NEW 2024 Tesla Model 3 HIGHLAND Review: Did They Do Enough?

[Music] welcome to Motor Trend and allow us to introduce you to the brand new Tesla Model 3 Highland I am behind the wheel of the new Tesla Model 3 pyland not one but two brand new updated and refreshed model 3s with these cars we're going to give you everything that you ever wanted to know about them we are the first publication in North America to see and get to touch feel Drive the Vehicles we're going to talk about the design we're going to talk about what's new we're going to compare them we're going to drive them we're going to talk about performance figures and range test we're going to compare the new model 3 to the old one and finally we're going to give you the Motor Trend opinion is this a market improvement over the old model 3 and should you buy one the day began with the cars being dropped off by some Tesla employees who showed us around and answered our questions we were given two cars a rear wheeel drive standard range and a dual motor all-wheel drive Long Range model each sporting one of the two new colors and wheel types more on that later we also hired an old model 3 so that we could compare it with the new ones first thing we did was hand the cars over to our test team so they could perform our industry-leading independent Dynamic tests 0 to 60 60 to 0 curve weight figure8 we did it all folks and we'll get you up to speed on those results later but first let's take a closer look at everything that that's new and notable on the model 3 [Music] Highland so come on Kristen the new model 3 Highland what do you think about the design well there is so much to talk about first of all I think it is an improvement remember the old model 3 it it tried to keep Model S proportions but but shrunk down to model 3 size didn't really work it was kind of bulbous frog like little swampy but now it's all been sleeked out looks good skin headlights no fog lights skinny Grill down here I think it just looks a lot cleaner yeah they've taken a lot of the fussiness out of the front end right they've redefined the shape slightly by making the drls more prominent within the headlights like you said down here they've gotten rid of the fog light but they've also gotten rid of the side cooling pods so this used to be kind of weirdly split into three and now it's just one cohesive piece so it's very nice at the front end it looks more purposeful it does and if you move up the hood this Edge has been kicked up just slightly so the air instead of kind of smacking into the windshield flows over it more easily and in fact this is the most aerodynamic Tesla you can currently buy that that's how much they cleaned it up so the old model 3 had a CD of 225 right this one has CD of. 219 and I believe that's where the additional range has come from right yes because all the drive components everything all that stuff has stayed the same and science says if you keep all that stuff the same but you make it more aerodynamic then you get more range lots of small increment mental improvements have added up to quite a significant change in that department that's interesting so moving along the side we have two new wheel designs which you can see here but to be honest the side is not that different it's still a very much a model 3 shape from profile there are two new colors though this one is called Ultra red and that one is a stealth gray stealth gray which I like whilst it's true that the only panels which have been carried over from the old model 3 to this new one are the doors and the rear quarters it's still easy to look at this update as purely aesthetic when in reality according to Tesla at least they have gone far deeper than the body panels and we also found out did we not from the Tesla Engineers that dropped the car off that it's not just the faes and the panels that have been redesigned it's What Lies Beneath them it's everything that they are fixed to all of the fixing points all of the mounting points everything has been subtly adjusted based on customer feedback and all those millions and millions of miles that people have put on model 3s since 2017 back to the highlands new wheels for a sec our rear wheel drive car is sporting the new 18s with the redesigned Arrow cover and the all-wheel drive car is running on the new 19s which also feature these small Black Arrow covers between each spoke moving to the back there is so much to talk about so much to look at that's right now if you just look at it really fast you're like oh okay the tail lights uh same general shape but if you notice the trunk no longer Cuts them in half it is a single piece tailight so pleasee look at that the entire tail that nice is really nice nice touch I never liked how the old one cut the tail I have once you saw it you couldn't unsee it it was kind of annoying yeah kind of messy while the exterior dimensions of the car haven't changed the trunk has grown in size ever so slightly with some additional cubby storage on either side also the lower rear fender has received the same treatment as the front with a simplified design that includes the lower black plastic section enveloping the rear reflectors giving us something of a diffuser like design again what we're seeing the the sort of Mantra here that the designers and the engineers have had is lots of small changes adding up to a big overall change not only to the way this thing looks cuz it is kind of the more I look at it the more I go yep there's you know it's an attractive car whereas I don't know as I think that the model 3 of previous generation was that attractive I don't think it was that attractive finally yes what this thing rides on and that is the