Anyone else driven a Tesla 3?

I went to Ireland at the weekend and hired a Tesla 3 - and I actually missed my Trophy.

Aesthetically, I much preferred the Tesla's interior and it seemed to be far more superior, but the drive was a lot less comfortable and not as 'fun', particularly on country roads, but also on the motorways. It was a lot bumpier and the suspension didn't seem as good compared to the Mg4.

The infotainment was also much worse to navigate, particularly when on the move - I'm not sure whether that was because I only had two days to play around with it, but it was quite a bit more complicated all the same and wouldn't really see that changing. Add to that the absence of CarPlay and I'm glad I made the choice to go with the MG4.

Has anyone else tried one out? What were you thoughts?

We had a Model 3 Performance as a free courtesy car from the dealer when our ordered Ioniq 5 was delayed massively. So we drove the Model 3 as our family car for half a year.

I found it surprisingly roomy, we got two large children's push chairs in the back although it is a sedan. The ride is hard, I can confirm that. When we went on holiday to Italy we still had the Model 3, but our Ioniq 5 had also been delivered. Because of the harsh ride we chose to drive the Hyundai to Italy although the Tesla Supercharger network would have been nice to have.

Other than that the Model 3 is a magnificent vehicle and many times I have wondered if it was a good choice to buy the Hyundai. The only real issue I have is the glass roof without shades. "Our" Model 3 was black and the Tesla App showed inside temperatures of over 70°C when parked.

That said, the infrastructure and user experience is years ahead of the competition. Anyone who rode it was thrilled.

Forgot to add about the glass roof. It was like a greenhouse at times.

I can't comment on the MG4 in terms of ride. I have sat in one and played with the menus. I did have one on order but the waiting time was getting too long, I was getting impatient and a used Tesla M3 Long range for a bit less then I was going to pay for a trophy was a no brainer for me.
The performance, the tech and the interior is on a complete other level to the MG4, not to mention you get access to the super charger network and you don't get all the bugs/issues the MG has. The screen takes getting used to but after a week I can fly through the menus and do everything I need to +plus voices commands are surpisingly good if you don't want to touch the screen while moving. I love the glass roof and so does the family, kid (2) is always pointing out the birds/clouds/bridges etc . I've gone from a Skoda Octavia VRS to a Gold R to the Tesla and the Tesla is easily the most quiet and comfy and the fastest of course .
It's not really fair comparing the two imo as MG4 is a budget EV with Telsa being established mid to high end.

I had a model 3 SR+ for four years before getting my Trophy. The only thing I really miss is autopilot on the motorway. Other than that, the MG4 pretty much does all the essentials just as well or better and can do a few things on top (carplay and V2L). It has more range than the 2019 SR+ and charges just as fast (lower peak charge but sustains higher charge rate for longer).

Liambobson, agree about the tech inside, as I stated, but considering both the MG4 and Tesla are at different entry levels, I'm surprised at how well the Trophy drives in comparison. If only they could sort out a few things to do with how buggy it is.

Unless I was missing something, I was surprised at how I was unable to set the speed limiter with ease. Speed limits changed quite frequently when driving and it would've been good to have been able to change the limit in accordance to these at ease, particularly when using kilometres.

Derek25 said:

I had a model 3 SR+ for four years before getting my Trophy. The only thing I really miss is autopilot on the motorway. Other than that, the MG4 pretty much does all the essentials just as well or better and can do a few things on top (carplay and V2L). It has more range than the 2019 SR+ and charges just as fast (lower peak charge but sustains higher charge rate for longer).

Click to expand...

Probably explains my speed limiter question re autopilot!

liambobson said:

I can't comment on the MG4 in terms of ride. I have sat in one and played with the menus. I did have one on order but the waiting time was getting too long, I was getting impatient and a used Tesla M3 Long range for a bit less then I was going to pay for a trophy was a no brainer for me.
The performance, the tech and the interior is on a complete other level to the MG4, not to mention you get access to the super charger network and you don't get all the bugs/issues the MG has. The screen takes getting used to but after a week I can fly through the menus and do everything I need to +plus voices commands are surpisingly good if you don't want to touch the screen while moving. I love the glass roof and so does the family, kid (2) is always pointing out the birds/clouds/bridges etc . I've gone from a Skoda Octavia VRS to a Gold R to the Tesla and the Tesla is easily the most quiet and comfy and the fastest of course .
It's not really fair comparing the two imo as MG4 is a budget EV with Telsa being established mid to high end.

