New Tesla Model 3 variant revealed with longest driving range yet
10/09/2024 01:00 PM
Melbourne to Canberra on one charge is now possible – on paper – with a new Tesla Model 3 variant capable of a claimed 702km, but it has not been confirmed for Australia.
Tesla has unveiled its longest-range Model 3 yet – promising more than 700km on a single charge with the right option boxes ticked – but it is yet to be confirmed for Australia.
On sale now in Europe and the UK is a new Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) version of the TeslaModel 3, which is based on the Long Range All-Wheel Drive but with the front electric motor deleted.
It carries a driving range rating of 702km based on European WLTP lab testing – which appears, at first glance, to be a 73km boost over the Long Range AWD’s 629km rating.
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However, the fine print shows the Long Range RWD’s 702km claim was achieved on 18-inch wheels, while the Long Range AWD was tested on less aerodynamically efficient 19-inch alloys.
With 19-inch wheels optioned, the Long Range RWD is rated at 640km WLTP, which is 11km more than the AWD.
Meanwhile – for additional context – a Long Range AWD on 18-inch wheels claims a Tesla-estimated 678km range figure, or 14km less than its new sibling.
The Long Range RWD variant is yet to be confirmed for Australia, but it is manufactured in right-hand drive at Tesla’s Shanghai, China factory where cars for Australia and New Zealand are produced.
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Prices in Germany start from €44,990 ($AU73,300) – splitting the difference between the base, standard-range €39,990 ($AU65,100) Model 3 RWD and €49,990 ($AU81,400) Long Range AWD.
It suggests that, if introduced in Australia, the Long Range AWD would start from $59,900 plus on-road costs, between the $54,900 base RWD and $64,900 Long Range AWD.
That would give it a 43km-longer range rating than the Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor – the longest-range electric car currently on sale locally – for a $6500 lower price.
The Long Range AWD is the most energy-efficient car Tesla sells, with claimed consumption as low as 12.5kWh/100km from its LG-made 79kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery.
It is pipped at the post by the Model S Long Range (723km WLTP on 19-inch wheels) for the title of the company’s longest-range car in Europe.
Tesla’s new variant claims the same 201km/h top speed as all non-Performance Model 3s, as well as a 5.2-second 0-100km/h acceleration time – between the Long Range AWD’s 4.4sec, and the base Model 3 RWD’s 6.1sec.
Tesla does not disclose power outputs for its vehicles – and they are often hard to pin down between markets – but it is believed to be powered by the ‘3D6’ electric motor used on the rear axle of the Long Range AWD.
It produces 235kW according to European government homologation information – or 220kW according to data published by Tesla China.
The cheapest Model 3 RWD – with a smaller 60kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery – uses the less powerful ‘3D7’ electric motor, which produces either 194kW or 208kW, depending on the data source.
For context, a Model 3 Long Range AWD develops 331kW or 366kW, depending on the data source.
These are theoretical figures derived from adding the front and rear motor outputs together – so given the motors produce peak power at different RPMs, the true system power output will be lower.
Despite a larger battery capacity, the new Model 3 Long Range RWD is actually 14kg lighter than the base Model 3 RWD as the battery chemistry it uses is far more energy dense than that of the cheapest variant.
While it shares the Long Range name with the AWD, the new rear-drive driving-range leader uses the cheaper nine-speaker sound system of the base Model 3 RWD, rather than the 17-speaker stereo of all new AWD Model 3s.
The new grade is identical on the outside to the base Model 3 RWD.
The Model 3 Long Range RWD is also sold in the US – built in Fremont, California, and powered by a North American-made 82kWh battery to take advantage of generous tax incentives for electric vehicles with locally-sourced components.
There, the Long Range RWD is rated with a driving range of 584km on 18-inch wheels in EPA testing – which is more stringent than European WLTP protocols – against 549km for the Long Range AWD on 18-inch wheels.
Tesla has also recently introduced a Long Range RWD variant of the related Model Y SUV in Europe which, like the sedan, is based on the Long Range AWD but without the front electric motor.
The new Model Y grade carries WLTP range figures of 600km on 19-inch wheels, or 565km on 20s – compared to a coincidental Tesla-estimated 565km on 19s, and a WLTP-certified 533km on 20s, for the Long Range AWD.
It is less likely the Model Y Long Range RWD will come to Australia, as it is believed to be built in Germany like European-market Long Range AWDs, not the Chinese factory that produces Australian Model Ys.
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