2021 Tesla Model 3 vs 2023

What's the difference?

I wasn't sure what I'd make of the Model 3 going in. I've heard all the stories, read all the reviews, but to really analyse it for a week was eye-opening.

Yes, it has its flaws: It's a far cry from affordable or accessible, it has some small usability blunders and unnecessary gimmicks you wouldn't expect from more mainstream rivals.

However, the interconnectedness and technology in this car adds a real-world gadget-like convenience which is an undeniable revolution from what car owners usually put up with. It's backed by an unrivalled range and sleek drive experience which really cements Tesla as still, by far, the king of electric cars. Only time will tell if the brand can bring the price down with future versions.

While it still carries its share of small frustrations and flaws, the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive is simply the best value EV on the market right now considering its range and features for the price, and deserves its place at the top of the electrified sales charts.

It’s fast, fun, futuristic, and efficient, and while the ride is unnecessarily hard and the tech goes a bit too far in some places, it’s clear that its competitors are still playing catch-up.

I think what's most interesting about the Tesla's design is the lack of it. The brand has really leaned into the whole clean aesthetic which sticks it to the car industry by making a feature of the fact this car requires no grilles or intakes, and intentionally steers clear of wings, highlights, and garnishes to leave a clean silhouette, as though the car was shaped by liquid.

A recent update even deletes the American-style chrome garnish around the window frames, in favour of an even more subdued matt black.

This approach adds further transparency to the fact that the inspiration behind this car is more from the world of tech products than it is from the existing codex of automotive design.

Elements remain though, mere suggestions of the influence of low-drag sports cars in that Porsche-style bonnet.

Massive 19-inch alloy wheels, perhaps the one element of a car that Tesla cannot stray from, finish the design with a brilliant silver highlight piece and are now clad in quieter, more efficient Korean Hankook rubber.

As always with Teslas, it gets even the more interesting on the inside. The minimalist tone is rammed home, the Model 3's cabin feeling less like a car and more like a piece of avant-garde furniture.

There's no instrument cluster, buttons, climate unit, nothing, just a clean line running across what is left of a dashboard, swooping into the nexus of that central screen.

To reinforce its eco nature, there's a highlight strip of open pore wood to break up the strong darkness of the panel work. Even door handles have been removed, with a simple button built into the door handles, with a backup release hidden underneath. Tidy.

Tesla makes sure to mention its interior materials are "vegan", with tasteful application of faux-leather seats, as well as faux-suede highlights in the doors and wireless charging bay.

While complaints echo across print and the internet of shoddy finish on Teslas, or perhaps the fact that they are 'premium' on price alone, I was truly taken aback by our test car.

Soft-touch trims extend well beyond where you'll commonly come in contact with them, the console plastics have a sturdy feel to them, with the only weak spot being some slightly misaligned headliner trim above the rear seats.

On the whole, though, if this car had an established premium badge on its wheel, I wouldn't be disappointed with the quality of the surfaces or finishes.

The same can be said with the exterior, with the only notably amiss shut lines being the ones around the boot lid which I could almost fit my fingers in. The rest of the car was well within what I'd consider a reasonable tolerance.

The Model 3 is slick, modern, inoffensive, but perhaps a bit featureless? To me it looks a little bit like a wireless mouse, but it speaks volumes that despite being a sedan, the Model 3’s curvy, garnish-free design is seemingly universally appealing across many markets.

There’s certainly something slick about its nose which dips inward as though taking influence from Porsche. It comes as no surprise this design has an extremely low drag coefficient of just 0.23cd.

Character is added back through the distinctive light profile, both front and rear, and the base 19-inch wheels on our car, which I know from various social media pages are seen as so stupendously cool that people buy them, or even steal them to put on other makes and models. It’s wild the cool bit is just a plastic aerodynamic cover for the alloy wheel beneath.

The cabin takes minimalism to the extreme, with just the single massive centre tablet interrupting the clean lines of the dash. The dash itself is low and finished with an appealingly simple woodgrain panel, and the directional air-vents are hidden away and controlled digitally rather than on full display.

This pairs with the abundance of glass to make for a space which is very… Apple Store. It’s spacious and pleasingly minimalist, but cars need to display information and have controls… more on this in the practicality section.

