Tesla Model 3 review

From £41,9908

The most affordable Tesla yet is tempting on the face of it, so should you yield or resist?

Matt Saunders Autocar
by Matt Saunders
13 September 2019

When Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning established Tesla Motors in 2003, with Elon Musk joining as chairman shortly after, the subject of this week’s road test was their ultimate goal. Namely, a low-cost, high-volume electric car with the kind of appeal that could wean us all off internal combustion for good. Perhaps it seemed like a distant vision at the time, but 15 years isn’t such a long time for such lofty ambitions to be realised, even in the automotive industry, and here we have the Tesla Model 3.

Musk would go on to oversee Tesla 's design and development of the Lotus Elise-based Roadster (an example of which was recently used as a dummy payload for one of the Falcon Heavy test flights into space) and bring Tesla to the attention of the public.

Model S featured a sizeable grille, so as not to appear too alien in a market dominated by combustion-engined cars. The Model 3 need not be so accommodating
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

Deliveries for the Tesla Model S saloon then started in 2012 before the Model X SUV arrived a few years later. Both electric cars were characterised by sleek, understated curves, a performance potential on a par with the quickest supercars from Italy and Germany and a driving range in excess of anything else found in the slowly unfolding market for zero-emission cars.

Such rapid, exciting growth with fledgling technology has come at a cost, though. Tesla has variously weathered a level of debt, production bottlenecks and quality control issues that have at times felt like existential threats.

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But profitability is now on the cards, thanks to the Model 3. As a solitary offering, in the first half of 2019, it outsold Alfa Romeo’s entire efforts in Europe and is the sub-£40,000 Tesla for the marque’s legions of fan so far priced out of a Model S or X. If Tesla’s Fremont plant in California can turn these cars out quickly enough, it could prove a game-changer in the truest sense, temping not only those fans but also the wider buying public into EV ownership.

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Whether those buyers can expect an ownership experience of sufficient calibre to match the vast hype is what we’ll discover today.

The Model 3 range at a glance

Three flavours of Model 3 are available in the UK: our Standard Range Plus test car; the Long Range; and the slightly more insane, flagship Tesla Model 3 Performance.

The Standard Range Plus is WLTP-certified for 254 miles of claimed range and the Long Range steps that up to 348 miles. The Performance, meanwhile, has a claimed range of 329 miles but will also hit 60mph from a standstill in just 3.2sec. That’s very nearly supercar-baiting levels of accelerative performance.

Price £37,340 (including £3500 government grant) Power 252bhp Torque 277lb ft 0-60mph 5.8sec 30-70mph in fourth na Fuel economy 3.13mpkWh CO2 emissions 0g/km 70-0mph 45.5m

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Tesla Model 3 news

1 tesla model 3 2019 rt hero front (1)
Of Tesla's 1.31 million deliveries, a staggering 1.24 million were Model 3 and Model Y cars
Tesla to detail new EV platform in March after record 2022
Tesla to detail new EV platform in March after record 2022
Tesla Model Y
The Tesla Model Y Performance is now priced at £59,990 – £8000 less than previously
Tesla slashes UK prices by as much as £8000
Tesla slashes UK prices by as much as £8000
Tesla Model 3 Model Y at Supercharger front 2023
An overwhelming majority of Tesla's fourth-quarter sales were of the Model 3 and the Model Y
Tesla sales fall short in final quarter of 2022
Tesla sales fall short in final quarter of 2022
1 audi rs e tron gt 2021 lhd first drive review hero front
The fastest electric cars
The fastest electric cars

DESIGN & STYLING

Tesla Model 3 road test - sie

Tesla’s goal has been to ensure the Model 3 is “smaller, simpler and more affordable” than the Model S that preceded it, so the new car doesn’t use air springs or adaptive dampers. Instead, you’ll find a passively damped coil spring at each corner, although the suspension itself is of a double-wishbone design at the front axle and five-link rear – the expensive, favoured set-up of traditional sporting saloons.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the almost entirely aluminium Model S, the Model 3’s body-in-white consists of mainly high-strength steel. Several exterior panels – notably the bonnet, boot, doors and roof – are made of aluminium, though, and this contributes to a reasonably low kerb weight of 1645kg.