new tire the eacy t2 co- developed between Tesla and Michelin specifically for model 3 with a focus on reducing road noise and increasing range in addition to that the rotors and wheel couplings have also been redesigned as has the suspension geometry in fact the suspension has had a significant overhaul from new bushings and dampers with frequency dependent valves which aim to smooth out Road surface impurities to added bonding points between suspension and Chassis helping to disperse vibration more evenly what we're looking at with the Highland is a fully revised package from the tires interfacing with the road right up to the seat you sit on and the wheel you grab speaking of which should we jump inside and see what the interior of the model 3 Highland yes some controversial stuff in there that's right here we are then inside of the model 3 Highland yes I like the layout yes it has low belt lines low cowl you can see out of the front of this car that's right that's really nice I like this continual line that starts actually all the way back at the rear doors and comes all the way around the front it really catches the eye it's metal accent or metal look accent with a nice ambient light yeah you can dress it up with ambient light that's a new feature the center console has been redone so it has slide out Cubbies very nice and there more metal accenting right metal effect metal look materials in general just more metal less wood that's right and I think a lot of textiles yeah Tesla has said it's trying to move away from wood perhaps to differentiate itself from some Scandinavian correct competitors so yes more textiles less Woods more vinyls and they've done what they set out to achieve because it feels like a Tesla in here it does I mean you still have this big floating screen Tesla says the bezel is skinnier it's brighter it's a little more responsive so that'll be good but you still have to do everything through the screen that's right big fussy menu items which is kind of sketchy to use when you're traveling at speed but people seem to be fine with it this thing sells that's right the good news is if you've driven a Tesla before what we're happy to report is there are no big changes no big changes but as with the exterior the interior of the model 3 Highland is the story of many small changes which all add up overall the material quality has come on Leaps and Bounds as has the fit and finish there's a decidedly more premium feel to the model 3 Highland as one Tesla rep put it to us the interior should feel familiar yet refined the seats are super plush and comfortable and now as well as being perforated they're actually ventilated functional yes before it was just for show but now there is seat cooling that's nice yes now that's the thing remember a few moments ago when I said that if you've driven a Tesla before and you have an idea of where things are then you won't be surprised there's a big surprise and it is right here this this so this situation here there's no stock anywhere so you ask what do I do to change lanes where are my indicators well they're on the wheel just like a Ferrari or lamborghin so that's not too radical you have your windshield wiper here you have your lights your cruise control everything is here and those are haptic right those those are not conventional buttons but they feel like a button when you press they feel like a button the steering wheel doesn't vibrate it's just like a you've hit this button so actually don't mind it in practice and the horn is in the center of the there you go that wasn't there before yeah horn is where the horn should be like this the New Yorker and me is happy about this right so we've covered off let me think about this right hand stalk indication things like the windshield wipers those things have all been moved in board to the steering wheel where pray tell is the gear selector oh oh here let me show you what you would do is uh you would get on the brake get on the brake and then you would swipe hey to put it into drive at that and that's how you do it you use the screen to put the it's like playing Angry Birds D yeah except you're operating a 4,000lb vehicle exactly and then what happens if that fails what happens if and we're not suggesting that it ever will but what if this screen crashes then how do I maneuver the car so there is a there's an auxiliary control up here hidden in this panel there's pr&d up here uh if this for some reason is not working this will light up so you can still put the car into drive reverse whatever in the previous gen model 3 they only used acoustic glass in the front right so windshield front windows but now the use of acoustic glass has expanded to the rear glass and that was to address the concerns and the feedback from model 3 drivers and I think passengers who said it was a little loud a little tinny yeah so we're going to we're going to test that out too Joe yes how tall are you on a really really really good day where I'm wearing 2in heels 6t I'm I'm like 5'11 well I asked because I want to know how leg room is for you leg room honestly seems pretty good how's my head room oh yeah okay yeah okay but I feel like one of the things that people also have feedback about was the fact that the seats were a little low and there wasn't as much thigh support it doesn't look like there's a market Improvement to that I don't think there's been a tremendous change from old generation to this in terms of that I mean look it's one of those things right we've got a flat floor car and we've got seats that have to appeal to everybody and work for everybody to one degree or another and for and we are sitting on top of the batteries for longer-legged