# Jason Cammissa review of Model 3 Performance



## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Jason Cammissa, if you don't know him, is an acerbic, sarcastic, but very well respected automotive journalist who has written for Motor Trend, currently writing columns for Road and Track and doing videos for Issimi (whatever that company is). Net, net he's a hot shoe with zero filter who calls it like he sees it. He's also passionate about light weight, small cars with manual gearboxes. But he's also on his second leased e-Golf. And a fan of EV's in general, but not all EV's.

Tesla loaned him an M3P to sample back to back with the Polestar 2. The Polestar review is coming but here's what he has to say about the M3P:



















Only two things I disagree with. 1. The ride is worse than he says. 2. The seat support is also worse than he says. Otherwise, an excellent review. And this is a good thing, because his voice does carry pretty far in the "enthusiast" world. So to say something like "I know why M3 owners now drive Model 3's" is high praise indeed.


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## msjulie (Feb 6, 2018)

It's always interesting to me how our butts respond to things - I like how my Stealth 3 rides and I love the seats. My dad, a fairly curmudgeonly type about some things, also said they were the some of the most comfortable seats he's experienced. 

I don't disagree that when pushed hard the car's weight can betray it but in every day driving (is that a thing anymore?) highway or other, I really enjoy how the car handles out of the box.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Seats are comfortable I agree. But try to take a tight corner and see how quickly you slide out of the seat. Even my wife’s Cayenne holds you in better. And real sport seats like on a an M3 or C63 grip you very well, as long as you’re not on track. By comparison, the Model 3 offers almost no lateral support.


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## Apone (Nov 1, 2020)

Sorry to revive an old convo but I've watched Jason for years and find him entertaining. Early on in your post, I thought man he's being awfully nice to the car, I can't believe he didn't pick up on any of my wants for the vehicle. By the end I was in complete agreement. 

Obviously I was impressed on the test drive and sold my V8 to buy this M3P I'm now driving - so I like the car - a lot. However, the ride is comfortable enough but the seating position is off and the seats are short underneath your thighs compared to other cars I was comfortable in. The brake and go pedal could be better aligned so that the position for good accelerator is not out of touch with good braking. Don't say 1 pedal driving because that's for lower speed. I like it but when pushing the car you won't be 1 pedaling. I also think that the car bucks a bit when pushed and high speed undulations on the freeway feel a little floatier than I want. You will slide on the seat on higher G turns. The float can be solved with coilovers and I may go that way with MPP. Nothing I can do about the seat and pedals. I've tried to raise the seat and that has helped with leg comfort but it's not perfect.

I agree about the speed, the practicality and the smarts of the vehicle. It does what I've always wanted a car to do like know that I probably want to navigate to work at 8am on a weekday. To use my phone as a key and lock when I walk away, to lower the music when I open the door and that I might want to watch you tube while waiting on a passenger. Autopilot is next level if I can trust enough to use in a traffic jam, I'll be in heaven. Smart car, built by smart people. It's unfair to expect the performance driving experience to be as dialed in as makers who have been at it for much longer but they are well on the way and this is plenty of car for the money. You can't beat acceleration like this, even with good suspension tuning and that is why it lays down the lap times it does. Interior is simple but if I focus on the driving and the surprisingly good sound system, I don't notice.


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Yeah, I have a good friend who's a total gearhead. Has always had modded cars. Modded Saab 93, modded Volvo V70R, modded Audi S5, modded Golf R, modded Alfa Guilia Ti, and just moved to a Model 3 Performance. He's also had a GT3 and currently owns an NA Miata with a 5.0 Ford V8. LOL. He's tracked, does Autocrosses, etc. 

He is blown away by the Model 3, even on track with just track pads and fluid, plus SS brake lines. He's approaching times that he set in his old GT3 (some of that may be experience and confidence the Model 3 provides, but still). The sheer speed and the precision at which it can be meted out it just unparalleled. 

I echo your comment about seat support, although I have to say at 6'2" I don't mind the shorter bottom cushion as much as I thought I would. Someone on another forum had put 991 GT3 seats in his Model 3 and I was really considering doing that until I found out that the errors he got disabled TACC and Autosteer. Total deal breaker, too bad. That would have been EPIC.


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