The mix of textures and materials is also pleasing, with soft surfaces where there needs to be soft surfaces, a neutral colour palette of blacks, greys, and silvers interrupted only by the woodgrain piece.

Again, I can see why this design is seemingly universally appealing. It’s simple, well executed, and feels modern.

Although Tesla has gone with an overtly minimalist approach to its interior, there are still plenty of places for your belongings. This is largely to do with the fact that the Model 3 needs to make no concessions for traditional running gear under its floorplan.

A clear example is the centre console design, which has two massive storage areas, one running under the charging bay, and another under the armrest console.

There are also useful tubs in the doors with large bottle holders, a small glove box, which oddly can only be opened through a button on the touchscreen, a set of large central cupholders, which annoyingly have no adjustable edges, and the aforementioned dual wireless charging bay for phones.

The seating arrangement proved adjustable with pre-set profile options selected through the screen for the wheel and mirrors.

There are parts of this car's design, however, which are straight-up flawed from a practicality perspective. No hard shortcut buttons for anything might look nice but adjusting key features through tiny touch elements on a huge screen is hardly intuitive when you're meant to be keeping your eyes on the road.

The same goes for a lack of an instrument cluster. Having to look away from the road just to check your speed isn't the best. I do think this could easily be solved by offering this car with a holographic head-up display. Why not? It costs nearly $100,000 and there's already so much tech in it.

All of this is a reminder that the Model 3 is more about turning a car into a Silicon Valley tech product than it is about using its inherent electrified benefits to turn it into the ultimate pragmatist's form of personal transport.

That said, the software in the Model 3 is beautiful. Operating this car is no different from using a cutting-edge smartphone, it's revolutionary in the same way going from a flip-phone to an iPhone was but really shouldn't be. We're in the future now, this is the way interacting with a car should feel in 2021.

The back seat offers decent room for a car of this size, but I was a little disappointed given how much room should be afforded by its EV underpinnings.

While the lack of a transmission tunnel (normally required to facilitate rear- or all-wheel drive in a traditional car) is a huge plus, especially for adults using the centre seat, there's not as much room as I expected elsewhere.

My knees had a little bit of airspace behind my own driving position, but my head was very close to the roof pillars on either side of that huge panoramic glass panel.

The comfortable and soft trim continues to the rear seats and doors though, so while it's a tad tight for someone my height (182cm/6'0") it's still comfortable, and rear passengers benefit from dual adjustable air vents (which seriously push out some cold air, easily as strong as the front vents), and there are also two USB-C ports for rear passengers to charge from.

Storage space comes in the form of small pockets on the backs of the front seats, large bottle holders in the doors, and a set of smaller bottle holders in the drop-down armrest. The rear row features dual ISOFIX child-seat mounting points on the outer two seats.

The boot is interesting. For this year, Tesla has added a motorised tailgate, and available space comes in at 425 litres. Keep in mind though, this includes the large under-floor storage area, which we needed to use to fit the whole CarsGuide demo luggage set.

The lack of a traditional engine in the Model 3 means its front also opens up to a so-called "frunk" which has a quoted capacity of 117 litres. I was happy to find that this comfortably fit our smallest (36-litre) CarsGuide demo case.

As modern as the interior feels though, it comes with a few drawbacks. Primarily, the fact that about 90 per cent of this car’s core functions are controlled solely through the multimedia screen. It’s a huge tablet with very impressive software that runs lightning fast, but its crisp resolution means the touch areas for some core features are a little too small to be comfortable to use while you’re on the move.

Unlike other cars where even a small button can at least be sought out by feel and provides tactile feedback once it’s been pressed, in the Tesla you are forced to take your eyes from the road at times to make sure you’re doing exactly what you want when you adjust things like the climate controls, steering tune, and radio.

The same can be said for the centrally located speedometer and power/regen indicator. With no dash or even a holographic display, these two key items have moved to the edge of the centre display. It’s not like this hasn’t been done before. Old versions of the Toyota Yaris, Nissan X-Trail, and Mini Cooper spring to mind, but it is annoying to have to constantly look to the centre of the car to reference something as important as your speed.

