Tesla’s Model 3 was meant to bring power to the people so to speak.

The 2024 Model 3 has vague echoes of the first Tesla I drove, the monumental Model S P100D, still my favourite Tesla.

Model S proportions didn’t translate well to a smaller car and it has been a long time since the face-peeling acceleration has revisited my aging visage. The 2024 Model 3 Performance brings changes, some that make sense and some that are just plain weird.

First the odd.

Why does the Australian Model 3 Performance get 343kw but the American version is said to have 280kw? Almost 40kw for an extra 0.2 second 0-100?

There are no steering column stalks.

Steering wheel scrolls are working overtime and adjusting mirrors and steering wheel positions is still a faff.

Then there is the secret gear selector in the overhead panel above the rearview mirror. It is there in case you break your central screen where the gear selector now lives, however if your screen is broken there is no speedo either.

There is a screen for 2nd row passengers which is probably overkill, it is mighty snug back there.

ABOVE: 202Tesla Model 3 Performance

Then the good

There is a smashing set of active dampers, but the ride is firm even in the least saneest of the settings.

Auto shift from park, a grouse idea. The beta function is activated from the central screen, allowing the Model 3 to sense which direction you want to go. If you backed into a parking space, forward gear is chosen by tapping the brake. It has worked well so far. Future tests will see if intervention is needed when leaving a parallel sport with cars front and back.

Drive modes include an “insane” setting. Experiments to follow.

The Tesla sound system is fabulous. While the central screen as a control interface continues to be a stumbling block for a casual user, the resulting music is blissful. I’ve left it as neutral settings to see how we go.

There is an Auto Steering function that is also in beta but we have yet to inquire further. Is it different to the normal semi-autonomous steering?

The new interior is tasteful and continues with pleather seating. There are updated soft touch surfaces and the Model 3 Performance gains a rather odd looking Star Trek warp-effect badge on the rear, and on the front head rests.

Price is $80,900 which undercuts Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N, but remains to be seen if it is as good.

3.1 seconds to 100? I’ll take it. Gay boys says there is no substitute for performance when it counts, one way or the other.

More to come

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