Tesla Model 3 Review

Last updated on July 26th, 2020 at 07:01 pm

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

The Tesla Model 3 has been outselling imported midsized luxury cars in the US for a couple of years now, and in fact outsold all of BMWs models put together in 2019. As soon as you take one for a drive it’s not hard to see why. We spent some time with the range-topping Performance version, and it very clearly had the grunt to humiliate any petrol-driven saloon in its class. In fact, off the line you’d be giving a lot of supercars something to worry about.

That’s not what most people buy a midsized saloon for, but it does show what Tesla has achieved with the Model 3. Starting at under £40,000, this is a true competitor to the more premium members of the BMW 3 series, Audio A4 or Mercedes C class for the sales exec or premium family user. It’s not quite Ford Mondeo territory, but it’s definitely drawing a line in the sand. With enough range for a sizeable daily commute and plenty of practicality, the Tesla Model 3 has loads of mainstream potential.

Price and Options

Although in terms of size and general appearance the Model 3 is clearly aimed at cars like the BMW 3-series so beloved of salespeople across the UK, it is priced somewhat higher. The Standard Range Plus starts £39,500, with the Long Range costing a base £46,990 and the Performance £55,500. Most of the differences come from battery size and potential speed, although Tesla does bundle some trim differences for each version, with the Partial Premium trim for the Standard Range Plus and Premium for the others. We will explain the performance and range variations later in this review.

The Standard Range Plus only has heated front seats, whereas the Long Range and Performance have heated rear seats too, plus LED fog lamps, interior floor mats and a better speaker system. All versions include a centre console with 4 USB ports and docking for two smartphones, folding heated mirrors and Bluetooth music connectivity. So the standard equipment is good. The Standard Range Plus is rear-wheel drive only whereas the other two versions have all-wheel drive. Only the Performance has 20in rims, whereas the other two use 18in wheels with 19in as an optional upgrade.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

The Tesla 3’s appearance doesn’t scream its abilities, unless you already know what Teslas can do. Even the Performance version with its 20in wheels and red brake callipers is a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. However, in a similar fashion to the way a Prius came across 25 years ago, the Tesla 3 is sufficiently different to a “normal” car that it looks futuristic. The central cabin is a little bulbous, but the panoramic class stretching the entire length also lends a sense of quality, and the overall cleanliness of the lines is surgically efficient.

Since this is not an electric version of a car that was once fossil-fuel-driven, there was no need for a large intake grille at the front, which lends a smoother appearance, although there is a smaller intake beneath the number plate. You might be taken aback by the complete lack of keyholes outside and the flush door handles that you have to press in to use. Instead, you wave a key car near the A pillar to lock and unlock the vehicle, or you can use your smartphone. Overall, Tesla has done a good job of discarding as much of the internal combustion heritage from the Model 3 as possible, whilst still looking like a car.

Interior Comfort

If the Tesla Model 3 has one Achilles heel (and to a certain extent so do all Teslas), it’s in the interior design and finish. The fact that virtually everything is controlled via the giant central LCD screen means that there is very little button clutter, but the plastic trim doesn’t have the same sense of quality finish you get from a German luxury car. It’s simple and doesn’t suffer from complications, but also has more of the Ikea about it than Harrods’s furniture department.

We’ve also heard many reports that earlier Teslas had some issues with panels fitting precisely, although this was always sorted out on warranty, and the Model 3 appears to be less susceptible. However, you might like the spartan interior look, and the standard panoramic glass roof on all models gives the interior a welcome sense of space. There’s a lot of storage in the central console, too, whilst the four USB ports and docking for two smartphones provide plenty of flexibility for the device-obsessed occupant.

The seats are comfortable enough, with synthetic leather involved whichever model you choose, although the two higher-end ones use more of it and of better quality. There are 12-way adjustments to get the front seats exactly the way you want them. Without a transmission tunnel, the middle rear passenger has more leg room than in most cars, too. So this is a fairly comfortable car for five adults.

