New 436-mile Tesla Model 3 variant revealed

New Tesla Model 3 variant is priced from £44,990 and can go further than any rival on a charge...

Tesla Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive front driving

On sale: November | Price from: £44,990

Few drivers, even in a petrol or diesel-powered car, would think of tackling the 412-mile journey between London and Glasgow without stopping for fuel along the way. Even fewer would be able to make it without pulling over for a comfort break. And yet, if you’re driving the new Tesla Model 3 Long Range Rear Wheel Drive – and have an iron bladder – it’s something you could do.

Indeed, with an official range of up to 436 miles between charges, the Long Range Rear Wheel Drive is not only the longest-range Model 3 variant yet, but also the most efficient, averaging 20.1kWh per 100 miles.

Tesla Model 3 dashboard

That official range is more than any version of the rival BMW i4 can manage, and also more than the 406-mile official range of the Polestar 2 in Long Range Single Motor form.

Of course, you’re unlikely to see that headline range figure in real-world conditions. When we tested a Model 3 RWD as part of our annual summer range test, for example, it managed 255 miles before running out of juice – 19.7% less than its official range of 318 miles. The Model 3 was, however, the most efficient car in our test, averaging 4.4mi/kWh.

Power for the Long Range Rear Wheel Drive comes from the same single electric motor which powers the Model 3 RWD, and in that car it’s enough to get the car to motorway speeds in a rapid 5.8sec.

Tesla Model 3 rear cornering

As with all electric cars, if you can charge up the new Model 3 variant at home, your running costs could be pleasantly small. Indeed, Tesla says that an average driver covering 10,000 miles per year and charging at home at a rate of 7p/kWh would spend less than £150 per year on charging. There’s also Tesla’s fast and reliable network of Superchargers if you rely on public charging points.

With a price tag of £44,990, the new Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive is £5000 more expensive than entry-level Model 3’s, and sits just below the Long Range All Wheel Drive model in Tesla’s line-up.


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