individuals yeah there's a little bit of room here but it's not the worst thing in the world especially when as we said there's good leg room I can I can you know I'm pretty comfy and speaking of comfy these seats this rear bench is definitely an area where they've made some improvements it's a lot comfier back here there's more bolstering more padding I feel more supported but similarly it's not tough it's not a rig support it's a nice soft you know I'm I'm kind of reclining in I'm feeling like I could do a nice long drive here so the next thing we want is the screen that's another big change this is the big change isn't it really this is the thing on the previous generation all we had was air conditioning vents that were controlled from the front you toggle them if you sure but otherwise you know you you were a passenger whereas now I can take full control of my own Comfort this is its own fully independent system but that's not the only thing the screen does there's also an entertainment option we've got all of our musical options here as well as and this is the big one I think for the kids and for the passengers for the Uber uh rides and stuff we've got all of our entertainment things here and it's completely independent of the big screen so you could theoretically be watching something up there and I can be watching something on a different streaming platform with different audio back here I can have Bluetooth on you can have Bluetooth on we can be completely in our own worlds in the same car which I think is a cool touch inside and the design of the new model 3 Highland seems improved and so while there isn't much in the way of anything new or groundbreaking today that's because it was all pretty Innovative in the first place what Tesla needed to focus on were the small but significant elements of quality control and refinement it still remains to be seen if these Interiors will Creek and rattle after 150,000 mil but on the surface at least it seems as though Tesla's really tightened everything up with this refresh so far we've been impressed by the new model 3 Highlands design but in order to truly see the difference between this new model and the previous one it was time to get the two side by side and see how all of those little changes have come together to create one Almighty difference you brought a present now we're cooking with gas we can take a look at the model 3 Highland next to the previous generation wow yeah when you put them side by side the the changes are unbelievable Monumental it's a Starker contrast as I could imagine I cannot believe how bulbous and kind of busy this front end is frog Lake yeah I mean we've probably used those words before to describe the model 3 it isn't we repeting for emphasis now because just look absolutely by comparison this I don't know shades of lotus about this front end perhaps there are you said earlier Tesla Roadster the original again I'm sort of feeling aora now a little which is the highest praise I can bestow on anything yeah this is pretty remarkable it's a very very interesting comparison to make for two cars which are I think most people are going to think are very very similar but really when you dive into it and especially when you get them next to one another the changes are subtle but significant I think you know you you look at the the rear I think it looks particularly fresh from the rear and then you go inside you look at the inside of the old model three I didn't think it needed an update and then you look at the new one you're like oh that's actually good that good we were lamenting the fact that there's no wood in this highland interior and then I got into this and I went oh look at that wood it looks so old and heat yeah I I actually didn't mind that there was no the wood in here the seats are remarkably less comfortable they hug you in less you feel like you're on them rather than in them I won't say that I didn't you know Miss the swiping for the the gear yeah I like that that had a column shifter that was that was if Tesla's told us one thing it's that with time people adapt and adopt new technologies I think that in a few years time we might look back and go oh yeah I mean I still miss typing on T9 okay well that's I'm a boomer so that's me are you a boomer inside I am if you're someone who thinks Tesla's cars all sort of look alike it's because that was very much done on purpose once a newcomer Tesla needed to visually set itself apart in a world of established Brands and corporate facies the very first Model S debuted in 2012 with a rather Anonymous look it wasn't until a later refresh that it wears the design that's now familiar to the rest of the Tesla lineup and so while the model 3 Highland is far from a page one rewrite this refresh has come a long way towards subtly redefining what Tesla car design will look like in 2024 and Beyond and whilst you may think that this refresh has been done purely for Aesthetics in reality these updates were sorely needed in order to facilitate a number of crucial re-engineering projects on model 3 the old cars ride wasn't great sometimes choppy and other times flat and lifeless it felt unsettled over bumps and transferred way too much of that energy up into the car's cabin where the interior squeaked and rattled and the noise from the wind and Road surface echoed around beneath the glass roof so how does the new one compare we've got two Tesla Model 3 Highlands so it's time to find out how they are to drive the model 3 Highland does not have any powertrain updates meaning its battery and Motors remain untouched from the old model 3 guess everyone was satisfied with them enough that Tesla left them alone but because