I’m seemingly fighting a losing battle on this one, with Tesla acolytes in the comment section roasting me every time I mention it, but for some buyers coming out of a car with a more traditional layout, it’s worth mentioning. The same can be said for the touch panel, and to be fair here, Tesla is a trend-setter with brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Polestar, and others moving to similar fully touch interfaces. For the record, I don’t like them in those cars either, but at least the Polestar had the good sense to maintain an actual instrument cluster and make the key functions have enormous touch regions in its menus.

Moving on, the Model 3’s interior is spacious for front passengers with some clever storage options. There’s a bottle holder in the door, two more in the centre console (although without adjustable ridges to hold smaller bottles in), dual wireless charging pads which help you have a cable-free interior, and two huge storage areas, one under the wireless chargers with a retracting lid, and another under the armrest console box.

The back seat is a less impressive story, with a more confined space courtesy of a descending roofline and seats which have bases much taller than in the front. I fit okay at 182cm tall, but if you’re any taller than me there’s a good chance your head will be touching the glass ceiling.

The seat trim is comfortable though, and it's a neat touch to have every position, even the centre position, heated. The flat floor gives you plenty of space for your feet, and amenity-wise there is a small bottle holder in the door, two more in the drop-down armrest, small pockets on the backs of the front seats, dual adjustable air vents, and dual USB-C power outlets.

The boot measures 561-litres (VDA) but this includes the large compartment under the boot floor which may not fit more unwieldy objects. We needed to use it to house the smallest (36L) CarsGuide luggage case to fit the whole set, but there was a little extra space to spare on either side once the larger two were loaded.

The frunk is 88-litres and was also able to fit the smallest luggage case, although this space is probably best saved for charging equipment.

This entry-level car is the most popular in the range for a very good reason. Despite offering an outstanding driving range and well above par features and performance, the Model 3 RWD wears an MSRP of $65,500.

That makes it one of the most affordable EVs you can buy in Australia, although the final price-tag will vary depending on where the car is delivered. In NSW where we tested the Model 3, the final price comes to just $66,776 thanks to a stamp duty exemption (-$2540) and a $3000 rebate currently in place.

The Rear Wheel Drive has been updated this year with a new battery with an alternate LFP chemistry, which has increased the WLTP-certified driving range to 491km on a single charge. It’s a lot of range, and one of the Tesla’s key advantages over its most direct rivals at this price.

Its most prime rival is the newcomer from Sweden via China, the Polestar 2, which mimics the Tesla’s pricing strategy. The base Polestar 2 is a front-wheel drive offering also from $63,900, but to get close to matching the equipment level of our Tesla here, it requires the optional Pilot safety pack, adding a further $5000 to the price.

Other rivals include the Nissan Leaf e+ (from $61,490) or Hyundai Kona Electric (from $60,500) although neither come close to this car’s level of standard inclusions.

The biggest threat to the Model 3’s dominance comes from within the brand’s own ranks, with the Model Y shooting to the top of buyers lists wherever it launches. Read our launch review of the Model Y here.

Standard stuff for the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive includes a massive 15-inch multimedia touchscreen with always-online connectivity, built-in navigation, a comprehensive host of apps which many rivals don’t have, LED headlights, 19-inch alloy wheels with aerodynamic hubcaps, ‘vegan’ leather interior trim, power adjust front seats, dual-zone climate control, a panoramic sunroof, a heated steering wheel, and heated seats all-round.

The app for this car deserves a special mention. It is one of the best executions of an automotive phone app on the market, offering you the ability to control many of the car’s functions remotely, as well as offering in-depth information on charging. More on this later.

Ironically, for a car with such a great software suite, there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity. Tesla is betting you’ll use built-in versions of key apps like Spotify, and use your phone with the more basic Bluetooth functions. Tough luck I guess if you often rely on your favourite iOS app, built-in music apps, or an app that the Tesla doesn’t support.

The Model 3 has no engine, just motors hidden away on its axles. This version has two, hence the 'dual motor' in its name.

Both are hugely powerful, more than most petrol cars at this price could hope to be, and with the confidence of fully digitized torque delivery it's astoundingly confident, too.