Click to expand...

I think the comparison is fair as there are markets where the M3 is allegedly cheaper than the trophy.
IMO anyone still choosing an MG in that scenario is stark raving mad.

But you would say that over a pushbike with your personal bad luck experience

stevegus said:

But you would say that over a pushbike with your personal bad luck experience

Click to expand...

I’ve no problems with my born, but for equal money I’d take the Tesla all day long.
Shame Tesla PCP is weird.

I found the Tesla Model 3 Long Range's ride very hard, and harsh to the point of being unacceptable. The way the cars are manufactured, with the interior lowered through the roof aperture means you cannot buy one without a panoramic greenhouse roof since they all have one. There is no shade, the roof does not open.

The MG4 rides far, far better than the Tesla I drove on every surface. Interestingly there is no trade-off in handling terms, with great cornering and high levels of grip. The MG4 is easier to place on the road, easier to park and offers the security and protection and all-weather comfort of a proper steel roof. The MG4 provides a superior car at an excellent price. No contest, for me anyway.

wolf said:

I found the Tesla's ride very hard, harsh to the point of being unacceptable. The way the cars are manufactured with the interior lowered through the roof aperture means you cannot buy one without a panoramic greenhouse roof. There is no shade, it does not open.

The MG4 rides far better than the Tesla on every surface. Interestingly there is no trade off in handling terms with great cornering and high levels of grip. The MG4 is easier to place on the road, easier to park and offers the security and protection of a proper steel roof. The MG4 offers a superior car at a very good price. No contest for me anyway.

Click to expand...

I agree with some of the points re easier to park etc, the ride is slightly firmer but it's a big car with a lot more power to keep planted on the road. Having driven both it's not a contest in terms of driving them the Tesla would leave the MG4 for dead on pretty much any road type.

And are you seriously going with the security and protection line of a tin roof, that's pretty laughable. I've had a variety of cars with panoramic roofs, some opened, some didn't, yes they can get a bit hot on occasion but they are every bit as safe and secure as a metal roof. If safety and security was an issue you would think they would have come up with a vehicle with a metal windscreen with cameras so you can see,instead of that unsafe and insecure laminated windscreen. do they not call that a tank

Tesla dropped their prices on brand new inventory cars in UK

Model 3 SR now £38790

Model Y SR now £40590

Apr 4.9%

That's a proper good deal!

I owned a 2022 M3 from March to October 2022. Brand new, with 4 miles on it when I picked it up. Absolutely the worst vehicle I‘ve owned in the nearly 50 years I’ve been buying and driving cars. It was a rattle box from the time I drove it off the dealer’s lot, and Tesla steadfastly refused to listen to me and fix what I knew to be the problem (that cost me three wasted days off work). With about 1500 miles on it, a rock cracked the windscreen. To their credit, they fixed it under warranty, but when I picked it up, the inside of the replacement glass was so filthy I had to stop on the way home to buy window cleaner and paper towels to be safe enough to continue on home. Complaints to the manager of the Tesla facility that did the repair and to Tesla corporate went completely unanswered (nothing pisses me off more than being ignored as a customer). Prior to the M3, I had driven a Chevy Bolt EV for almost two years. Unfortunately it was caught up on the big battery recall, and GMC ended up buying the car back from me, which is when I bought the Tesla. The software in the M3 was the glitchiest, most irritating POS I’ve ever seen. The Chevy software was FAR superior in every way. Several times during the six months I had it, the car refused to ‘wake up’ when I got into it. Several times it refused to unlock when my phone was in proximity. Several times the screen went black while I was driving. I was never more glad to see a car gone from my garage. Never again.

I know various Tesla drivers that love their cars and have no issues, it's a bit like on here there are more than a good few owners who have had all kinds of issues with their mg4s but the majority love their cars.

You don't get to be the top selling car in the world this year ( model Y) without doing something right.

I see you are in the US, the US cars in the UK had similar quality issues, in 2021 UK Teslas all started coming from China and the quality is far superior.to the US cars.

