The first Tesla Model 3 reviews are coming in — and one thing stands out (TSLA)

Both Business Insider and Consumer Reports have recently sampled the
We mostly agreed about the car's quality.
But we differed on a few important points.
CR and BI will review the Model 3 more extensively later in 2018.

We recently tested the Tesla Model 3, for a brief period — about three hours. Myself and Business Insider's senior transportation reporter Ben Zhang came way impressed. But we were impressed with the Model 3 as a car, not just a piece of advanced technology with four wheels.

We think this is important because the Tesla Model 3 has to do more than satisfy early adopting techies who don't care about ride quality or performance. Ben and I test dozens of vehicles every year, and often they're high-end, big-ticket luxury cars and SUVs that have been fastidiously assembled and are designed to thrill their drivers. It's a very good thing that the Model 3 struck us as being worthy to play in that league.

Consumer Reports also recently published its initial thoughts on the Model 3, and they were much like ours, although we differed on a few points. CR's positive verdict is also important. The outfit is rigorous and objective: it buys the vehicles it tests, to avoid any implication that its opinions have been manipulated by manufacturers. CR's testing is also long-term, racking up thousands of miles, and the publication maintains a high-tech evaluation facility in Connecticut, where it can truly put a vehicle through its paces.

CR's Model 3 was heavily optioned and came in at nearly $60,000. The base Model 3 is supposed to be priced at $35,000, but Tesla isn't currently delivering that trim level, deciding instead to initially produce only the long-range $44,000 version of the car. Our tester was also pricey: $57,500.

A nice set of wheels

The bottom line for both BI and CR, based on quickly gathered impressions, is that the Model 3 in fully decked-out trim is a darn nice set of wheels.

Tesla has struggled to produce the vehicle at the scale it expected, something the carmaker has blamed on battery manufacturing holdups at its plant in Nevada rather than assembly line snafus at its factory in California. We were cautious when evaluated the Model 3 because it was being used for press purposes, and automakers understandably set these vehicles up to be as compelling as possible.

But CR's Model 3, although expensive, is what a customer would get. That our thoughts on the car aligned is an indication that much of the internet scuttlebutt about Model 3 build quality can be chalked up to early production and doesn't necessarily bode poorly for the hundreds of thousands of prospective owners who have put down $1,000 deposits on cars. Besides, Tesla has described the Model 3 as a ten-year program, so there will plenty of time to refine how the vehicle is bolted together.

CR was made more uncomfortable that we were by two aspects of the Model 3: ride quality and the large central touchscreen that controls nearly all vehicle functions. We were each wowed by the Model 3's snappy, all-electric performance and its solid handling. And we both found Autopilot, Tesla's semi-driving feature, to be an effective form of advanced cruise control, but nothing like full autonomy.