Overview

The Tesla Model 3 has made quite an impact and is now a common sight on our roads as the take up of electric cars really accelerates. It brings Tesla’s innovative battery and motor technology to a more affordable end of the market, having been revised for 2024 and available for a much lower price than before.

The Model 3 has been tempting many of you out of your conventional piston-engined executive cars, and into the world of EV ownership. And that’s why it won the overall car of the year title in the 2020 Parkers New Car Awards, and is still a front-running EV today.

Tesla’s ‘Project Highland’ update brings a facelifted front end, better aerodynamics for a better battery range, lower noise levels, and a revised interior with better quality finishes than before and an (even more) simplified cockpit layout.

The revisions can’t come a moment too soon. Although the Model 3’s still competitive, the arrival of new rivals such as the Polestar 2, BMW i4, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and BYD Seal, mean that the innovative car maker was right not to be too complacent.

The Model 3 currently has a very simple layout – you can buy it in Rear Wheel Drive (344-mile range) and Long Range (421 miles) forms with a limited set of options and configurations. The main add-ons are around its self-driving capability, although Basic Autopilot comes with all models.

Other standard features are over the air updates for its operating system, Sentry Mode – security system that activates the cameras if the car is disturbed while it’s locked – is included, as is the excellent Tesla mobile app.

The Model 3 is aggressively priced, especially in entry-level Rear Wheel Drive form, but the range-topping Long Range Model also undercuts its rivals. The old Performance model is no longer available, although it’s likely to return in 2024 once sales of the updated model get up to speed. The original went on sale in 2018, and was mildly updated a number of times, with a series of tweaks in late 2021 before the facelift in 2023.

In use, a Tesla Model 3 shouldn’t offer up too many anxieties around its range. When the battery runs low, the sat-nav automatically diverts the car to the nearest available Tesla Supercharger. Travel information and advice are relayed exclusively by the big touchscreen – you’ll either love or hate this.

Click through the next few pages to read everything you need to know about the updated Tesla Model 3, including its practicality, how much it costs to run, what it’s like to drive – and whether we recommend buying one.