Charge port is hidden beneath a neatly disguised panel that’s part of the rear light cluster, just like on the larger Model S. Type 2 and CCS ports allow for charging at public stations as well as at Tesla’s ultra-fast Superchargers
Richard Lane
Deputy road test editor

‘Reasonably’ low because, as a purely electric car, the Model 3 needs to carry a substantial battery pack. In the case of our entry-level Standard Range Plus test car, Tesla mounts its own 2976-cell pack, with a 50kWh usable capacity, in the skateboard style we’ve seen before – that is, spread over the floorpan but within the car’s unusually long wheelbase. It feeds a rear-mounted transaxle electric motor that drives the wheels through a single-speed gearbox.

Long Range and Performance versions of the Model 3 both use a 75kWh battery, which pushes the car’s WLTP driving range to 348 and 329 miles respectively. Each of those models also gets four-wheel drive courtesy of a second electric motor that sits within the front subframe. Attached via two mounts, it’s designed to pivot backwards into a vacant space during a collision.

As it stands, our car’s 254-mile range makes it competitive against rivals at price points both below and far in excess of its £40,000 asking price although it’s far from the exceptional showing that Tesla’s wares have often seemed in the past.

Aesthetically, the Tesla sidesteps the predictable machismo almost always present in cars of this size and price, but it’s hardly devoid of presence. Its footprint is not only marginally larger than that of the new BMW 3 Series but the high roofline also means you’re unlikely to lose it in a busy car park.

There’s some good old-fashioned aggression provided by the frowning headlights, too, and with a grille-less front bumper, the nose has something of a grimace about it. Note how low the nose is. Without an engine, Tesla has been able to capitalise on packaging and nowhere is this more apparent than the cabin.

INTERIOR

Tesla Model 3 road test - cabin

As an example of how the principles of minimalism can be applied to the field of automotive interior design, you needn’t look much further than the Model 3. So extreme are the lengths to which Tesla’s designers have gone to remove as much switchgear from its cabin as possible that you can count the number of physical controls on one hand.

Almost. Past the window switches on the doors, you’re left with two stalks mounted either side of the steering column (one’s a gearlever, the other is for the indicators), roof-mounted buttons for the hazard lights and emergency assistance services, and two multi-function rotary dials on the steering wheel. That’s it.

Centre console is home to plenty of storage compartments. Mind the sharp-edged, flimsy-feeling plastic lids don’t eat your fingers, though
Simon Davis
Road tester

Along with the enormous, 15.0in touchscreen slap bang in the middle of the pared-down, slimline dashboard, these are used to control and adjust practically every aspect of the Model 3. From the wing mirrors, to the steering wheel position, to the sat-nav, headlights, cruise control and windscreen wipers – all are operated through screen, steering wheel nipple and column stalk. There’s no instrument binnacle, either. That job has also been given to the touchscreen.

Such an approach to cabin architecture does take some getting used to. But once you’ve learned your way around the various sub-menus and figured out what everything does, it works well enough – if not perfectly. By using the screen not only as a means of controlling most of the car’s features but also as a medium for displaying important driving information, there is inevitably a heightened need to remove your eyes from the road that isn’t always comfortable.

As you’d expect from a Tesla, its infotainment system feels as though it has been lifted straight out of Silicon Valley. The 15.0in screen might seem almost comically large, but credit where it’s due: it’s difficult not to be impressed by the quality of its graphics and the slick manner in which it operates.

That said, its sheer size can make the job of actually using it a bit tricky, which isn’t great when you consider that it’s used to operate everything from the windscreen wipers to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

At least it isn’t short on toys, though. In addition to features such as sat-nav, Bluetooth and DAB radio – the sort of things you’d expect from a circa £40,000 compact saloon – there are some more, let’s say surprising features. Such as a digital whoopee cushion and a full suite of arcade-style games. At least you can’t accuse Tesla of having no sense of humour.

Elsewhere, oddments storage is plentiful and a combined luggage space of 542 litres (split between a small compartment at the front and a traditional rear boot) is certainly usable enough and more than the 480 litres you get from a 3 Series.

Two adults will fit in the second row in reasonable comfort, too. Vegan leather and glossy piano black trim do a convincing job of lifting the Model 3’s material appeal, but there’s still work to be done to truly match the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Tesla Model 3 road test - charging port

The pure-electric powertrain feels like it’s finally delivering on its full potential in the Model 3. In terms of measurable performance, in the lower-middle specification form in which we tested it, this car operates on a level beyond most compact saloons you might compare it with, even in their quicker guises. It’s also considerably swifter than any other electric passenger car we’ve tested at a comparable price.

