Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus auto 4d Owner Review

I am extremely pleased with my Tesla Model 3 which I have on a lease agreement. These seem to get a bad press in certain quarters but I really can't understand why. You do have to watch the range - the WLTP range is over 250 miles but I have never managed that, although admittedly I am a rather spirited driver. In terms of range it is at its best on A-roads up to 60mph and I have achieved 200 miles on a single charge under these conditions. Motorway driving does eat up the range and it drops more in cold weather - I reckon it could be as little as 150 miles under the harshest conditions. Don't let the range go too low and take the remaining range displayed with a pinch of salt! For those regularly doing longer journeys I would recommend the Long Range model. I have also seen poor reports of build quality but mine is fine - it's not quite up to the standards of my previous BMW but it's not far off and no-one could complain. Beyond that it is absolutely awesome. It's the Standard Plus model so the "slowest" but with 0-60 mph in 5.3s and instant torque, if you haven't driven a performance car you will be blown away and if you are used to such performance you'll be happy. It drives really well and certainly has the "cool factor" - extremely futuristic and lots of cool kit even in standard form. I love the regular software updates which download over Wifi. Another major factor is costs - or the lack of them! I have a 7kW home charger (for which government grants are available) and it charges overnight - we have an electric car tariff where the unit rate is cheaper during the night. It uses around 0.3 kW per mile on average so less than 2.5p per mile when I was paying 8p per kWh on a night time tariff and less than 1.5p per mile as we have recently switched to a tariff with 4.5p per kWh at night. This is a fraction of the cost of a petrol or diesel car and even though the monthly payments are slightly higher than those on my previous BMW I am saving a fortune on fuel each month. Add to that no car tax (the lease company pays) and little or no servicing, it's a no brainer. Tesla's supercharging network is also better and faster than anyone else's - you can charge from 20% to 80% in around 20 minutes when doing longer journeys. You have to plan ahead and allow extra time for charging stops but for me the compromise is well worth it compared with the advantages above. For all these reasons I can absolutely recommend the car and despite being a true petrolhead would find it very difficult to go back to a petrol or diesel car again. I will certainly have another one - unless something better comes out - but the combination of price, cool factor, performance, running costs and ease of charging will be hard to beat.