Three long-range electric cars at affordable prices will move the industry forward over the next year or two.
The Chevy Bolt EV is within several weeks of arriving at the first dealers that will carry it, and a second-generation Nissan Leaf should go into production by the end of next year.
That leaves the Tesla Model 3, unveiled this past spring, and its big question mark: when will it really go into volume production?
DON’T MISS: When will first Tesla Model 3 electric cars will be delivered? Poll results
In an earlier poll, slightly more survey respondents (38 percent) expect the Model 3 to arrive between January and June 2018 than expect it during the second half of next year (34 percent).
So an obvious follow-on topic was what the Model 3 would offer that might surprise and delight potential buyers.
We asked our Twitter followers what they thought the most unexpected thing about the Model 3 would be, offering four choices.
What will be the most unexpected thing about the Tesla Model 3?
— Green Car Reports (@GreenCarReports) October 10, 2016
By far the most popular answer was the Model 3’s electric range, chosen by 43 percent of participants.
Thus far, Tesla has said the Model 3 will have 215 miles of range—but then the Chevy Bolt EV emerged with an EPA rating of 238 miles from its 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack.
Like the Model S and Model X, the smaller Model 3 is likely to offer a choice of battery capacities, so perhaps there’s significant upside for longer ranges from (more expensive) larger batteries.
CHECK OUT: What’s the minimum electric-car range for mass acceptance? Poll results
How high could they go?
Well, we’d expect Tesla to reserve its longest ranges (300 miles combined, one day) for its priciest cars, but it’s not unreasonable to think that a top-tier Model 3 might go above 250 miles.
Following battery range as the most unexpected thing about the Tesla Model 3 was “Autopilot features” (25 percent), certainly something Tesla is working hard on.
Tesla Model 3 spotted at service center
Again, we might expect new and more capable features to launch first on the pricier Model S and Model X.
On the other hand, Tesla expects vastly more Model 3s to be on the roads within a couple of years, adding to the company’s aggregated database of mapping and driver behavior information.
So we suspect Autopilot will probably be fairly similar between its two ranges of electric cars.
ALSO SEE: How many Chevy Bolt EVs will be sold in first 12 months? Poll results
Right behind the Autopilot was simply “price,” chosen by 23 percent of respondents.
Could Tesla go below a starting price of $35,000? Or will there be more value in lower trim levels or battery options than expected? We can only wait and see.
The last option, “horsepower,” was chosen by only 9 percent of respondents.
Sheer power, it seems, may not be a big lure for the Tesla Model 3.
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