As some long time members of the forum know, I recently went to visit my son in College Station, Texas... I got really good ticket prices of $180 for two people (Brandee and I) for both departure and return on Spirit Airlines! No kidding, I was just messing around on Google/Spirit one night and found REALLY good deals on Spirit Airlines tickets! But keep in mind, the REALLY good deals come when you can schedual for about at LEAST a month or more in advance - and this is at the time of this writing! But $180 for TWO PEOPLE to Houston Texas for a week and then return flight home was pretty much a STEAL! 

I'm documenting the cost and logistics because I think it's important -- something a lot of people testing cars NEVER does... why? Because someone is paying them, usually the manufacture of said car if we're being honest! But that's not the case with my reviews, I rent them and then share MY HONEST REVIEW here... I like Hertz, a company LONG trusted for reliable rentals and no-nonsense (to date) business -- Hertz was running specials on Tesla Model 3 -- 2023 model years, for only $280 for a week! And why the heck not? This was HOUSTON Texas! The blood of oil and everything else that is Texas tea, right? But the truth is they must have some deal with Tesla and the super cheap prices right now are to warm you up to electric vehicles -- mind you, I tried to order a Shelby GT-500H or Mercedes Benz High-Line originaly but no such options were available to me on Hertz.com at the time I made my reservation online -- over a MONTH in advance! So screw it, I just made the reservation for the cheapest 260 mile standard range, single motor 2003 Tesla Model 3! But I did so thinking that was all Hertz had, and for only $280 (FOR A WEEK W/ UNLIMITED MILES) it was FAR less than just regular or economy offerings! So imagine my shock when I'm walking up to pick-up my Tesla Model 3 at the airport -- when there is several convertible Mustang GT-H's and even a Mercedes Benz high-line sitting in the parking spots where I would pick up my Tesla Model 3! 

I went to the Hertz desk to inquire about the high end vehicles and Hertz representatives told me that they were "Upgrades!"... like really? How much is that upgrade? Well, let's just say it's more than any reasonable person would pay ($300-$500 per day) -- probably because you would be voiding three prior and lesser promised reservations! But when you arrive at a retal car lot, and they don't have your high end vehicle, it means they rented it to someone who WAY OVERPAID! LOL, but anyway... as fate would have it -- I'd be given THREE 2023 Tesla Model 3's! The first one was a "blue" model three -- maybe the cleanest of all three.... but this one did not have a key, which on a 2003 Tesla looks exactly like a plastic credit card... so after taking very few photos of this car I was given another "Black" 2023 Model 3... only this one had the interior door trim falling off of it! I mean -- I'd get in the car and the entire plastic molding around the door would fall in on me! LOL!

So finally they gave me a "Metallic Silver" 2023 that had some rough around the edges damage to the rims and body... upon approaching the lady at the exit window I asked her for a slip to document "damages" (as I always do and recommend in my other reviews) and she said, "This is Houston -- we have cameras -- no need for any slips"... somewhat beside myself -- I was just like, okay -- you don't have any! Just say so! And we left...

Getting into the Tesla and seeing the 98% battery charge on my car's single monitor that is centrally mounted in the middle of the dash -- it reminded me exactly like what my iPhone battery indicator icon at 98% looks like -- I cannot lie, at first you think it's just your cell phone battery being displayed, but then you realize you haven't even synced your phone yet! The term "range anxiety" had set in at that very moment, as you realize this isn't no gasoline vehicle... although I was able to overcome it by telling myself it was only 120 miles from Houston to Galveston Island, I thought -- well I'd prolly have to make it there with a little over 50% right? So I blasted the air conditioning, the stereo and even goosed it several times all the way to Galveston Island (from Houston IAH airport).... 

(Photo taken at HEB / Tesla Suoercharging center in College Station Texas later in the trip - but you can see the battery level icon I was discribing above)

This was my first time driving a Tesla more than "around the block"... I was stuck with this car for an entire week because I would not pay Hertz's "upgrade" charge for cars that sat on their lots in secret! In fact it just pissed me off and made me consider flying into Dallas next time where they offer premium rentals without the last minute gotcha "upgrade" charges! But whatever, I flew into Houston for a good deal, I'd deal with a Tesla for a week for a good deal and make a review out of it -- right?

Turned out the Tesla made it to Galveston Island some 120 miles away with some 40% battery left with me blasting the AC, Stereo and goosing it like it was a lease! Upon arriving at the Hilton Galveston Island Resorts I was pleased to find that there was a FREE Tesla charger at the Hilton Hotel! Hilton must pay because these charges never showed up on my bill. The first ones always free, right? We arrived in the early afternoon and plugged in for a FREE charge to near 100% in what was about a four or five hour nap while I slept! I had been up for over 24 hours at this point. 