"nothing pisses me off more than being ignored as a customer"

Hope your MG is ok then, if you have or are getting one, I see you are moving to Portugal, might be ok as MG UK customer service seems to replicate your above experience in many cases.

My bro-in-law has a Model Y. The ride is really hard, so much so that he had to vary his journey to work to 'avoid the bumpy back roads'

NewMG4me said:

My bro-in-law has a Model Y. The ride is really hard, so much so that he had to vary his journey to work to 'avoid the bumpy back roads'

Click to expand...

I've read that, seems there may be an ota fix here or coming to adjust the ride, people have also let a bit of air out the tyres, not what you want in a big family car though, comfort is a must

Leni16 said:

I've read that, seems there may be an ota fix here or coming to adjust the ride, people have also let a bit of air out the tyres, not what you want in a big family car though, comfort is a must

Click to expand...

An update can’t do anything about ordinary coil spring suspension.
The Y has had some damping adjustments made recently to make it ride bumps at low speeds better.
Too much low speed compression damping no doubt.

Personally speaking, body control comes over comfy ride any time.
If the passengers don’t like the ride in my car….tough.
If you want comfort get a 5, it glides over bumps.
But also wallows around corners.

What’s better, an apple or an orange?
Both are very different cars.
I own a 2022 m3 performance from new and I love it.
I also own a 2022 zs trophy long range and a 2020 zs ev exclusive before that.
I have been in my sisters mg4 trophy. I have owned 12 cars from different manufacturers in my life time , as I get bored easily I change every 3 years. I therefore feel myself to be a little qualified in my opinion. The only car I kept longer than that was my 1998 Subaru forester which I had for 13 years and covered 255k miles in. I still regret having sold that car. I am not a brand snob as I have also owned seat’s smart cars to Merc’s and Lexuses, amongst them 2 MG’s, which let’s face it some people who don’t know what they are missing, look down on.

The thing about the Tesla is that it is light years ahead of any other mark in terms of technology and I mean hardware, software the whole lots. Also the supercharger network is second to none. Sadly it is also behind most manufacturers in build quality but my m3 is a Chinese made one and the build quality is at par with most manufacturers albeit not at a premium level. The US made ones I am told have yet to get there (go figure).
As long as I have my watch on me I don’t need a phone or a key to drive it. The app just works and connects pretty much instantly. I can use Siri to set functions open boots etc. Then there is the autopilot (which is not fully functional yet in the uk) but is better than anything else out there.
The ride and suspension is firm but it needs to be to cope with its acceleration of 0-60 in 3.1 secs. Great on windy twisty country roads. Can be a little bit tiring on long journeys but I have not noticed that much of a problem. We have done long journeys in it to Scotland, the NC500 just because it is more efficient, has longer range and as mentioned earlier, the supercharger network.
I can move into and out of tight parking spots if a muppet has blocked me in by controlling the car remotely with my app.
I have had a few niggles with the Tesla (brake squeaks from lack of use and a trim rattle ) and they were fixed without any problems on my own drive way, all arranged via the app. I have just recently got my tyres rotated and brake service done by a mobile technician. Since buying the car I have never had to return to the ‘dealer’.
I can go on and on but you get my point.

That being said I also love my ZS Trophy. It is quiet, smooth and very effortless to drive. The kid always gets car sick in the back on country roads as it is a bit too wallowy on them. I love the 360 view around the car which I think the Tesla could do with. It has something similar but not as good. I don’t much care bout Sun rooves but the zs has a pretty good one. I like the ground clearance it has and the readiness I could get all season tyres for it. Something that is not only prohibitively expensive on the model3 but would also affect its performance. I love the minimalist look of the m3 and that you control all via the touchscreen or voice command but I sometimes wish it had a button or two for some functions like the zs does.

I love both cars and would buy both of them again.
In my opinion and experience (let’s face it, that’s all most of us have on this forum) the MG is just another car amongst other cars. The only thing better it does compared to other marks is the value it brings for what you pay. I am blown away with this.
The Tesla on the other hand is like nothing else, starting from the buying experience to the ownership of it. No other manufacturer is like this. In other words it is an experience, which most people are not ready for as they haven’t done their homework!
Both cars are great cars in their own way and cannot really be compared in their likeness.

