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Pros: neater looks, better material quality, excellent refinement
Cons: removal of column stalks, inert handling, minimalist interior
Tesla Model 3 Design
The most significant change for the new Tesla Model 3 is seen at the front of the car. Gone are the larger, slightly gormless headlight clusters and that curved line above the licence plate, which both served to give the vehicle a vaguely frog-like appearance. They have been replaced by much slimmer headlights and a flat, horizontal line beneath them that gives the Tesla far more definition than before.
OK, so it’s still quite a generic shape and the flowing roofline remains a little top-heavy in profile. Therefore, we aren’t exactly calling the new Model 3 pretty. But it’s definitely cleaner and more appealing to look at. Other changes amount to C-shaped rear lamp clusters that are now housed in the boot lid, as well as the addition of two new colours – one multicoat red and a dark metallic grey – at the expense of a previous red finish and also a silver.
There’s a hidden benefit to this simpler shape, however, which is improved aerodynamics. Tesla cites this Model 3 as having the “lowest absolute drag” of any of its products. That means the car will use its electric resources more efficiently and go further on a single charge of its battery pack.
Tesla Model 3 Interior
Inside, there are both positives and negatives. For the good points, material quality has been improved in pretty much every key location. The Tesla’s dashboard feels soft to the touch, there’s a hoop-like design feature which loops around the base of the windscreen and the door cards – in which there’s a first for the Model 3, a strip of ambient cabin lighting – and the general fit feels far better than in the earlier pre-facelift cars.
Furthermore, the user interface on the 15.4-inch touchscreen has been improved with a better software system, while additions such as twin wireless charging pads, heated and cooled front seats along with heated rear seats, and lots of aluminium trim on the centre console all help to make the interior of the Model 3 feel as nice as it can be.
However, it cannot be ignored that for all the technological mastery, the fascia of this car is incredibly plain to look at. Some will love that minimalism, naturally, but others won’t.
And then there are the column stalks. Or rather, lack of them. In the facelift, Telsa has done away with the old stalks – one on the right to select drive, the other on the left handling wipers and indicators – and instead put the drive selection on the main screen as a ‘slide the car to move’ graphic (with a back-up shift pad located on the ceiling of the Model 3), while relegating the wiper and indicator functions to buttons on the steering wheel. Which move around as you turn the wheel more.
None of these systems works anything like as well as the more sensible physical switchgear they have replaced, and they either feel like gimmicks for gimmicks’ sake at best, or borderline dangerous to operate at worst.
Tesla Model 3 Performance & Drive
It’s a shame about the interior ergonomic issues, because they take the lustre off what is otherwise a brilliant long-range electric vehicle. With the range-topping Performance version absent from the revised Model 3 line-up, there’s an entry-point, single-motor rear-wheel-drive car and then a dual-motor Long Range model.
Tesla is coy on exact battery pack sizes and various outputs, but we do know the Model 3 RWD – as tested here – has 245hp, will do 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds and can officially go up to 554km on a single charge of its 57.5kWh battery pack (on 18-inch wheels). The Long Range, meanwhile, packs 351hp, resulting in a 0-100km/h time of 4.4 seconds and an outright range of 678km from its larger 75kWh battery.
Changes to all Model 3s include the adoption of acoustic glass all around the top of the car, as well as uprated suspension bushings, passenger compartment seals and sound-deadening materials to make the car quieter than its predecessor at cruising speeds.
These changes have worked wonders. While the Model 3 is never that thrilling to drive, in terms of the way it is calibrated as a day-to-day conveyance it is nigh-on perfect. Light and darty steering makes placing the car on the road easy, while the brake pedal modulation is spot on.
Yet it’s the way it lopes along serenely and oh-so-quietly on the motorway which wins it the biggest accolades. There’s no doubt about it, this Model 3 is much more refined and comfortable than the old car, while it seems to have entirely believable electrical efficiency claims too. Overall, it’s a very impressive thing to drive.
Tesla Model 3 Pricing
The Model 3 starts from €42,990 in Ireland, while the Long Range is €8,000 more. Both cars come with 18-inch wheels, heated seats all round (and ventilated in the front), the full 15.4-inch infotainment system with navigation, radar cruise control and a wealth of advanced driver assist safety features, among much more.
Options amount to little more than 19-inch wheels, various metallic paints, the Premium black-and-white interior, and an enhanced autopilot function that’s probably not worth the outlay – it seems to struggle with European motorway conditions, perhaps being calibrated to work better on sunny US freeways, and just keeps cancelling itself after about 30 seconds of driving.
Carzone Verdict
Bizarre and frustrating decision to get rid of the column stalks in the cabin aside, everything Tesla has done to the Model 3 during the update has been more than worthwhile. Think what you like of the company (and its boss) itself, but this was always one of the best long-range electric vehicles anyway, and it has improved in every way bar one with the facelift. It’s supremely comfortable, it’s quiet, it’ll do the distance you expect on a charge, and it’s remarkably easy and likeable to be behind the wheel of for regular driving duties. With some sensible indicators fitted, the Model 3 would probably be out-and-out class-leading.