Tesla Model 3 Sedan (2017-2020)

The Tesla Model 3 is set to go on sale in the UK later this year. The Model 3 line-up begins with the £38,900 Standard Range Plus. The Long Range variant adds a second motor and starts at £47,900. But it's the £56,900 Model 3 Performance we're driving here, complete with sporty suspension rates, 75kWh battery and twin motors.

The Tesla Model 3 is the smallest, most affordable car in the American manufacturer’s range of EVs. It was an Auto Express 2020 Car of The Year award winner. Built to take on the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class, but Tesla also has one eye on the arrival of the BMW i4, as well as upstart executive EVs from the likes of Polestar.

The Model 3 was named Auto Express Car of the Year two years ago. For 2021, it's out with shiny chrome on the outside, and in with cool satin black trim. Inside the minimalist look and spacious interior remain, but piano black surfaces have been replaced by matte black trim, the centre console now gets a big storage box with a sliding lid.

The Model 3 comes in limited flavours: standard and long range – with a choice of rear or all-wheel drive – plus this Performance version with only the 4x4 option. Performance drops the ride height slightly and tweaks the motors to up the power from the 75kWh battery to around 450bhp. The range jumps up to a claimed 310 miles (and we did our best to dent that, but it appears pretty realistic) While you get a few cosmetic boosts, including the cute, carbon-fibre rear spoiler, this model doesn't come cheap – but then neither do its rivals.

The Model 3 has possibly the smoothest integration of a one pedal driving system of any EV on sale. A 0-62mph time of 5.2 seconds really doesn't do the Model 3 justice. At any speed, the lightning fast throttle response and instantaneous torque gives proper hyper hatch eagerness. It's also wonderfully easy to drive at low speeds.

The Tesla Model 3 is a winner – it has an impressive real-world battery range, a roomy and airy cabin, drives beautifully in all versions, and offers driver-assistance tech that largely works well in the UK. Despite nearly all controls being accessed via the central touchscreen, it all works well – as if the car's designers are as well versed in infotainment operating systems as they are in vehicle dynamics. It's not quite perfect – no car is – and there will be some who would bemoan the lack of SUV-style practicalities, while the fastback shape hints at a more useful hatchback the car didn't receive. There are already some murmurings about less-than optimum customer service when things go wrong, so a word to the wise if you're thinking of moving across a more established player.

The Tesla Model 3 electric car does away with anything so vulgar as a grille on its bumper. Instead, there's little more than a slim intake, a pair of fog lights and a number plate at the front. Performance models lose out on a few miles of range, being able to cover 352 miles between chargers, but they're much faster. Accelerating from 0-60mph takes as little as 3.1 seconds compared with the 4.2 seconds of the Long Range version and the Standard Plus' 5.3 seconds.