Theresa Worrall drives a Tesla Model 3 RWD 2020.

This is Theresa’s second electric car, she’s owned the Tesla Model 3 3-4 years and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 40,000-50,000 miles and she achieves 190 miles from a full charge.

Why did you choose the Tesla Model 3?

I chose the Tesla as it is the classic electric car, not an ICE model that has been converted. It’s very intuitive to drive and keeps up to date with safety and convenience features. I also find it is good value for money.

Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car

• Easy to drive
• fun to drive
• feels safe.

Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car

• Curb rash
• hard on tyres
• interior can feel a bit cheap.

Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?

I haven’t done any scientific analysis but I haven’t noticed any degradation.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

The front suspension arms began to creak, which is a known fault. They were repaired quickly under warranty. The steering wheel came out of alignment, which caused a cascade failure of the auto drive and some safety features. That fault took a week to find but was covered by the warranty. Early on, condensation appeared in one of the tail lights and they came out to the house to fix it under warranty.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

• The basic auto drive is great
• I love the blind spot cameras that come on when you turn on the indicators
• the scheduled preconditioning/warm up is great on cold mornings
• the memory seat positions and easy access. The seat pulls back when you get out, it’s great. I didn’t realise how much I appreciated it until I drove another car!

Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car 

We were bringing my son home from uni and the car was absolutely FULL! We’d even used the space underneath in the back. He then finds a large duffle bag of clothes and we didn’t know what to do. Then I remembered the car had a FRUNK! It fitted perfectly, problem solved!

What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?

They randomly explode.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

My husband got a Mercedes EQC because of great finance options. We’ve decided to get the Mercedes EQE to replace my Tesla as it’s very luxurious and we have been given excellent finance options. Tesla finance refused to give me a loan with no explanation and I have an excellent credit rating. Sadly, they lost a sale.

Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements

2 X Easee 11kW chargers – they are daisy-chained but we only access 7kW. Occasionally a scheduled charge won’t start or will finish early but that could be down to Intelligent Octopus also. When both cars are charging we sometimes won’t get a full charge but we do have it set to turn off when the standard tariff charge kicks in, so it’s not the chargers fault.

Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements

Intelligent Octopus – very reasonable rates. It works with our Tesla but not the Mercedes yet. You can only have one car on the preferred rate too. They do, however, have an off-peak rate which is good. We just need to ensure that schedules are set to take advantage of it.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

We’ve very rarely used public charging. We’ve had no problems with access but rates vary widely! Trust the car to guide you and use apps like Zapmap to find availability and best rates.

Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements

Boom Insurance – as they were the cheapest. Everything is done online but I haven’t had to make a claim, so I can’t comment on their service.

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Tesla Model 3

• £0 road tax
• £120 service done once in 4 years
• 2 X MOTs at £43 a pop
• £30-40 month for charging, doing 11,000 miles per year
• insurance is approx. £200 more per year
• Savings per month are approximately £120.

See other Tesla Model 3 Owner Reviews here