# Our Model 3 Ride



## Tom Hudson (Dec 20, 2017)

Well, thanks to @LucyferSam my wife and I got to take a ride in a Model 3 Sunday. I had been following his experience in picking up his Model 3 in Minnesota a couple of weeks back, and I knew he was somewhere in Iowa -- We drive through there occasionally as we go to visit family in Kansas City, so in the back of my mind I was hoping that at some point we'd be able to meet and see the car -- We're non-owners and we reserved on April 3 2016, so we'll be waiting a while to get our own.

As it turned out, we had to run down to KC last weekend to help my nephew with some kitchen remodeling work. Got down there and took care of the work, and we were planning on heading home on Sunday. I was doing my usual Model 3 Owners Club website reading, living vicariously through all you guys who already have your cars, when I read @LucyferSam 's update -- then found out he was in Ames Iowa, just north of Des Moines, which we drive through on our way home. It would be a minor diversion to visit Ames, and I REALLY wanted to see the car, so I asked. And he was nice enough to agree to let us check out the car!

So we got to the Arcadia Cafe and met Ryan, and he took us to see the car -- It's blue, one of the colors I'm considering, and the car really is striking seeing it in person. We got a look at the trunk and frunk (which will easily hold the bags my wife and I usually take on trips) and I had to look under the car to see the flat bottom -- It's REALLY flat! Nice and aerodynamic. We got in, me in the passenger seat and my wife in the rear passenger side, and Ryan showed us the basic controls on the flat screen. The interior is just incredible -- so sleek and minimalistic. And his car has the cloth headliner, which looks just fine. The mostly-glass roof is amazing -- nice tinting so it isn't going to be a glare source or roast my mostly-bald head. I wasn't sure how I'd like it, but I loved it once I was in there. He started it up and we backed out of the parking space -- the rear-view camera looked great, nice and sharp. Good-sized image on the display. Oh, and the seat heaters are nice. I've never had those in one of my cars.

We pulled out of the parking lot and off we went. The car felt nice and solid, not a rattle as we went down the street. Really impressive. But the best part was as we turned onto the on-ramp for the highway and he punched it. WOW. As I was pushed back in my seat, I turned to my wife and said "This isn't our electric car!" Yeah, our Solectria Force is a nice car and it's been a reliable ride for over 20 years, but its acceleration is pretty pathetic compared to the 3.

We took a good ride and returned to the cafe. If we weren't completely sold on the 3 before this ride, we certainly were afterward. The car is amazing, and I'm so glad it turned out as nice as it is.

My wife and I are always joking that since our 2000 Insight is our "new" car, anytime we rent a car or ride in something newer, it's such a surprise to see all the cool stuff they have. Well, the 3 was that SQUARED. Now we really can't wait to get our own.

And if you're ever in Ames, Iowa, check out the Arcadia Cafe. Especially the cherry/chocolate chip bread pudding. You'll be glad you did!


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## oldtrip (Apr 28, 2016)

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story/review, Tom.
And thanks to Ryan for your generosity, making it all possible.

Waiting.......
is hard.


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

I'm also going from a 2000 Insight (with ~750k km on it!) to a Model 3. Does your Insight happen also to be blue?


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## Michael Russo (Oct 15, 2016)

KarenRei said:


> I'm also going from a 2000 Insight (with ~750k km on it!) to a Model 3. Does your Insight happen also to be blue?


750,000 kms, Karen... ?!!! This says a lot about Honda's reliability, the significant number of mileage you've been getting per year on a (relatively) small territory... and, finally, your level of commitment to longevity!! You're definitely a prime candidate for the million kms Model 3...


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

Heh, the majority of that was already on the car when I bought it; it had been used by a courier service, driven pretty much nonstop.  It was still on its original engine, too (although I've since swapped it out... maybe around 650k km?). Probably could have gotten even more life out of the engine, too, knowing what I know now.

I am the sort of person who tends to drive a car into the ground. Unfortunately that habit has deterred me from getting an EV so far. I bought my Insight after Aptera went under, which really burned me (not financially - emotionally). It was the closest thing on the market I could get to an Aptera, and I've been with it ever since.

I'm really breaking with "tradition" by getting a Model 3.  But I can't keep putting off going electric forever - so as much as it's against my instincts to get rid of a functional car that I've put so much into, it's going to happen. I wanted to go electric a decade ago. It's long past time.

(esp. given how expensive it is to run a gasoline car here relative to EVs!)


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## Gatornail (Apr 11, 2017)

KarenRei said:


> I'm also going from a 2000 Insight (with ~750k km on it!) to a Model 3. Does your Insight happen also to be blue?


Hi Karen, I couldn't help but chime in that I have a Blue Insight. Mine is a 2005 so is a little darker blue than yours.


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## Tom Hudson (Dec 20, 2017)

KarenRei said:


> I'm also going from a 2000 Insight (with ~750k km on it!) to a Model 3. Does your Insight happen also to be blue?


Silver 5-speed, 113K miles, mostly that low because we mostly drive the EV.


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