Tesla won't offer official figures for the Model 3's motor outputs (I assume so we can't compare them to rivals for whatever reason), but with a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.4 seconds suffice to say acceleration in this thing is sledgehammer brutal.

Tesla doesn’t talk power figures for its range, preferring instead to deal in 0-100km/h times, which are dubiously useful for the average buyer. Regardless, the RWD is the “slowest” Model 3, completing the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.1 seconds. To put that into perspective, it’s about as rapid as a Hyundai i30 N but feels faster thanks to its instantaneous torque application. 

Data listed elsewhere has the Model 3 producing roughly 190kW/375Nm which seems about right to me. It’s both more powerful and has the advantage of rear-wheel drive as opposed to front-wheel drive compared to its closest base Polestar 2 rival.

Again though, this speaks to the value of this base car. It’s as fast as a hot hatch, has fun rear-wheel drive dynamics, and only costs $10,000 more than one while adding 491km of all-electric range. What’s not to like about that?

Fuel? None, but the Model 3 can store a ton of electricity in its huge battery. Again, Tesla, for whatever reason, won't tell us the usable battery capacity in kWh to use as a comparison, leaving us only with the range to go off, and it's very impressive.

With 580km of range to play with, the Model 3 reaches beyond the bounds of 'range anxiety' and into the realm of competitive week-long ranges of combustion vehicles.

All of that is no consolation if it takes a day or more to charge your vehicle, which it can if you're stuck with a wall outlet.

Tesla is betting you'll rely on its supercharger network though, and I'll admit it does make things easy.

The Model 3 is equipped with a single charge port, a European-standard Type 2 Combo CCS charger, which can be used at Tesla supercharger locations or public outlets.

Use of both networks is a huge plus, giving Tesla owners an unrivalled choice of charging locations, at least up and down Australia's east coast.

Charging on DC at fast charging locations is impressive, with the Model 3's maximum charge speed at 250kW. This allows for charge times as forgettable as a grocery run.

At my nearest supercharger (120kW) for example my Model 3 charged from 25 – 90 per cent in about an hour. Anxiety free around a city indeed. Perhaps less so if you lived or frequently commuted regionally. Even 50kW fast chargers are a relative rarity.

When it comes to AC charging locations things are good, too. Tesla offers quite a few of these locations (less infrastructure is required), usually at the max AC speed of 22kW. Unlike the Model S and X, however, the Model 3's AC inverter is just 11kW, so that will mean longer charging times.

For reference I did one charging session from my local Tesla AC location and it added about 75km of range in an hour. Tesla says to charge off of a wall outlet you can expect just 10km an hour to be added, meaning it would take an eternity to charge this car from your garden-variety ~2kW wall socket.

Charging using Tesla's network is no longer free as it was in the first few years of the brand's presence in Australia, but it's still more affordable than filling up with petrol.

The Model 3 has an official/combined energy consumption figure of 13.1kWh/100km, while on our test of largely urban commuting the car used 17.1kWh/100km.

While you might not have much of a reference-point for that, it's about right for a car this size. You can expect its luxury rivals to consume beyond 20kWh/100km, while the very good Hyundai Kona consumed 14.1kWh/100km when I tested it in similar conditions.

First, range. 491km is the current number, although this seems to be changing frequently as Tesla tweaks the Model 3’s battery chemistry. The base car now has a new Lithium-iron-phosphate unit, which has both extended the range over its predecessor and eliminated the need to source the controversial cobalt as used in the more traditional Lithium-ion chemistries like NMC.

At nearly 500km of range though, the Model 3 RWD offers one of the longest ranges at this price-point, with the only rivals coming close including the Long Range Hyundai Kona electric (484km), new-generation Kia Niro EV (460km range) or Polestar 2 Standard Range (470km). 

In terms of efficiency the Model 3 RWD is one of the most energy efficient vehicles I have ever tested, scoring 13.4kWh/100km on my week with the car, against an official/combined number of 13.1kWh/100km. The only vehicle which I have ever pulled a better score from is the Hyundai Kona electric.

On the charging front the Model 3 maintains its great 11kW AC charger, but is able to charge at up to 250kW on a compatible Tesla Supercharger, well above the average for the segment.

