I definitely miss the sound of the engine. It is incredibly satisfying. But the feeling of instantly being thrown back into your seat and have buttery smooth acceleration the whole way (no gear shifting) feels amazing.

My S4 was definitely fast and I had a great time driving it, but the feel of the Model 3 is much more satisfying. It feels like a missile. Everyone who we have let drive it or let sit in it has been shocked.

I'm sure there is a personal preference (my coworker will never give up a gas engine) but I think the majority who drive it and slam on the accelerator will probably agree.

The issue is also that most of the automatic gearboxes on gas cars are garbage and are responsible for that lagging feeling when you want to accelerate.

If you drive a fully manual car, you are already way closer to a real acceleration.

That being said a smooth acceleration without the downtime needed for a gear shift must be quite an experience. I need to try that.

I have always driven manual cars for that reason. But when we got a Spark EV (the least possible electric car) my wife and I had to argue about who got to drive it. Even a crisp shifting manual with a lively engine feels sluggish and unresponsive compared to electric drive. It's like using an old budget phone with a resistive touch screen compared to using an iPad. Both sort of do the same thing, but one makes you happy and one makes you sad.

If you're the kind of person who drives a manual by choice I have a feeling you won't be sold on it. If you're a lover of traditional cars and their feel, then it'll be a culture shock.

The Model 3 doesn't have to be everything to everybody though! (Just to most people if they want to succeed)

Give it a shot though, you may be surprised. Hopefully you can actually find one to test drive.

have you driven any recent bmw with an automatic? the zf 8 transmissions are really nice and faster than the manual versions. dct equipped cars have also been faster than the manual versions for years. the only reason to drive a manual anymore is because you like shifting.

DCT Ford Focus was utter garbage for years. The only people who like that car (ie: me) are the people who got the manual version.

It probably was the poor low-end torque of their Ecoboost engine. Even in manual, I have to rev the engine high to keep 1st gear responsive. But the DCT gearbox doesn't allow that kind of slippage, its too quick for that.

There are definitely warts in DCT, at least in Ford's implementation. I like the idea of an automatic dry clutch, so hopefully Ford improves it. But alas, Ford has stopped selling sedans in the USA so I guess it doesn't matter.