Tesla Model 3 Long Range review: Separate the art from the artiste

October 3, 2025 George East

If you can put your feelings about Elon Musk aside there are many reasons why the Tesla Model 3 is a best-seller

We all know that Elon Musk is divisive, but there’s no way of getting around the fact that the Tesla Model 3 is a superb piece of engineering and a landmark car on the EV landscape. Prior to its arrival in 2017, electric cars were largely a left-field choice. For the most part, their range was limited, they weren’t particularly inspiring to drive, and they looked weird.

Yet the ‘TM3” turned all of that on its head. It was affordable, too. Little wonder that from 2018 to 2020, it was the world’s best-selling electric car. Even an almost a decade later, it remains the best-selling used EV in the UK.

Prior to taking delivery of the facelifted Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive, I was sceptical. I’d heard much of – and even used – the unparalled Tesla Supercharger network, and how easy Tesla’s best-seller was to live with on a day-to-day basis.

After pretty much all of five minutes with the Model 3, the hype became apparently. However you feel about Tesla, the main reason why the Model 3 sells is because it’s annoyingly very good.

Tesla Model 3 Long Range design, interior, and technology

I’ve always liked the look of the Model 3. It’s a colour dependent thing, that’s for sure, but it’s certainly not ugly. My mid-tier model was finished in a subtle, if-not-anonymous Stealth Grey with the larger 19-inch ‘Nova’ alloys – a £1,500 option. Were I spending my own money, I’d have settled for the smaller, 18-inch ‘Photon’ aero wheels, which give you 37 miles more range. I think they look better, too.

Overall, then, the Tesla Model 3 handsome thing. The late-2023 ‘Highland’ facelift has added a neater front end with slimmer lights front and rear, several styling tweaks, and improved aerodynamics to reduce wind noise and eke some extra precious miles. On the bonnet, the Tesla logo remains but around the back, it’s been dropped in favour of ‘T E S L A’ wording for a cleaner look.

Interior-wise, the Tesla Model 3 is unlike anything I’ve been in before. There’s a 15.4-inch display in the middle of the dashboard for everything, and that’s it. No instrument cluster, nothing. For this facelifted car, Tesla – for reasons known unto itself – has completely done away with the indicator stalk and replaced it with a left/right rocker on the steering wheel.

When it comes to this particular pursuit of minimalism, I feel much has been made of it for no reason. The indicator layout takes a little getting used to, but nothing as severe as what you’d be led to believe. The same goes for the speed indicator in the top right of the screen. Tesla also claims it has improved the interior quality of the Model 3. Given I hadn’t driven the previous car, I’ll believe them as nothing feels rattly or poorly made.

Despite being initially somewhat sceptical of the touchscreen, it’s easily one of the best – if not the best – infotainment I’ve used in any car this year. Tesla’s team of engineers have ensured that nothing is more than two presses away. Despite the fact that the HVAC controls are hidden within the system, everything works perfectly and doesn’t act as a distraction while driving.

Moreover, the absence of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wasn’t a problem, either. Tesla’s navigation system works a dream. Spotify is also integrated with the car. I particularly enjoyed the 17-speaker sound system with its dual subwoofers and amplifiers. Fleetwood Mac did intensify on more than one occasion. So did Clutch.

On the move, Tesla’s maps will display nearby Supercharger locations if you need a top up, and the car’s electronic brain will calculate how much range you have left upon arriving at your destination.

It’s not all plain sailing, though. You can control various car functions such as the windows via the touchscreen when there are some perfectly good switches on the doors. I know they’re there to while away the time when charging, but I fail to see the point in gimmicks such as fart mode, the in-built drawing pad, ‘Camp Mode’, and a variety of games you’ll play once. This isn’t just Tesla specific. It goes for other manufacturers, too. I did, however, appreciate ‘Dog Mode’ that keeps the car cool if you leave a pet inside when parked up.

The thing that baffled me most about touchscreen, though, was how Tesla chooses to communicate the car’s efficiency. Instead of the usual miles per kilowatt hour, it uses a Watt-hours per mile or ‘Wh/mi’ as a standard. The lower the Wh/mi value, the better the efficiency. To work this out requires a degree in Big Maths and it doesn’t do much to dispel the rumours that Tesla has got creative in the past when it comes to measuring how efficient its cars actually are.

A shout out to the Tesla mobile app, too. I was faced with a 175-mile drive from Stansted Airport to where I live in the Peak District. With the app, I set the air conditioning and seat ventilation to as cold as possible. By the time I’d made the 10 minute walk from passport control to the car park, the Tesla – for which I’d become rather fond of by this stage – was ready for the cruise home.

