Used Tesla Model 3 Performance long-term test: report 6

The car 2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor Performance | Run by James Tute, Content Editor

Why it's here To see if running an older Tesla is hassle-free or a headache, and whether full Supercharger access is a game-changer

Needs to be Wieldy enough for city-centre driving, comfortable on long trips and as fun to drive as its performance tag suggests

Mileage on arrival 40,181 Mileage now 43,133 List price when new £56,545 Value on arrival £16,500 Official range 329 miles Test range 282 miles

14 October 2025 – Over-complicated?

Consider me amazed. One gripe I had about my Tesla Model 3 when I first began running it was how I had to touch the car’s big infotainment screen three times to make the wing mirrors fold in.

Yet a few weeks ago I noticed that when I pulled up to the gates to the office car park and pressed a square marked Fold Mirrors on the screen, a second option appeared giving me the option to Save Location.

After pressing that once, I was delighted to find that every time I pulled up at the gates the mirrors folded in automatically – then folded out again once I was clear of them.

I had to repeat the save location procedure the other day after installing one of the fairly frequent software updates, but still, it’s an impressive feature.

There have been other times when tricks like that have made me warm to the Model 3’s cleverness.

Still, a few months on, I’m not totally convinced that Tesla’s minimalist dashboard suits me. Yes, it’s great that the sat-nav is very skilled at plotting routes with quick charging stops included, and allows me to decide how much battery charge to have left when I reach my destination.

But, in my eyes, that’s not a good reason not to have knobs for the air-conditioning temperature and stereo volume. Or, indeed, a button to fold in the wing mirrors, maybe combined with the very handy save location feature.

Likewise, I could accept the lack of a driver’s display showing the speed I’m driving if there was a head-up display projecting it onto the windscreen. As it stands, I have to look across at the infotainment screen to check my speed.

And as I wrote in an earlier piece, the Model 3 Performance is very fast so it would be easy to inadvertently exceed the speed limit.

On a similar note, it’s almost comical how often passengers have struggled with my car’s eccentric door handles and lack of an obvious way to open the doors from the inside. It’s not comical, though, because it assumes a level of dexterity that many people simply don’t have, either through age, illness or injury.

So while I started this piece on a positive note, I think that in some cases usability in my Model 3 is a touch too fiddly. Or maybe it requires a certain mindset.

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