Model 3 in 2017, Tesla has been improving the process to reduce manufacturing costs. As of early 2023, Model 3’s electric drive unit has reduced its weight by 20%, and the center screen has also successfully reduced its weight by 12%. Its energy consumption has also been reduced by 33%, and the cumulative cost reduction has exceeded 30%.
However, unexpectedly, the price of the new Model 3 did not come to the level we expected.
The biggest significance of the new Model 3 is that Tesla has covered more models with its new car interaction design.
In the past, if you wanted a new interaction, you could only buy Model S/X. But now things are different. Tesla brought their new interaction to this Model 3. It doesn’t matter if you can’t reach Model S/X, you can also feel the infinite possibilities on Model 3. Automatic turn signals, automatic gear shifting, and even automatic driving, Tesla’s vision has taken a step further on this Model 3.
