Is Tesla Model 3 Big Enough For Families Of 4-5? (We Checked)

The Tesla Model 3 is one of the most popular EVs in the world so far. This model offers great rides for owners and has proven to be one of the best electric cars in the motor industry since its production.

In fact, many people share the opinion that the Model 3 is a great first car to own.

However, while the Tesla Model 3 continues to see a high purchase rate, families may not be certain how spacious the Model 3 is to fit 4 or 5 passengers.

Join us as we explore how spacious the cabin is for passengers’ convenience, among others.

Here’s Whether the Tesla Model 3 Is Big Enough for Families of 4-5:

The Model 3 offers a spacious cabin, but will only seat four adults comfortably. 5 adults may not experience the same comfort, especially people with bigger sizes on longer trips.

However, where there are children, 3 passengers shouldn’t have issues fitting in the rear row of the Model 3 to complete 5 passengers.

Can You Fit Two or Three Car Seats in a Model 3?

Two or three car seats can conveniently fit in the Model 3 as Tesla made enough space for that. There is enough headroom and legroom for car seat installation.

Tesla also provided seat attachment points that are appropriate for these seats.

While owners will have no problems fitting two car seats in Model 3, some car experts have claimed fitting 3 car seats is not possible. However, there have also been experiments carried out to prove otherwise.

One such experiment is a video by Alex on Autos, where he fitted 3 car seats of the same size in the rear seat of the Model 3.

He proved this further by installing one of these car seats in the rear-facing direction. Note, rear-facing installation requires more space than the normal position. Still, despite its compact size, the Model 3 still contained these car seats without difficulty.

However, we believe this is possible owing to the designs of these car seats because many owners have reported struggling to fit 3 car seats in their Model 3.

Whereas, note that while some car seats will fit into your Model 3 more than others, choosing the right car seat for your children depends on some factors. They include the age, weight, and size of the children.

For best safety measures, car experts have, however, submitted that the outer rear seats of a car offer better protection than the middle seat.

This is because they come with the standardized LATCH system. However, Tesla did not include this in the middle seat.

When Do Kids Outgrow the Back Seat in a Model 3?

Kids don’t outgrow the back seat of the Model 3 because the Model 3 comes with enough space for children, despite their ages.

That’s one of the reasons people wonder if the Model 3 is a family car or a sports car.

However, for the car seat, Tesla recommends children below one year, with a weight of up to 9kg, drive in the child safety seat while in the rear-facing sitting position only.

Toddlers over one year and over 9kg and up to 18kg, should drive in the child safety seat facing forward.

Finally, children of ages 4 years and above, or with weight above 18kg, can use the seat belt retained booster seat facing forward.

How Much Legroom Do You Have on the Back Seat?

The Tesla Model 3 comes with enough legroom in the back seat. However, it offers enough room in the back seat for adult passengers at the expense of shoulder room.

Three children will have no issues sitting in the rear seat.

While the front row offers enough legroom for all passengers, including tall people, the rear row offers less.

With 35.2 inches of legroom, taller passengers with longer legs may not be very comfortable. This includes passengers who are very well above 6 feet tall.

Average-height passengers, however, have no problem sitting in the rear of the Tesla Model 3. For these passengers, there is enough legroom to move and change sitting positions.

Note that the Model 3 offers a low seat but a higher floor in the rear row so passengers get to have their knees sitting higher than in most cars.

Notably, this can be a little inconvenient for tall passengers with long legs, especially on long journeys.

Unlike most electric cars, the Tesla Model 3 also doesn’t come with a hump in the middle rear seat, which can inconvenience the middle passenger. This allows all three passengers in this rear row to have access to the same legroom.

Finally, when a passenger sits behind a short driver, they can have more legroom. This is because reducing the legroom of the driver increases that of the passenger behind.

How Many Grown-Ups Can You Fit Comfortably in a Model 3?

The Model 3 can contain 4 adults comfortably. This includes two front passengers and two rear passengers.

As we stated earlier, this is because it does not come with enough shoulder room for adult passengers, causing limited space in the rear passenger seat.

There is also an armrest in the middle rear seat that isn’t accessible when there is a third rear passenger. This is because Tesla installed it on the backrest of the middle seat.

