A major freshening for the 2024 Model 3 brings a quieter cabin, improved interior materials, a smoother ride, and an 8-inch climate and infotainment touchscreen for rear passengers. As before, the Model 3 is thrilling to drive, thanks to the immediate thrust from its all-electric powertrain along with superb, tied-down handling. Further, it makes “going electric” easy, thanks to its appealing midsized packaging, long driving range, and robust Supercharger compatibility which allows for rapid recharging across a vast network. And Tesla has (finally!) incorporated blind spot warning indicator lights near the side mirrors (more on that later).
But, as one of our testers commented, “It may have spectacular performance, but this car is an ergonomic nightmare.” That’s because just about every task or feature is handled by the 15.4-inch touchscreen perched at the center of the dashboard. And we mean everything, from the gear selector to the airflow of the dashboard vents to the adjustment of the side mirrors and steering wheel. It all goes through the touchscreen, which makes it thoroughly distracting to adjust almost anything within the vehicle while motoring down the road. To make matters worse, the Model 3 also forgoes steering-column stalks: The turn signals, wipers, and horn are controlled via touch-capacitive buttons on the steering wheel.
We bought a Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD—anonymously through Tesla’s online process—for the purpose of this road test review.
It’s hard to fault the Model 3’s dynamic performance. With nearly 400 horsepower from its dual electric motors, the power delivery is instant and abundant. You’ll be hard-pressed to tire of the thrill that comes from pressing the accelerator pedal hard. It’s super quick by the numbers, too, zipping from 0 to 60 mph in a speedy 4.3 seconds.
The tuning of the accelerator pedal and the regenerative braking system makes it fairly easy to drive the Model 3 smoothly. That’s a good thing, because unlike in many EVs the level of the regenerative braking isn’t adjustable. While we found it fine most of the time out on the road, it’s annoying at parking-lot speeds because releasing pressure off the accelerator pedal can feel like the parking brake has been activated suddenly. This makes it difficult to not be abrupt when turning around or backing up in a parking lot or your driveway.
We recorded 334 miles during our 70-mph highway range test, which is on the longer side among EVs. Home charging on a 240-volt circuit is speedy, with about 44 miles of range added per hour. Tesla’s proprietary Supercharger DC fast-charging network is a big advantage over other EVs for its seamlessness and convenient locations. And, Teslas can take in a max acceptance rate of 250 kilowatts, which is about as good as it gets.
Braking performance is excellent, both in terms of its short stopping distances and natural feel of the pedal. Handling agility is still a strong suit thanks to the car’s quick steering response and minimal body roll through corners, even when you’re pushing the pace. But the steering is too prompt for regular, everyday driving; even a slight turn of the steering wheel has a large effect, which can make it feel darty and like you’re in a video game.
The Model 3 was plagued with a very stiff ride when it originally came out in 2017. The most significant improvement with the 2024 freshening is a more comfortable ride. It’s much more absorbent and palatable now over bumps, with fewer of the stiff kicks and jittery sensations that the previous Model 3 suffered from on a near-constant basis. But, it’s still not on a par with other EV competitors like the BMW i4 and Hyundai Ioniq 6. To a lesser extent the car is also quieter, thanks to acoustic window glass, cutting down some of the excessive wind and road noise of the original Model 3.
Cabin comfort
Since the beginning, the Model 3 was endowed with a fantastic driving position. It delivers a clear and commanding view straight ahead, due in part to the lack of an instrument screen in front of the driver. We also appreciate that the design of the Model 3’s center console frees up lots of space for the driver’s right knee, and that the armrests are well-placed and nicely padded. The front seats provide a good balance of comfort and support. They are soft enough without being squishy, and the seatback forms a nice pocket to sit in, with ample side bolstering.
The rear seat remains a sore point—it’s a pretty tight space for average-sized adults and up. Taller passengers will likely bump their knees into the back of the front seats, and there isn’t much headroom to spare. Foot space is squished under the front seats, and there’s very little under-leg support thanks to the seat’s low position in relation to the floor. Compounding all of this is that the seatback is quite upright.
The original Model 3 did without traditional controls for adjusting the side mirrors, steering wheel, the airflow of the dashboard vents (you adjust the vents by dragging your fingers across the screen), and the windshield wipers. Now Tesla has taken away the turn-signal stalk and gear-selector lever. With the new car, the turn signals are touch-capacitive “buttons” on the steering wheel, while the gear selector is handled by using the 15.4-inch center dash-mounted infotainment touchscreen. All of this makes it thoroughly distracting to adjust almost anything within the vehicle while driving.
The turn signal buttons, in particular, are an ergonomic disaster. Their location forces the driver to look down every time they need to activate them—rather than just instinctively flicking a stalk with a hand without having to take eyes off the road. Plus, several drivers had instances where the signals wouldn’t activate when pressed, and the buttons can be hard to find when the steering wheel is turned. It’s also annoying that neither Android Auto nor Apple CarPlay are compatible with any Tesla.
The Model 3 comes standard with automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds, blind spot warning, lane centering assistance, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Tiny red LEDs at the base of the windshield pillars form a token BSW system (in addition to the existing display of surrounding vehicles on the center screen), but rear cross traffic warning still isn’t available. A rear seat belt-minder system comes standard on the Model 3, but a rear occupant alert system isn’t available.