Tesla Model 3 review

From Elon Musk’s late night tweets to seemingly endless speculation about share prices, there’s so much noise around Tesla that it’s sometimes easy to forget the company makes cars.

Granted, British buyers have been waiting a long time for this one. The Tesla Model 3 – the US brand’s much-vaunted entry-level model – was first unveiled more than three years ago, but finally arrived on our shores in right-hand drive form last summer.

Some of you Tesla fans will doubtless know plenty about this car already, but for those who aren’t that clued up, what exactly is the Model 3? Well, it's a fully electric car – Tesla doesn’t do petrols, diesels or even hybrids – and it’s the brand’s smallest model to date, sitting below the Model X SUV and the Model S luxury saloon.

It’s roughly the same size as the BMW 3 Series and there are currently three versions to choose from: an entry-level model called the Standard Range Plus, a Long Range model designed to maximise distances between charges, and a range-topping Performance variant that promises Porsche 911-beating acceleration. 

In the electric car world, the Model 3 sits between the Kia e-Niro and the Jaguar I-Pace, and, officially at least, can manage a greater distance between charges than either of those cars – up to 348 miles according to the latest European government tests.

Stay with us over the next few pages and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Tesla Model 3, including what it’s like to drive, how practical it is and how many miles it'll really do on a full charge. We’ll also run you through some of the car’s impressive tech.