COURTESY OF TESLA. STILL LIFE STYLED BY NICHHIA WIPPELL. PRICES APPROXIMATE. SEE BUYLINES FOR STOCKISTS
LESOFELECTRICvehiclesinAustraliaareat an
ll-timehigh,nudging 3000 unitssoldin2018.
Butthat’smerely0.3percentof thetotalannualcar
alesinthiscountry.Stackit upagainsta tinyplace
uchasNorway—whichboaststheworld’sbiggest
arket-share penetration of plug-in purchases at
r centofannualsales—andwestillhavea longway
togo.Geographically,financiallyandmentally.
Essentially,whatthosestatsshowusis Europeis morecompact,
moredenselypopulated,thereforehasmorechargingstations,is a
morecompetitivemarketandhasa greaterrangeofbattery-pow-
eredvehiclestochoosefrom,atmorepricepoints.InAustralia,
westillhavea fewobstaclestoovercome—namelylargetravel
distances,anxietyaboutbeingstranded,lackofincen-
tives via tax rebates and, of course, the dreaded
luxury car tax, which canadd several thousand
dollarstoa price,whichdoesstingconsidering
thestartingpointofelectriccarsinAustraliais
verymuchat theluxuryend.
That’s whereTesla’snew Model3 comes in.
The companysays its latest offeringhas been
created astheworld’sfirstmass-market electric
vehicle.TheModel3, itsmostaffordableyet,starts
at $67,900,but,as youcanseebelow,the“astested”
pricecomesinat nearlydoublethat,at $118,700.
Havingsaidthat,salesof Teslasinthiscountryare
relativelystrong;thepioneeringelectriccarmakeris
notoriouslyevasivewhenaskedaboutsalesfigures,
but the Australian Bureau of Statistics released a
2018 figureof 1320 vehiclessold,basedonannual
MotorVehicleCensusdata.
Butenoughwiththestats.Let’stalkaboutthedrive.
WasI pleasantlysurprised?Ohyes.
Wasit fast?Yee-ha.
Wasit fun?Somuch.
Didit turnheads?Definitely.
It’sa carunlikeanyotherI’vedriven.Taketheactual
firstpointofgettinginthecar—um,dude,where’s
my car key? — where owners need eithera smart-
phone and app or a black hotel-style swipecardto
unlock and enter. Cool. Different. (Potentiallyprob-
lematic if you lose your phone or your blackswipey,
though, which would happen to me on a dailybasis.)The vegan and timber interiors are serene,
clean and designed to maximise features but
minimiseclutter.Theall-glassroofis a thingof
wonder.Thedashis withoutanybuttonswhat-
soever, so the driver is faced simply with a
steeringwheelanda hugetouchscreen.
Consideringthis is a cardesigned by geeks,
everything is very intuitive. The touch screen
controlsandreportsoneverythingfromtheusual
suspectssuchas radio,GPSandBluetoothto tyre
pressure,lights, batterystatus, chargingstation
locationsandauto-pilotfunctionality.Thearray
ofdriver-assistfeatureswouldrequirea separate
review. Oh, andthere are arcade video games
because,youknow,ElonMuskgetsboredeasily.
Veganinteriorsaren’tforeveryone—onecar
aficionadodescribedthemas“abitplasticky”.
Butif you’reinthemarketfora Tesla,youwill
most likely embrace the entire eco-warrior
philosophyofthecompany.
I’d heard Teslas are zippy, and that reputation is absolutely
deserved. This was no compromised-acceleration car.The only
flawinthedrivingexperienceformewastheregenerativebraking
beingsetat‘Standard’—I preferredit at‘Low’—aswhenyou
take your footoff the accelerator,the car savesbattery lifeby
self-deceleratingfairlyrapidly,muchtothesurpriseandirritation
ofthosedrivingbehindme.
Speakingofbattery,therangeona singlefullchargeis some-
wherearoundthe560–620kilometremark.Onpaper,thatis an
excellentstatistic,but ina half-dayoferrandsaroundtown,I’d
chewedthrough 15 percentof thebattery.Chargingis eitherover-
nightathomeonlowcurrent,quicktop-upsatpubliccharging
spots(you’llget 270 kilometresofrangein 30 minutes) or
a full-batterySuperchargeatabout$30a pop.Thecar
willnavigateyoutothenearestchargepoint.
TheModel’s3 looksareclassicallysportyand
streamlined.Thecabinis huge,therearseatsfold
completelyflat and, heypresto, therearetwo
bootcavities:onelargerearoneanda smaller
frontone with two takeaway-food-bag hooks
underthebonnet.
I loveddrivingthisTesla:it’sanastoundingpiece
ofengineering,fullofcutting-edgetechnology;it’s
veryspaciousandversatile.It’salsobeautiful,andfun.
Theprice,sadly,maystillbeprohibitiveto many,but
weneedsustainabilitypioneerssuchas Teslatokeep
makinga stand—anda tangibleimpact.VITALSTATS
TeslaModel 3
NEEDFORSPEED:
0–100km/hin 3.4seconds,
maximumspeed261km/h
ENGINE:Dualmotor
all-wheel-drive
BESTBITS:Head-turning
looks,quickoffthemark
WORSTBITS:Recharging
stillcostsdollars
COMPETITORS:
BMWi8,JaguarI-Pace
BUYITBECAUSE:
Youlikeyoursustainability
tobesexy
HOWMUCH:
From$67,900;astested:
$118,700Clockwise from top
left: Maggie Marilyn
jacket, $795, and
jeans, $460,
maggiemarilyn.com;
Hereu bag, $296,
net-a-porter.com;
Stella McCartney
shoes, $599,
net-a-porter.com.EASIER BEING
GREEN
Foreco-warriorsnotonElonMuskmoney,
Tesla proposes the Model 3. By KatarinaKroslakova
TRAVEL
COMPANIONS179 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU^ December 2019
MOTORING