If I had to discribe the experince from IAH to the Hilton -- I'd have to discribe it as over-all enjoyable -- except for the learning curve on the centural touch screen monitor placed in the center of the dash! No kidding, that is really the entire control panel for the entire car except for the turn signal and drive selector stalks! The good news is if you were born anytime after 1980 you could more or less quickly adapt to the new technology -- but the Tesla Maps, in eight lane traffic going thru Houston -- could not handle the quick on's and off's for a first time driver of these VERY COMPLEX roadways. Sorry. it's just the truth! But none the less, after missing one exit the system was quick to let us know we had to turn around and spend another five to ten minutes back - tracking because again -- we're talking about literally EIGHT LANE traffic in Downtown Houston! Very eleaborate sky-ways if you will in Downtown Houston... I'm not knocking it because again, this was my first time navigating "Houston"... and keep in mind -- I NEVER seen another Tesla on the Houston roads until I got on to Galveston Island! But that only added to the "exclusivity" of the little metallic silver vehicle... This car really did have a personality! And dispite what may be considered to be a GPS error at the end, the Tesla Model 3 turned out to be the hero of the entire vacation -- traversing almost 1,000 miles at only $100 worth of billable recharges!

It gets better -- just read on... So we're getting free charging at the Hilton Galveston Island -- and the view is spectacular! 

As you can see it's a very sunny and hot climate down there on Galveston Island in Texas! Top temp seen on the Tesla outside temp monitor was 107 F!

I was very impressed with the Tesla's air conditioning system, which still runs fans at the front of the car to cool the condenser - the same way that is done in ICE vehicles... so you'll hear that fan when the AC is in operation - but not much else unless you are going in reverse and it will project this audible almost floating space rover noise... that is the best way I can discribe it, but it's played to let people know the vehicle is in reverse and moving because otherwise it would be near silent. Driving the car was not too hard for me, but for someone who has never driven one before, it takes some getting used to! And I could see some older folks (Mostly the 80's up crowd) being completly unwilling to try and figure it out -- with people in their 60's and 70's being able to figure it out, but not digging it at all, learing a new trick... 

One of the biggest differences is the very small stalk on the right side of the stearing wheel that shifts the car from Park, Reverse, Nuteral and Drive. The button on the center of it puts it in park. Pushing down (IIRC) put's it into drive, and pushing up into reverse. You can tell what gear it's in by looking at the monitor in the center of the dash. Speaking of the monitor in the center of the dash, outside of the turn signals -- which thankfuly still have the stalk on the left side of the steering wheel with traditional operation -- EVERYTHING GOES THRU THE CENTER MOUNTED LCD MONITOR SCREEN -- or TV if you're older. We're talking the miles, speed, maps, music, HVAC, EVEN THE WIPERS AND HEADLIGHTS! I think as time went on you would get used to it and more familar with all the controls -- but in just a week, or even worse a short one or two day rental -- it would be a lot for an older first time driver to take in -- in fact it would be a lot for a youger person to take in also, but I had younger kids driving the car and they just seem to enjoy the novelty with more finesse. 

Driving the car is feels VERY SOLID! I was very impressed with the handling of this lower model 3, it wasn't sports car steering mind you -- but it was well road mannered for what it was. Being the low level single motor it still had some pep, but it wasn't quite what the dual motor I drove last year had to offer... suprisingly the single motor 2023 Tesla Model 3 is actually rear wheel drive! I broke them free on a wet section of road with a hard acceloration and I was shocked! Until then I had assumed it was front wheel drive! But it was quick, especially out of the hole and up to about 80 MPH... maybe more, I just didn't want to push it in Texas. The faster models have two, three and even four motors and are usually all wheel drive... base model single motor Tesle Model 3 has one motor, and is rear wheel drive (with traction control).

So we drove this thing up and down the main ocean drive for two days for free, because we were using the free Hilton Telsa charger they offered. I have read somewhere that Hilton is going to be installing even MORE Tesla chargers at their Hotels, but no word on if they will still be free... The free part was nice because even if you used 1/4 or half tank (Charge) it was still like free to fill it back up! Another nice thing was we hadn't seen another Tesla until we got on the island! The first night we were the ONLY Tesla in the parking lot. Just plugged it in when we returned to the hotel and it was as easy as that! 

By the second night, a Thursday getting closer to the weekend, the Teslas had converged on the free charger in the Hilton parking lot. 

The cord at the free charger would reach all four spots... three regular and one handicapped. The charging port is under a little door located on the drivers side rear which is best distribed as the left rear side marker light area. The door can be manually opened, or closed and also be opened and closed by command of the car itself. Using a Tesla charging station is plug and play and there is a little indicator light on the charging wand that indicates when the vehicles battery is full. In this situation photoed above, I had fallen asleep and someone else needed a charge, so they were able to tell that my car was full - and could transfer it to their vehicle. I guess this is a sort of "Tesla" code, as I suppose you could be a jerk and just take the power wand at any time -- not sure if it magnetically locks in until it's full, or if the button will allow an emergency disconnect by anyone - regardless if the transponder card was not near... but all is well that ends well because when I took this photo my car was at 100% and I sort of felt bad I didn't catch it sooner... but again, up until this point we were the only Tesla in the parking lot. From this point on I'd be watching it closer and moving my car out of the charging spots once it was full -- which is probably a good idea all the time. Since I was on vacation, and only working when I was with the car -- everything was sort of relaxed, and it went a long way in learning the nuances of an electric vehicle. It was less frustrating because I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere.