On a warm dry day, and with around 90% of charge in its drive battery, our test car took 5.8sec to hit 60mph from rest. Given that’s 0.5sec slower than Tesla’s own claim, it might just disappoint one or two ‘Teslarati’ diehards; but given it’s also 0.6sec faster than the BMW 330e we tested in 2017, it really shouldn’t.

There’s a real sense of agility – you might call it nervousness until you get used to it – and body roll is controlled well, so the Model 3 exhibits an alert keeness to its handling
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

The car launches from standing on a wide open throttle in surprisingly smooth and contained fashion, without ever threatening to break traction but also with plenty of gathering urgency. Once rolling, it accrues speed towards the national limit very strongly and it feels much more potent at times than even its generous power and torque-to-weight figures would promise, since it responds so crisply and stoutly the instant you dig into the accelerator.

On our most useful benchmark of real-world performance – 30mph to 70mph – the Model 3 proved quicker even than the last 330d we tested back in 2012 and it was within 0.5sec of the current Volkswagen Golf R.

Real-world pace, in its richest supply from everyday speeds, plainly isn’t something that most Model 3 owners are going to want for. If this powertrain isn’t to be found supremely appealing for keen drivers, then, it’ll probably be because it’s so quiet, eerily smooth and inevitably a bit characterless; and, given the athleticism that the car can command, it does seem odd that Tesla didn’t add a choice of switchable ‘engine noises’ among all the other novelty digital features.

Brake pedal progression is good by EV standards, so it’s not at all hard to slow the car precisely and smoothly. A sophisticated method of cycling the car’s regenerative braking calibrations is the only thing really conspicuous by its absence in the driving experience. When other EVs offer one – and by doing so make it possible both to better engage with the car when driving quickly and to eke out better energy efficiency when driving gently – the Model 3 plainly should as well.

RIDE & HANDLING

Tesla Model 3 road test - cornering rear

It’s an interesting sign of what’s to come in this section to observe that the Model 3 steers, in some ways, like a mid-engined supercar. You can argue that it probably shouldn’t; that such directional sensitivity makes the car more demanding to drive than Tesla’s self-proclaimed “world’s first truly mass-market electric vehicle” ought to be. And we’ll come to that. But whatever you think about it, with just under two full turns between extremes of steering lock and a usefully tight turning circle as well, the Model 3 really does feel as rampantly agile, up to certain speeds, as something built very expensively in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna.

But the Model 3 doesn’t weigh what a Ferrari, a Pagani or a Lamborghini weighs, and wherever it hides away the majority of that mass, you can feel its influence in almost every move that the car makes. So although the front axle bites into a bend almost the instant you move the wheel off dead centre and the firmly set suspension resists body roll very effectively, it takes an instant or two for the car to settle into a cornering stance and feel stable enough to allow you to begin driving it out.

Stunned at how easy those Superchargers are to use. If you’ve got an account, all you have to do is turn up and plug in. Zero faffing about. Tesla has this part of EV ownership nailed
Simon Davis
Road tester

The numb-feeling steering is too often obtrusively heavy yet it also fails entirely to telegraph the moment that you’re beginning to load lateral forces into the front sidewalls. Both of these aspects are also clear contributory factors to the sense of darting nervousness you’ll feel while you’re getting used to the sheer keenness of the Tesla’s handling.

The good news is you do get used to it, and once you have, you can enjoy the Model 3 in faster-paced driving – on the motorway, on A-roads and on cross-country lanes – in a way not unlike you might any sport saloon. Vertical body control is firm, slightly fidgeting and animated almost everywhere, but there’s decent sophistication to the car’s damping so that ride composure doesn’t deteriorate as much as you expect it might on really testing B-roads.

ASSISTED DRIVING NOTES

The Model 3’s Autopilot and Autosteer functions extend beyond motorway lane keeping and traffic jam assist functionality to drive the car around town and to negotiate junctions autonomously – in theory. However, they’re troubling systems to use.

Autopilot will centre the car within its lane, maintain a chosen speed, regulate distance to the car in front and perform lane changes automatically. The system asks you to keep a hand on the wheel at all times, but oddly it requires no input of physical effort from the driver at all and is prone to deactivation if you do attempt to steer the car slightly.

It can also overreact to the presence of other cars around you in traffic that it has only just detected, making the car sweep to the far side of its lane or, worse, abandon an automatic lane change halfway through. Handover of control from car back to driver is telegraphed quite poorly as well.

