What is it?
Cast your mind back to summer 2019, when the Model 3 arrived in Britain and sightings of its globular form had us pressing our noses up against the glass of our own, suddenly quite archaic-feeling combustion cars.
Tesla’s most affordable offering has, in the short time since then, gone from being almost non-existent on our roads to feeling commonplace, especially in London. And this despite it being considerably more expensive than EV hatchback stalwarts such as the Nissan Leaf. In fact, so strong is the brand and capable the product that Tesla’s junior saloon regularly tops monthly EV sales charts in Europe, with only Renault’s Zoe able to keep up. True, at this precise moment, Volkswagen’s box-fresh ID3 – the car ‘seeking forgiveness for Dieselgate’, as Jim Holder accurately put it – is the EV that European buyers want most, but with vital statistics inferior to the American car in almost every way, don’t bank on the novelty factor lasting.
To help its cause, Tesla has given the Model 3 an early facelift, though one less comprehensive than those traditionally applied to cars four or five years into the model-cycle. Call it a refresh. The range still consists of three variants, our test car being the entry-level, rear-driven Standard Range model, while both the Long Range and Performance use two electric motors to give them four-wheel drive and larger battery packs that push range from 254 to more than 350 miles.
Performance is brisk whichever powertrain you have, and the 283bhp motor in the Standard Range not only propels the car to 60mph in 5.3sec but does so in a manner that feels considerably quicker those numbers suggest.
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It's not just a car either. An EV is more than just a vehicle, a status symbol and an object of interest. It's also a component of an entirely new model of energy and transportation. With an EV, you can generate your own fuel, for free, at home, using solar panels. You can power your EV with renewable energy from the grid. You can help balance power on the grid by charging in the middle of the night when rates are low and even get paid for doing it. In time, vehicle to grid technology will even help you power your house, or charge up with cheap electricity and then export it back to the grid when prices are high, earning you money. An EV opens up a whole world of possibilities than an ICE vehicle can't hope to compete with. I like classic cars as much as the next old bloke, but an EV is a revolution that hasn't even started to have an impact yet. As a gearhead, you've got to love that. Plus, frankly, it doesn't fill your garage full of fumes when you start it. That's quite nice too.
I concur with the positive comments below, although the Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor is a much more useable proposition than the Standard Range Plus. It may be at least £10K more, but the residuals are better so the whole life cost is very little different.
Performance excellent, very fast, quiet, good suspension (better than 3 series I had before). Steering accurate, feedback a bit muted, but you can tell when grip is running out through the wheel.
Dashboard excellent, screen and controls excellent. Move wipers onto stalk though please. Voice control and navigation excellent on super large screen. Cleaning the interior is easy as it’s so simple in design which I personally like.
Even after a year I love the car. An astonishing leap forward vs ICE.
It’s also got my son’s pals interested in cars, so that’s a good thing to keep electronheads interested in cars in the future.
Its not free, somebody somewhere is paying for it, it cost money to install and keep it servicable, and the elcetricity it supplies to charge your car is being paid for by someone, then of course, there is the grant you probably got off the Government (thats the taxpayer by the way) so basically your mugging someone for your smugness.
Aw Diddums. I gave a review of a car I consider more than good.
Nothing smug about reporting his experience, and no one is being 'mugged.'
I look forward to my Cybertruck, probably late 2022.