BMW 3 Series vs Tesla Model 3
A shift in power?
Asimple question deserves a simple answer – but don’t expect one here. This question was asked on social media by Matt Miller in response to news that we were heading to Amsterdam for our first European test drive of the Tesla Model 3. “Interested to see how you think it compares to the standard, uppity sports sedans. Would you own a Tesla Model 3 over an Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series?”
Well, would we? After the big build-up, is this the car that could finally make the electric vehicle usable, affordable, practical and viable for people not as a replacement for a city-hopper or school-run supermini or a family’s second car, but in place of a proper, good-sized, fairly high-mileage executive saloon?
We had 36 hours, last week, to begin finding some answers, with the keys to a range-topping Model 3 Performance in one hand and those for a brand-new BMW 330i M Sport in the other. We knew before we started, of course, that this would be only the beginning of a long process, and a critical year, in establishing exactly what the state of the zeroemissions passenger car art currently is. Of establishing, too, exactly how much the Model 3 moves the game on; and whether it’s quite the transformative car that Tesla’s everzealous supporters so desperately hope it’ll be.
An imperfect start, you might even say. You wouldn’t chose to line this particular Model 3 up against this 3 Series if you had the pick of both full model lines, after all.
The Model 3 Performance is one of only two versions of the car that are now on sale in mainland Europe and will come to UK buyers later this year. It has twin electric motors; 444bhp of peak power; and 471lb ft of torque from zero rpm; and it is good for 62mph from rest in what, I assure you, is a 3.4sec dash that gives new meaning to the word ‘startling’. It’s also likely to cost UK buyers in excess of £60,000 at list price. Cue a swift intake of breath.
The 330i M Sport looks, in some ways, like half the car on paper, with its 255bhp, 5.8sec 0-62mph claim and narrowly sub-£40k asking price – but, for the moment, it’s the most powerful petrol-powered car
in the G20-generation 3 Series model range. It’s also a car you can refuel within minutes, almost anywhere you happen to want to stop, and it will cruise for a good 400 miles between fills. It’s a car you can drive from Farnborough to Amsterdam in a day, without stopping for any longer than is needed to pump 60 litres of unleaded, plus a litre or so of bodily fluid. It will do much less for your Costa coffee reward points balance than the typical modern EV. Something tells me we will not escape the influence of these factors over the next few pages.
But what we must acknowledge is that the plug-in hybrid 330e, which might be considered the Model 3’s closest competitor and is due on sale later this year, won’t be unlike the 330i to drive. It, too, has a fourcylinder turbo petrol engine and a very similar performance level. Meanwhile, Tesla’s single-motor, rear-wheel-drive Model 3 Long Range, which ought to enter the UK model range at just beyond the £40,000 mark, should be similar to the Performance to use and drive. Like the mid-range Model 3 we’d have preferred to match it up against, the Performance has a 75kwh drive battery and a usable range estimated at more than 300 miles. So, no, we haven’t quite got like for like here, but we’ve certainly got close enough to make some useful initial conclusions, though.
Observations come first. If you’ve ever seen a late-model 3 Series, you know how big a Model 3 is: the two saloons are within 15mm of each other on overall length. Given that an electric powertrain is supposed to make space in a car compared with a combustion engine, then, it’s odd that the Tesla should lose the first exchange of this test, on cabin and boot space – but the BMW offers notably more cabin room, a lower and more enveloping driving position and a considerably bigger boot.
Just-so, right-sized practicality is at the very heart of the appeal of the compact saloon car. For a few generations now, the 3 Series has come to market with enough of it for four typically sized adults to travel in comfort and the G20 3 Series hits that sweet spot even with a little bit of space to spare.
The Model 3, however, makes adults feel squeezed in its second row. The Tesla’s packaging leaves little foot space under the front seats, makes head room slightly tight underneath that full-length glass roof and obliges you to sit bandy-kneed if you’re behind a full-sized adult. The BMW is guilty of none of these offences. It also has a wider, deeper boot than the Tesla’s so it would be more useful for carrying bulky items, something the American’s separate front cargo compartment wouldn’t compensate for.
The Tesla’s driving environment certainly feels like it should belong to the more spacious car of the two. The Model 3 makes a good first impression on perceived quality and its pared-down, minimalist fascia is tidy, clean-looking, modern and very pleasant, not unlike your own personal branch of the Apple Store. Big windows and a glass roof make for a light, airy feel, although the business of actually interacting with the car is something that may be slightly unintuitive, given that almost every secondary system and function is managed through the car’s monolithic 15in touchscreen computer display.
The 3 Series’ cabin, by contrast, isn’t one needing several hours and repeat dealership visits to become familiar. It neatly reminds you that the best-laid-out car interiors look busier than designer apartments because they need to be that way in order to work well on the road.
The BMW plainly handles better but perhaps not by as much as you might expect