Auto Express – August 20, 2019

70 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS TeslaModel3vsBMW320d

MODELTESTED:Tesla Model 3StandardRange Plus

PRICE:£37,340 ENGINE:1x electric motor, 235bhp

ARECENTpricecuttothisentry-levelModel3
–theStandardRangePlus–meansit’snow
moreaffordablethanever,costing£37,340afterthe
£3,500Governmentgrantforelectriccars.That’s
£985cheaperthantheBMW3Serieshere,sothetwo
modelsareclosewhenitcomestopriceandspec.

Design &

engineering

THEModel3’splatformissimilar
totheconceptusedforTesla’slarger
ModelSandModelXEVs,withasteel‘skateboard’-
typechassisthatalsofeaturessomealuminium
tohelpreduceweight.Teslachosethatstyleof
architectureinordertosandwichtheModel3’s
55kWhbatteryinthecar’sfloor,sothemajority
ofits1,611kgislowdown.Thisshouldhelphandling
andensureitdoesn’timpactthepackagingtoomuch.
TheStandardRangePlusclaims254milesbetween
chargesfromits55kWhbattery(50kWhusable).
There’soneelectricmotoratthereardelivering
235bhpand375Nmoftorque,whichisplentyina
carthissizeandweight.Whileit’sheavierthanthe
320d,italsooutgunsitquiteconsiderablyforoutput.
AlthoughtheModel3iscompatiblewithTesla
Superchargers,it’salsothebrand’sfirstmodelto
acceptCCSrapidcharging,whichimprovesusability
byopeningthecaruptomanymorechargingpoints.
Withinfrastructureimprovingandpointswithupto
150kWbeinginstalledintheUK,thishelpspracticality.
Thisentry-levelModel3comeswellequipped,with
acentrallymounted15-inchtouchscreenthatcontrols
allofthecar’sfunctions.There’snootherscreen
insidethecabin,whichgivesitaverycleanand
uncluttereddesign,butwe’dlikeahead-updisplay
infrontofthedriverforvitalinformation.
Sat-nav,heatedelectricallyadjustableseats,LED
lights,climateandadaptivecruisecontrol,autonomous
brakingwithcollisionwarning,andthemarque’s
semi-autonomousAutopilotsystemareincluded.
It’sfairtosaycabinqualityhasn’talwaysbeena
Teslastrongpoint,especiallywhencomparedwith
establishedmakerslikeBMW,butthere’sanoticeable
stepuphereinthequalityoverthefirm’searlierefforts.
Yettherearestillsomeareasofiffybuildstandards,
particularlyaroundthetwocentralstoragebins.

Driving

COMPAREDwithacombustion-
enginedcar,youhavetorecalibrate
yourbrainanddrivingstyletogetthe
mostfromanEV.TherearetwomodesfortheTesla’s
throttleresponse:ChillandStandard.Inthefirstof
theseaccelerationisprogressiveandtorquebuilds
smoothly,soit’srelaxing,withplentyofperformance
inreserve.InStandardtheresponseismuchsharper,
withhugetorqueseeminglydeliveredinstantly.It
makesthecarfeelmuchmorealert,andinthis
settingthe3israpid.Itsprintedfrom0-60mphin
5.8seconds,0.8secondsquickerthanthe320d.
Withnogearchangesbecauseofthesingle-speed
automaticset-up,progressissmoothandacceleration
verystrongatlowandmidspeeds,asourfigures
from30-50mphand50-70mphshow.However
itlosesitsedgealittleathigherspeeds.
It’snotascommunicativeastheBMW,butthere’s
plentyofability.Withallthatweightlowdown,the

Testers’ notes

“Over-the-airupdatescanunlockextrafeatures

throughoutthecar’slifetime,soit’spossible

thatyourModel3couldimproveasitages;

notmanyconventionalcarscanclaimthat.”

SeanCarsonChiefreviewer

Model3gripshard,becauseparticularattention

waspaidtodevelopmentoftheEV-specifictyres

andsuspensiondesigntogetthecartoclingon,

despitethebattery’smass.

Youdon’tgetmuchofasensationastohowmuch

gripthereis,butyoucanmakethecarevenmoreagile

byadjustingthesteeringmodes;there’sComfort,

StandardandSport,whichrampupweightand

speedsothe3changesdirectionmoreaggressively.

Theregenerativebrakingisgood,too,slowing

thecaratapredictablerateandrecoupingenergy

toincreasepotentialrange.Ithasonandoffmodes,

butwe’dleaveiton,becauseitallowstheone-pedal

drivingthathascomedefinetheEVexperience.

Whilethecarridesrelativelywellonits18-inch

alloys,itcanfeelalittlelessforgivingthanwe’dlikeon

bumpiersurfaces,butitsettlesdownathigherspeed.

Practicality

CHARGINGisabigissueforEVs,butthe

Model3isflexible.Superchargerusecosts

24pperkWh(youget400kWhfreeevery

year)toaddaround170milesofrangein30minutes.

Butit’sthefirstTeslatoacceptCCSrapidcharging.

A50kWfeedwilltakejustunder50minutestogive

an80percenttop-up,whilea100kWchargedrops

thetimetoaround25minutes.A7.4kWwallbox

feedmeansafullovernightchargeathometakes

aroundeighthours,addingtothecar’sflexibility.

Ownership

THEModel3scoredthehighestever

safetyassistratingat94percent,under

EuroNCAP’slatestregime,helpingitto

receiveafullfive-starrating,alongwithautonomous

emergencybraking,adaptivecruiseandAutopilot.

TeslatoppedourDriverPower2016satisfaction

poll,buthasn’trankedsince.Withlotsoftechshared

withotherTeslas,theModel3shouldbereliable.

Running costs

YOURenergycostsforanaverageyear’s

motoring(12,000miles)willdependon

howmuchyouusepublicchargingpoints.

Signeduptoahomeelectricitytariffof12.5pper

kWh,you’llspendroughly£350onelectricityayear,

orjustunder3ppermile.That’scheapmotoring,even

comparedwiththefrugal320d.It’sunlikelythisfigure

willgomuchbeyond£500,evenwithpubliccharging.

GiventheModel3’szeroemissions,itattractsthe

lowest16percentBenefit-in-Kindcompanycartax.

It’scheaperthantheBMWtoo,sowillcosthigh-rate

earners£2,386peryear,comparedwith£4,567per

annumforthe320d,duetoits30percentBiKrate.

ȑȑ 4 L 4 L

score

4.2

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

score

4.0

ɃɃ 4 L 4 L

score

3.8

ȸȸ 4 L 4 L

score

4.8

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

score

4.0

Rear-seatroom is good, although it’salittle tighterthan BMW

Luggage capacityis 425litres using bootand frontstorage area

TeslaModel

Pricedropmakes hi-tech EV moreattractiv

Practicality

Boot

425litres

!

Braking

70-0/60-0/30-0mph

47.9/35.5/8.8m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

5.8 seconds/140mph

Running costs

4.3miles/kWh (ontest)

£6.25 fill-up/£0 or 16% tax

Se