Longtime BMW Enthusiast Claims Tesla Model 3 Performance Is "An iPhone Moment"

Indie app developer Moshen Chan has been an avid BMW enthusiast for ~20 years. Having a passion for high-speed driving, he has spent a lot of time experiencing the legacy automaker’s Ultimate Driving Machines firsthand. Moshen now drives a Tesla Model 3 Performance, after a test drive with the electric sedan proved that it was a powerful, feature-ridden, and compelling vehicle that could very well be beyond anything that the German veteran automaker currently has to offer.

The indie app developer shared his experience in a series of lengthy posts on a BMW forum, Bimmerfest.com. Chan notes that over the years, he has driven several BMWs, and today, he owns a modified E36 325i with track suspension setup, as well as an E82 135i with Performance Suspension and several other M3 suspension part upgrades. Being in the market for a new vehicle, he was looking at the BMW M2 Competition, the latest iteration of the BMW M3, and lastly, the Tesla Model 3 Performance.

mre30 - 9/24/2018 10:54:33 AM

+11 Boost

All these testimonials are really nice and interesting, but I won't be a believer until a reputable reviewing organization - Car and Driver, Automobile, Road & Track, etc. actually does a real comparison test between a Model 3 performance, BMW M3/4, MB C63 AMG, etc. etc.

We are not talking "its great based on the 10 minute ride I took at the Tesla press event".....

We need "the Model 3 Performance has been evaluated over a two week period in Car and Driver's standard comparison test for performance cars protocol...and here are the results"

To the best of my knowledge (and as recently confirmed in writing by Car and Driver in a recent issue), Tesla has NEVER agreed to provide a test vehicle for participation in a comparison test.

That's really the only objective way to see how it measures up.

I won't hold my breath.

ColMosby - 9/24/2018 11:26:45 AM

+1 Boost

Much of what impresses drivers of Tesla's vehicles is true of all electric cars - fast acceleration, good cornering ability, quiet operation (although Tesla Model 3s are famous for wind noise). The problem with Tesla is that have constructed a car that is far too complicated and expensive to be a mass market vehicle.

dumpsty - 9/24/2018 11:28:52 AM

0 Boost

This kind of thinking is kinda expected. Except for the 7-series & X5/X6, most BMW's aren't known for their interior features/content. So when you sit in a Model S/X/3 and see the big digital instrument cluster & center vehicle/media control monitor - you easily get "drawn into" thinking you could really see yourself living with this setup on the daily.

I'm definitely not saying that the Tesla's are better than the BMW's, it's just the perception of something new which makes people think about what they NOW want from a socially prestigious vehicle.

Very much like the 1st Apple iPhone - consumers didn't know they wanted the iPhone until Apple gave it them. And so millions appreciate the simplicity of doing tasks "only a certain way" which creates the sense of "enhanced performance".

rockreid - 9/24/2018 12:50:53 PM

-8 Boost

It should be noted that this BMW enthusiast’s Model 3 is NOT a Model 3 Performance. It is a Model 3 Premium just like mine with RWD, at $49k and 311 mile range (actual real world is more like 340 miles as per owner testing).

The Model 3 Performance just recently was introduced, is AWD, and a good deal higher price point and rated at 311 mile range. Tesla asked and got the EPA to under-rate my Premium level to just 311 miles. I imagine if this BMW guy had been able to test a Model 3 Performance his face would have melted off from the smiles caused by every stop light thrashing he would give every BMW M3 he came across.

zlives - 9/24/2018 7:20:27 PM

+1 Boost

it hurts to lose...
thats why i just give a look of derision to any model 3's

Hawk - 9/24/2018 4:15:45 PM

+3 Boost

Probably more like a "Commodore 64" moment - cause that's the current stage of EVs. ;-)

zlives - 9/24/2018 7:21:04 PM

+2 Boost

yup and who didn;t like their c-64

MDarringer - 9/24/2018 7:38:37 PM

+1 Boost

Commodore 64? What's that? :)

ricks0me - 9/24/2018 6:52:05 PM

0 Boost

mre30 posted >> but I won't be a believer until a reputable reviewing organization - Car and Driver, Automobile, Road & Track, etc. actually does a real comparison test between a Model 3 performance, BMW M3/4, MB C63 AMG,

I am certainly not a Tesla defender but I have to disagree with the term you used "reputable reviewing organization" Any magazine/organization that depends on advertising HAS TO BE BIASED.

mre30 >>> I submit this RESPECTFULLY to you.

Lovesponge76 - 9/24/2018 8:32:19 PM

+3 Boost

No one new the iPhone was going to command the market until it did, ask Nokia, Blackberry, Sony, HTC, Samsung and Microsoft. That took several years to develop.

So now everyone is a fortune teller? Winning lottery numbers please?

vdiv - 9/25/2018 1:36:33 PM

-2 Boost

They kinda knew by the second and third year as the 3G and 3GS came out.
Like them or not, it's a bad idea to bet against Tesla. You have to compete.

Lovesponge76 - 9/24/2018 8:45:15 PM

+2 Boost

If a persons justification for buying a Tesla because its quieter than a C63, then your Auto Enthusiast Card should be revoked. That says more about the person than it does the two vehicles.

Electric might be the wave of the future but if the growl of a Bi-Turbo V8 doesn't do it for you then.... Tesla it is.