of the subtle design changes that have resulted in a reduction in Drag and also because of the new tires with lower rolling resistance Tesla now claims the model 3 Highlands range has actually increased how does the new model 3 rear wheel drive standard range handle because that is where Tesla have spent the majority of of the time in terms of refreshing this car mechanically that one line that Tesla told us about how they really wanted to keep what people liked about the car and only improve the things that people didn't like as much about the car that keeps running through my head because I think it's so true people have always liked the way the model 3 drives and here I have to agree you know you've got that instant torque electric car du that's going to be the case but the steering Quick Flat throughout there's not any sort of weird Dead Space it's very intuitive steering it's confidence inspiring and the regenerative brakes are very smooth all of that revised work that they did to the front end to the suspension the revised dampers the bushings all of the extra bonding points between the suspension and the chassis those are all working in tandem along with the wheels the revised brake rotors to provide a far far more cohesive Driving Experience and that's not to say that the previous model 3 wasn't a great driving car it was a very fun driving car it handled remarkably well it did track a little bit I found especially when you were pushing it through a corner and I'm happy to report as I push it through this corner now yes a little bit of under steer but it's not tracking they've done a lot of really good work to try and flatten this car out keep it just as dynamic as it was before but add a sense of refinement and that I think is the other big keyword when we're talking about model 3 it's refinement and that is shown at every level and in every Department the exterior is refined you put it next to an old one and all of a sudden you can see clearly how all of the little incremental differences not all of which have been made purely for aesthetic reasons let's not forget a lot of them have been to do with range but how they've all come together to create a very very cohesive design I would almost say that the model 3 never had a cohesive design it didn't have its own design language because it always felt like a slightly shrunk and warped Model S now though I think the model 3 stands alone not only with its own unique design its own unique perspective on Tesla's design DNA and language it's also a very refined and grownup looking Tesla not to say that it's less playful but it just looks a bit more purposeful on the road for a lot of people driving an electric car a Tesla it's the first time they will have experienced one pedal driving it's real nice here and the chassis feels good it feels pretty balanced in these Corners you feel like you can drive this car fast you know there's that nice low center of gravity that kind of keeps you planted through the corner makes you feel good about doing these things the last Model 3 was very obviously steel sprungle this one this one still is but it's less in your- face about it it rides way better now it doesn't bump as much over uneven pavement yeah this thing holds Corners nice it's good man you cannot underestimate the power of low Center gravity this is also has some of the nicer steering out of all the electric cars I've driven usually steering feels kind of dead or numb offc Center here feels very linear so the steering is calibrated well so much of what Tesla has done to this new model 3 has not only been about the driver but it's been about the passenger he improved vastly this acoustic glass they've done great work to try and make this a quieter more comfortable more relaxing place to to bait because of the way that hood is newly tapered and it kind of shoots the wind over the windshield it's not as loud in here so whatever they did worked it feels like not a new car it feels like an improved car and I think that's exactly what they were going towards because the model 3 objectively pretty good car on its own there were a few points that needed some refinements little sanding here and there you know but that's exactly what they did they left the core thing alone and they made some of the pain points better so Color Me impressed speaking of improvements earlier we told you that the Motor Trend testing team had got in their hands on the new model 3 Highlands to put them through their Paces well the results are in and it makes for fascinating reading your wheeel drive dual motor Highland did a 0 to 60 in 4 seconds and the rear wheeel drive single motor did it in 5.6 in Breaking from 60 mph to a dead stock the all-wheel drive car took 114 ft the rear wheel drive took 1150 but range that's the crucial one we subjected both cars to the Motor Trend real world range test driving them at 95% of their batteries charged and at a constant 70 mph the results the standard Range model 3 put down 21 Mi the long range return 250 and just for fun we tested the old model 3 long range and it did 258 Mi however we'll also note the old car was using smaller Wheels than the new car so it was a bit like comparing gala apples to honey crisp apples there is a very noticeable Improvement in nvh now I really want to test just how much better the new model 3 Highland is than the previous one and for that I'm going to need Kristen so let's pull over let's find Kristen and let's conduct ourselves a little experiment nvh stands for noise vibration and harshness it's an industry term used to talk about how loud or quiet rough or refined the car's ride is from the inside this was one of the main points of customer