Tesla Model 3 vs BMW 3 Series: electric car vs diesel showdown

2019-08-31 10:00

The new Tesla Model 3 is ruffling feathers in the junior exec class. We put the electric saloon up against the class-leading BMW 3 Series

Have we reached the point where you’re better off buying an electric car than a conventionally powered alternative? That’s the question we’re aiming to answer by examining every area of these two titans in this Auto Express twin test.

The Tesla Model 3 has been hotly anticipated – and now it’s finally here in right-hand-drive form. There has also been a cut to the car’s list price to coincide with the start of deliveries in the UK, so the Model 3 Standard Range Plus we’re testing here now costs from £36,490.

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That puts the American EV straight in the firing line of what is possibly the iconic junior executive saloon of the past two decades: the BMW 320d. When it comes to conventionally powered machinery, this is the class leader and therefore the one that the Model 3 has to overcome.

Even Tesla’s own boss, Elon Musk, said the Model 3 would take on and beat BMW’s best when it launched, so these two models are a closer comparison than you might think, despite their different methods of propulsion. But is the time right to go all-electric in a car like this? Let’s find out.

Tesla Model 3

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Model:	Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus
Price:	£36,490
Engine:	Single electric motor, 235bhp
0-60mph:	5.8 seconds
Test economy:	4.3 miles/kWh
CO2:	0g/km
Annual road tax:	£0

A recent price cut to this entry-level Model 3 – the Standard Range Plus – means it’s now more affordable than ever, costing £36,490 after the £3,500 Government grant for electric cars. That’s £1,835 cheaper than the BMW 3 Series here, so the two models are relatively close when it comes to price and spec.

Design & engineering

The Model 3’s platform is similar to the concept used for Tesla’s larger Model S and Model X EVs, with a steel skateboard’-type chassis that also features some aluminium to help reduce weight. Tesla chose that style of architecture in order to sandwich the Model 3’s 55kWh battery in the car’s floor, so the majority of its 1,611kg is low down. This should help handling and ensure it doesn’t impact the packaging too much.

The Standard Range Plus claims 254 miles between charges from its 55kWh battery (50kWh usable). There’s one electric motor at the rear delivering 235bhp and 375Nm of torque, which is plenty in a car this size and weight. While it’s heavier than the 320d, it also outguns it quite considerably for output.

Although the Model 3 is compatible with Tesla Superchargers, it’s also the brand’s first model to accept CCS rapid charging, which improves usability by opening the car up to many more charging points. With infrastructure improving and points with up to 150kW being installed in the UK, this helps practicality.

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This entry-level Model 3 comes well equipped, with a centrally mounted 15-inch touchscreen that controls all of the car’s functions. There’s no other screen inside the cabin, which gives it a very clean and uncluttered design, but we’d like a head-up display in front of the driver for vital information.

Sat-nav, heated electrically adjustable seats, LED lights, climate and adaptive cruise control, autonomous braking with collision warning, and the marque’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system are included.

It’s fair to say cabin quality hasn’t always been a Tesla strong point, especially when compared with established makers like BMW, but there’s a noticeable step up here in the quality over the firm’s earlier efforts. Yet there are still some areas of iffy build standards, particularly around the two central storage bins.

Driving

Compared with a combustion-engined car, you have to recalibrate your brain and driving style to get the most from an EV. There are two modes for the Tesla’s throttle response: Chill and Standard. In the first of these acceleration is progressive and torque builds smoothly, so it’s relaxing, with plenty of performance in reserve. In Standard the response is much sharper, with huge torque seemingly delivered instantly. It makes the car feel much more alert, and in this setting the 3 is rapid. It sprinted from 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds, 0.8 seconds quicker than the 320d.

With no gearchanges because of the single-speed automatic set-up, progress is smooth and acceleration very strong at low and mid speeds, as our figures from 30-50mph and 50-70mph show. However it loses its edge a little at higher speeds.

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It’s not as communicative as the BMW, but there’s plenty of ability. With all that weight low down, the Model 3 grips hard, because particular attention was paid to development of the EV-specific tyres and suspension design to get the car to cling on, despite the battery’s mass.

You don’t get much of a sensation as to how much grip there is, but you can make the car even more agile by adjusting the steering modes; there’s Comfort, Standard and Sport, which ramp up weight and speed so the 3 changes direction more aggressively.

The regenerative braking is good, too, slowing the car at a predictable rate and recouping energy to increase potential range. It has on and off modes, but we’d leave it on, because it allows the one-pedal driving that has come define the EV experience.

While the car rides relatively well on its 18-inch alloys, it can feel a little less forgiving than we’d like on bumpier surfaces, but it settles down at higher speed.

Practicality

Charging is a big issue for EVs, but the Model 3 is flexible. Supercharger use costs 24p per kWh (you get 400kWh free every year) to add around 170 miles of range in 30 minutes.

But it’s the first Tesla to accept CCS rapid charging. A 50kW feed will take just under 50 minutes to give an 80 per cent top-up, while a 100kW charge drops the time to around 25 minutes. A 7.4kW wallbox feed means a full overnight charge at home takes around eight hours, adding to the car’s flexibility.

Ownership

The Model 3 scored the highest ever safety assist rating at 94 per cent, under Euro NCAP’s latest regime, helping it to receive a full five-star rating, along with autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise and Autopilot.

Tesla topped our Driver Power 2016 satisfaction poll, but hasn’t ranked since. With lots of tech shared with other Teslas, the Model 3 should be reliable.

Running costs

Your energy costs for an average year’s motoring (12,000 miles) will depend on how much you use public charging points.

Signed up to a home electricity tariff of 12.5p per kWh, you’ll spend roughly £350 on electricity a year, or just under 3p per mile. That’s cheap motoring, even compared with the frugal 320d. It’s unlikely this figure will go much beyond £500, even with public charging.

Given the Model 3’s zero emissions, it attracts the lowest 16 per cent Benefit-in-Kind company car tax. It’s cheaper than the BMW too, so will cost high-rate earners £2,332 per year, compared with £4,567 per annum for the 320d, due to its 30 per cent BiK rate.

Testers’ notes: “Over-the-air updates can unlock extra features throughout the car’s lifetime, so it’s possible that your Model 3 could improve as it ages; not many conventional cars can claim that.”

BMW 3 Series

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Model:	BMW 320d M Sport Sport Auto
Price:	£38,325
Engine:	2.0-litre 4cyl diesel, 187bhp
0-60mph:	6.6 seconds
Test economy:	53.3mpg/11.7mpl
CO2:	113g/km
Annual road tax:	£145

For decades the diesel compact executive saloon has been the go-to choice for those wanting to balance luxury, decent performance and handling, cruising refinement, technology, plus practicality – but is that still the case today? We test the £38,325 320d M Sport to find out.