Storage and Load Carrying

Although the Model 3 is a saloon, Tesla’s design means that you get luggage space front and rear. The total is a reasonable 425 litres, although the front is a mere 85 litres – enough for a couple of bags of shopping. This is well ahead of a Mercedes C-class, but still behind the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 or Jaguar XE.

However, you can also drop the Model 3’s rear seats down in a 60/40 arrangement, which isn’t as flexible as the 40/20/40 you get from many competitors, but still useful. It’s hard to get an official statement of capacity with the rear seats down, but we calculated it at around 1,140 litres, which is behind hatchbacks like the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, although it’s not far off a Nissan Leaf. The boot aperture could be a problem for some loads, as this is still a saloon, but this is a decent amount of capacity when you need it.

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

Another area where the Model 3 cuts corners compared to the S and X is the sole use of a giant 15in touchscreen in the centre of the console for all settings and information. There is no secondary display behind the steering wheel for key information like current speed, remaining battery capacity and range. Unlike the S and X, the central screen is landscape rather than portrait, so the corner nearest the driver is closer, and that’s where you find the speedometer and battery level icon, although the latter is very small.

Not having the current speed right in front of you in a car that will hit 60mph in 3.2 seconds could be a problem for your license. You get used to it, but it’s still a bit unintuitive, although you will be glancing in this direction on most cars when using the satnav. Speaking of this, there’s live traffic built in and the functions are generally easy to locate and operate to set up your destination.

The connected abilities are another area where Tesla hopes to leap ahead of the competition, leading some to call Teslas “computers with wheels”. The Model 3 is no different. The menu is very clear and well organised, with all the functions in one hierarchy. Choosing the driving modes is extremely easy. You can select Sport or Chill acceleration, three different levels of steering response, two levels of regenerative braking, and how the car behaves when you take the foot off the accelerator – creep, roll or hold. There’s also a Track Mode that makes it possible to drift round corners.

There’s also excellent, direct connectivity with online music. You don’t need to use your phone, as you can access services like Spotify music or TuneIn live radio streaming directly. However, it’s worth noting that the latter no longer includes BBC stations, so it’s fortunate that there’s DAB+ and FM radio built into European Model 3s meaning you can use the old way instead.

Tesla regularly adds new features with software updates – much more frequently than other manufacturers – and you can choose to be an early adopter and get the bleeding-edge stuff as soon as it comes out. But you do need to be careful not to have an update happening too soon before you need to drive off, because it can take an hour to complete.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance

Whichever Tesla Model 3 you choose, you get a car with the potential to humiliate hot hatches and many high-spec executive saloons. Even the Standard Range Plus can hit 62mph in 5.6 seconds (or 60 in 5.3 seconds), so even a BMW 330i would be given something to think about in a straight line. The Long Range drops this down to 4.6 seconds (4.4 seconds to 60), which is M3 territory, and the Performance will hit 62mph in 3.4 seconds (60 in 3.2 seconds), which will make Lamborghini drivers jealous.

Whilst most EVs and plug-in hybrids lose out in handling due to having 100-200kg more than the equivalent fossil fuel car, the Model 3 manages its weight well, thanks to most of it being low down. The Standard Range Plus is quite a bit lighter than the other two models, at 1,645kg versus 1,847kg. However, the use of all-wheel drive in the other two means that they cope with accelerating out of corners with surprising proficiency. If you’re used to a hard and focused dynamic such as you get from BMW M-car, Mercedes AMG or Audi RS, you might not quite enjoy the same flat sporty cornering from the Model 3, but having more acceleration available makes for a slightly Porsche 911-like driving style, where you scrub off speed before the corner knowing you can put it right back on with ease past the apex.