Owing to this, passengers can’t access the armrest for a more comfortable ride where there are three passengers in the rear row.

Another reason the Model 3 is inconvenient for three adult passengers in the rear seat is the materials of the middle seat. Though the two outer seats come with soft materials for the backrest, the middle seat doesn’t.

This is because of the armrest materials, which serve as the backseat for the third passenger. 

Do You Get More Space in Other Similar-Priced Sedans?

Most similar-priced sedans from competitors don’t offer as much space as the Tesla Model 3 and those that do come at a higher base price.

However, for sedans from the year 2019, there is the Honda Accord Hybrid, which comes at a cheaper price and with more space in the cabin and trunk area.

The Tesla Model 3 from the same year (2019) offers 97 cubic feet of passenger space and 15 cubic feet of trunk space, while the Accord Hybrid comes at 106 cubic feet of passenger space and 17 cubic feet of trunk space.

The Accord Hybrid has an MSRP of $25,320. The Model 3, however, has seen many increments over the years. It is now at an MSRP of $36,600. That is over $10,000 more.

Who Is the Target Audience for Model 3?

The target audience for the Model 3 includes customers who belong to the middle class and upper class.

Autoblog has reported 83% of Tesla owners are male and have higher education, with about one-third having a Master’s degree or Ph.D. These people primarily work as engineers, managers of operations, and software engineers.

It reported the average median household income in the areas most Tesla owners live is $85,000. In contrast, a third of owners live in zip codes with typical household incomes of $100,000 or higher.

It further stated that most Tesla owners are a younger population with ages 34 years old and below making up 70% of the data. Owing to the data above, it is quite obvious the Tesla Model 3 is not an EV for everyone.

Just as the report has shown that Teslas are popular among men of higher income and young age, the Model 3 is common among people in this range.

Though it is not a car for the masses, it comes with many benefits. They include:

• Tax exemptions
• Savings from fuel expenses
• Cheap maintenance
• Good resale price
• Free Parking
• Access to lanes for high-occupancy vehicles.

These advantages help alleviate some Tesla Model 3 problems.

How Much Bigger Is the Cabin on Model S?

The Tesla Model S has some differences in its cabin compared to the Model 3, like its storage space, which offers more.

For the cabin space, owners can get more from the Model S, which comes at 25.0 cubic feet behind the rear seats, while the Model 3 comes at 19.8 cubic feet.

When the seats fold, owners can get much more cabin space from their Model S at 64.6 cubic feet, which is much more than the model 3 at 22.9 cubic feet.

The Model S comes with a headroom of 38.8 inches in the front, and 35.3 inches in the rear.

However, the Model 3 offers more headroom at 40.3 inches in the front for the glass roof and 39.6 inches for the standard roof while its rear headroom is about 37.7 inches. Hence, the Model 3 offers more headroom than the Model S.

The legroom otherwise does not come with many differences in both models. The Model S comes with 42.7 inches in front, which is the same as the Model 3. Also, the legroom in the rear comes at 35.2 inches for the front row in Model 3 and 35.4 inches for Model S.

What About Model Y?

The Model Y offers a little more front headroom which stands at 41.0 inches. It has a little less headroom in the rear at 39.4 inches.

For the leg room, the Model 3 offers more in the front at 42.7 inches while the Model Y comes at 41.8 inches. The Model 3 comes with a rear legroom of 35.2 inches and the Model Y offers more at 40.5 inches.

Their shoulder room is quite similar, with 56.4 inches in front in the Model Y and 56.3 inches in the Model 3. The rear comes at 54.0 inches in both models.

For the hip room, the Model Y is at 53.8 inches in the front, and 50.6 inches in the rear. Tesla Model 3, however, comes with 53.4 inches in the front and 52.4 inches in the rear.

The trunk space comes at 34.3 cubic feet for the Model Y behind the rear seat and 19.8 cubic feet for the model 3.

They both offer more when the rear seats fold, though the model Y is more at 72.1 cubic feet, while the model 3 comes at 22.9 cubic feet.

Regarding SUVs, there are other affordable family SUVs that drivers really love.

Sources

How to Pick Tesla Car Seats | GetJerry.com

The typical Tesla Driver: Here’s His Profile | Autoblog

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