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It's impressive what the Model 3 can do - no doubt about it... I think a rwd one would be a fairer fight. Then again, I'm not sure you can get the full juice with a rwd. It was a little concerning that it was more ragged around the edge of traction even as an AWD car, but that's a minor chink on a solid win. It's also illuminating to hear how new levels of connection are found with the tires when you are not too busy being deafened by an engine. I've read the same in electric performance motorcycle reviews, not just noise, but the reduction of vibration allowing for more traction information reaching your fingertips and brain.
I'd try to remind myself when driving it on wet or snowy conditions. It's easy for fantastic tires to hold 4200lbs in line in good conditions. When traction is low though, the CoG could be deceiving. I'm not saying it would handle worse than another 4000lb car (say my 5-series) but you have learned to expect it to handle on par with something much lighter, so it could be a matter of surprising on the downside, especially as you're used to something that runs with m3's and caymans. In a traction limited scenario, weight would come forward again and the CoG benefit will not be as full as it is in better conditions. Just a minor note I'd have to tape on my steering wheel. Traction from a dig, or any on-throttle scenario should not be a problem with decent AWD programming.
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