EMERGENCY BRAKING

Is the system more than averagely prone to ‘false positive’ activation? ✗ Can its sensitivity be adjusted? ✓ Can it be deactivated entirely? ✓

LANE KEEPING

Does the system keep the driver engaged when activated? ✗ Can you easily avoid a pothole without deactivating it? ✗ Does it progressively warn, then intervene, to prevent you changing lanes into the path of an overtaking vehicle? ✗ Does it work equally well on singletrack roads as motorways? ✗ Once deactivated, does it stay off even after restart? ✓

INTELLIGENT CRUISE CONTROL

Can the system recognise and automatically adopt speed limits on posts and gantries? ✗ How consistently does it work? na Does it prevent you undertaking? ✗

COMFORT AND ISOLATION

Eerily strong performance is a dynamic trait we now all expect of an EV, but noisy rolling refinement certainly isn’t. And as much as Model 3 owners will likely still be struck by the car’s accelerative power and responsiveness, if they’re anything like us, they’ll also be disappointed by how much road roar the stiffly set suspension conducts into the cabin, and how much high-frequency audible buzz the car’s body structure can generate on a rough surface.

State-of-the-art noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) insulation techniques evidently weren’t budgeted for when Tesla designed and engineered this car. Given that it doesn’t have a clamouring piston engine, and it’s also the firm’s cheapest model, you might understand why; and yet you still might not be minded to overlook the decision entirely when you realise just how much background roar is allowed into the car at cruising speeds.

The Model 3 is short of Tesla’s own NVH standards, as set by the Model X and Model S, and well short of the refinement level that many will hope for in a car at this price – even some, we dare say, who are buying into the car’s performance appeal and might therefore be willing to accept a bit of compromise.

The car’s ride comfort is also below par, albeit less conspicuously so, for suppleness and bump absorption over less than smooth roads. Here, the firm suspension springing makes the body busy and fidgety. However, ultimate body control is retained and handling security isn’t compromised.

The heavy, inert, high-geared steering we referenced earlier does at least make for reasonable high-speed motorway stability and it is seldom affected by bump steer.

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MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Tesla Model 3 road test hero front

So just how affordable is this new Model 3 Standard Range Plus? At £37,340 (including the £3500 government plug-in grant), there are certainly cheaper electric vehicles out there. But we’re yet to come across a similarly priced EV that’s a genuine match for the Tesla in terms of its desirability and drivability.

That said, for the money, there are EVs that offer superior range. At typical UK motorway speeds, our test results suggest the Tesla should be capable of travelling around 200 miles on a single charge – some 30 miles less than the 64kWh Kia e-Niro we tested earlier this year.

CAP expects the Model 3 to perform reasonably strongly, holding 58% of its value after three years and 36k miles
Richard Lane
Deputy road test editor

Exit the motorway, stick to a 50mph cruise and, as our testing revealed, the Model 3 will return 4.5mpkWh and could put just under 230 miles between charges. The Model 3 also has a massive advantage up its sleeve: access to a network of more reliable and accessible public rapid chargers.

Because it’s fitted with a regular CCS charge port, not only can it tap into Tesla’s widespread Supercharger network, but it can also draw power from any compatible third-party provider. Of course, the Supercharger network remains the car’s default choice and is what the sat-nav will automatically guide you to if you don’t have enough range to complete your journey. But there’s no apparent penalty for using another network, and plugged into a 350kW Ionity charger, the Model 3 was still adding 300 miles of range per hour of charge.

VERDICT

Tesla Model 3 road test - static front

Tesla’s phenomenal rise has already delivered big success for the Model 3. The positioning of the car alone has seen to that. In the UK, it’s the Tesla you can buy for £400 a month. But there is much more to the Model 3 than a Tesla badge at an affordable price. Even in the current cheapest, lowliest form, the car combines truly realistic and practical usability with competitive saloon-car practicality, really striking performance and handling dynamism that doesn’t lack anything for the want of ambition.

That the car doesn’t quite seem ready for global domination may be because it’s notably short on refinement, a touch of easy drivability and thoroughly ironed-out completeness next to the world’s best compact executive saloons; and it’ll only be when electric powertrain technology makes for a better car in every sense that the whole world will embrace it.

Wrinkles aside, great electric performance and usability at this price
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

Still, we suspect plenty will embrace this car just as it is – more than enough, at any rate, to fuel the continued growth of its maker, to spread the reach of electric cars by quite some way, and to give Tesla many fresh challenges to meet as its story continues.

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