But guys this is just my opinion. I am not saying that those expressed above are wrong, they are just right, for the person expressing them.

Jaygee said:

What’s better, an apple or an orange?
Both are very different cars.
I own a 2022 m3 performance from new and I love it.
I also own a 2022 zs trophy long range and a 2020 zs ev exclusive before that.
I have been in my sisters mg4 trophy. I have owned 12 cars from different manufacturers in my life time , as I get bored easily I change every 3 years. I therefore feel myself to be a little qualified in my opinion. The only car I kept longer than that was my 1998 Subaru forester which I had for 13 years and covered 255k miles in. I still regret having sold that car. I am not a brand snob as I have also owned seat’s smart cars to Merc’s and Lexuses, amongst them 2 MG’s, which let’s face it some people who don’t know what they are missing, look down on.

The thing about the Tesla is that it is light years ahead of any other mark in terms of technology and I mean hardware, software the whole lots. Also the supercharger network is second to none. Sadly it is also behind most manufacturers in build quality but my m3 is a Chinese made one and the build quality is at par with most manufacturers albeit not at a premium level. The US made ones I am told have yet to get there (go figure).
As long as I have my watch on me I don’t need a phone or a key to drive it. The app just works and connects pretty much instantly. I can use Siri to set functions open boots etc. Then there is the autopilot (which is not fully functional yet in the uk) but is better than anything else out there.
The ride and suspension is firm but it needs to be to cope with its acceleration of 0-60 in 3.1 secs. Great on windy twisty country roads. Can be a little bit tiring on long journeys but I have not noticed that much of a problem. We have done long journeys in it to Scotland, the NC500 just because it is more efficient, has longer range and as mentioned earlier, the supercharger network.
I can move into and out of tight parking spots if a muppet has blocked me in by controlling the car remotely with my app.
I have had a few niggles with the Tesla (brake squeaks from lack of use and a trim rattle ) and they were fixed without any problems on my own drive way, all arranged via the app. I have just recently got my tyres rotated and brake service done by a mobile technician. Since buying the car I have never had to return to the ‘dealer’.
I can go on and on but you get my point.

That being said I also love my ZS Trophy. It is quiet, smooth and very effortless to drive. The kid always gets car sick in the back on country roads as it is a bit too wallowy on them. I love the 360 view around the car which I think the Tesla could do with. It has something similar but not as good. I don’t much care bout Sun rooves but the zs has a pretty good one. I like the ground clearance it has and the readiness I could get all season tyres for it. Something that is not only prohibitively expensive on the model3 but would also affect its performance. I love the minimalist look of the m3 and that you control all via the touchscreen or voice command but I sometimes wish it had a button or two for some functions like the zs does.

I love both cars and would buy both of them again.
In my opinion and experience (let’s face it, that’s all most of us have on this forum) the MG is just another car amongst other cars. The only thing better it does compared to other marks is the value it brings for what you pay. I am blown away with this.
The Tesla on the other hand is like nothing else, starting from the buying experience to the ownership of it. No other manufacturer is like this. In other words it is an experience, which most people are not ready for as they haven’t done their homework!
Both cars are great cars in their own way and cannot really be compared in their likeness.

But guys this is just my opinion. I am not saying that those expressed above are wrong, they are just right, for the person expressing them.

Click to expand...

12 cars in your lifetime?
Pah….amateur….
Seriously I’ve been in my current job 4 years this month and I’m in my fifth car since joining them alone

Coincidentally, everyone at work keeps telling me to get a Tesla, I keep mentioning them.
But £150-£200 a month more than the Cupra for the same PCP terms is silly.
If I was buying outright, a Tesla hands down, no contest.

bowfer said:

12 cars in your lifetime?
Pah….amateur….
Seriously I’ve been in my current job 4 years this month and I’m in my fifth car since joining them alone

Coincidentally, everyone at work keeps telling me to get a Tesla, I keep mentioning them.
But £150-£200 a month more than the Cupra for the same PCP terms is silly.
If I was buying outright, a Tesla hands down, no contest.

Click to expand...

The Apr rate is outstanding its the guarenteed future value that hurts the deal. On £15k odd after 4 years seriously bumps the price up.

@bowfer always meant to say what version of the Born did you get and how are you getting on with it?