- Tesla
Model 3 Performance 2024 benefits from countless updates, including a longer power
increase to reach the 160 km/h mark significantly faster.
- Compared
to its predecessor, the new M3P is 3.9 and 8.7 seconds faster to 100 and 150 mph,
respectively, in our tests.
- The 510-hp Model 3 costs less than $57,000
and has nearly identical test results to an all-wheel-drive
BMW M3 Competition , which currently starts at around $86,000.
Welcome to the Car and Driver Testing Hub , where we focus on the testing numbers. We've
been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to
back up our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here ).
Surprisingly, the
redesigned Tesla Model 3 Performance doesn't have a "Ludicrous"
driving mode like the larger Tesla models, because it's absurdly fast. The
outgoing M3P was already one of the
fastest electric cars we've ever tested , hitting 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. But the new
"Highland" version features upgrades that help the
electric sedan beat
that mph mark and accelerate to 100 mph and beyond in significantly shorter
intervals.
Tesla—and in
particular its CEO Elon Musk—isn't exactly known for its subtlety. Still, the Performance
name of the most powerful Model 3 sounds unusually understated for a car
that accelerated to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds on our test track. That's
three-tenths faster than a 2019 M3P we tested, but that's far from the most
impressive improvement. The 2024 Model 3 Performance is also much quicker and faster
on the track, completing the quarter-mile in 11.0 seconds at 125 mph. Its
predecessor managed the 1,320-foot course in 11.6 seconds at 115 mph. Even more
surprising, the difference between their acceleration times got even bigger on
the way to speeds over 100 mph.
Marc Urbano|Car and
Driver
While an electric
vehicle's instant torque plays a key role in its speed, acceleration typically
slackens as speed increases due to a lack of gear ratios and limited sustained
peak power. In the Highland Model 3 Performance, the latest version of the car's
rear-wheel drive boasts 16 and 32 percent higher peak torque and 510 hp and 700
Nm of torque, respectively, compared to the previous M3P model, according to
Tesla. The new car now has 510 hp and 700 Nm of torque, and has two motors that
deliver more power and last longer, as sustained power has increased by 22
percent, according to Tesla. Add to that a slightly lower drag coefficient,
which makes the car more slippery, and a diet that helped our newer 1850 kg
test car lose 18 kg, and the results speak for themselves.
Marc Urbano|Car and
Driver
The new Model 3
Performance with all-wheel drive accelerated to 100 mph in 6.8 seconds, 1.4
seconds faster than its predecessor. From there, its lead only grew, as it
reached 130 mph 3.9 seconds faster with a run time of 12.3 seconds. Finally,
the race to 150 mph took 18.3 seconds in the new M3P - an incredible 8.7
seconds faster than its 2019 counterpart.
Even more absurd, of
course, is that the 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance's base price is $56,630, not
including the $7,500 federal tax credit it's eligible for. Its test results
place it in the company of electric vehicles that cost about twice as much, not
to mention that it's now just as fast as its gasoline-powered benchmark, the
BMW M3. In an M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist, a 2023 M3 Competition xDrive and
a 2024 M3P achieved the same 60- and 130-mph runs, as well as identical
quarter-mile times. Only the BMW has a gas tank, and it costs about $30,000
more than the Tesla.