Driving Tesla’s Model 3 Changes Everything

01.08.2017

After driving the new Tesla Model 3, there's little doubt the age of electric cars has arrived.

If you’ve ever driven Tesla's flagship vehicle—the $140,000 Model S P100D—you’ve experienced an unparalleled version of driving power. Zero to 60 in 2.3 seconds punches you back in the seat while making the stomach turn somersaults. Some people live for that feeling. I’m not one of them. 

Sure, driving a fully loaded electric beast is as thrilling as the fiercest roller coaster—but not everyone wants their daily commute to be the Kingda Ka. After taking one of the first drives of Tesla's new Model 3 last week, I came away thinking that CEO Elon Musk has finally delivered an electric car for the everyday road tripper like me.

The Model 3 still has plenty of pickup, effortlessly jumping from zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds in the upgraded version I test drove, which gets a stunning 310 miles on a charge. It’s nimble, comfortable, and has tight steering that’ll keep you grinning. The seats embrace you in a gentle hug that feels a bit more geared for road trip than racetrack. It’s the Model S on a diet, making up in practicality what it loses in extravagance. 

And I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet. 

The fact that this car still looks, drives, and feels like a Tesla—at a starting price of $35,000—shows how far the Silicon Valley automaker has come. It's still an expensive vehicle for many of Tesla's biggest fans, and compelling options packages will drag a lot of stretch spenders into uncomfortable territory. But at current battery prices, Tesla is setting a new standard for value in an electric car—which of course was Musk's plan all along.