Expect a charge time close to half an hour (from 10 - 80 percent) on DC, which is roughly what I experienced on my charge session on a 120kW Tesla Supercharger. According to the car’s computer, the session took 36 minutes to get to 80 per cent and cost $22.32 adding roughly 430km of range by the time it had achieved 100 per cent.

While Tesla location charging is no longer free as it once was for buyers, it is notable that Tesla users have the largest selection of chargers to choose from as they are compatible with both the software-locked Tesla stations and the regular public fast-chargers, as in Australia the Model 3 has a standard Type 2 CCS charging port.

One small downside to the Model 3 is it doesn’t yet offer V2L features (the ability to power devices from the car’s charging port) like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 or Nissan Leaf.

In some ways the pure electric drive of the Model 3 is radically different from standard combustion cars, but in other ways it's familiar. The layout won't be a shock to anyone (apart from that missing instrument cluster), but the way in which the car's key characteristics can be significantly altered via software alone could come as a shock.

The steering feels entirely artificial, with three modes to select. I found the default comfort setting to best suit this car's serene character, with the sport and even normal modes feeling rock-hard in comparison.

The feedback from the accelerator, too, can be varied, with the default mode preferring regeneration, allowing the car to act essentially as a single-pedal vehicle. It will come to a full stop as you let your foot off, maximising the amount of regained energy.

Too different for you? You can remove this function entirely, or even make the Model 3 behave like a car with a 'normal' transmission, and have it lurch forward at the lights when you take your foot off the brakes.

You can even adjust this car's acceleration, which by default is sledgehammer fast and ultra-responsive. The 4.4-second 0-100km/h sprint time capability becomes suddenly and vividly real with even a half-prod of the accelerator, but a 'chill' mode can be activated to smooth it out even further for those so inclined.

Tesla can even change all of these attributes via over-the-air updates which really gets you thinking about how much of this car exists in the real world and how much of it exists only in cyberspace.

One thing that can't be changed via update is the suspension tune which many consider to be firm to a fault. In my week of driving though I didn't notice this as much as I thought I might. Make no mistake, there are moments best described as 'brittle', especially at low speeds over ruts or corrugations, but when it comes to larger bumps the car is more forgiving.

The Model 3 uses its weight to its advantage, by slinging the batteries low in the chassis, and the fully independent suspension conspires with the entirely-computer-based all-wheel drive system to make for ridiculous cornering prowess. Even under heavy acceleration, torque distribution is cleverly and instantaneously controlled so you barely hear a chirp out of the tyres.

It doesn't quite have the romance or mechanical feedback of a car with a combustion engine, but its undeniably capable.

The cabin is ultra-quiet as well, adding to the futuristic overall drive experience. It is annoying to have to look away from the road to control this car's key functions, but the ability to monitor and receive important updates about your surroundings easily via the radar screen is a brilliant addition.

While cabin noise does take a bit of a jump at freeway speeds, the autopilot functions are neat. They are perhaps the best in the business (again, another thing Tesla has a head-start on over its rivals), but still had moments where they are imperfect.

While the car can all but drive itself (it will chide you for taking your hands off the wheel) the lane change feature proved a tad swervy, and when it does ask you to take control back the wheel can 'unlock' in a bit of a dramatic way.

After getting used to all the little conveniences and luxuries this car offers though, it's hard not to look at other cars a bit differently. Despite some minor flaws, the Model 3 makes you wonder why more of its rivals don't feel as slick and effortlessly capable.

The Model 3 is as slick and modern to drive as its design suggests, the minimalist approach extending to your interactions with the car’s inputs.

Visibility is great out the front of the Model 3, with the low dash and abundance of glass making it easy to see in most directions, it is only out the rear where visibility is a bit limited by the tall boot lid.

The steering is somewhat artificial, and has three modes. ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’ are far too heavy, with 'Comfort' the only mode I’d be using day-to-day. Even then, it was a relief to return to the comparatively featherweight steering of my Kia Niro long termer after my week in the Model 3.