feedback on the old model 3 that Tesla was Keen to improve on the Highland so the test that we have set up today is a varied surfaces test and we're going to go at it on 40 m hour first pass just to evaluate comfort and everything like that we're going to do it a second time with a DV meter just to see how much noise things are making and then we're going to hop out of this old model 3 and into the new one and compare them back to back science so with that in mind let's establish our Baseline this is the old Tesla Model 3 let's get up to 40 mph on this special surface here and see what our decel readings [Music] are here come some [Music] bumps my goodness how you feeling back there yeah it's noticeable right like yes as a driver even though I'm braced more because I have the steering wheel in my hand I'm still caught unawares by some of the steering and suspension fluctuations down to these bumps that was a railroad crossing yes and we have a Highway uh metal sheet and this is a big one brace yourself no I was 40 m an hour no I can't he okay that last one was big and on that point it's worth mentioning that this surface we're on is Extreme it's a collection of all of the road imperfections you come across on a daily basis from small cracks and Expansion Joints right up to railway Crossings and even storm drains and we just hit one at 40 milph all in the name of science next we flipped around and ran the course again with the deel meter app open so it could give us a reading the average is 77 and 100 77 and 100 we'll notee that this is not not you know the the scientific standard however we will be holding this constant between this car and the other car so we'll be able to see some differences from theirs copy that so with that in mind let's jump out of this car let's get the new model 3 Highland let's keep the vehicle models the same we'll get in the all-wheel drive one and we'll see how these two compare so here we are let's get up to speed 40 mph let see how it is okay wow acceleration wow w it's a different car it's different that's so amazing wow that was that was still kind of sure but this is a this course is meant to really test suspension almost to its limits so ably there more cohesion I feel between front and rear is steering wheel was giving me far more feedback a little chattery it was little chitter chatter yeah that's right when you get to back to back cars like this it makes all the difference all right let's see here's the big one yeah it was still bounc that's a big one did we bottom out we may have done we may have bottomed out a little bit again I want to reiterate this is a handling course that's meant to really punish cars so I will say I still caught air a little bit but it wasn't as a of a mule kick yes as the first one okay so now we're going to go reset we're going to turn on our DB meter as a reminder the average was 77 and the peak was 100 100 DB ran the route in the Highland again this time with the DB meter and the results were mixed the average actually increased to 78 but the peak was less at 97 we want to stress a few things here firstly this suspension testing course is intense and is meant to test cars to their limit we both agreed that despite the inconclusive numbers the Highland felt and sounded way better from both the driver and passenger seats also the decibel meter was a free app from the App Store so who knows how reliable that is so yes yes Motor Trend verdict time well we set out trying to answer two questions right the first one was is the new model 3 Highland a marked improvement over the last one and the second one is should people buy one that's right so to the first point is this car an improvement over the old model 3 I think it's a resounding yes and in true Tesla fashion this Victory is actually the sum of lots of little victories right everything from specifically designing a tire with Michelin to give the Tesla Model 3 more range and less mvh through the road surface to the way that they've modified the Acoustics on the inside and even down to seek Comfort everything all of those little changes incremental things that they've done have added up I think to a big win for Tesla here yes because you drove it all day I drove it all day various Motor Trend editors have been driving it and the resounding opinion is that yeah it sounds better it rides better also I think it looks better too much much better you know from closeup from a distance it just looks crisper fresher looks like a new product and that's nice that's right it stepped out from behind all of the other Tesla models and it's sort of become its own thing so the last piece here is price and Tesla has not officially announced price for the new model 3 yet but it did assure us it's going to be a little more expensive than the current generation model 3 so that's up to you decide once the price comes out if it's worth it however I will say this is still the most affordable Tesla that you can buy that's obviously not going to change but it doesn't really feel like a sacrifice anymore that's right it feels a little bit more luxurious than before little more up market right yeah is cheap doesn't feel cheap exactly which I think is the best thing that you can say about something that's [Music] right

Channel: MotorTrend Channel

Views: 169,380

Keywords: motortrend, motor trend, motor trend channel, automotive, auto, Tesla Model 3 Highland, MotorTrend, Tesla, Tesla Model 3, Model 3 Highland, 2024 Tesla Model 3 Highland, 2024 Tesla Model 3 Highland Review, MotorTrend Review, 2024 Tesla Model 3 Highland MotorTrend Review

Id: JB7OEVSa650

Length: 28min 58sec (1738 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 20 2023