Why Our Tesla Model 3 Performance Is an Excellent Los Angeles City Car

• The Tesla Model 3 Performance is perfect for congested Los Angeles traffic.
• Quick acceleration and one-pedal driving are boons in city driving.
• Unfortunately, many interior quirks are still annoying.

The traffic in Los Angeles is either thicker than your grandma's gravy or racing like it's the Daytona 500 with everyone vying for a position. City driving is when an EV makes the most sense, so I've loved having our 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance for the past month.

One-pedal driving FTW

One-pedal driving in sporadic stop-and-go traffic is a game-changer; it's so much better than using the brake and accelerator in a gas car. It's smooth and a lot less fatiguing. You're probably thinking, "Why doesn't he use Tesla's Full Self-Driving tech for maximum fatigue reduction?" Well, personally, I'm not a fan of a system that uses cameras as its primary source for navigational data collection. If you've seen a Waymo driverless taxi, you'll know what I mean. Plus, the system still has several weird quirks — things we also experience in our 2026 Tesla Model Y.

For those of you who live in Los Angeles or any large U.S. city, you'll know that having a quick burst of acceleration at the ready can be the difference between turning left or becoming a traffic hazard. The Model 3 Performance has acceleration in spades. Getting up to freeway speeds or quickly overtaking a slower car can be done with surgical precision. In my usual daily driver, a Mazda CX-5, I typically have to time a maneuver by considering the lag between pressing the accelerator pedal and the engine actually kicking in and getting up to speed. In the Tesla, it's instant, one-shot forward motion.

Driving the Tesla is quite enjoyable overall. The steering feels tight and direct, and the smooth acceleration and one-pedal driving from regenerative braking make for a calm, relaxing ride. The suspension is firm but not uncomfortable. You will feel and hear bigger bumps, but in most cases, the car comes across as confidently planted on the road. 

The pros and cons of our Model 3's interior

Our Tesla has an avant-garde interior with very few physical buttons and one giant iPad-like touchscreen that controls just about everything. The upside is that this makes for a very clean, futuristic-looking and uncluttered interior. The downside is that everything is on the screen, so you have to take your eyes off the road and switch your concentration from driving to navigating through menus. You find yourself quickly glancing back and forth between the road and the screen, all while trying to accurately guide your hand to the right menu or button. It's not a good user experience.

Speaking of the steering wheel and user experience, Tesla removed the turn signal stalk and replaced it with buttons mounted on the steering wheel — a dumb decision, truly. After a month of driving, I occasionally still have to look down to see which button I'm pressing, and if I'm turning the wheel, it makes it even more challenging to signal my intentions to other drivers. Using an indicator should be a mindless, reflexive affair. On the plus side, the steering wheel itself is actually a good size and thickness, and feels good in my hands.

Credit where it's due: No car this size feels as spacious as the Model 3 does inside. There's a place to put your phone, drink bottles and store your keys, and it’s done in such a way that it doesn't conflict with the interior aesthetic of the car. The seats are comfortable and are nicely padded, so you're supported and stable while driving. They also remain comfy over a long period of time, which is nice to have when stuck in slow-moving traffic.

Long Range or Performance?

Overall, the Model 3 is great as a city car. Its size and maneuverability are precisely what you need in a crowded place like Los Angeles. Do you need the extra speed of the Model 3 Performance? Not really; aside from the initial jolt of acceleration, the Tesla's extra sports car cred is wasted in daily driving. Give me a Model 3 Long Range like the one we recently owned, and SoCal commuting would be a total breeze.

Photos by Keith Buglewicz