How it feels to drive a new Tesla Model 3

You’ll love it — if you can find one, that is

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Will the Model 3 make or break Tesla?

That greatly depends on how compelling the smaller, entry-level electric sedan is. The $35,000-andup Model 3 is in short supply — and Tesla isn’t yet providing any for review — so USA TODAY sought to answer this question by renting one for the day on peer-to-peer car rental service Turo.

Our take: The car could be a winner for Tesla if it manages to produce a lot more of the buttoneddown example we rented from a new owner last week. There are other allelectric options out there roughly in this price range, including the Chevy Bolt and the BMW i3, but neither is fundamentally as elegant as Tesla’s new foray into the mass market.

But good luck getting your hands on one. Production has been delayed by well-publicized snags. The company has delivered around 2,000 to some 400,000 depositholders, and Tesla only features this model in two of its stores.

The new black sedan we rented was bought by Grayson Giovine, owner of Bay Area college test-prep company Zenith Tutoring, who already has a 3-year-old black Tesla Model S in the driveway and recently gifted his first Model S to his parents back east.

“Teslas are some of the best cars out there, so I wanted to see what they were up to next,” says Giovine, who rents out all his cars (his Model 3 costs around $150 per day) as a “hobby that also defrays the cost of ownership.”

Giovine’s Model 3 is less than a month old and already has 1,700

miles on the odometer — only 10 miles of those put on by him. “It’s a popular rental,” he says with a smile.

Other than seeing the Model 3 for 15 minutes during the vehicle’s launch last summer, this is the first time we’ve been able to log some quality time with this vehicle. So let’s get right to it.

❚ The exterior: From across a street, it is difficult to immediately tell a Model 3 and a Model S apart.

The nose of this car lacks the menace and snarling black mouth of the S, and its front air dam is less aggressive. The rear of the car is equally stark. The Model 3’s best view arguably is from overhead, where acres of glass arc from just behind the trunk lid to the end of the front windshield.

❚ The interior: The Model 3’s interior is an ode to simplicity. There are two small scrolling dots on the steering wheels that you can use once you’re inside a particular menu, but other than the buttons that unlock the doors and roll down the windows, all functions are controlled by one centrally and horizontally mounted screen.

Rear-seat passengers shorter than 6 feet will be comfortable, although our over-6-foot photographer found himself a bit cramped.

❚ The drive: This car is, in a word, fast. It offers what we’ll call Goldilocks Mode. It’s just the right blend of blast-off power from a dead stop that, even with the accelerator mashed to the floor, never crosses the line over to terrifying. What truly stands out is the car’s regenerative braking. In most instances, simply lifting off the throttle results in the Model 3 immediately slowing down.

Another high point is the steering feel, which has three adjustable settings.

In the end, a day spent with a Model 3 leaves one itching for one more day.

PHOTOS BY MARTIN E. KLIMEK/USA TODAY Production of the Model 3 has been delayed by well-publicized snags. We rented one from a recent buyer.

Model 3 starts at $35,000, with options that add at least $5,000 or more.