[prostoalex]

Elon mentioned the interior was redesigned with full autonomy in mind. I guess the use case "driver maintaining the vehicle speed via non-autonomous pedal pressure while wanting to check the vehicle speed because he did not enable cruise mode" is a weird edge case for them.

On autopilot the car will stick to the assigned speed (with adaptive cruise control slowing down or speeding up depending on the traffic in front of you). In fully autonomous driving mode the car will read the speed limit signs and adjust.

[chc]

It's pretty bizarre to treat driving without an $8000 options package as a weird edge case. If autonomous driving is that central, it seems like it should be a basic feature, not an upgrade.

[ClassyJacket]

Without an 8000$ options package that won't be available in most places for several years.

[prostoalex]

Adaptive cruise control is part of the base config.

[sliken]

I thought that required the $5k autopilot.

[prostoalex]

Looks like you are right, I was wrong - the non-autopilot versions of S come with plain old cruise control, not the "adaptive" one.

[prostoalex]

The company likely has the data on the percentage of customers opting in for autonomous features and likely optimized for that.

Considering the hardware in every vehicle supports autonomy, it's a feature that could be sold to the customer later on or as an on-demand subscription.

If autonomous driving is out of the question, what makes Model 3 appealing compared to a Chevy Bolt, Chevy Volt or a plug-in Prius?

edit: I believe that adaptive cruise control (automatic speed adjustment based on the obstacles in front) is included in basic config, autopilot would include that + lane steering + lane change assistance with blind spot monitoring.

[ranit]

> what makes Model 3 appealing compared to ...

Everything that the reviewer wrote.

[prostoalex]

The reviewer went out of his way to emphasize the test drive is for a fully-loaded version.

> Franz’ car is a loaded version—a Premium (add $5,000), meaning better-grade materials, wood-veneered dash, 12-way front seats, 12-speaker sound, heated rear seats, side-by-side inductive phone chargers, and that panoramic glass ceiling

> paired with this car’s $9,000 long-range battery

> Tesla Model 3 is available with Enhanced Autopilot ($5,000) and for another $3,000 what’s called “Full Self-Driving Capability”

> $59,500 before incentives—including $1,500 for the larger 19-inch wheels (18 inches are standard), and a grand for the red multicoat paint

> And it’ll be a while before $35,000 versions are built

Their review of the $35,000 vehicle might be very different.

[ranit]

The review of the basic model might be very different ... or might be similar, I don't know. I was just trying to answer your (perhaps rhetorical) question:

> If autonomous driving is out of the question, what makes Model 3 appealing compared to a Chevy Bolt, Chevy Volt or a plug-in Prius?

The reviewer didn't mention anything about testing autonomous driving features. He raved about the car performance, from a driver perspective. Responsiveness, vibration on the steering wheel, how stable it is, etc. That is, he was looking for a features of a car that needs a driver, not what an autonomous car would provide. Therefore an answer to your question: "If autonomous driving is out of the question, what ..."

Perhaps I misunderstood your question?!?