Finally, after being unveiled in 2016 followed by a lot of drama in production and delivery dates. Here we are in 2019 and the first Tesla Model 3 reaches the UAE. We were invited to take a look at it and it was...
The first thing to point out about the Model 3 is how it looks. Photos will never give this car justice. The Tesla Model 3 is a really good-looking car and it’s what you expect from Tesla at this point. Being an electric vehicle, you don’t need any engine cooling vents in the front, hence no need for a grille. The front of the Model 3 seems to be sculpted giving the whole car a smooth design.
Of course, the Model 3 we were presented is the long-range dual motor version. Two other trims will be available in our markets as far as Tesla said. A standard version short range, the long-range dual motor and a performance one for those who love that Tesla 'Ludicrous Mode'.
Speaking of Ludicrous Mode, the Tesla Model 3 can hit 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds with the version we saw and can go down to 3.5 seconds applying the performance package and top speed numbers going up to 255 km/h.
Continuing on the outside, you will notice that the car has eight cameras on all sides to help you drive, park and be as safe as possible. Although this is the smallest Tesla, you still gets five-stars in every category from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Like any Tesla, the Model 3 gets storage space in the front and the back, where the back trunk space divided into 2 levels of storage, one is your regular trunk space and the other is where usually the fuel tank is located in your fossil fuel vehicle. Of course, you can also fold the back seats for even more storage.
Stepping inside the Model 3 I was shocked by the design in a weird good way. I love minimal design and I have always loved how minimal are both the Tesla Model S and X. However, the Model 3 interior makes those looks cluttered since the only thing you get inside as far as controls go is a huge horizontal screen in the center of the dash, keeping view in front of the driver as clear as can be. It definitely needs time to get used to and we’ll only know if it really works when we have the chance to test drive the car for some time. Another thing that catches the attention on the dashboard is the AC vent that runs across the whole front. So, with no blades to control the airflow, Tesla has used a clever 2 air flow system that moves the air to where you want it to be by pushing air flow from one duct to another. All of that is done of course through that huge screen.
Moving to the back seats you get a great headroom and legroom, and to help you feel even more space in the back and the whole cabin this version has a full panoramic roof.
This long-range version gives you an average of 500 km for a full charge. With charging times varying based on the charger you use. For DC charging you get 274 km in 30 minutes and you get 71 km for every hour of AC charging.
Now for some important questions that I had on my mind for years since the first Tesla was announced. What better chance to get answers to these following questions than from Tesla themselves. Question #1 is how long will the batteries last for and what happens to the old batteries? Well according to Tesla, all vehicles have an 8-year warranty on batteries, so if anything happens to the batteries within, Tesla will replace them for you. The second question was what happens to old batteries once replaced? Being environment friendly is one of the most important factors any electric vehicle owner, Tesla will guarantee you that 97% of the old batteries will be recycled and used in new cars they produce.
The third and final question was about the price, so how much is the Tesla Model 3 does cost? You see the importance of the Model 3 is that it should be Tesla’s first mass produced vehicle that should change how we think of the price range of electric vehicles. Tesla UAE hasn’t yet announced the pricing for our market but they still are quoting a staring at $35,000 for the standard Model 3 and the one we saw the Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor is at $55,000.
I really hope we see deliveries of the Model 3 start coming in soon and see more of them on the roads. With no doubt, this car can be a very important milestone not just for Tesla but also for the whole EV industry.