The Tesla is much more fun though, with its absurdly responsive acceleration. Sure, on the numbers it’s only about as fast as a Hyundai i30N, but bloody hell does it feel faster. Dipping your toe into the accelerator simply throws you into the back of your seat, with the corresponding warp in speed anything but smooth. Use it to terrify your friends, family, EV naysayers, and family pets.

As heavy as the steering is, it’s also reactive, combining with the eager acceleration, firm ride, and rear-driven axle to make even this most basic Model 3 a lot of fun to steer.

For everyday driving though, the firm ride can be a bit much. It makes the car feel harsh and brittle, communicating much of the road through to the cabin. The base rear-drive with its 19-inch wheels is more comfortable than the Long Range or Performance grades too, with their bigger alloys, so keep this in mind if you’re shopping up the range. This problem is something the Model 3 shares with the Model Y, so buying the SUV version isn’t going to help.

One advantage the Model Y does get is ride height. The Model 3 is quite close to the ground, making it quite possible for it to scrape on speed bumps and driveways. This, no doubt, is to keep the drag down, but it might be too low for access to some driver’s properties.

The Model 3 is offered with a single regen tune, which can alternatively be switched for a more traditional drive experience where the brake pedal blends the regen in. The standard tune is nice though, with a linear roll-on and instant activation, saving you energy in every possible moment it can. It’s not quite as strong as some rival’s ‘single pedal’ driving modes, but it suits the Model 3 well.

Thanks to the hard ride the Model 3 is not the quietest EV when it come to cabin ambiance, with some road noise and thuds from the suspension being easily heard in the cabin. It also doesn’t emit a noise, with only a high-pitched whine from the rear electric motor when really pushed.

The software continues to be a strong point, with the Model 3 offering a very cool radar screen showing you all the objects around you, even ones you may not have seen, and the fact that there’s no push-start ignition or need to use keys is pretty neat, just hop in and drive, hop out and walk away, the car takes care of the rest.

Finally, the autonomous cruise feature is disturbingly good and deserves a special mention. While it’s hard to recommend the absurdly expensive ‘Full Self Driving’ upgrade ($10,100!) which is dubiously legal and offers you the opportunity to pay to be Elon Musk’s beta tester, the standard adaptive cruise is very good.

It stays in its lane better than pretty much all other active cruise systems I’ve used, is very clever at steering and avoiding objects, although does have a penchant for being a bit heavy on the brakes when in stop-start traffic. 

I’d go so far as to say this base Rear-Wheel Drive Model 3 is the pick of the bunch by a long shot. It’s fast and a lot of fun with a futuristic feel from behind the wheel. Sure the steering is heavy and the ride is hard, but it’s easily one of the best EVs to drive right now regardless.

Safety is a little different in the Model 3 because its abundance of cameras and radars means it doesn’t really have regular versions of the usual safety tech we cover here, but equivalent versions of things like auto emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, and lane keep assist. As already mentioned, the adaptive cruise suite is particularly impressive.

The Model 3 was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating to the 2019 standard, with very high scores across all categories.

Tesla has rolled back what used to be an eight-year warranty to four-years and 80,000km for the whole package, which includes roadside assist. Still a little behind the expected industry standard five-year promise, but ahead of some rivals at the premium-end.

The battery pack is covered by an eight-year/192,000km warranty to boost your confidence in this car's running gear.

As there are far fewer moving parts in a Tesla, the servicing is computer determined on how the vehicle is driven. The brand itemises individual items that may need attention, like brake pads and fluids, wiper blades, as well as air-conditioning filters, and the system informs users when a 'service' is required. Tesla also performs tyre changes and wheel alignments, none of which are outrageously priced.

The Model 3 is covered by a four-year and 80,000km warranty which seems on the face of it, quite lacking. It is in front of only BMW’s three-year warranty, and behind the industry standard five-years or more desirable seven-years.

The battery and drivetrain components however, are covered by a different eight-year or 192,000km warranty, adding at least some peace of mind.

Servicing is computer-determined, meaning the car will tell you when it wants to visit the shop, depending on how it has been driven and how long it has been between visits.

Scanning Tesla’s inventory of parts, filters, and fluids, none seem particularly expensive, although to maintain efficiency and handling you’ll want to keep the expensive EV-specific tyres in good condition.