Running Costs

If you choose the cheapest power options, the Model 3 is only a little more expensive to run than a much more average EV, with a cost of 3.19p per mile for the Performance edition (calculated at 14p per kWh). But once you start to make full use of the Supercharging facilities, you will be paying around 80 per cent more, and as our test driving showed you can halve the range or more with spirited driving.

Unsurprisingly, the Model 3 sits in very high insurance groups, too. The Long Range and Performance are in Group 50, whilst the Standard Range Plus is just a couple of notches lower in Group 48. Putting that in perspective, a BMW M3 is only in Group 45, as is a Mercedes C63. The warranty varies with the model. The basic cover is four years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first, but the battery and drive unit have a longer warranty of eight years, with a 100,000-mile limit for the Standard Range Plus and 120,000 miles for the Long Range or Performance. Best of all, this includes a minimum 70 per cent retention of battery capacity over the warranty period. These are all passed onto the next owner when sold second hand, too.

Of course, you would gain all of this back and more from tax benefits from zero benifit-in-kind (BiK) as a company car like any EV. When we discussed this in detail, we used the Standard Range Plus as our example, but even the much more expensive Performance would only cost £702 in tax for a 40% taxpayer over three years of usage as a company car. If your company was willing to buy this car for you to use, you'd be a very happy driver indeed.

Range

The Standard Range Plus comes with a 54kWh battery, whereas the Long Range and Performance use 75kWh units. The end results are quite different in each case. The Standard Range Plus has a reasonable but not amazing WLTP distance of 254 miles, but the Long Range offers a much more impressive 348 miles, and the Performance a slightly reduced 329 miles. However, it’s worth noting that you will really need to take the lead weighting out of your accelerator foot to achieve this. We had a spirited 26-mile motorway drive and managed to take nearly 20 per cent out of our Performance test vehicle’s battery, so you’re likely to manage less than half the WLTP range if you drive it like you stole it. For a longer journey, you will really need to engage Chill mode and keep to the meaning of that word. It’s nice to know that you can hit 60mph in 3.2 seconds, but in everyday situations we’d recommend behaving more like a Prius owner if you want to travel a long way. Then you could just about get from London to Newcastle, perhaps with a short stop along the route.

That said, recent Teslas have further increased the lead the company has for rapid charging if you use their own Superchargers. The Standard Range Plus supports 170kW V3 Supercharging, whilst the other two versions can use 250kW Superchargers, if you can find one. This means you could get back to 80 per cent capacity in 20 minutes – just enough for a quick coffee and slice of cake while you wait. Even with regular public 50kW chargers, you can get to 80 per cent in under an hour, making the service station meal a viable break option.

These are all very practical, making a journey of many hundreds of miles entirely viable, so long as you take a charging break every few hours and don’t drive like a lunatic. The Standard Range Plus’s shorter range is mitigated by the smaller battery, which takes less time to charge. The Model 3 doesn’t qualify for free Supercharger usage, however – that’s still reserved for the S and X.

Safety

There has been a lot of discussion around the safety regarding Tesla’s aims to make its cars self-driving, but the technologies involved with enabling this capability actually help make the Model 3 a very safe car. It’s packed with sensors that do some very clever things. There’s a forward-looking radar, eight cameras, 360-degree sonar, and (of course) GPS. One natty ability is that you can see all the cars around you as detected vehicle types, so the car will tell you if you’re close on every side. In traffic it’s very cool to see all the other road users depicted on the LCD screen. If any of them get a bit close you’re notified.

The cruise control has an adaptive mode that senses the car in front and keeps you a safe distance behind but matches speed – great for average speed zones. There’s a further option to keep the car in its lane, although you’re not supposed to go to sleep or eat a pot noodle with this turned on. You’re meant to keep your hands on the wheel just in case. But this is a sure-fire winner to take some of the stress out of commuting in heavy traffic. The Model 3 also received five stars in every Euro NCAP category, so will keep its occupants and pedestrians as safe as possible in an accident.

Key Specifications

*based on electricity costs of 14p per kWh