I'm not going to lie, at this point I was starting to think "Hey, this ain't half bad!"... I actually started to warm up to the Tesla! It was a cute little car that handled itself well, felt solid and had a whole lot of personality! And it was only $280 for the week (Including taxes).

The next morning we would head to College Station to see the kid... From Galveston Island to College station Texas it would be about 150 miles... this would be a good test since it was going to be one of the hottest days, driving into an even hotter area. I knew that the AC would be used quite a bit and I wasn't sure what kind of charging options would be available once I got there -- nor did I know how long it would take to re-charge! So I did a little research and found the HEB (gas station and supermarket) had a Tesla "Supercharger" installed for almost 10 cars to charge at one time -- up to 280 Kwh!

The drive to College Station was excellent! I even reach speeds in excess of 100MPH as some of the country roads out there really get moving at certian times of the day! Blasted the AC and stereo the entire way and entered College Station with 30% battery remaining after 150 miles... and that was hot-dogging it the last 40 miles. I pulled up to the Tesla charging station at HEB and there it was... bunch of red Tesla chargers literally 40 feet directly across from the gas pumps! I backed the car in and installed the wand. I got back in the car and registered my highest Kwh draw the entire trip @ 187 Kwh! The Tesla would be charged from 30% to 100% in LESS than 15 minutes according to the screen! Then it started to dawn on me... How the hell do I pay for this! LOL! There was no card reader at the charger -- and I plugged it in and it started charging without me giving any credit card information or anything! However unlike the charger at the Hilton that did not display a "charge" the screen while plugged into the supercharger was indicating I was being charged per Kwh -- and the running total as it sucked up more and more juice. As it got over 10 bucks I asked the woman to go ask the HEB gas station attendant if we paid her for the charge -- I did this because I hate looking stupid. The wife needed to pee and wanted to buy some stuff so she agreed to ask. When she returned she said the lady at the counter said "They just put those in, I don't know anything about them"... At this point I'm wondering if they are billing the previous renters credit card because I hadn't given it any card information -- nor had I gone to any Tesla website. So I said, "screw it"... I'm sure it will get figured out... but as you can see from the bill above, it was already all figured out and would be billed to my credit card on file with Hertz... So it was a pretty slick setup that seemed to cut out all the middlemen! Including the gas stations it was located! We put almost 1,000 miles on the Tesla the entire trip and only paid a few dollars over $100 for the electricity... although all the private charges for electricity on Galviston Island were free -- although they took HOURS, not minutes.

Knowing that I had a Tesla Super Charger close by in College Station that could fill up my battery in less than 15 minutes put my range anxiety at ease... we would now go meet the kid and turn over the vehicle once we got ourselves situated in a nearby Hotel... and I have to be honest, up until then Texas seemed pretty urban... but when the kid got in control of the Tesla he took us out on the back roads where Texas started to look a lot like -- well, Texas!

(You can hear the AC fans going full speed in this video)

After this he drove us to a local burger spot that was, how shall we say -- off the beaten path... as we pulled into the dusty - unpaved Texas burger joint that looked like an old wild-wild West saloon it felt kind of stange being there. For starters he parked right at the front door where people were eating on picnic tables  -- all of them Texan Cowboys and Cowgirls in traditional dress... as the dust settled you could see everyone looking at us like city slickers in our electric car... I started to feel really out of place in my grey suit and matching gray Tesla... but we hadn't seen the kid in awhile and if this is where he wanted to eat, so be it... As we went in the place had horse saddles and deep-South Texas flair for decoration. No computers, hand written tickets and you guessed it -- everyone inside was a Cowboy/girl too... We placed our order and sat down in the back, where the locals sort of cleared out once we sat down... it was rather funny -- but I understood, it was a small town and COVID was on the rise in the cities. It was a family place, and when our food came out it was actually one of the best burgers I've had! HUGE TOO! As we scarfed down the food complementing it at every bite the mood started to mellow and I could tell the locals at least knew we had good taste in burgers! 

We left there and drove around a bunch more looking for hotels in College Station, which also has a strong Texas flair, but nothing like that first trip "down the road" outside of campus. Worth mentioning however, there were no free chargers there in College Station like there was on the resort Island... but I was stil impressed by that less than 15 minute charge at the Super Charger earlier. We elected for a Wyndham hotel (no free charger) that was in walking distance of the kid... and that would be saying something since after we got dropped off, the kids took the Tesla and we got Texas drunk all night at the Hotel! LOL! Since my kids roomate would have to work until later in the afternoon on Saturday, we really didn't need a car and we didn't want to impose on a work day getting wasted all night.

We checked into our room, and wouldn't you know it... This photo was hanging on the wall