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North East Post
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Andy Harris
Motoring and Property Editor
@ytimesmotoring
1:00 AM 4th September 2023
cars

Tesla Model 3 Facelift

 
Tesla has overnight revealed its updated Model 3. First launched in 2019, the American car maker has introduced a number of significant changes in order to keep pace with the ever-expanding competition.
In recent years, the Hyundai Ioniq 6, BMW i4 and Polestar 2 have all appeared, each offering credible opposition to Tesla’s best seller.

Styling changes include thinner front headlights and redesigned bumpers front and rear. The are also new C-shaped rear light clusters for increased visual interest.
The already impressive drag coefficient drops still further to a very slippery 0.219, which will help the updated Model 3 slip through the air with even greater ease, helping to improve the range. New WLTP figures have been released with the range-opening rear-wheel drive model good for 344 miles, with the long-range model capable of up to 421 miles in ideal conditions. Ample for all users.

New acoustic glass should help quieten down the interior and improvements to the suspension should soften the ride a tad on the UK’s challenging asphalt.

The keen eye may have spotted the new steering wheel, with buttons for the indicators now fitted. Removing the indicator stalk I suppose goes with Tesla’s minimalistic interior, where almost all functions are controlled by the large touchscreen. This now has more display space and from experience is reasonably intuitive to use.

Expect UK sales to commence sometime in early 2024 and though UK prices have yet to be announced, an educated guess would be a starting price around £45,000.

Tesla’s Supercharger network continues to impress, but the likes of Gridserve and Ionity are rapidly expanding their provision for all. Home charging still represents the cheapest way to top up the battery though.

I hope to get behind the wheel and will report back.