Given how light and airy the Model 3’s cabin is, the drive home was just as pleasant and stress-free as the journey down. While pretty much any other colour was available, I’d also set the internal light bar to red. As the sun was setting and the sky darkened, I quickly found myself immersed in a world of Cyberpunk 2077 fantasies in my efforts to be through the front door by midnight.

Battery, motor and powertrain

In a nutshell, the Model 3 is an unbelievably easy car to with which to live. The RWD Tesla Model 3 Long Range comes with a 75kWh battery. Tesla claims this will give you up to 436 miles of range. Like every other carmaker, this figure is inflated but not massively so. During the 12 days I spent with the car, I got a 346-mile range from it, largely driving around in ‘Chill’ mode (Tesla’s equivalent to ‘Eco’) which softens the suspension and dulls the throttle response. At 4.3 miles per kilowatt hour, efficiency is slightly less than the quoted 4.7 miles/kWh, but excellent nonetheless.

There’s also a ‘Normal’ drive setting, which lets your take advantage of all of the Model 3 Long Range’s 315bhp. Yet given it’s more of a long-distance cruiser than anything else, hooning about doesn’t befit its character. In terms of driving, though, the Model 3 is genuinely entertaining. In fact, along with the Škoda Elroq vRS and the Abarth 600e Scorpionissima, it’s one of the cars I’ve taken out on a Sunday morning “for a drive” because I properly fancied it.

Compared to most EVs, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range is pretty sylph-like and weighs in at ‘just’ 1,760kg thanks to aluminium doors and bonnet. The battery is also mounted low down to give it a low centre of gravity. Weight distribution comes in at a 47% bias towards the front and 53% towards the rear. Pull everything together, and you have a compact executive EV that’ll dance lithely in the twisty stuff.

From the driving seat, the 332lb ft of torque allows for some punchy point-to-point action, and you can lean confidently on what’s a well-sorted chassis. There are no nasty surprises at all in the handling department. In this respect, the Model 3 Long Range felt like a BMW 330i of yore. Whether you’re mile munching on the motorway or behaving indulgently on a B-road, the Tesla handles it without a fuss.

The automated driving is something Tesla has made much of, but it’s not something I particularly enjoyed. Firstly, even if the system on my Model 3 were fully automated, I’d not have been overly keen to engage with that as I’m sentient and the car is not. Secondly, I enjoy driving. Cruise control on the motorway was pleasant, and added to the Model 3’s overall easy and comfortable nature.

There isn’t much to say about the charging experience that’s already been said. You simply plug the car into the Supercharger, computer wizardry happens, and the car begins charging. No need for faffing with an app or anything. The Model 3 Long Range has a max charging power of 250kW, allowing you to charge from 10-80% (the equivalent of 210 miles) in 27 minutes. Using a 7.4kWh home charger, a full charge will take 12 hours.

Price and specification

With the standard 18-inch ‘Photon’ wheels, a Stealth Grey Tesla Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive costs £44,990 or £349 per month for four years with a £10,250 downpayment. The ‘Nova’ alloys, which reduce range by 38 miles, are a £1,500 option along with ‘Deep Blue Metallic’, ‘Diamond Black’, or ‘Pearl White Multi Coat’ paint.

Irrespective of trim level, there’s no doubt that the Model 3 is a great value proposition. The entry-level Rear-Wheel Drive with its 344-mile range is priced from £39,990, the Long Range All-Wheel Drive comes with a £49,990 price tag, and the 503bhp Tesla Model 3 Performance will set you back £59,990.

Alongside a home charger, the extensive options list includes a £6,800 “full self-driving” package, a £368 roof rack, and the £1,100 white interior package we had fitted to our car. Don’t choose that. It stains and picks up all sorts of nasties really easily.

Verdict

The Tesla Model 3 gets two thumbs up from me. I’m aware that Elon Musk isn’t a particularly stand-up chap, but neither was Steve Jobs and I’m writing this from a MacBook – the computing equivalent of the Model 3.

I enjoyed how the Model 3 proved me wrong and forced me to put my prejudices aside. I liked how it forced me to reconcile with separating the art from the artist, because at the end of the day, it’s an absolutely tremendous feat of engineering and design. It set out to make switching to EV as easy as possible and it nails that brief. There is absolutely nothing difficult about it.

And to counter the Musk link, James May owns a Tesla Model 3.

See. That’s better, isn’t it?