Driven ’em all.Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
If all goes according to plan, the mass-market Model 3 sedan will hit the streets in 2017. It could be as early as July.
As it turns out, I’ve driven all of Tesla’s cars, and I went for a brief ride in a prototype of the Model 3 earlier this year.
They each have their own cool features, but they all share numerous aspects — stuff that you get on each and every Tesla.
Here’s a breakdown:
THE ROADSTER: Tesla’s first car was a sexy little two-seater that redefined what an electric car could be. I drove the Roadster in 2010 (it was the Roadster Sport), and I sampled the car again in 2016.
Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
COOLEST FEATURE: Acceleration! Electric cars are fast. The Roadster is fast — The Sport posts 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds. There are faster Teslas, but in the Roadster, you really feel the speed.
Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
SECOND COOLEST FEATURE: None! The Roadster was all about proving that a modern electric car didn’t have to be a glorified golf cart. Other than that, the Lotus-derived design is a bare-bones sports car that doesn’t even have power steering.
Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
THE MODEL S: It was Tesla’s first clean-sheet design, and it went from being code-named White Star to being Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 2013. I’ve driven it more than any other Tesla.
COOLEST FEATURE: The massive touchscreen. Tesla pushed the envelope here, placed nearly all vehicle controls and function in this huge control center. No one had ever seen anything like it before.
Matthew DeBord/Business Insider
SECOND COOLEST FEATURE: I guess you could say “Ludicrous Mode” speed, which on the high-performance P100D serves up 0-60 mph acceleration of 2.5 seconds. But I’m going with Autopilot, the self-driving technology that although controversial is the current state of the art, for vehicles you can actually buy.
Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider
THE MODEL X: We took a short spin around Manhattan in 2015 in Tesla’s long-awaited crossover. It was extremely impressive — well worth the wait.
Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider
COOLEST FEATURE: Without question, the upswinging “falcon wing” doors. This vehicle is loaded with cool stuff, but like the touchscreen in the Model S, the X’s doors have to been seen to be believed.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
SECOND COOLEST FEATURE: Bioweapon Defense Mode! With the touch of the Model X’s center touchscreen controls, you go from breathing normally filtered air to inhaling hospital-grade atmosphere. It’s quite relaxing.
Justin Gmoser/Business Insider
THE MODEL 3: Tesla unveiled the car early in 2015 and provided short drives for media at the company’s design center near Los Angeles. I went for a ride.
Tesla Motors unveils the new lower-priced Model 3 sedan at the Tesla Motors design studio in Hawthorne, Calif., Thursday, March 31, 2016.AP Photo/Justin Pritchard
COOLEST FEATURE: The re-oriented touchscreen. The Model S’s screen is in portrait mode, but the Model 3’s could be in landscape. There’s a chance that the production car will do away with traditional gauges and instruments.
Matthew DeBord
SECOND COOLEST FEATURE: The design. Tesla used the Model 3 reveal to establish a new design vocabulary for its vehicles. The biggest change was to the front end, doing away with any suggestion of a grille. The Model 3, Model S, and Model X will all share this look.
YouTube/Motor Trend
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There are currently three Tesla vehicles on the…
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